Device of the Year Two

Quote of the day:
“Are You Ready to Pay $4 a Gallon?”
--Headline from today’s Los Angeles Times

It turns out that I have three devices I’m impressed with this year. Today’s entry ain’t no iPhone, but it sure is one gratifying little gadget.

The days after Christmas are known as the worst time of year for household plumbing clogs. It makes sense, what with so many people at home so much.

There is more cooking going on for larger numbers of people. And there is a rise in the amount of experimental flushing by young children. Not of young children, but by young children.

Well far be it from us to eschew such an important holiday tradition.

So there I was, plunging and plunging, determined that I could loosen this clog. The longer I was at it the more irrational I became. I had no intention of calling a plumber. And clogs had virtually always responded to my plunging prowess. I was not giving up, thank you very much.

Plunging didn’t work. Clog 1, rubber plumbing device 0.

I know, I know. If YOU had the plunger and were therefore doing it RIGHT, the result would’ve been different. Too bad I didn’t have your phone number. I’d sure like to get you on video trying to free this drain.

On the other hand, if this has happened to you and you have the inspiring courage to admit it, you may have done next what I did.

I thought I’d go to Home Depot and buy an inexpensive snake (known by cognoscenti as an auger). So I went online to research.

I stumbled on the Kleer Drain. It cost $32 and looked like a short pogo stick.

The basic idea is that this thing shoots a very strong burst of air into the drain, pushing the clog out of the way.

Sounded like an interesting idea, so I read comments about it. While I’m always a bit skeptical about online product comments, they were overwhelmingly positive.

My favorite comment was the one where someone complained that the thing just wouldn’t work right. Until he read the instructions and followed them.

I decided to take the plunge. So to speak.

We brought the thing home and I read the instructions a couple times. It seemed simple enough, but I was still skeptical.

Words cannot describe the sense of triumph I felt when I used it and heard the water begin draining away. No clog is going to get the best of me. No sireeee.

The Kleer Drain is a keeper. I put it in a place of respect in our garage.

Sometimes in the face of insurmountable obstacles, life does work out.

Aren’t I philosophical?