Adventures in DIY (with help)

This weekend we experienced one of the many joys of home ownership, a clogged basement floor drain. Our air conditioner and dehumidifier both drain condensation into the same floor drain, and suddenly a small pond had developed in its spot. Emily did some googling and borrowed some tools from her dad, strapped on the rubber boots and waded in, determined to fix the problem herself and avoid a pricey call to a professional. After an hour, the water was cleared (thank you, shop-vac) but the clog was stubbornly persistent. Emily was very tempted to call a professional and call it a day, but with Project Money in mind instead she decided to try again the next morning. Still the drain would not open! She decided to put in a call to her dad instead. With a little extra muscle and a larger wrench, he was able to pop open a stuck cap and together they snaked the drain and the water finally began to flow where it was supposed to go. If it hadn't been for Emily's dad this DIY project might have been a flop, so we are very grateful for his expertise. Now we have the experience and the confidence to tackle it ourselves, if the problem ever happens again. Odds are, it will. 

Drain maintenance is something that we'd rather not think about, but when something clogs it up, it becomes a big problem in a big hurry. Here are two low-budget tips we learned to try to prevent the problem from happening again or to resolve it affordably if it does:

1) It can be helpful to do a large flush of water periodically down a drain such as a basement floor drain, which may normally only absorb a slow trickle of water. The low volume and slow movement of water coming though may lead to buildup of sediments that would normally be more easily washed away in a drain with higher use. Some online resources even recommend using boiling water or a combination of baking soda and vinegar down the drain from time to time. We don't really know how effective this is with larger obstructions, but it can't hurt to do once in a while as a preventative measure.

2) Some simple, affordable tools are helpful to have on hand if a clog happens. A basic drain snake costs about $20 and can be used to clear out a drain with the help of a power drill. A sewer rod costs under $30 and is similar to a drain snake but is less flexible and can be used to apply more pressure to an obstruction.