OMGSCHNECKEN. WANT.

Not that you need more people telling you you fucked up, Hec, but...don't use Drano. Ever. It will corrode your pipes and then you will have many worse problems than you have now. Call a plumber or get a snake.

Plumbing!

So I just spent an hour up in the attic with a hairdryer because my furnace condensate line is frozen again. The first time they insulated the drain line going outside. The next time they relocated the drain line to an interior pipe. Last time I was able to just thaw it with the hairdryer, but this time so far no joy.

I read the manual, which says if a horizontal furnace is installed in an unconditioned attic space, it needs self regulating heat tape and waterproof insulation. So. I guess a trip to Home Depot is in order for me.

But I should be lying in bed and whining about minor flu symptoms! At least we've got the woodstove, but this is not a long-term solution, and it's not going to get above freezing for a good while. So I think I need to do the repair.

David, do you have any vinegar?

Step 4 - Use Homemade Grease Removers

If you are on a tight budget you can cut cost by making your own homemade grease remover. To make your own grease remover, boil some water then mix 1 part of hot water and 1 part of vinegar then pour the mixture into your kitchen drain then let it stand for a few minutes. The hot water will help melt of the grease while the vinegar will eat at the grease sticking on the pipes. After pouring hot water and vinegar mixture into your drain, follow it up with some boiling water. The boiling water should flush the remaining grease from your pipe.

Read more: [link]

Teppy, you have me drooling here! That sounds so yum.

So, cautious optimism for the near future and I feel pretty good about the present.

Good stuff to read.

I've always heard that Drano (and most of the other varieties) won't corrode the pipes if you rinse properly after the clog resolves. Like running the water a really long time and not letting it sit there.

Glad they gave you your doses, ita. Dilaudid makes me barf, which I discovered during the kidney stone. Sticking with Tramadol.

I've always heard that Drano (and most of the other varieties) won't corrode the pipes if you rinse properly after the clog resolves. Like running the water a really long time and not letting it sit there.

Every plumber I've ever had in this building fixing leaks (being on the board means I tend to be in charge of calling the plumber) has lectured me on the evils of Drano. ("Drano" in the same sense as "Kleenex" meaning all unclogger chemical dealies.)

So I just spent an hour up in the attic with a hairdryer because my furnace condensate line is frozen again.

I didn't even know furnaces had condensate lines. Come to think of it, I probably have never had a furnace. I wasn't a home owner prior to living in Florida. Now I have had A/C lines clog and units freeze.

I agree that snaking is best, but also disgusting. We don't dump grease but we have a grease box at our stove from the waste management open house (no seriously...).

I took my niece to Anaheim today. So she will be working for Disney is come capacity. She has to pay for her housing ($140/week) and she will earn an hourly wage at roughly $10 an hour working and taking classes through this internship. I cannot figure out how she is going to survive.

It's a competitive internship! She had to go through this crazy process to qualify. And now... that is rough to live on. I hope that she takes something good away from this.

But I should be lying in bed and whining about minor flu symptoms! At least we've got the woodstove, but this is not a long-term solution, and it's not going to get above freezing for a good while. So I think I need to do the repair.

That sounds like a pretty crappy combination! My parents' furnace has been having problems, but it sounds like it's possibly a lemon, because it's fairly new. The upside of that is I guess it's under warranty, because they just call the guy to come fix it and they don't have to pay. But seriously, it's stopped working like twice a week for the past three weeks, which seems like no good. At least their heat is separate from my grandmother's, so they can go down there in a pinch, AND it's not the 93-year-old freezing.

I don't miss worrying about frozen pipes in the winter.

It was cold enough here last night that when we took the dogs into the woods this morning, we walked on frozen mud for a good long time. My sister's still sick, she had a horrible coughing fit partway through the walk. But the dogs are happy, and we had great pancakes for breakfast.

Now I have a freshly-cleaned kitchen and I pulled an old chicken back out of the freezer to make some broth from. Later I will go out to my folks' old apartment to scavenge through my dad's tools with my brother--at the least, I'll get the stepladder, since it's taller than the one I have (and I will then be able to prune the bougainvillea).