The Drain You Clog May Be Your Own

Ever had that sinking feeling when you jam two dozen corn husks into your sink garbage disposal and it REBELS? It just grinds and grinds wimp-ily and you know it’s dead and YOU KILLED IT?

Newsflash: The HOA is NOT going to pay your plumbing bill. You dood it, you pay for it.  Save yourself some money by learning about the care and feeding of a garbage disposal.

Google: What Not to put down your Garbage Disposal or Disposer which is what the experts like to call it even though nobody else does. Or check the million YouTube videos on the same subject - (not as fun as funny cat videos but will save you mucho dinero in the long run.)

List of Nos

Drano or any caustic drain cleaners! This stuff totally wrecks the pipes and there’s a 100% chance you will STILL wind up calling a plumber.

Grease - solidifies inside your drain like plaque in your arteries and gives our pipes a heart attack.

Pasta and rice – uncooked expands with water, causes big clog-oramas.

Coffee grounds, apple cores, pits, and seeds get caught in the drain.

Eggshells – membrane can wrap around the blades.

Bones -  use your common sense.

List of Yesses

Cold water for at least 20-30 seconds before and after grinding food.

Liquids and soft foods, chopped foods.

Liquid dish soap.

Ice cubes  - grind lemon flavored cubes for a nice smell. Don’t you want a sweet-smelling disposal?

Use your common sense and if you have none, trust Google!

                                                             

KIDS!

           

August 24.  Home after an exhausting day at the office, I parked my carcass on my couch when the Lobby Door rang on my office cellphone.  “Can you buzz me in?  My mom’s visiting her friend and I don’t remember the number,” said a teen girl’s voice.

               “Who’s the friend?  What unit?”  I asked.

               “I don’t remember,” she said.

               Having been the mother of a juvenile delinquent, I was suspicious.  “Can you tell me something about the friend?  Do they have a dog?”

No dog. “What floor?”  I asked.

               There was a pause, then, “I just know where it is!”

               Call me cynical but I didn’t buy it, “I don’t know who you are, so I’m not letting you in,” and I hung up.

               About five minutes later I was enjoying my pre-dinner snooze when I hear screams.  “No!  Stop!  Don’t do it!  I don’t want you to die!”

               That got my attention.  I scramble out onto my balcony and there, dangling over the 12^th floor catwalk railing is a teenage boy doing his best Cirque du Soleil for the audience of six terrified teenage girls.  “Hey kid!”  I yell, “Get back over that railing NOW!”  I take this photo.  He climbs back.

Soon he’s scrambling away with his gaggle of female fans.  I pressed the button on my floor and hopped on the elevator with the young perps.  “What the hell were you thinking!” said the Mom voice coming out of my mouth.  No answer.  I pulled out my camera and started shooting video.  They instantly buried their faces in their phones.

               The voice of the Lobby Door Girl sing-songs, “Don’t you know it’s against the law to take videos of minors?”

               “DON’T YOU KNOW IT’S AGAINST THE LAW TO TRESSPASS!”  I barked.

               Soon we were in the lobby and they high tail it down Wilbur.

               I ran the security camera back.  Sure enough, just minutes before, they were calling me from the Lobby Phone. The girls went around trying the other lobby doors but the acrobat stayed behind trying every intercom button.  Soon, someone exited the building and the sly miscreant quickly tossed his backpack in the opening and motioned his rat pack in. 

               My reason for recounting this story is to warn you - if you see strangers in the outer lobby, please don’t let them in.

You might be saving a life!

Karyl Miller, Building Manager