Nuclear Draino

It rained a lot here on Saturday, so I took advantage of the soft soil and removed a trashcan full of unwanted vegetable matter from my backyard flowerbeds. The two big beds are now beautiful and bare, ready for some fall prep work and the eventual spring planting, compost pile, and garden.

I can't believe I spent several hours this weekend weeding. I hate weeding, probably because it used to be imposed as a form of punishment. While pulling out clumps of grass from the future compost pile site, I was reminded how a weed is really anything that grows where you don't want it to. About ten feet away, I am trying to get grass to sprout.

I won the battle with the master bath. About a week after I moved in, the bathtub/shower became extremely clogged and drainage amounted to but a trickle. I tried several treatments of Liquid Plumr gel, and then stepped it up to a bottle of industrial Draino, all to no avail. Mind you, this is not my hair that has blocked the drain, which made this particular chore grosser and more annoying. I was just about to schedule a plumber to come by and snake the drains. This would have involved shelling out at least $70 taking a half day off from work since none of them work on weekends or after 5. Instead, during my fourth trip to Home Depot in two weeks, I decided to give "Instant Power Hair and Grease" a try.

Instant Power Hair and Grease is a scary product. It is sold in a black bottle that is further protected by a heavy duty plastic bag. The warning labels, which give the impression of being there for more than liability reasons, promise certain death if the product is misused, or even possibly if properly used: "only open on a level surface;" "may generate toxic fumes;" "if product comes into contact with clothing, immediately remove clothing and wash affected area for 15 minutes." Basically, Instant Power Hair and Grease is concentrated lye in liquid form. Scary, but it worked. The stuff burned right through the clump of someone else's hair, and my drain is now unclogged.

Yay America, yay chemical companies.