Cleaning the drain for the first time

I give our bathrooms a wet wash at least once a week, down from three times a week when we had a helper. Yup, not my favourite chore! But I do spot cleaning all the time, and the kids' bathroom often get more wet washes thanks to boys being boys.

Anyway, I keep a trusty Ikea squeegee in each bathroom to sweep water down the drains. Each bathroom has two drains: one in the shower area and one under the basin cabinet. 

Recently, water pooled over the drain under the basin in my bathroom. Uh oh, blocked :( If you discount all the cleaning I had to do after helper left, this was my first challenge. 

That day, I really didn't feel up to clearing the blockage, as I was still tired from the latest kiddy COVID infections. So I swept the water into the bathroom drain instead. 

The next day, I pulled up my sleeves and found three layers in the drain cover. I cleared out the top two layers. 

Wipe debris off the top and lift up with the nail of my thumb

The shadows are due to the cabinet right above the drain. Mental note to self: for next house, don't build a cabinet above a drain if possible; else, no cabinet.

Another job for my poor nail; should have grabbed a screwdriver

Brought the second cover to scrub and wash at the yard where I keep a "dirty" cleaning brush. Not too gross considering it was probably rarely/never washed in four years!

But I stopped at the third layer. To be honest, I was scared.

😱

What if I uncovered very gross stuff? I mean, I had cleaned poopy bums with my bare hands but this is a different kind of gross....

Especially when I can't see the opening, which faces inward

It took me three days before I finally got down to it. What would I find??

Just this! It's all clean here coz else it's just too gross to show :p

Turned out there was quite a bit of wet dust bits stuck to the flap so it couldn't open freely to let water through. Nothing a good scrub couldn't solve, thankfully.

The drain hole is all black - I tried to not look far; just wipe the rim with a paper towel and close it!

I tell you - I felt invincible after that, haha!

But no, I don't wish for greater challenges, especially those involving living things!