Okay. Well.
I'll say that this story at least starts off well.
After I poured the Drano Max Gel into the drain in the cat room, I let it sit for an hour or so. When I went back down there, the drain had emptied and dried out. I filled my 10-quart bucket with hot water, and poured it down that drain. It drained really smoothly and quickly. Hm. Okay. Maybe that took care of the rest of the clog, I thought. I started the washer again.
It didn't get halfway through the drain cycle before it gurgled and bubbled up through both drains like crazy -- and this time, under the washer, it was kicking up all sorts of gunk from the drain in the bathroom as well. Fuck. Double-fuck, because I don't exactly know what this means. My first thoughts were that the clogging was kicked further down the line to exactly where the washer drains, which would explain all of the gunk from the bathroom drain coming up under there. A further thought after that was that at least it seemed to be moving somewhat, and that I was correct in my first assumption that drainage water from upstairs (where I've not run any water today) will hit the drain in the cat room before it hits the drain under the washer -- and that the drain field must be out of the front of the house and not the back if it's moving the clog(s) along and it's all coming up through the drain under the washer. That may mean it's clogged in two places, or just one big clog somewhere in one.
I assessed the situation. I have two bottles of foamer left, half a bottle of Max Gel, an entire bottle of bleach (which, let's be honest, is basically what most drain cleaners consist of) and an entire bottle of vinegar/huge box of baking soda. The clog(s) are being moved, or at least are being partially broken up by the stuff I've put down the drains thus far, and I have enough stuff left to try to wash them the rest of the way out. This is good. This is a plus, even if it looks sort of shitty right now. Phase two is over. This is where I enter phase three. This is what phase three consists of:
1. First and foremost, flush the drain under the washer with hot water and a good amount of bleach once it's dried up and drained completely. That should get any remnants of the clogged gunk from the cat room moving further through the pipes, and the added bleach will help whatever's left of the previous Max Gel and foamer move through the pipes and keep working as well.
2. Put a foamer down the drain in the cat room after the water from the front drain under the washer has completely drained out and dried up, and has moved everything else down through those pipes more, to kick out anything that's left, then flush that drain with more hot water as well after the appropriate amount of time has passed.
3. Let the load of towels finish and drain, even if I have to keep stopping it and it keeps backing up, so that they can be dried and used again if it overflows more. I have no clean towels in the house anymore, not even dish towels. Again, this will also get more water moving through the drains, and hopefully will continue to kick that clog out with the added bleach and foamer.
As I told Daisy when I updated her on my progress, this is more of a trial-and-error process than anything else. Kick the clog(s) down the drains further and further until they/it either breaks up or is flushed out, by any means necessary. If it takes a while, oh well, it takes a while. Can't do much about that. If I have to go purchase another $30 of plumbing supplies, then I'll have to as long as they keep working. Right now, I'm doing all I can do myself, slowly, and am doing my best to get this stuff unclogged and moving. I'd like to save at least part of the bottle of the Max Gel to run down through the shower as well, to get anything in those pipes and to use the draining shower to my advantage, if necessary, but that would be the very last thing I'd do after I'm sure the drains are (mostly) clear.
So, that being said, let's start phase three...
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