My cold (cf my Monday post) has probably kept running a pretty normal course, but especially the coughing has been tiresome. (Still is, even if that too is getting better now.)
On Tuesday I had the laundry room booked for the afternoon. I was in luck and could start an hour early (11 instead of 12) and didn't have to run more than two loads, but that still felt enough. In the evening I also had to start preparing for ...
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... Wednesday, when we (tenants) had been forewarned that plumbers were coming to high pressure flush all the drains in our building, one flat at a time; and for that we were asked to remove anything that might make their access to drains and pipes etc difficult. In the kitchen, this meant not only removing stuff on top of (and in) the sink, but also emptying the cupboard underneath, where I keep various bins, bags and boxes for waste and recycling. And in the bathroom, anything under and close to the wash basin, and near the drain in the shower (which isn't glass-enclosed, only has a curtain). I did not really expect them to find much problem with my drains - but as I couldn't recall this procedure having been done before while I've lived here, I wasn't quite sure how much "mess" to expect... So I pretty much emptied the whole bathroom. (Universal truth: One never really realises how much stuff one keeps in small spaces until one has to move it somewhere else...)
As I live in the middle of the building (with 18 flats altogether) I knew they weren't likely to start with me; but as I had no idea how fast or slow the procedure would be, I still preferred to be up and dressed and "ready" before 8 on Wednesday (which was their starting time). They did come to me before noon, and as there was no real problem here, the flushing procedure as such was over in "no time at all"...
... But after they (he) left, for me still remained the job to put things back in place... And as it's rare to have every nook and cranny of the bathroom that empty, I did take advantage of that for a more thorough than usual cleaning of that room before putting "stuff" back. Like behind pipes - of which there are a lot more in reality than in the AI image above... (AI did well with the Wisteria pattern on my shower curtain, though!)
All in all, combined with the remnants of my cold, enough "work" for me to feel rather exhausted afterwards...
... Although it can't really have taken me as long as it felt, because I know I then spent most of the afternoon watching the funeral of the Norwegian King Harald on TV. (I took some photos off my TV screen of that, but out of respect I think I'll put those in a separate post!)
A lingering cold, an unexpectedly thorough bathroom clean and a day of plumbing disruption certainly made for an exhausting couple of days, though at least the drains behaved themselves in the end.
ReplyDeleteI wish our old flats would get regular pressure clearing of drains, far too many have problems which get a "surface" fix, (only at the point of the problem) but not any further pipe clearing is done unless there is "Flowback" which is what happened to me almost two years ago when the main sewer drain was blocked badly and sewage and other waste came up through my floor drain and flooded my bathroom. In spite of that all old pipes which should be getting reamed out or replaced, aren't.
ReplyDeleteSounds nasty, River. So far I've not had worse problems than I've been able to sort out myself. I'm not sure whether this pressure clearing now was a routine procedure for the whole estate or caused by some recent problem in our building.
DeleteWith all the bother, you did well in taking advantage of the almost empty bathroom. I don't doubt that you keep everything in there just as neat, clean and tidy as we get to see your flat occasionally, but thoroughly cleaning the normally "full" or hidden areas is certainly not something you do every week (I know I don't!).
ReplyDeleteGood to read that your cold is slowly getting better. Coughing takes so much strength out of us, doesn't it.
Meike, keeping things in fairly good order on the surface is one thing... Chasing dust in every hidden corner is another! (lol)
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