Troubleshooting. Failure is an Option.
The Turning Feral Devotional - Day 64
Day 64: Try, try, and try again. That’s the ethos that definitely consumes anyone who is living any level of self-sustainment. It’s that ethos which, begrudgingly, got me through yesterday. You see, I was supposed to be out on my trapline making perfect sets for a number of furbearers… but instead I was stuck in our cabin troubleshooting the reason behind our kitchen sink not draining.
Now, all told, having a non-draining sink isn’t earth shattering… but, with two kids, meals to cook, and bottles to clean… the lack of a running wash basin gets old, fast. So it was off to the races to try and eliminate all of the potential causes for my woe. I’ll spare the details, but I plunged until my arms were sore, pulled the p-trap, draino’d, vinegar & baking soda’d, snaked it, crawled on the roof to check the exhaust vent, and nearly lost my mind. It wasn’t until I found a hidden wye clean out that I confirmed my fear… Gunk.
Yup, we have a rock hard, gag-inducing, buildup of fats, coffee grinds, and oils. Though we take caution to not put these things down our sink, years of build up inevitably occur. The unfortunate part was the access point I had was not in a spot where I could snake back up toward the main clog which sat in multiple 90* elbows under a crawl space. So, with reluctance I have to wait until I get back to town to buy a new t-fitting and then attack this smelly pipe with my sawzall.
So, through the process of elimination I have confidence in where the problem lies, but for now it gets to rest in peace until I can make the 4 hour drive into town. Which brings up a good point for self-sustained living and the need for having extra key items – such as fittings for your main water/sewer line. But that’s why we live, learn, and get better prepared each day!
Daily Prompt: What in your life is prime to go wrong? Do you have old pipes? Shaky electricity? What can you do to mitigate that issue? Can you do maintenance work now or purchase supplies that could help fix the issue in a pinch?:
Motivational Passage:
“A bruise is a lesson... and each lesson makes us better.”
― George R.R. Martin
Rewilding Action: Take an inventory today of all of your key household appliances… what makes your house run? You have water lines, sewer lines, faucets, and other appliances. Now, what tools and parts do you have on hand to fix any one of those items? Think about which items are most critical and begin stockpiling some of those basic components in order to fix them when the time comes!