# Whats the worst job u had to do?



## Roscoe (Apr 18, 2011)

I went to install a upright gas stove and had to walk out . This guy stunk so bad
His kitchen & laundry was covered in **** 
(literally) pigs wouldn't live here.


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## easttexasplumb (Oct 13, 2010)

Did you offer any help to him, or just take a picture, and talk  behind his back. We have all been to houses like that, and met people like that gentleman, I treat them just like I would anyone else, and help any way I can.


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

Roscoe said:


> I went to install a upright gas stove and had to walk out . This guy stunk so bad
> His kitchen & laundry was covered in ****
> (literally) pigs wouldn't live here.



*Hello! Introduction Requested* 

An intro is requested from all new members. In case you missed it, here is the link. http://www.plumbingzone.com/f3/.

The PZ is for Plumbing Professionals ( those engaged in the plumbing profession)

Post an intro and tell our members where you are from, yrs in the trade, and your area(s) of expertise in the plumbing field.

This info helps members who are waiting to welcome you to the best plumbing site there is.

We look forward to your valuable input.

:thumbsup:


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

Widdershins said:


> ...*Hello! Introduction Requested*...


Strike 2....


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## user2090 (Sep 26, 2009)

plbgbiz said:


> Strike 2....




I think it goes Steeeeeeeeeerike Twooooooo!!!


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## Plumberman (Jul 7, 2008)

Lol


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## U666A (Dec 11, 2010)

Widdershins said:


> Hello! Introduction Requested
> 
> An intro is requested from all new members. In case you missed it, here is the link. http://www.plumbingzone.com/f3/.
> 
> ...


Maybe we can talk Airgap and the boys into giving you an honorary white hat, WS.

You nominated me... I'll return the favor...

WIDDWESHINS FOR PRES!!!


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## Roscoe (Apr 18, 2011)

plbgbiz said:


> Strike 2....


.....


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

That house looks like a real mess. There have been a few over the years that we have walked away from. Sometimes it's just not worth it. In those situations, the current plumbing issue is the least of the problems.


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## 504Plumber (Jan 26, 2011)

I've been in houses way worse than that one. But like I had to tell someone recently, when you go into someone's house, it is their house and you have to respect their belongings. If you can deal with raw sewerage certainly you could have delt with a little mess around. Hell, we used to work at a guys house that had a free-roaming duck in his house, worked there for years and not once walked away from it.

Sure, it's nasty but I bet your house looks like you have a live in butler right?


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

U666A said:


> Maybe we can talk Airgap and the boys into giving you an honorary white hat, WS.
> 
> You nominated me... I'll return the favor...
> 
> WIDDWESHINS FOR PRES!!!


 I'm pretty sure 2 banishment's in less than 2 months precludes inclusion in the White Hat Club, Dark Prince


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

I am not speaking of clutter, or even a hoarding situation. My reference was to filth. Here's a short list of what I have seen over the years:

A specific corner of the kitchen was the designated litter box.

The bathtub half full of human excrement because the water had been off for quite some time and the toilet was already full.

Turned on a kitchen faucet and roaches boiled out of the drain like a sci-fi flick from the 50's.

Human poo (no small amount) rubbed into the carpet in a bathroom and hallway.


As a plumber I have seen and worked in a lot of crap. So even though I'm far from a prima-donna, I do have limits for what I will send my employees into.


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## U666A (Dec 11, 2010)

Widdershins said:


> I'm pretty sure 2 banishment's in less than 2 months precludes inclusion in the White Hat Club, Dark Prince


:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:


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## 504Plumber (Jan 26, 2011)

plbgbiz said:


> I am not speaking of clutter, or even a hoarding situation. My reference was to filth. Here's a short list of what I have seen over the years:
> 
> A specific corner of the kitchen was the designated litter box.
> 
> ...


I agree with you on that, but some houses really aren't that bad and people make them out to be worse than the chimp cage at the zoo; the OP.


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

504Plumber said:


> I agree with you on that, but some houses really aren't that bad and people make them out to be worse than the chimp cage at the zoo; the OP.



True, some people have a low tolerance for stacks of old news papers and dirty dishes. That said, I'll give the benefit of the doubt to Roscoe the OP since he saw (or smelled) it first hand. All we saw were a couple of photos.


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

I love working in homes like that, the home owner doesn't mind if I don't use my little blue booties...:laughing:.

As long as I'm being paid, I'll breathe through my mouth, not my nose while I'm there. (so I don't smell the stench, just taste it):laughing:


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

plbgbiz said:


> True, some people have a low tolerance for stacks of old news papers and dirty dishes. That said, I'll give the benefit of the doubt to Roscoe the OP since he saw (or smelled) it first hand. All we saw were a couple of photos.


 



On a serious note, I'd rather work in the filthy nasty house of a non-smoker as opposed to a 'cleaner' home where the owner is a heavy smoker. I really detest cigarette smoke...


