Plumbers deal with clogged toilets, dirty sinks, and foul-smelling pipes and…poop. But there’s more. There are some plumbers who’ve encountered the nastiest situations. So, here are some stories about some of the most disgusting and disturbing plumbing disasters encountered by plumbers.
From Tony Miller:
“I was working out of hours for the local housing authority when I received a call to go to a leak in the wilds of Norfolk late at about 11.30pm. When I arrived, I went in and it was an old couple. He took me upstairs to show me where the leak was.
“The attic door was open and the ladder was down ready. He explained that he was going to the bathroom when the drip hit him just outside, but he couldn’t find where it was coming from.
“And then as we’re stood there, it got him again! I looked around and could see nothing. There were no water marks on the ceiling, so common sense says check the attic space. So up I went, checked all over the space under the insulation – not even a water pipe up there.
“It certainly was bit of a mystery. So down I go to explain it can’t be there as there’s no plumbing up there and he scratches his head as puzzled as me. Finally I told him that I’d go up and check again for peace of mind. I got almost to the top of the steps as he said: “It’s done it again!” as I turned to look at him and this time I saw it…
I burst out laughing but he still looked puzzled. I had to tell him. I said: “See that shelf up there?” He looked up as I pointed at what the problem was. “That white thing on the shelf is the culprit.” And he just replied: “But the Mrs only bought it today and put it up there.”
It was an automatic air freshener with a sensor. Every time he went to the loo he would set it off…”
From Redditor:
“I’ve told this story whenever people tell me, “Plumber? I couldn’t deal with human sh*t!” Dude, you think sh*t is bad? Try hair.
My boss and I once went on a service call to this summer house. Sweet old lady answers the door, and tells us that her upstairs shower drain is clogged. We get up there and there’s about 2 inches of standing water in the shower. We ask how long this had been happening, and she says 8 MONTHS. So we grab our automatic lav snake (for snaking out sinks, shower drains, small pipes) and the thing actually burns out. So we grab the big closet snake (for toilets and the like) and it gets it, and we both pull up on it together.
The f*cking monstrosity we pulled out of that shower drain was approximately the size of a decently big otter. And if you think that’s bad, the smell. THE F*CKING SMELL. It is by far the worst smell that I think has ever existed. As soon as we cleared the drain, both my boss and I starting violently vomiting all over the room.
The old lady comes in to see what’s wrong, and that demonic scent takes hold. She’s going full f*cking exorcist all over the sink and mirror. This lady is sobbing, crawling out of the room, so we grab her and drag her out.
So we’re all just laying there, the lady is crying, my boss is still dry heaving, and I feel like I’ve been violated in every orifice I have. She ended up making us hot chocolate and letting us shower in her downstairs shower. We didn’t go back into that room for 2 1/2 hours, and not without masks. So next time you think sh*t is gross, just be happy it isn’t eight months of clogged hair.”
