I’ve got tree roots in my main line. Anybody know a good plumber?

I discovered them one Saturday morning when in the process of doing laundry in the basement I could smell something foul in the bathroom in the upstairs’ master bedroom. I identified it right away - sewage.

There is nothing that could ruin a perfectly good weekend like backed up pipes. I ran down the stairs and when I stepped on the carpet it sounded like I was walking in a swamp, that slushy, mushy, water sound; oh my.

When I looked in the garage there it was, water pooling around the main drain.

I needed a plumber, and fast. I called a friend and he recommended a friend, someone who had helped him in the past. I made the call and waited for help.

The orange van pulled in to my driveway and the plumber, a tall drink of water came to the rescue.

If there is one thing that makes a woman happy it’s a plumber that really knows what he is doing. This guy made me happy. Not only was he easy on the eyes but he fixed the problem and didn’t break the bank. He did warn though that roots are a big problem and if I don't kill the roots in the line it could run me me upwards of $3,000 to dig up the galvanized pipes and replace them with PVC pipe. Yikes! 

When I got this house, all the men in my life, friends and my brother warned me that things would go wrong. They all said that either I was gonna learn how to fix stuff or pay out the nose for someone else to fix it. Lately it has been the latter. I need a homeowner’s course in fix’n stuff because since I been in my new house I have shelled out a fortune in repairs and maintenance and I’ve only been here two months. And believe it or not this is a really nice house.

When I was a girl I used to love to watch my dad fix things around the house. I learned a lot from watching him, and he could do any thing. He was the guy in the neighborhood that everyone would call to fix the washing machine, rebuild the cabinets, anything.

At my last house I was always the one who fixed things. My husband was not the fix’n type. Toilet’s running, I would fix it. Garbage disposal stopped working, I would fix it. Cabinets needed refinishing, I would do that too. So I figured I could handle anything that might go wrong here. WRONG.

Major plumbing problems are no joke. I can’t handle those scary looking motorize snake machine thingies. Pipes clog and I’m at a loss.

Remember though, I did say that the plumber is a tall drink of water, for all you guys who don’t know what that means .. He is easy on the eyes, and a nice guy too. So, maybe, just maybe, I was meant to have this problem with the pipes so I could meet this guy.

Since the first foul smells, he’s been back twice, once to check on another clog in the pipes and then he came back to repair a leaky valve. He did that one for free. Hmmm. You know what, I think I like this plumber. He’s quite a handy guy to have around.

I think he was flirting with me too.

The problem now is that the pipes are working just fine. I was thinking, maybe a big wad of balled up paper towels in the toilet might fix that.