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## Optimus Primer (May 20, 2009)

Tommy plumber said:


> On a serious note, I'd rather work in the filthy nasty house of a non-smoker as opposed to a 'cleaner' home where the owner is a heavy smoker. I really detest cigarette smoke...


yeah no doubt. I had to change a heater that was in this guys house, get this. The heater started leaking the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I went there the following Monday to change it out. He had the water off that whole time. Not only did he smoke one right after another ( I'm serious) he had water at least an inch above his carpet through out the house. When I rolled the 2 wheeled cart out there were little waves coming off the wheels. I took at least a 45 minute shower that night just to get the smoke smell off me.

I wont let anybody smoke in my work truck either


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## 504Plumber (Jan 26, 2011)

house plumber said:


> yeah no doubt. I had to change a heater that was in this guys house, get this. The heater started leaking the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I went there the following Monday to change it out. He had the water off that whole time. Not only did he smoke one right after another ( I'm serious) he had water at least an inch above his carpet through out the house. When I rolled the 2 wheeled cart out there were little waves coming off the wheels. I took at least a 45 minute shower that night just to get the smoke smell off me.
> 
> I wont let anybody smoke in my work truck either


I used to smoke, wife wouldn't let me smoke in the house thankfully. I started dipping Almost a year ago and now I can't stand the smell of a cig


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## Optimus Primer (May 20, 2009)

504Plumber said:


> I used to smoke, wife wouldn't let me smoke in the house thankfully. I started dipping Almost a year ago and now I can't stand the smell of a cig


I've hated cigs from the day I was born. I'm one of the few that can say they never smoked one. Not even a hit or drag or whatever you want to call it


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## 504Plumber (Jan 26, 2011)

house plumber said:


> I've hated cigs from the day I was born. I'm one of the few that can say they never smoked one. Not even a hit or drag or whatever you want to call it


And there was my crutch, 16 Years of second hand 2 packs a day from my parents and ~9 years first hand from myself.


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## hroark2112 (Apr 16, 2011)

house plumber said:


> I've hated cigs from the day I was born. I'm one of the few that can say they never smoked one. Not even a hit or drag or whatever you want to call it


Same here. Never had one in my mouth.

One of the worst condos I ever repiped had yellow popcorn ceilings. The other 51 units had white popcorn ceilings. The unit owner had lived there for 30+ years and had chain smoked the entire time. I felt like I needed a nicotine patch after cutting out the ceiling!


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## wundumguy (Apr 3, 2010)

The worst job I've ever done is always the last work order I got for a Chinese Restaurant... it makes one really appreciate the cleanliness of a fast food chain.


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## red_devil (Mar 23, 2011)

I agree with above comment ^^^. I've worked in alot of micky d's in the area, and most are kept very clean. I worked in 3 oriental restaurants, one i was stepping over dead rats and mice running around like crazy and the other i fixed a buried heating line under the slab to find it was eaten by grease from the wok drain that was just piped into the floor, no drain for along way. Last one had a urinal leaking for months into the kitchen and when I went in had chicken and fish thawing together in a sink, not wrapped up or anything over night. And of course, mice are present in the mall.

But we can't sterotype them all like that. i've seen one place were a guy dropped an olive, picked it up and tossed it back into the salad. Anothr place I was working cracked an egg and a chick head came out lol. That was just funny, discarded but neat.:laughing:


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## 89plumbum (May 14, 2011)

red_devil said:


> I agree with above comment ^^^. I've worked in alot of micky d's in the area, and most are kept very clean. I worked in 3 oriental restaurants, one i was stepping over dead rats and mice running around like crazy and the other i fixed a buried heating line under the slab to find it was eaten by grease from the wok drain that was just piped into the floor, no drain for along way. Last one had a urinal leaking for months into the kitchen and when I went in had chicken and fish thawing together in a sink, not wrapped up or anything over night. And of course, mice are present in the mall.
> 
> But we can't sterotype them all like that. i've seen one place were a guy dropped an olive, picked it up and tossed it back into the salad. Anothr place I was working cracked an egg and a chick head came out lol. That was just funny, discarded but neat.:laughing:


My Dad went to an oriental buffet to unclog a drain. As he was walking by the water heater/ utility room there was a huge pile of rice on the floor. Guy was washing it with a hose and tossing it with a flat shovel letting water go down floor drain. Dad walked straight to managers office and said I'm calling channel 9! He's says " no, no, no, prease dont do dat, I take care of pwoblem wite now!" Dad said, you better.:laughing:


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## drain surgeon (Jun 17, 2010)

Had to replace a kit. faucet and there was stuff growing inside the cabinet. Some people are just plain NASTY. Did a bathroom remod for a guy in a wheelchair. He had 2 little dogs that he just let piss and crap all through the house.


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## OldSchool (Jan 30, 2010)

I would rather walk out of a dump like that....

I made one horder clean her house before we came back or it was a no go...

She clean her house and the area we had to work in.... these people need a reason to clean.... and we should give them one


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## DesertOkie (Jul 15, 2011)

I hydro jetted the pit under a grain elevator. It was 30 X30 about 5 foot deep. We jetted it into a sludge to pump out with a pump truck. It was 6 years worth of fetid grain.


