I’m still in South Puffin but SWMBO is up North.

“Looks like we have a bigger problem. I was doing a load of laundry and heard funny noise. The first thing I did was open the cellar door and heard water dripping, went and shut off washer, then went downstairs. Water was coming out of the big black pipe. Just tried to flush the toilet and that water is coming out of the big black pipe also. Suggestions?”

Needless to say, that got the phone lines humming.

“Sounds like your sewer pipes didn’t survive the winter,” Rufus opined. “That will be an expensive pain.”

More likely the septic tank has backed up and needs pumping (it’s only been 11 years). Still an expensive pain.

I had trouble with that, though, because the washer is supposed to go to the dry well, not the septic tank. That means she shouldn’t have a leak from the cast iron sewer drain when the washer runs.

She Dropboxed a bunch of pictures to refresh me about what pipes in the cellar connect to where.

Wonderful invention the Internoodle. I can now see exactly where the leak is and can do absolutely nothing about it online.

And rats. The washer goes to the septic tank, not the dry well.

Rufus suggest she take a bucket out to the barn.

She called Drummac. Nice folks. Local. They do line and tank hydroflushing which sounds far more intriguing than running a water hose into a tank, septic pumping and tank cleaning, sludge removal, have water jet services and rent Porta Potties. They should be there right after this appears.

The good news, if there is any, is that one “inspection port” over the tank is still accessible. The tank itself is down 4′. I hope the honey dipper is willing to pump from the front port. Or that they don’t mind digging. The real worry is that the tank isn’t full but that a root has again bent or broken the main leader into the leach field.

Just for the record, one toilet here in South Puffin has a line blockage we can’t find. That leads to an unfortunate tendency to back up in the shower.

2013: the Year of the Poop. I’m gonna have to get up North sooner than later. And I’m sure there will be more to this story.