How many ways are there to clean out a pipe? One way is to take a long object that is narrower than the pipe and push it down through until it pushes the gunk out the other end. This is the method I use if something is stuck in the hose of my vacuum cleaner. Of course, I have to hold the hose straight in order for it to work and the hose is longer than I am tall. So I have to stand on a chair.
Then I turn to wiggling or shaking the hose, which is another method. Sometimes this will dislodge the hairy mess that has accumulated in the hose. I might bang it against the edge of a table to try to shock the stuff loose.
When the pipe is rigid and has curves in it, you need a snake willing to dive in while you hold its tail. No, really. A snake is an instrument used by plumbers that is flexible so you can use it to wind around inside a pipe to reach clogs that are around the bends. Then you get to pull it back out which is really disgusting but it does often do the job.
Another thing you can do is blow water or air into a pipe. This is the principle behind a plunger. When you get a chunk of strawberry in your straw while sipping a strawberry malt, you can blow it out. This is also how someone discovered what fun it is to blow bubbles in beverages. My husband uses a machine to blow air into our automatic sprinkler system to get the water out before the winter freeze. He clears out downspouts by running water through it with the garden hose.
I suppose you may wonder why I am wondering about ways to clean pipes. This morning, I was pondering a problem that a person I care about is having and I was torn over whether to help her when I would have to neglect some of my other responsibilities to do so. I knew she was in deep distress and I felt awful. Just as I was thinking and praying about this, the phone rang and it was my friend, Carol. She asked me how I was doing and I gave her an earful. She calmly told me what God was telling her to tell me. I knew that this was the real deal. I thanked her and was able to go on to the rest of my day with peace about the situation.
This is what made me think about pipes. I thought, “How is it that the channel between Carol and God is so clear while mine feels like it has gobs of hairballs in it?” I think I will just keep hangong around Carol until I figure out how she cleans her pipes.