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## drtyhands (Aug 16, 2008)

I had a female couple that had this disposition.The dominant screamer hid in the back of the house while the "Servant" member of the relationship and I worked through their molding cereal bowls,twenty or so molding cat food cans and everything else we can expect from hoarders to clear a kitchen line.
She was one of the most sweet,genuine customers to impress me in such a short time.They just had an overwhelming problem.
It made me sad for them.
Thankful for what we the healthy have.


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## Epox (Sep 19, 2010)

I've never refused to work in a place because of nasty, and goodness knows I probably should have a time or two. Hepatites and no telling what all lurks in that mess. What about mold, who in here hasn't worked with it all around.
Wearing shoe covers might seem unnecesary for protecting thier nasty floor, might help protect you though.
Where I have drawn the line though is dogs. If they don't put threatening dogs up I'm gone, and I don't mind telling them right off the bat. And I keep a big pair of channel locks in my hand till they do so.


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## pilot light (Apr 21, 2012)

504Plumber said:


> I agree with you on that, but some houses really aren't that bad and people make them out to be worse than the chimp cage at the zoo; the OP.


 Hey the chimp cage is where Iam living send some bananas! lol


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## piper1 (Dec 16, 2011)

went into a home for a water heater. just little paths to all the rooms. stuff piled floor to ceiling. the heater is buried. how do you want me to fix it, i can't even see it. like a moron, i climbed and dig and finally get there. it's leaking, you need a new one. i'll come back tomarrow with a heater. just make a path for me and i'll do the rest (i felt bad for him,and wanted to help) when i came back, all the stuff i moved was put back and then some. could'nt do the job. he had lots of reasons why he did'nt move all the stuff. call us when you make some space for us. never heard from him again!


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## MTDUNN (Oct 9, 2011)

Went on a call in Wheaton, MD years ago. Apartment 1st fl. Manager was there with the cops as I arrived. It was pouring out the front door. Waited an hour for the locksmith. We all thought the Resident was in there dead. After the locksmith opened the door, cops go in. After they gave the all clear, one of the officers told me good luck in there. 

House was flooded. It was a hoarder. Stuff was everywhere. Kitchen sink full of moldy pans. Oven had an inch of grease all over. Almost threw up a few times.

Leak was a pinhole in a 2" copper line overhead in a chase. It is now almost 11pm. Put temp patch and told manager call me when suitable to make a proper repair. 

Turned out the resident left the house and was at the McDonalds for the last few days. After the state got involved, the apartment was gutted and we re-piped the main.


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## PinkPlumber (May 20, 2012)

Hate to say it, but the nastier the house, the faster I can go. Not because I want to get out of there sooner, but because the whole issue of working neatly goes out the window. If I use a towel or some rags, they "accidentally" get left behind....not taking roaches back to the van....or my house. I change clothes in the van before I leave if I have had to lay on the floor....


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Sooo you take pictures of your customers and their homes without permission and put them on the net? :whistling2::no:

Sorry I wouldn't do it!:no:


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## affordabledrain (Nov 24, 2009)

went out to a sewer call. House was a complete mess. Decided it would be easier to pull the truck around back, and unload it there. Their back yard was a junk yard. car parts everywhere. building materials laying and stacked. Not to mention the 3 tons of dog poo. I was told once the line was opened. That a few other companies in the area where called out before us. They refused to service them due to the mess and the man sized roaches


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

ronaldjohn said:


> It looks his kitchen need to be uncluttered. Anyway, in all plumbing activity safety must come first. In his situation all the things there must be kept at proper storage and the unwanted to trash. plumbing edmonton alberta


How about a introduction?


http://www.plumbingzone.com/f3/


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## Richard Hilliard (Apr 10, 2010)

I have 2 worst jobs.
1. Went into a large hotel chain restaurant grease trap to unclog outlet baffle tee. 2 months later I had 12 inches of colon removed that was perforated. I blame the grease trap and inadequate mouth and nose protection.

2. Went to visit a long time client. We had a 4:00 meeting. She was not there and no one opened the door, waited 30 minutes and left. I passed her on the road and turned around. She forgot about the appointment and went to the grocery store. We helped her unload groceries and I took her key and unlocked the back door to find her husband lying dead on the floor. Tried CPR but was unable to bring him back my co-worker called 911.


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## revenge (Jun 30, 2011)

The worst job i went to gives me nightmares till this day, I had to go unclog a sink at a morgue. I walk in and they take me to the back, they were trying to peice a little girl back together. She was nine years old. The morgtition couldnt stop crying as i passed buy he tryed to cover her up. He didnt do it in time i saw the hole thing. This mf bast. raped and mutilated her with a machete. The cops had caught him and i heard about it on the news but it didnt say how bad it was, i guess the press didnt get their on time or the cops didnt release the details. After what i saw i know why. I went to visit a few cousins at county, been a long time i have seen them, to talk about my nightmares. All of the sudden out of the blue This guy had an accident, he fell down some stairs hit his head so hard. he was declared legally blind and paralized from the waste down. No one knows why he was moved from isolation to general pop. I went to her funeral it was a closed casket. thats the worst. I would take a dirty house any day over the morgue i still refuse to do service over their.


