We’re going just the two of us. This job is clearly going to take a while. We need to replace the entire drainage system because the client is complaining about its quality. The units have been there for about ten years. They’re old Samsung models. Both outdoor units have the same issue: poor water drainage, and water is overflowing outside. So, we’re packing our bags, pipes, chisels—everything we need for an apocalypse in this particularly sticky dental clinic. There’s still hope for an easier solution, so we’re bringing along a roll of flexible tubing. It’s possible that the siphon hidden inside the wall is preventing water from flowing because air pockets are forming in the supply line.
We arrive. The dentist is all dressed up—white t-shirt, white pants, white shoes, and a white belt. Probably trying to look like a doctor. We listen to his story. Oh, he says that sometimes he pours a cleaning solution into the air conditioning, and it stops leaking. So, the problem definitely isn’t with the drainage since the solution helps. And the issue is probably not with air pockets either. We really don’t want to break down the wall for the client. It’s not drywall; it’s good masonry with plaster, and all the pipes are embedded in it. We call Houston. Houston insists we need to install an air line since we’re already here. We unscrew the blocks and see that there are stalactites or stalagmites—depending on which way you look—on the fan blades and at the bottom of the condensate collection tray.
Thousands of patients’ teeth have been turned to dust, sucked in by the air conditioning and deposited on its surface. It becomes clear that the problem is not with the drainage itself, but with the contents of the drainage. If we install a tube, we will only narrow the pipeline further, when in fact, we just need to regularly flush the pipeline with acid or, at the very least, with a descaling agent for plumbing. Moreover, it’s not just teeth; there are also photopolymer, cyanoacrylate, and composites. After another 20 minutes of discussions, we take photos, gather our things, and leave.