Pipe Down

I knew we shouldn’t have sunk all of our renovation funds into that second bathroom. I told Hank, didn’t I? As usual, he ignored me and let himself be swayed by the teenager. Angela’s case was something along these lines: she’s not going to stop straightening her hair any time soon, so we shouldn’t hold out for free access to the bathroom unless we get a second one. What kind of argument is that? It’s our house, for Pete’s sake.

Fast forward a few weeks, and here we are with a severely compromised laundry drainage system. I have no idea what the problem is, but I suspect it’s to do with the roots of that danged oak, which I always said would eventually become an issue. If I’m right, fixing this is going to involve some invasive earthworks, pipe replacements and probably a sizeable wad of cash. I hope everyone enjoys their unfettered bathroom access, because we’re probably going to have to use the bathrooms to wash our clothes by hand.

There’s really nothing that messes with the flow of a household like blocked drains. Camberwell residents, help me out with your recommended drainage plumbers – the sooner this can be dealt with, the better. After all, teenage girls wait for no laundry issue, although I do think it would be good for her to read a garment care tag for once in her life and find out what’s actually involved in washing her collection of ‘vintage’ synthetics.

Look, I’m in a bad mood, and I’m probably imagining the worst. That’s because my sister recently told me a horror story about her street’s blocked sewer. Melbourne sewage isn’t something I’ve ever given much thought to, but her tale has definitely got me thinking more about the inner workings of our underground systems.

I wonder if I can use this as an opportunity to educate Angela on the subject of water usage and… I don’t know, composting. Seems like a long shot, but I can’t see much else in the way of silver linings to extract from this situation.