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## love2surf927 (Dec 22, 2011)

Richard Hilliard said:


> I have 2 worst jobs.
> 1. Went into a large hotel chain restaurant grease trap to unclog outlet baffle tee. 2 months later I had 12 inches of colon removed that was perforated. I blame the grease trap and inadequate mouth and nose protection.
> 
> 2. Went to visit a long time client. We had a 4:00 meeting. She was not there and no one opened the door, waited 30 minutes and left. I passed her on the road and turned around. She forgot about the appointment and went to the grocery store. We helped her unload groceries and I took her key and unlocked the back door to find her husband lying dead on the floor. Tried CPR but was unable to bring him back my co-worker called 911.


Could you please elaborate on the colon issue, I'm not sure I follow.


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## Richard Hilliard (Apr 10, 2010)

love2surf927 said:


> Could you please elaborate on the colon issue, I'm not sure I follow.


 
 I breathed in bacteria into my body that perforated my colon. The surgeon and doctors had no idea why it perforated. They found nothing in the pockets of the intestine and it was not diverticulosis. I have had no issues with it since that episode in 1996. This is my belief and I wil stick to it.


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## retired rooter (Dec 31, 2008)

When I first turned out as a journeyman (running truck alone) I walked in to a rental house (we called them shotgun houses in those days) lady met me at door an told me (facebowl) was stopped up in back .
It was a stopped up lavatory allright full of puke and a very sick naked man was sitting on toilet puking all over the floor.
I got back to our office as fast as I could ,just a few blocks away and told my supervisor. A few weeks later I got the same call ,house was clean and they apoligised, poor guy was truly sick.I unstopped facebowl and everyone was happy. 
In this kinda work we get all kinds and I learned what a facebowl was lol heard lavatories called that alot since then!!!


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

All great examples of not so fun jobs...

Now would you like to head down to the funeral home and cable a couple of lines running from the embalming tables... :whistling2:


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## TallCoolOne (Dec 19, 2010)

Many years ago I walked into a normal looking house, once I got inside I could tell there was some dope fiends living in there. Meth or Herion, but one of the toilet had human feces piled up over the top of the bowl.

It looked like a soft serve ice cream out of a machine the way it was piled up, the bathroom was full of flies, I just looked in there and walked the job....


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## RW Plumbing (Aug 16, 2010)

Working at a slaughterhouse unclogging the floor drains in there. That ones up there.


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## U666A (Dec 11, 2010)

Basement of the Campbell's soup factory in Listowell, ON... Disgusting!


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## TX MECH PLUMBER (May 27, 2011)

We turned on water and gas to a big hotel that had been shut down for a few years and homeless people had broke in and where live if ther for weeks. Like 20 or 30 of them. The cops made them leave a week before we got there. Crap and pis smell every where drug needles on the floor. Dirty diapers rotten food all the traps in the toilets where half gone and full to the brim. Broken glass. I was afraid a bum was still lurking in the dark. The lamps where stolen so some rooms where pitch black It was not safe at all.


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## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

After Katrina I worked for Gulfport PW and we were shutting down water breaks. The city had only around 5psi because all all the line breaks. After about 2 weeks we got most of the leaks fixed and the pressure was normal again. 

Anyway, Army came in and was clearing a road and knocked off a fire hydrant and the gate valve for it. We couldn't find the shutoff valve because the roads were still covered with debris so I had to put the 6" valve on live pressure which was around 30-40 psi. I was the only one big enough to handle the valve with the room available. Took about 2 hours and lots of cussing. The water rushing past blew so much sand down my pants that I couldn't even bend my legs. I had to grab the backhoe bucket and have it lift me out because I couldn't move.


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## Fullmetal Frank (Jul 11, 2012)

I think it's safe to say there is a limit to what nastiness I'll endure, but the line does move a bit depending on my mood, financial needs. :laughing:

There will alway be a hard line right before I climb into a sewer flooded out trailer crawl space. Not me. Not without a hazmat suit.


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## 89plumbum (May 14, 2011)

U666A said:


> Basement of the Campbell's soup factory in Listowell, ON... Disgusting!


You might not think so, but a line that was stopped up for 5 years at coke factory was one of the worst I've experienced. 22 years ago and I can still smell it!


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## U666A (Dec 11, 2010)

89plumbum said:


> You might not think so, but a line that was stopped up for 5 years at coke factory was one of the worst I've experienced. 22 years ago and I can still smell it!


Mine wasn't even in a plumbing capacity either... I was in Industrial Dust Collector Maintenance back then and they had a couple of cartridge units down there that would always get plugged up with rotten vegetable sludge...

Now jump in that hopper with this putty knife and start scraping...

Same thing... 11 years later I can still smell it.


