You never realize how much water a person uses until you can’t drain any of that water. I’ve had to cope with no running water before, but it’s an entirely different ball of wax when you have plenty of running water but you can’t easily drain the water.

Our main drain backed up last week and manifested itself on the bathroom floor. At first it was just backing up and seeping out of the toilet (I believe the wax ring failed) when too much water drained at once (like taking a shower). But by Sunday morning it had completely clogged, water was backing up in the basement tub and floor drain, the toilet was leaking and no water would drain. So we couldn’t allow any water to drain anywhere in the house or we’d risk flooding the basement.

Try brushing your teeth, shaving, taking a shower and going to the bathroom without being able to drain any water. Not an easy task. Nevermind that you can’t run the dishwasher or wash your clothes. Or do something as simple as empty a glass of water in the sink. It’s amazing how much water we actually use, and how much more of it is completely wasted as it goes down the drain.

Thankfully the Roto-Rooter man saved the day, and for only $250. I still need to get the basement toilet fixed, but that’s going to require a higher caliber plumber (the Roto-Rooter man lamented that he only does ‘light plumbing’ while staring at the broken flange that the toilet sits on. My only thought was that I do ‘flush the toilet plumbing,’ so I’m really screwed.).