bamboozled

It hasn't rained that much in the past week which made it easier to get lazy about.

The vids I saw...they are dunking their heads in it or completely submerged. They come out covered head to toe in excrement water. I don't know how they don't get sick. Or even vomit before getting in the filth making it impossible to proceed. Leaves me rather speechless.

I've seen some videos taken in India/Bangladesh where the folks climb down into the tanks/sewers and scoop them out by hand. Ghastly.

Still on the trail, Neal. I got off track or more to the point got lazy. But it's still on my lengthening to-do list.

RIP Boy. I can still see that smile.

They didn't have the stuff. Tried to sell me something for the septic. Back on the trail today.

I'm not sure if it's separate. But the amount of water that accumulates in the yard in a heavy rain, when it comes down fast, is pretty immense. No way any tank under the house could handle it. I mean, it goes down into that hole in the photograph which is already full. And then eventually empties out into the gutter on the side of the street and goes on it's way into the city sewer system, I suppose. Hmm, so perhaps no matter what pumping I do it's always going to fill up in rainy season. Lots of dirt and debris gets sucked in there with the rain water, too.

As mentioned above, and I guess I didn't know this, the toilet water and shower/sink water should be going in different places. That would suggest the hole in question I'm discussing here is shower/sink water only and not the septic system so that's kind of a plus. It also takes in any debris that flows in there when it rains. That certainly can't help things. Perhaps the stink I sometimes get is not sewage but just whatever is in there rotting away, old food and such. Well, I'm off to by the enzyme and we'll see. Dan, that sounds like something I would let the landlords deal with...if it comes to that. There would be no easy way to dig a hole/put down pipe as this drain seems to run under the house and almost all the footprint of the property is concreted but for a small area around the perimeter. It would not be an easy job.

OK enzyme first and we'll see. On my To Do list tomorrow. It's a rental house so I have no idea what's going on under there. Landlords are hands-off types and we both like it that way so I'll handle it myself if I can. I've been here 6 years or so and the drainage over the years has slowly gotten worse. A big rain usually floods the whole place for a bit and things start to smell a little funky when that happens. Yes, sewage type smell. 100-150 baht to drain it? Wow, might as well do it daily for that price! Thanks for the prices, Arick and Charlie for the prices. Dan O, good call and advice. I could just leave it be, too, but the sewage smell with a big rain kind of has me wondering if things will go down hill thus my getting off my duff.

I can only imagine what is going on down under the house/yard/septic system. Highly doubt it's to "code" and functioning correctly or even installed correctly. Even in dry season, if I dig down two feet, I hit standing water. So in the rainy season it's even worse. I might try with the snake but from having seen how it reacts over the years I don't think it's clogged so much as full. But heck, what do I know, really? Would be a shame if pumping out somehow caused the system to completely fail....like the septic tank collapses. I suppose it happens on really old systems. Well, who knows. Triple thanks to CMBob for the contact info. Will report back! Cheers!

Per request, 1000 words (pic). Can't see much with the water there but it is pretty caked up with debris and small bubbles are arising. Hmm, probably not the healthiest thing, come to think of it. It doesn't smell at the moment but does with a big rain. I will try that additive, Neal, thanks. ...Will look into a grease trap to avoid future problems. Curious...where does the sewage go in a private residence/house? Is it piped away by the city system or is there a septic tank on the property? I'm in a rental so I don't have all the lowdown. And I don't bother the landlords for these types of things (the rent is reasonable and I am willing to take on various upkeep to keep it that way).

It's ok, he's wearing pants.

Good point. But there's a SUCKER born everyday. Hopefully, said sucker BUYS my dirty water.

I'm in Chiang Mai city, folks, just north of the moat. Where would my "local council" be? City hall on the road to Mae Rim?

Thanks all, folks. This particular pipe doesn't take the toilet water but it probably ends up in the same place further down the line. Which might account for the smell when it overflows with big rains. I'm sure the various gunk, oils, and food residue that goes down the kitchen sink is going to foul it up over the years. Sheryl, you're on the money that it's not just the drain pipe from the sink. About a year ago, the big truck came by sucking out all the gutters on the side of the road (surely sent by the city) and he was willing to clean up/suck up the gunk around the perimeter gutter of the yard (for an offering) but he wouldn't suck out this particular pipe. Probably he knows that whatever is in there can't be combined with the stuff he was sucking out of gutters. I'll try and get the neighbors in on it but I don't know the Thai word for "giant truck that sucks gunk out of pipes". Rwill, I'll try and look for junction boxes but just looking into the mouth of this pipe I can see that it's pretty nasty. Not an all out blockage but again, entering rainy season and with my flood-prone yard, I'm sure to have some overflows. Had one a couple days ago and it didn't smell like roses.

Hiya folks, does anyone have info for a service that can come to the house and suck out all the muck that I'm sure has accumulated in an outdoor drainage pipe? Is that a common thing here? This drain is just an open hole in the ground in front of the kitchen window into which the kitchen sink drains. As well as rain water and debris that accumulates in the yard. I assume it empties into the city sewer system....if there is such a thing. Over the years, it has become slower and slower to drain and when it rains now it backs up and smells unpleasant. I'm pretty sure it needs to be serviced. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Cheers and thanks!

I had someone plug my 120 volt amp into a Thai socket and fried something or other. This happened once in Europe, too, where it was fixed and was fine afterward. Wasn't cheap, though, 200 euro if I remember. Here in Chiang Mai, I took it to an electronics guy I know of (fixes anything/everything) and he fixed it very cheaply. However, it now sounds really bad. I don't know why or what was changed but it was a great, very clean, Yamaha amp and now I don't even listen to it because the audio quality is so bad. My point being, try and make sure whoever repairs it uses high-end parts, if that's what's called for.

I've ventured into that big, green, unknown but it's all Greek to me. I'll give it another go, though. How bad could I screw it up?

Thanks! The SCB app has the icon for paying but goes directly to scan mode...no way to input anything. Bangkok Bank app isn't working correctly yet. New account for me.

Hi ChaiyaTH, Could you elaborate on this, please? I have been paying my electric bill by scanning the QR code but it doesn't work with the PWA water bill. And wouldn't work if I was going away and did not have the bill in hand. I am in Chiang Mai if that matters at all.. How might I go about paying these using your method? I have SCB and Bangkok Bank accounts. Thanks for your help! Bam

UJ put up with us for years with style and class. And knowledge, lots of knowledge. He was the go to man here and once he weighed in on a subject you slept better knowing you had received good advice. Condolences and sympathy to the family.

May I ask why the overstay was required?

I've done a couple at Rajavej but I can't recall the price. It's been awhile but I remember not feeling fleeced.

I think Bangkok Hospital has it on their website and last time I looked it was about 17k But that was a few years ago. I think someone told me 15k at the Geriatric hospital but again, that was a few years ago. I could of course give a call and know exactly in about 3 minutes.

In college I knew a girl with a forked uvula. No joke, no reading between the lines, no innuendo., She really had a forked uvula, split in the middle like a snakes tongue. No idea if she has sleep apnea.