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## TX MECH PLUMBER (May 27, 2011)

I ran a sewer machine in to a c o while standing in 6" of coke a cola It was like being a plumber in candy land !!!


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## OldSchool (Jan 30, 2010)

TX MECH PLUMBER said:


> I ran a sewer machine in to a c o while standing in 6" of coke a cola It was like being a plumber in candy land !!!


Should have left it ..

They coke would have eat through the blockage eventually


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## bulldozer (Jan 11, 2009)

Its funny you guys mentioned coca cola. We just pipe bursted a 400ft. Sewer under the coke plant in Columbus over the weekend. The run off from the processor ate through the cast iron sewer under the factory floor. Amazing how acidic that stuff is.


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## TerryO (Oct 12, 2012)

Did some work in a Frito Lay plant once. Took me about two years before I could eat Fritos after that. Unbelievable how bad that stuff smells.

Terry Ohlmann / www.ActionAirPlumbing.com


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## laylazcousen (Mar 14, 2013)

Worst job is all the household chores. LOL


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## alberteh (Feb 26, 2012)

Holy oldish thread batman!


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## alberteh (Feb 26, 2012)

Introduction?

Just trying to spare you some ridicule...


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## 504Plumber (Jan 26, 2011)

laylazcousen said:


> Worst job is all the household chores. LOL


Household chores are the worst? 

You're not even a helper, are you? LOL


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## wyrickmech (Mar 16, 2013)

Clean a manhole 30feet deep with no ladder. It was infested with cockroaches the size of your thumb! O did I forget to mention it was half full.


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## ILPlumber (Jun 17, 2008)

I was called to a factory explosion. It was a place where magnesium wheels were polished. The dust went boom.

The only part of the plant that was saved was the warehouse. I had 10 or so guys there hooking up lines the maintenance people were moving over there to get back into production. We worked 2 -12 hour shifts around the clock for about a week.

The whole time they were on our butts to get production going. This was all going on while the corpses where being removed from the explosion site. 

Terrible job. Terrible greed shown by the owner of the factory.....


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## dclarke (Dec 22, 2012)

ive been at a guys house who literally has an inch of dirt covering almost everything. there is a heart drawn in the dirt on the dining room table. the kitchen counters are not covered in dirt completely as he wipes them but he doesnt move anything so there is dirt around anything sitting on the counter. even cob webs in the cooking utensils.


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## theplumbinator (Sep 6, 2012)

Anyone ever clean a drain in a funeral home from a table? Worst job ever couldn't ever imagine anything worse than that. First and last time for me. I would drink from a dental chair trap before I ever work in a funeral home again. And I have no problem gutting out a deer, just something about the smell in those places I cant deal with.


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## plumberpro (Jan 1, 2013)

Yes I had to clean out a post mortum drain once very nasty! Wore heavy rubber gloves safety glasses and face shield! Washed cable off in degreaser and sanitizer after job.


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## 504Plumber (Jan 26, 2011)

theplumbinator said:


> Anyone ever clean a drain in a funeral home from a table? Worst job ever couldn't ever imagine anything worse than that. First and last time for me. I would drink from a dental chair trap before I ever work in a funeral home again. And I have no problem gutting out a deer, just something about the smell in those places I cant deal with.


Had to tunnel and replace a sewer line underneath an embalming room. Did not like it one bit, the only place we could draw power from was a freezer room that housed the bodies, I had to get one of the people working there plug us in, they had the covers pulled down on a lot of them.

Still work from time to time at another funeral home and the embalming room is something I hate going into.


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## James420 (Nov 14, 2012)

Hot tapping/ and or welding on live equipment, especially if its Hydrogen or HF acid, not that I'm a fan of grease traps, but there is something wrong when its just you and a welder, while most of the other guys 200 or so are on the other side of the refinery.

Worst job for me though was washing dishes, after school and on weekends in high school, and even after high school. Yes I was even a bigger loser years ago. I'd rather snorkel in a septic tank than ever wash dishes in a restaurant ever again. Its like the mail, the dishes never stop coming.


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## johntheplumber (Feb 11, 2013)

Got called out to a Taqueria one night. Around 10pm. The side by side wall hung urinals were stopped up. Tried my little urinal auger. The urinal laughed at me. I took a urinal off the wall, and that's we here the fun started. I brought in my 1/4" machine and attempted to unstop the line. Not even close to getting it. So every time the machine turns rank urine splashes out of the wall drain and towards me. I then have to get my 3/8 machine. This should get it. For some reason after running it the cable keeps heading back into the second urinal line. Now more dark orange pee is flying around. I have to take off the other urinal and service from there. By this time it's been about 2 hours. It's past midnight, there is urine about 1" deep all over the floor, I'm soaked with urine. I don't mean like I have a little wetness around my ankles. I mean every article of clothing I have on can be wrung out. I have piss in my boots. I literally take off my boots and pour it out. 

I know it sounds like a joke. Like I didn't know what I was doing. Like it would never happen to you. All I know is that it was a nightmare and it was one if the worst jobs that I've ever done.


