This A-to-Z post has nothing to do with the dog—unless you count the many times she charged into the bathroom yesterday to lick my friend’s face while he was on the floor with his head under the sink. He tried to fix my pipes but eventually decided we needed a pro. As I write, I am waiting for the truck to arrive.
I searched hard for a G word related to plumbing. Sink, pipes, crescent wrenches, leaks, clogs? Oh, gunk! I’ll explain.
My bathroom sink has been clogged for probably a year or so, draining very slowly. Every now and then I’d pour in half a bottle of Liquid Plumber, the clogs would clear for about a week, and then it would clog up again. Clearly I needed to try something else. One of the tough things about being a widow with no kids and no nearby family is that I don’t know what to do when things go wrong with the house. While the men were learning about tools, pipes, wires and cars, I was learning how to knit, sew, and bake a cake. I’m good with a spatula, but I don’t know what to do with a wrench.
I tried. A couple weeks ago, when the sink no longer drained at all, I got out Sunset’s Basic Plumbing book and followed the directions. I removed the plunger. I got underneath and removed the trap, that loopy piece of plastic right under the sink. When I tilted said trap over a bucket, a big wad of gunk came out. It was made of hair and soap and I don’t know what else, but it had turned into gunk. It made a big plopping sound. Oh, I felt so clever.
Now came the tricky part, putting the trap and the plunger back on. I did it, and the sink drained freely–onto the floor under the sink. I took it all apart again. When I went to put it back together, I discovered the pipe behind the trap was badly corroded. “Toast,” is what my friend called it. He tried to take the corroded pipe off, failed, and now I can’t use the sink at all. Blame it all on gunk.
The gunk from the sink, though made of different substances, looks an awful like the gunk I cleaned out of my gutter a few weeks ago. Smells like it too. That gunk is made of weeds, pine needles, and mud. They’re both disgusting. Webster’s defines gunk as “filthy, stinky or greasy” matter. Yes, yes, and yes. I would much rather bake a cake.
G could stand for gutter or green or grass or growling (back to the dog), but today it stands for Gunk.
I’m participating in this month’s A to Z blogging challenge, and G stands for Gunk. My alphabetical posts are distributed among my various blogs. Here is the schedule:
A Newsletter–A is for AnnieB Childless by Marriage–B is for Baby
C Unleashed in Oregon–C is for Crate
D Writer Aid–D is for Deadline
E Unleashed in Oregon–E is for Ear
F Unleashed in Oregon
G Unleashed in Oregon
H Childless by Marriage
I Unleashed in Oregon
J Writer Aid
K Unleashed in Oregon
L Unleashed in Oregon
M Unleashed in Oregon
N Childless by Marriage
O Unleashed in Oregon
P Writer Aid
Q Unleashed in Oregon
R Unleashed in Oregon
S Unleashed in Oregon
T Childless by Marriage
U Unleashed in Oregon
W Writer Aid
X Unleashed in Oregon
Y Unleashed in Oregon
Z Unleashed in Oregon
More than 2000 other bloggers have signed up for the challenge. For more information, visit a-to-zchallenge.com You might find some great new blogs to follow. I know I will. Visit Childless by Marriage tomorrow to find out what H stands for.
Unleashed in Oregon 
Oh my word, if I had nickel for every ounce of gunk I've fished out well….
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Good for you for trying to fix your problem and finding the gunk! I'm sure I would have immediately called the plumber, but I did have another friend online who googled and found out how to fix her heater. I stand in awe of you and her for the willingness to work on house projects and repairs like this.
betty
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I'm ok on basic plumbing – just don't want anything that turns out to be more complicated and needs five trips to the hardware store!
Gunk was a brand of industrial handcleaner used for really greasy hands once!
Jemima
#Team Damyanti
Blogging from Alpha to Zulu in April
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*shudders* Nasty. I wish things wouldn't wear out so we could just focus on living, eh. Way to go, getting under there and working to fix it yourself. I'm a total do-it-youselfer, unless it has to do with a computer, because then something could end up broken. Good thing I've got a few techies at my fingertips. (But maybe that's why I have no patience with electronics.)
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I remember Gunk, the hand-cleaner. I might even have some in my garage somewhere. I'm going to be keeping my household repairs pretty basic. I applaud you who can do your own.
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