day from hell: pulled a toilet and found the worst DIY snake job ever

been in the Chicago area my whole career, and today was a straight crap-show. got called out for a backed up main in this old 1920s bungalow, figured it was just tree roots in the clay pipe like usual. pull the toilet and there's this tangled mess of what looks like a cheap drain snake someone bought at home depot and jammed down the stack without a clue. spent three hours untangling that BS, then had to run a real ridgid k-400 through it to clear the actual clog, which was a wipe or something stupid. homeowner swears they didn't touch it, but come on, who else snakes a stack with pvc pipe extensions duct taped together? saw a similar rant on r/Plumbing last week about diy disasters, and someone in Plumbers United group mentioned roger wakefield has a video on proper snaking techniques, but these folks never listen. im telling you, sharkbite fittings behind walls are a godsend compared to this amateur hour.

lmao, sounds like the time i pulled out a plunger head stuck halfway down a drain.

man i feel that, chicago winters make everything worse with frozen lines on top.

fuck these diy heroes, they turn 2 hour jobs into all day nightmares.

total BS, i hate untangling their messes.

screw that, i just tell em next time it's double rate for cleanup.

homeowners like that deserve to pay premium for the headache.

goddamn right, inspectors should fine for this crap.

every time, it's always the 'handy' neighbor who did it.

use a camera first, saves the surprise every time.

grab a ridgid seesnake mini, it's a game changer for spotting this junk early.

private equity outfits are buying up plumbing cos and pushing us to take these jobs faster, screw that noise.

watched essential craftsman vid on tool basics, but yeah camera is key for plumbing.

customer called mid job 'is it fixed yet?' like nah we're still digging your mistake.

for old houses, always quote for possible full stack inspection upfront.