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

johntheplumber said:


> Got called out to a Taqueria one night. Around 10pm. The side by side wall hung urinals were stopped up. Tried my little urinal auger. The urinal laughed at me. I took a urinal off the wall, and that's we here the fun started. I brought in my 1/4" machine and attempted to unstop the line. Not even close to getting it. So every time the machine turns rank urine splashes out of the wall drain and towards me. I then have to get my 3/8 machine. This should get it. For some reason after running it the cable keeps heading back into the second urinal line. Now more dark orange pee is flying around. I have to take off the other urinal and service from there. By this time it's been about 2 hours. It's past midnight, there is urine about 1" deep all over the floor, I'm soaked with urine. I don't mean like I have a little wetness around my ankles. I mean every article of clothing I have on can be wrung out. I have piss in my boots. I literally take off my boots and pour it out.
> 
> I know it sounds like a joke. Like I didn't know what I was doing. Like it would never happen to you. All I know is that it was a nightmare and it was one if the worst jobs that I've ever done.


And a new nickname is born. PIB

Piss in Boots. :laughing:


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## dclarke (Dec 22, 2012)

How did it taste ? Lol if there was that much urine you had to have got it on your face. Don't you own a shop vac ? Worst part about working that late is your not thinking clearly. Customer ends up paying extra for sub par performance if your hourly.


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## johntheplumber (Feb 11, 2013)

I was exhausted, mad "pissed off" ;-) you name it. Yes, I got it in my mouth. Everywhere!!!!! I had a wet vac. I was alone, two open urinal drains a wet vac and a machine and the water and pee just kept on coming out. 

I have never been as happy to be done with a job in my whole career as I was with that one.


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## dclarke (Dec 22, 2012)

Better to be pissed off than pissed on....lol sounds pretty horrible. If I would have been there I would have been doing great on the shop vac for you keeping the pee to a minimum.


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## 504Plumber (Jan 26, 2011)

johntheplumber said:


> I was exhausted, mad "pissed off" ;-) you name it. Yes, I got it in my mouth. Everywhere!!!!! I had a wet vac. I was alone, two open urinal drains a wet vac and a machine and the water and pee just kept on coming out.
> 
> I have never been as happy to be done with a job in my whole career as I was with that one.


Need to watch that, I got a bad infection in my foot from pulling a urinal and having it spill into my boot.


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## plumber101us (Feb 25, 2013)

Had an experience years ago with and old master plumber named Sam. went to do a sewer cleaning job after hours with him at a sority house. I was bring the equipment in and as i was setting the machine up Sam started to unscrew the plug on the stack ,before i could yell did u check the stack the plug poped out and three stories of sheet covered Sam and he wound up with a tampon in his shirt pocket. The funniest part was him wipin the poo off his face in one motion and saying lets get this GD thing done and the bosses son can come clean it up in the morning


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## Airgap (Dec 18, 2008)

plumber101us said:


> Had an experience years ago with and old master plumber named Sam. went to do a sewer cleaning job after hours with him at a sority house. I was bring the equipment in and as i was setting the machine up Sam started to unscrew the plug on the stack ,before i could yell did u check the stack the plug poped out and three stories of sheet covered Sam and he wound up with a tampon in his shirt pocket. The funniest part was him wipin the poo off his face in one motion and saying lets get this GD thing done and the bosses son can come clean it up in the morning


I lol'd when I read the part about his shirt pocket....


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## theplumbinator (Sep 6, 2012)

One other nightmare just came to mind as I read about Piss in the face. When I was a young apprentice just in my own truck solo, I was sent to a house with an ejector pit to replace the leaking swing check in the 2"discharge line. Looked easy enough, took it apart started installing new one as i was tryin to get the fernco on to the pipe coming out o he pump I lifted the pipe a little causing a wave inside the pit, I'm sure you can all guess what happened next as i had my face with open mouth hovering directly over the open 2" pipe.... That was the day I learned to un plug pumps before working on them.... when i got back to the shop I told my boss what happened he laughed and said " well you'll never do that again will you".....


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## Airgap (Dec 18, 2008)

theplumbinator said:


> One other nightmare just came to mind as I read about Piss in the face. When I was a young apprentice just in my own truck solo, I was sent to a house with an ejector pit to replace the leaking swing check in the 2"discharge line. Looked easy enough, took it apart started installing new one as i was tryin to get the fernco on to the pipe coming out o he pump I lifted the pipe a little causing a wave inside the pit, I'm sure you can all guess what happened next as i had my face with open mouth hovering directly over the open 2" pipe.... That was the day I learned to un plug pumps before working on them.... when i got back to the shop I told my boss what happened he laughed and said " well you'll never do that again will you".....


Yep, lol'd again....


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## TX MECH PLUMBER (May 27, 2011)

As soon as you started ur story. I knew what's was gonna happen 

Try grinding fiber glass boats with a 10" grinder and patching the deck and hull together with a hot resin glass patch. In tige wakeboard boat plant. U never stop itching. Ever. 24 7.


