Q: Can someone shove a tennis ball down a shower drain? A: Apparently so.
Let me back up. One of the more popular boasts on the internet is the COVID-19 home project. Here's how I spent my quarantine time! "Before" picture: a basement that looks like the bombed ruins from World War II. "After" picture: finished basement with pool and bowling alley.
Those aren't my pictures, of course. My project: unstopping a shower drain. "Before" picture: standing water that took so long to drain you could binge the entire "Game of Thrones" series. "After" picture: well, let me tell you a story.
The last time I needed to unstop a drain I used a Miracle Wonder Gunk Wand, or whatever it was called. How it was supposed to work: Jam it down the drain, turn it and it routs the pipe as clean as a newborn's esophagus. How it actually worked: It went 6 inches down the drain and snapped in two. Lucky for me, it came in packs of two, so I had another one to use now.
First step: Remove the drain cover. It was held in place by two screws, the first of which was ruined on contact. Picture someone plunging an electric eggbeater into melted ice cream. What conversation did they have at the company before they made this cheap stuff?
"Hey, boss, what kind of metal should we use for the screw?"
"Hmm. Well, how much would we save if we used cheap metal that stripped the moment you turned the screwdriver?"
"Enough to send the entire executive team to Vegas for a week."