Bliss at the age of 6.5 is getting access to candy when you want (Halloween)

Fast forward 10X

Bliss at 65 is extracting a broken and collapsed backflow value in the sewer drain in your basement.

I had noticed that the top ring of the backflow value was loose as the brass screws had completely corroded away.

The next time I checked it there was a plop as the ball float fell down the drain into the water in the trap.

Holy mackerel. If the float were to sink or get pushed down the drain it would prove perfect item to collect s*#It / hair and cause a blockage.

Additionally the plastic ring and rubber left over at the top was in no way loose and I had a huge concern that if the pieces fell down the hole they would help jam the float down and a pipe 12 feet below the lawn would be blocked.

My eventual solution was to drill 4 holes around the ring and hook the holes with cut off coat hangers.

I then sawed through the side of the plastic ring to relieve pressure and after I tried to pried the edge of the ring the whole think broke apart and went flying down the hole. Four of the five pieces were caught on the hangers and a smaller part fell through.

I then cut the rubber and pried it up.

I was then able to lower the end of the shop-vac hose down the hole and grab the top of
the float and pull it up.

Then vacuumed out the trap and debris and poured a bucket of clean water in to fill it up.

Just need to install a new backflow value and a sign to check it in 10 years, and paint the floor a bit to keep track of new leaks etc.

Sort of make you wonder what bliss will look like at 95 years old.