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## theplumbinator (Sep 6, 2012)

TX MECH PLUMBER said:


> As soon as you started ur story. I knew what's was gonna happen
> 
> Try grinding fiber glass boats with a 10" grinder and patching the deck and hull together with a hot resin glass patch. In tige wakeboard boat plant. U never stop itching. Ever. 24 7.


My very first job at 14 was at the marina at the end of my street, that did suck when i had to rip out rotten boat floors in 100 deg. Heat. The best part of the job was gasing up 200 gal tanks while checking out hot babes in bikinis, the tips were good too.ahhh the early 90's the good ol days...


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## Best Darn Sewer (Dec 23, 2012)

I have some terrible tales of plumbing nightmares but nothing compares to a lot of these stories. And I have only read a couple pages.

I agree, embalming rooms are the worst. And urinals. Certifying a spill proof PVB next to a dead body with a "Y" incision is messed up. Dropping the bleeder screw down the drain was the nightmare. Ugh.


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## SewerRat (Feb 26, 2011)

We were called by a plumber to pump some sewage out of a crawlspace. No biggie, do it from time to time. Well, we open the access and it was literally sh!t to the joists. Stuck the vac hose in and it went down rather quickly. Well, we look in and the ground is very rough under there and there are two large areas that had a lot of crap that wouldn't drain toward the opening. I got on waders, a rain slicker, breeder sleeves (for the non-farmers these are shoulder length plastic gloves used for artificial insemination of cows) duct taped all the openings to my gloves, etc. and in I went. I got it mostly vacuumed out bit I'll never forget the feeling of sliding on my belly through black sewage, the coolness of the black ooze could be felt through the thin breeder sleeves as my elbows sunk in... It was interesting to see the looks on the faces of passersby after I came out, as my brother pressure washed me off with our jetter. 

Turns out the tenants had a blockage in the laundry branch so they got under the house and cut the pipe. Then when the sewer plugged the sewage all backflowed out the cut laundry branch and the crawlspace became a cesspool. No idea how long, the owner discovered after duty called the tenants back across our southern border.


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## Best Darn Sewer (Dec 23, 2012)

SewerRat said:


> We were called by a plumber to pump some sewage out of a crawlspace. No biggie, do it from time to time. Well, we open the access and it was literally sh!t to the joists. Stuck the vac hose in and it went down rather quickly. Well, we look in and the ground is very rough under there and there are two large areas that had a lot of crap that wouldn't drain toward the opening. I got on waders, a rain slicker, breeder sleeves (for the non-farmers these are shoulder length plastic gloves used for artificial insemination of cows) duct taped all the openings to my gloves, etc. and in I went. I got it mostly vacuumed out bit I'll never forget the feeling of sliding on my belly through black sewage, the coolness of the black ooze could be felt through the thin breeder sleeves as my elbows sunk in... It was interesting to see the looks on the faces of passersby after I came out, as my brother pressure washed me off with our jetter.
> 
> Turns out the tenants had a blockage in the laundry branch so they got under the house and cut the pipe. Then when the sewer plugged the sewage all backflowed out the cut laundry branch and the crawlspace became a cesspool. No idea how long, the owner discovered after duty called the tenants back across our southern border.


So when they cut the laundry line didn't all the water just dump into the crawl space when the washer was going?


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## dclarke (Dec 22, 2012)

Best Darn Sewer said:


> So when they cut the laundry line didn't all the water just dump into the crawl space when the washer was going?


That was how I read it. Gray water in the crawl is wrong but the sewage part.....your a better man than I. I would not have crawled in that


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## SewerRat (Feb 26, 2011)

Best Darn Sewer said:


> So when they cut the laundry line didn't all the water just dump into the crawl space when the washer was going?


:yes:


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## SewerRat (Feb 26, 2011)

dclarke said:


> That was how I read it. Gray water in the crawl is wrong but the sewage part.....your a better man than I. I would not have crawled in that


My gag reflex still comes to attention and begins it's morning exercises when I think back. 

It's funny, about a year before we bought our pump truck I hired a Pumper to do one for me and when he opened the lid I gagged and walked away. 

Mind over matter I guess.


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## theplumbinator (Sep 6, 2012)

SewerRat said:


> My gag reflex still comes to attention and begins it's morning exercises when I think back.
> 
> It's funny, about a year before we bought our pump truck I hired a Pumper to do one for me and when he opened the lid I gagged and walked away.
> 
> Mind over matter I guess.


I would have told the guy to knock the house down and get a backhoe to fill in the foundation. Who would live there after that happened to that house? I dont care how well it gets cleaned up. My very first apt. In NYC during college I rented super cheap because the guy that lived there b4 me was a crack dealer that got murdered inside and the landlord wouldn't replace the 150 year old hardwood floors full of blood stains. He had a really hard time finding a tennant I threw a rug over the living room hallway and bedroom and never thought about it again. But I dont think I could live in a former septic tank...


