So when we have a plumbing problem around the house, I do what any red-blooded, American husband would do--I get out the "plumber's helper" and a wrench, and I go to work.

Like last week, for example. My wife said that the drain in her bathtub and shower was clogged. She said she was going to call a plumber.

"A plumber!" I wailed. "Do you know how much plumbers charge? I can fix that drain."

"Oh, please," she scolded. "What was that story you told me about the last time you tried to fix the shower?"

Sure, there was that one time--anybody can have bad day. I botched the job so badly that I finally had to call a plumber anyway. And when he arrived, the first thing he said--and with a grin from ear-to-ear, I might add-- "I love it when you guys try to do-it-yourself. This will probably cost you twice as much as it would have if you'd just called me in the first place!"

Why did I have to tell her that story?

"Fine, but this is different," I insisted. "That was the ... the ... the on-off doohickey--this is just a clogged drain. And if it wasn't for your hair ... "

"Don't even go there!" she warned.

"Well, all I'm trying to say is that we don't need a plumber to clear a clogged drain," I explained, backtracking just a bit. "I can do this."

"Right," she said, not at all convinced.

So armed with my arsenal--the plunger, a crescent wrench, pliers and a bottle of something called "Ro-Go Drain Opener," I went to work.

I plunged and I plunged and I plunged some more. The clog wouldn't budge. So I poured half the bottle of Ro-Go down the drain and let it work overnight.

The next morning I figured it should be flowing free. It was still clogged. So I got pretty technical--try to stay with me here. I straightened out a clothes hanger and tried to jam it down the drain (now what plumber would have tried that trick!?). No luck. So I poured in the other half of the bottle of Ro-Go and let it sit overnight again.

It was a process that I would repeat each day over the course of a week. And after three more bottles of Ro-Go, the drain was still clogged.

After a few days, my wife asked, "How's my shower?"

"Uh, still working on it," I mumbled.

"Don't you think it's time to call a plumber?" she asked, almost begging.

"You have to have more confidence in me," I said. "I can fix this."

Strangely enough, I really believed I could. And now, more determined than ever, I attacked the drain once more.

With the Ro-Go sitting in a pool in the drain, I didn't dare plunge anymore for fear of spraying the acidic liquid all over the room. So I went with my very special tool--the hanger. I probed and I pushed and I jabbed the heavy metal wire down the drain, but it was blocked solid. If I didn't know better, I'd swear I was hitting metal. What in heaven's name did this woman get in this drain?

They it hit me. Using all of my plumber's knowledge I tried one more trick--I lifted the lever to the drain stopper. Voila! The drain started running free. Turns out in my plunging frenzy I must have hit the lever and blocked the drain.

"How's my shower?" my wife asked again.

"It's good as new," I bragged, without going into much detail.

"Well, good job," she said. "I should have had more confidence in you. We didn't need to call a plumber after all."

"Thank, God," I thought. How embarrassing would that have been?

"Now that I know that you're such a talented do-it-yourselfer," she bragged, "maybe you can fix the leaky toilet downstairs."

"Oh, I'm sure I could," I said. "But maybe we should just call a plumber."

Want to talk? Give me a call at 408.354.3110, or write to dsparrer@svcn.com.