Home chemistry

H. and I have been battling with my blocked kitchen sink drain today. Washing machine couldn't spin because of this and I couldn't do dishes.

Yesterday I spent two hours with a plunger and £9 on mechanical and chemical unblockers. £8 on a useless 'Harpic Power Jet' (which tries to physically blast through the blockage) and 99p on washing soda (an alkaline compound) from the chemist. Both completely ineffectual. H. dropped by early this morning with Mr Muscle, who turned out to be Mr Flab.

Instead, after an energising walk on Portobello sands, we picked up a sulphuric acid preparation from the plumbers' merchant- 'Dambuster', which eats fats, carbohydrates, proteins and any general muck you care to throw at it. £15 but worth it. When we poured it down the sink, a toxic yellow smoke started pouring out of the plughole and overflow, like a mad professors' party. We had to retreat to the sitting room, evacuate Her Catness and open the stair door to flush the fumes. But the heavy duty stuff worked all right.

Two hours later, the kiddos came home from school. The wee wan quickly mentioned smelling chlorine, and her brother rotten eggs.