HELL.

Got a call first thing this morning. A tenant opens their shop on Monday - and the toilet is backing up into the bath. UUurrghhhhh.....

So I grab our Michael, gave him a spade, and I'd do the shitty bit. He dug out the pipes (which are just beneath the dirt), and I then tried to figure out what was blocked.

UUUurgrgrggggghhhhh......Despite new PVC piping fairly recently, roots have got in and plugged up a flow joint. And I mean properly plugged up. And urine and water had got past the blockage mostly, but there was now concentrated poo and paper......

So......took my drill, drilled a hole in the top of the pvc pipe, and then ran the sawzall up the pipe so I could get my fingers in and start fishing out whatever is blocking up. (rodding the pipe failed).

What I found was a solid wadge of roots. Pulled that out, and now had a pipe full of human shit. Which I dutifully pulled out in handfulls. Michael nicely took the stuff I removed and dug them into a hole somewhere else.

It was everywhere. At one point something went pop, and I had crap all over me. It wasn't nice.

We ended up getting it cleared, but I'll need to go back in a week or two and replace all the pipes that I cut up. Right now - toilet flushes.

What's worrying me though is that the pipe to the road isn't draining - but the rod isn't coming up against anything. Thinking I might need to jet wash that pipe yet.

When I got home, went in the back door and ALL my clothes went straight into the washing machine. And I had a very long shower.