We didn’t have a functioning kitchen for 113 days, so when it was finally back (and even better than before) we were thrilled to cook. To celebrate, we invited a few chef friends over. While chatting and catching up, the four of us quickly made a simple veggie hummus to snack on while preparing the main dish: a flavorful Thai-style curry with chicken and vegetables served over jasmine rice. It tasted amazing.
But between the appetizer and the main course our kitchen staged a little rebellion: both sides of the sink stopped draining. We also discovered the dishwasher holding a few inches of standing, dirty water. In short, we had a full clog.
We went ahead with dinner anyway—no sink, no problem—and it was a great evening. The next day we spent about four hours dismantling pipes, snaking the drain, and breaking apart the compacted mass of vegetable scraps that had caused the backup. The offending wad included a lot of zucchini, and after that experience we joked we might never eat zucchini the same way again.
One practical tip that worked: boiling water. We poured gallon after gallon of near-boiling water down the drain, and on about the fifth or sixth pour the clog finally came apart. The water surged down like a mini tornado—definitely a satisfying moment of victory.
We also learned an important lesson about garbage disposals: the disposal needs to be running when you send scraps down the drain. If it’s off, food can slip past without being chopped and then lodge further down the pipes, where it can congeal into a nasty blockage.
Now, with drain-snaking added to our household skill set, we feel better prepared for future kitchen mishaps. And that unforgettable dinner—clog and all—reminded us that good food and good company are worth a little extra work.