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## SewerRat (Feb 26, 2011)

The slumlords don't care. 

We have a lot of Spanish migrant workers here and the slumlords rent out anything with 4 walls and a roof. I've seen old dairy barns with curtains in the windows and 10 low rider cars parked outside. They rent them out for like $100 a head per month so if they can get 20 people rotating through the bedrooms in shifts (yes it happens) that's $2000 a month for a shack that wouldn't bring over $500 a month as a normal rental. The houses get trashed and virtually no maintenance.

A lot of them are milkers at dairies and the way the system works is friends find jobs for their friends so they can rig it up where they share houses with others on opposite shifts at work.


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## theplumbinator (Sep 6, 2012)

Only In America, gotta love how we let anyone in this country that can swim :: shaking head :: I'm not against people coming for a better life if they have a real skill to offer to make us better. But we already have plenty of our own idiots that can milk a cow for a living rather than living off social programs we all pay for without choice.


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## SewerRat (Feb 26, 2011)

theplumbinator said:


> Only In America, gotta love how we let anyone in this country that can swim :: shaking head :: I'm not against people coming for a better life if they have a real skill to offer to make us better. But we already have plenty of our own idiots that can milk a cow for a living rather than living off social programs we all pay for without choice.


Not to mention....

IF they come for a better life. If they come to live in absolute squalor while making good money and sending it all south across the border via Western Union transfers so they can retire at 40 and build a mansion of sorts back in the mother country... not so much. :no: 

To me those kind are like a bleeding wound to our economy.


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## dclarke (Dec 22, 2012)

I've been arguing that in my area people commute quite far to make decent money. They make good money which raises our cost of living yet jobs in our area aren't paying better which is why people are commuting in the first place so basically they hurt our economy the same as illegals do.


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## theplumbinator (Sep 6, 2012)

SewerRat said:


> Not to mention....
> 
> IF they come for a better life. If they come to live in absolute squalor while making good money and sending it all south across the border via Western Union transfers so they can retire at 40 and build a mansion of sorts back in the mother country... not so much. :no:
> 
> To me those kind are like a bleeding wound to our economy.


Yes... I call that exploiting our country and our generosity. The truly guilty are those that employ non citizens, thats who we should be punishing. If no one gave them a job they would leave. Simple solution.


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## dclarke (Dec 22, 2012)

Blame our politicians for basically welcoming them with open arms too. I vote if we are going to have predator drones in american airspace it should be on the Mexican border. Lol


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## theplumbinator (Sep 6, 2012)

Just allow the border patrol to shoot on site if they witness an illegal crossing. They would probably only have to kill a few people before the word got out that we mean business. And you would get more people thinking twice about attempting it. Instead we give them food, water, shelter, medical attention, then put them on a bus and send them back only for them to do it again a day later? BTW we pay for this maddness. Isn't the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result? Sorry for the tangent....


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## dclarke (Dec 22, 2012)

But if border patrol shoots them the Mexican government is going to demand justice and have a crooked Mexican trial for the officer just to kill him which our country would probably allow so we don't have a war with mexico.


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## dclarke (Dec 22, 2012)

And really. If they legalized drugs in this country it would pretty much wipe out most of Mexico's income and end most of the violence in both countries.


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## theplumbinator (Sep 6, 2012)

True its difficult to bring a predator drone into court to stand trial for murder. Were already at war with Mexico, the cartels and the illegals, who cares what their government says. But I do agree that making drugs legalized would put that country out of biz, and save taxpayers a s*it ton of money on law enforcement & housing prisoners guilty of non violent crimes. They could also stand to profit from drug taxes as well. Dozen't matter legal or not idiots still use drugs y not profit from it instead of wasting my money trying to fight it when it cannot be won? If it could be we would have by now. Holy crap we took the thread off topic. Enough from me on this...


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## James420 (Nov 14, 2012)

plbgbiz said:


> And a new nickname is born. PIB
> 
> Piss in Boots. :laughing:


I was thinking R.Kelly plumbing but PIB is better.


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## Canadiana (May 12, 2013)

revenge said:


> The worst job i went to gives me nightmares till this day, I had to go unclog a sink at a morgue. I walk in and they take me to the back, they were trying to peice a little girl back together. She was nine years old. The morgtition couldnt stop crying as i passed buy he tryed to cover her up. He didnt do it in time i saw the hole thing. This mf bast. raped and mutilated her with a machete. The cops had caught him and i heard about it on the news but it didnt say how bad it was, i guess the press didnt get their on time or the cops didnt release the details. After what i saw i know why. I went to visit a few cousins at county, been a long time i have seen them, to talk about my nightmares. All of the sudden out of the blue This guy had an accident, he fell down some stairs hit his head so hard. he was declared legally blind and paralized from the waste down. No one knows why he was moved from isolation to general pop. I went to her funeral it was a closed casket. thats the worst. I would take a dirty house any day over the morgue i still refuse to do service over their.


 Horrible what some ppl are will to do to children and animals.


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## Canadiana (May 12, 2013)

...


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