The Best Medical Advice I ever got Was from a Plumber | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Sometime in the late 1990's my parent's kitchen sink backed up and I could not clear it. By this time, Dad was well into his "take care of that" phase. I tried the old Drano route to no affect. We had one of those long reaming tools that you attach to a drill and try to clear the blockage. That did not work either. After taking out the P trap under the sink and not finding any blockage, I decided to call a plumber. He tried the same things that I had already tried because plumbers do not usually work on a per job basis, they work on an hourly basis.

    I will give him credit thought he tried hard to clear the blockage. He even went up on the roof and used his industrial reamer down the plumbing vent. That did not work either.

    Finally, he went to the basement and removed the drain plug from the four-inch main drain line.

    That almost solved the drainage problem as everything in the pipe ended up on the basement floor.


    After a careful inspection, he told me the whole pipe was clogged and I needed to replace it.. Since it was a cast Iron pipe, he had to use his pipe cracker. That created another mess.


    Thanks to modern technology he was able to replace the pipe with a PVC drain line and put my parents back in business.


    I do not remember what he charged but I was glad to get it over. That only left me with the cleanup, which was a major chore in itself.

    After I paid him, he told me in a matter of fact manner.

    "If you think that pipe was clogged, just think this is only the stuff you flushed down the drain. Think about all the crap you stuffed down your throat"!.

    I forgot to mention he was a friend and the charge was minimal. I made up that stuff about them charging by the hour. Rubio, sure had a way with words.