Bellows Plumbing, Heating & Sewer

Drain Clogs & Stoppages

Where Do You Spend Your Time?

Friday 4/2/2010

How much of your life do you spend on the toilet? Obviously, unless you keep very accurate records, you’ll never know for sure (and people may start to talk about you if you carry a little binder around and keep diligent notes on your bathroom habits).  It’s actually been estimated that the average person spends around three years* of his or her life on the potty.  That’s a little unsettling, isn’t it?  You’d probably better make the most of every minute you’re there. Here’s a bit of trivia to help you pass a bit of that time – terms that we’ve used for the bathroom through the years and through the world…

Backhouse (17th Century England)
Bagnio (during the Ottoman Empire, also term used for a house of prostitution, isn’t that interesting…)
Balnea (Ancient Roman bath houses)
Bathroom
Bog (England)
Can
Crapper (although Thomas Crapper was an established plumber in 19th century England, he did not invent the toilet, and even this term actually predates him*)
Comfort Room
Commode
CR – short for Comfort Room (Phillipines)
Dunny (Australia)
Facilities
Head (Royal Navy, US Navy, US Marine Corps)
House of Ease (17th Century England)
House of Office (17th Century England)
Khazi (Liverpool, England / old cockney term)
Jacks (Ireland)
Jakes (Tudor England circa 1530)
John
Johnny
Johnny House
Ladies’ Room
Latrine (US Army & Air Force)
Lavatory or Lav
Little Boys’ or Little Girls’ Room
Little House (17th Century England)
Loo
Mens’ or Womens’ Room
Netty (Northern England)
Powder Room
Privy (North England & Ireland)
Restroom
Shithouse
Shitter
Toilet
Urination Station (corny, I know)
Vin (English Upper Class)
Washroom
Water Closet
WC – short for Water Closet (various, including Mexico, France, Germany & The Netherlands)

*No references are provided because this data was collected from a myriad of unreliable and possibly a few less than reputable sources. It is also minutely possible that I just made some of it up, so it would probably be ill-advised to quote any of this as actual fact…just so ya know.

Posted: by Amy Jansen
Tags: Fixtures, Plumbing Humor

Unclogging a stuck drain, give it a try on your own.

Monday, 7/20/2009 by jason schlunt

Are you like me? You like to try things yourself before calling in the experts. If so then it is possible to unclog minor sink and tub stoppages by yourself. Now I have to say none of these methods are guaranteed to work, but besides a little water in the face they won't do much harm if they fail.

The first thing to check is the pop up. You may be able to lift the stopper from the drain. If the stopper won’t lift out, that means it’s connected to the pivot rod. If you go behind the sink, you’ll see where the pivot rod and pop-up mechanism screw together. Unscrew this connection and remove the stopper.

Sometimes unclogging a sink or tub stoppage can be as simple as hitting the stoppage with a plunger. First you'll need to seal of any areas that air might escape, you want the force of plunger to hit the stoppage, not escape through the overflow. Use a wet rag and plug of the overflow or the side sink. Fill the sink so that the water level is above the rubber part of the plunger. Using the plunger, just as you would to unstop a toilet, hit the clog with all you got.

I recommend staying away from things like Drano or any of the acids. Not only can they be harmful to your health but they do more harm to your plumbing system and environment than good. Every year we come out to a house where the client has done thousands of dollars worth of damage to their plumbing system, either ruining the glues and plastics of their sewer line, or completely ruined their septic tank. My advice, try the methods above, and if all else fails call in a plumber.

Posted: by Jason S
Tags: Drain Clogs, DIY