The Scoop on Poop - #8 
By Susan Bashor
Our three year old son is a pack rat. I don’t know why. Open up a cooler on the back porch and there you’ll find a toothbrush, a hot wheels car, a piece of toast and a rock. Last Spring I opened up the seat on his tricycle and found one of his blankets we’d been missing all winter. I don’t even want to imagine what he’s put down the toilet.
Every time we get a call for a toilet that is gurgling or slow or just plain overflowing, the poor child is usually Suspect #1! Oh the things we’ve retrieved from the throat of some toilets. Well, let’s skip that part. Do you know how to assess the difference between a plug in your toilet and a plug that may be a little further on down in your line? Our rule of thumb is “a plugged toilet is a plugged toilet, it doesn’t go down, it just stays plugged”. Any other description of “slow”, “eventually”, or ”intermittently” describes a problem that is hidden somewhere else in your home. As a tip, when your toilet gets plugged and you’re waiting for us to sprout wings and be at your home in two minutes to make it stop, grab the little valve located near the floor at the base of the toilet and turn it OFF! Ahh, this may save the carpet.
As we enter our winter season the technically gifted among the team of Bashor and Bashor wants me to remind you that inclement weather, can cause a number of problems. Let’s be prepared.
Frozen water and sewer lines: If the weatherman has forecasted a stretch of sub zero evenings (and actually gets it right), most homeowners do a quick mental rundown of exposed pipes that need to be heat taped or take other precautionary steps. One tendency we’ve seen (when we’re out in that sub-zero weather thawing those very pipes) is the idea that trickling water into the pipes throughout the night will save them from freezing. What this actually does is cause the sewer line to freeze because as the water trickles hour after hour it builds layers and layers of ice and finally freezes lines that are in the frost. In the event you do freeze, you do know who to call right?
Frozen septic lines and drainfield care: When using the same technique described above, that “trickling water” syndrome can literally cause a sort of “hydraulic overload” in the septic system. All of that water goes directly to your drain field. We don’t want to deal with drain field saturation in the middle of February, do we?
What can you do to prepare for Old Man Winter? Start by making sure your crawlspace vents are closed and that there are no air leaks. Shore up pipes that are exposed above the ground and check to make sure your well house is warm. If you live in a trailer home, be sure you’ve got your skirt on and are properly wrapped up before it gets too cold. Pipes under the trailer from the ground to the home should be heat taped or insulated in some fashion. Trailers seem to be the first casualties of frost, especially those with no insulation.
It’s the Holiday Season and people seem to react in such different ways. Some get sentimental (like me), some get annoyed by the sensationalism and the pressure to spend, spend, spend (like me), some take the time to get in touch with friends and relatives they haven’t said “I Love You” to since last Christmas (like me), and some get to see the season through the eyes of little ones (like me). If I slow down and watch, I realize that I receive many gifts. No matter what kind of a day or week or year I’m having, every time I see my daughter skip the four steps to her destination, rather than walk, a silly smile bursts through the stress of my life and times and I get some clarity. Just one little happy skip reminds me how wonderful it is to be a child without worries, and a reminder to me, not to pass mine on, to her. When is the last time you skipped?
Happy Holidays from all of us at Sweet Pea. We appreciate your support throughout our seventh year.
Happy flushing and remember...
“It’s Not Glamourous But Someone Has To Do It”.
Call Sweet Pea at 728-3533 or 961-3377 or E-Mail us.
