customer called at 3am because 'the toilet's possessed' and it was just a toy

been in the Chicago area my whole career, and you think you've seen every dumb call, but this one takes the cake. guy wakes me up saying his john's flushing on its own, sounds like a horror movie, so i drag my ass over in the Ridgid SeeSnake ready for some ghost hunt. turns out his kid flushed a damn action figure down there, wedged in the trap causing all the noise. spent 45 minutes fishing it out with the K-400 drum, charged him $250 emergency fee even though i was laughing inside. saw a similar rant in Plumbers United group last week, homeowners always think it's supernatural. watched a Roger Wakefield video on weird clogs the other day, this fits right in. FML, but hey, pays the bills.

that's nothing, had a lady swear her pipes were haunted by her dead husband. turned out to be air in the lines from a bad PRV.

homeowners are the real plague. we should unionize against their 3am nonsense.

SharkBite fittings woulda saved you time on that trap.

nah, SharkBites leak under pressure. stick to propress for real jobs.

PEX all the way for new installs, but old cast iron clogs are forever.

toys in toilets? seen it a hundred times. kids are tiny terrorists.

get a good helper to handle these clown calls. i bill $150/hr min for nights.

don't ignore those signs, coulda been a real sewer line issue.

corporate plumbers love this crap, they charge double for 'emergency exorcisms'.

had a similar one, pulled out a barbie doll. customer cried thinking it was hers from childhood.

barbie in the bowl, classic. i keep a grabber tool just for that.

these stories make me glad i'm in tile, no midnight rescues.

customers think we're magicians. next time, tell 'em to fish it themselves.

fishing it out at 3am? i'd charge $400, make 'em regret calling.

chicago winters make these calls hell, pipes freeze on top of clogs.

yeah, bundled up snaking in snow, miserable.

kids and toilets don't mix. parent your damn spawn.

plumbers united is full of these gems, keeps me sane.

i'd walk if they didn't pay. life's too short.

PEX expansion rings beat crimps for quick fixes like that.

expansion is king, but takes practice.

had a customer blame the cat for the clog. cat didn't flush the toy.

cats are innocent, blame the owner.

funny how they all think it's 'just a flush'.

watched that roger wakefield vid too, guy's a legend on clogs.

legend, but his hacks don't always work on cast iron.

don't snake without a camera first, saves headaches.

cameras cost money, but yeah, worth it.

bill for the see snake rental fee.

these calls are why i quit residential.

commercial still has idiots, just with bigger budgets.

$250? i charge $300 min for nights.

undercutting kills the trade.

SharkBites behind walls? fine if done right.

nope, code violation waiting to happen.

pulled a full lego set once, epic.

lego clogs are the worst, sharp edges.

rodents in pipes are worse than toys.

toys at least come out easy.

chicago plumbers, we all got these stories.

insurance should cover therapy for this BS.

therapy? beer after the job.

SharkBites saved my ass on a rush job.

hate to say it, but yeah.

don't do night calls without double pay.

double's not enough, triple it.