About Me

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My interests include veganism and vegetarianism, health, ethics, politics and culture, media, and the environment. I have three kids; I teach college part-time, study piano and attempt to garden. I knit. I blog on just about anything, but many posts are related to my somewhat pathetic quest to eat better, be more mindful of the environment, and be a more responsible news consumer. Sometimes I write about parenting, but, like so many Mommy bloggers, my kids have recently told me not to. :) Thanks for reading.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Craptastic

I came home today to find the toilet clogged. While theorists of stress would likely put this is the category of "occasional hassles," in my house this event occurs with such frequency that it belongs in the category of "chronic stress."

So, off I went to find the GOOD plunger (we have two; why we keep the ineffective one is beyond me). I found it and took care of the problem.

Now, I realize some of you are expecting me to connect this to my vegan diet. Must be all that fiber I'm feeding the kids. All those fruits and vegetables, quinoa, raw nuts, and soy protein. Did you forget that they aren't the ones eating a vegan diet? Well...the toilet clogging, while a constant problem, is not caused by me. Sorry, no connection to the diet. But I'll admit, it made me laugh to think that it could have been.

My kids, no matter how often I've instructed them, consistently fail to use a reasonable amount of TP. That, coupled with "energy-efficient" toilets, leads to chronic toilet overflow.

Lovely.

I've posted a notice in the bathroom that causing the toilet to clog costs $3. So far, I'm unable to collect because it's NEVER anybody's fault. Of course. Who would want to admit it??!!

I'm about to make 'acceptable' piles of TP and require the kids to ask for said pile before using the facilities.

Or maybe I just have to wait until they grow up...

2 comments:

  1. Even a modern low-flush toilet shouldn't clog so often just from too much toilet paper use. There's probably something fundamentally wrong with the design of the innards of that particular toilet.
    Our highest-use toilet clogs a couple times a year and when it does it's generally from more of the long-term build-up than from a single "load" that's too big. For that reason, a simple plunger doesn't work, as we found out two times ago, when we called redi-rooter after making a little mess into a huge mess. He had to run over to Home Depot to buy a toilet auger, which worked just about instantly. So the day after, I went to Home Depot and bought a 6-foot toilet auger, which sat in my downstairs closet until a few days ago, when the toilet clogged again. The auger took care of it right away. The thing costs about $60, less than a single visit from a plumber. I highly recommend getting one. :)
    -- Joel

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  2. We have an entirely different problem here. I now am charging our 10 year old $1 every time I find #2 in the toilet and no t.p. This is his trademark.

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Politeness is always appreciated.