Piping Mad!!

So, what do you get when you add a 57 year old house and a clogged pipe? That's right - a burst pipe!! Right in the basement over the washer/dryer in our storage area (the source of at least 5 floods in the last few years). Thank goodness I was here to catch the second half of the water in a bucket.

Now, the water that was stuck in the pipe was filled with pureed food (mostly ham) from the kitchen garbage disposal. Yuck. I may never eat ham again. I was literally gagging as I cleaned the scum out of the sink.

So, our cast iron 2 inch pipe needs to be replaced. The plumber (who is starting to get to know us pretty well) is coming tomorrow to replace it with PVC. I did hear him talking to Neil at one point and heard the word "copper" and almost had a heart attack.

Fortunately this wasn't quite as hideous as I thought, but we have no kitchen sink, downstairs bathroom sink or shower until it's fixed. And for the cost of what could have been my new washing machine, I'll have a new pipe. Whoopee!!

My Mom reminded me of the time it happened in their old house on the second floor and drained into the living room ceiling. So, this really could have been much worse.

Plus, we'll get a clean (er) basement out of it.