When something goes wrong with the plumbing in your home it can sometimes be an emergency that needs fixing straight away before the situation gets any worse. Calling out a 24-hour plumber is something many of us need to do when disaster strikes, especially if one of these chilling plumbing horror stories chimes with your own experience in some way.
Nowhere to go
Blockages can sometimes create some horrific scenarios involving raw sewage that threatens to infiltrate your home if action isn’t taken quickly.
One story recounted online is of a business where a child’s toy was flushed down the toilet and caused the sewer line to back up. Luckily, the emergency plumber managed to free the blockage with some serious jetting and digging just before the property was flooded with raw sewage.
Don’t move
A burst pipe can cause serious water damage to your property and one homeowner was definitely relieved to see the plumber turn up to fix the problem. The property owner had been holding his hand over the pipe for more than two hours and directing the escaping water into the sink. He was no doubt highly relieved when help arrived and he could move away from the pipe at last.
A loud hissing sound explained
A small leak in the customer’s living room didn’t send much warning of the horror that greeted the plumber when he cut into the ceiling to expose the pipework. Dozens of snakes were discovered in the pipework and wriggled their way to freedom through the ceiling, which must have been a scary experience for the poor plumber who answered the call for help.
Getting to the root of the problem
Tree roots are renowned for causing damage to property but it is rare for a toilet to be infiltrated. The customer complained that the toilet seat was unstable and shook when he sat on it. Removing the toilet led to the discovery of tree roots pushing it up from the ground.
No way to turn off the flow
The obvious thing to do when you have a burst pipe is to find the main shut-off valve and turn off the flow of water escaping. However, what do you do when the main valve is broken and there is no way to stop the water from continuing to flow?
The plumber who witnessed this scenario had to get city officials to shut down the main water line to the property.
An unlikely raccoon story
Rodents can damage pipes and property when they chew their way through parts of your property but it is highly unusual to hear of an animal the size of a raccoon causing a plumbing problem.
One plumber discovered that a dead raccoon had clogged the drain of a property and that was why the toilet had become clogged.
Brown water is never a good sign
One family was puzzled as to why their water was coming out brown from the taps. A very unpleasant discovery made by the plumber showed that a DIY water softener installation had inadvertently connected the main drain so that fecal matter was contaminating the water. Brown water coming out of the taps is not something you ever want to see in your home.
These are just a few of the plumbing horror stories that often get shared when these professionals get the chance to talk about some of their more challenging callouts.
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