Problems

What a frustrating day it has been. I've spent pretty much all day trying to solve my blocked kitchen sink drama or trying to make an inadequate amount of cash keep a business running in London. Happily I seem to have finally solved the first issue, the second may be beyond me.

I leapt out of bed early, determined to solve the sink problem and then get on with the other jobs that still need doing before the first guests arrive in less than two weeks time - eek. At 6 pm this afternoon the sink would still not drain properly and another day had gone by. I was feeling very down about life.

I made two trips to Tridome today (at least the car started without having to whip the battery out and give it a charge which is always a bonus). I thought my Tridome visiting days were over but it seems that I will always be making a little DIY trip every now and again. First off I bought a pipe cleaning tool (a sort of long spring that you push down the pipe to try and clear the blockage) and a bottle of caustic soda (approach number two being to dissolve the blockage).

I took out the trap from under the sink and shoved the coil at least two metres down the pipe - no obstruction and no gunge coming back out. The only thing that happened was that I burnt my fingers and wrist on left over caustic soda from yesterday's attempts to clear the blockage. I decided to put the whole thing back together and try more soda, only I couldn't stop the system from leaking because one of the washers had become a bit mangled - and of course, in all the left over plumbing bits from a year and half of construction there weren't going to be any washers of the right shape or size - so back to Tridome I went.

The sun shone very brightly and warm and the mountains glistened with their snowy peaks and even that didn't cheer me up.

Back home again, I finally got the pipework back together again with no leaking - half a day gone and progress so far - zilch.

This afternoon I poured the second bottle of soda down the sink and then, on the very wise advice of Debrah, as much bleach as I could get my hands on. In fact I poured bleach down every available entrance to the same waste system - toilet, sink and shower/bath - so much so that the whole apartment smelled like a hospital. Finally in the late afternoon, I made one last tired effort with the plunger over the sink waste - first time, nothing - second time, nothing - one last go and hey presto - a gurgling of air and a disappearing of bleachy water - hallelujah!

Another confirmed booking this evening should have made me feel good - but actually I just feel tired and am going straight to bed.

Tomorrow will all be about cash flow rather than water flow - actually it will be about non-cash flow just as today was about non-water flow. Here's hoping for another late afternoon solution to a problem.