funniest plumbing job gone wrong i've ever had

been doing plumbing in the Chicago area my whole career and last week i get called to a basement flood in this old Victorian house. guy thought his PEX lines froze but turns out the wife was trying to DIY a water heater install with a Rheem unit and forgot to shut off the main. water everywhere, snakes and everything, me and the apprentice are down there in hip waders laughing our asses off while we snake out the Ridgid SeeSnake. if you're just starting out, always double check the shutoff valve before touching anything. saw a similar story on r/Plumbing a while back but this one had us cracking up for days. guy in the Plumbers United group said it reminded him of a Roger Wakefield video where he talks about homeowner hacks gone bad.

homeowners thinking they can install a water heater themselves is the real plague on this industry. i've seen more leaks from that than burst pipes.

nah, pex-a is still king for flexibility, don't let the b fanboys fool you.

man that sounds like my kinda chaos, been there too many times.

every damn time a diy water heater job turns into a flood, we plumbers get the blame for the cleanup.

check the shutoff first, then test for pressure. saved my ass more than once on old houses.

basement floods from bad installs are why i charge extra for emergencies now.

chicago basements are the worst for this crap, water just pools forever.

fuckin homeowners, always one step away from turning a simple job into a nightmare.

shutoff valves in old houses are usually seized anyway, gotta have the right tools or you're screwed.

sounds hilarious, wish i had that on video.

been knee deep in that mess myself, solidarity brother.

yep, laugh now but it adds up in overtime.

total commiseration, these jobs test your sanity.

every plumber's got a story like that, keeps us going.

felt that, my back still hurts from the last one.

group chat in plumbers united is full of these tales.

yeah the rage is real when you're bailing out their mistakes.

insurance companies love these stories, hikes our premiums every time.

i hear ya, cleanup alone is a full day.

use a pressure gauge before starting, it's a game changer.

hate these calls, they always happen at the worst time.

frustrated just reading this, reliving my own disasters.

damn right, shared pain makes it bearable.

what was the weirdest thing you pulled out during cleanup?

don't snake without gloves, i saw a guy get bit by something in there once. be careful out there.

update us if the wife tries another diy.