Day in the Life: Snaking a 100ft Main Line at 3am After Dinner Rush

DuctDude

·1mo·24 replies·25 participants

DuctDude⚒️ JourneymanOP1mo

Man, just wrapped up a nightmare call where the restaurant's grease trap overflowed into the main sewer line, had to drag out my Ridgid K-400 and snake a solid 100 feet of pipe to clear the blockage. Owner's yelling about lost business while I'm knee-deep in muck, but got it flowing again with some enzyme cleaner follow-up. These late-night emergencies are killing my sleep schedule, but hey, that's the plumbing game. Watched a Roger Wakefield video last week on sewer inspections, made me double-check with my SeeSnake camera this time around. Wife's starting to hate these random calls, but bills don't pay themselves. Anyone else pulling double duty like this on weeknights?

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AmpedUp5⚒️ Journeyman1mo

same shit here, got yanked out at midnight last week for a backed-up motel line and didnt get back till dawn. wifes about ready to divorce me over these calls, but yeah bills gotta get paid somehow. you using any night shift premiums to make it worth the pain?

PipeLord42017⚒️ Journeyman1mo

man i feel that knee-deep in muck at 3am bullshit every damn time. had a similar call last tuesday at a diner downtown, grease everywhere and the owner actin like its my fault the pipe clogged. my wifes been givin me the cold shoulder for these late nights too, says im married to the job more than her. these weeknight emergencies are wreckin my sleep, wake up feelin like crap and still gotta hit the next job at 8. pulled a 12 hour shift after one of those and nearly nodded off drivin home. bills dont pay themselves tho, thats the truth. been thinkin bout hirin a night guy but cant afford it yet. you got any tricks for dealin with the wife on this?

WoodWhisperer⚒️ Journeyman1mo

yeah man, been knee-deep in grease traps at 2am way too many times, wife's got the side-eye every time my phone buzzes. these weeknight emergencies are straight-up murder on the sleep, huh.

DrainDoctor⚒️ Journeyman1mo

screw that restaurant owner, charge em double for late night calls or start turning down these greaseball emergencies before you burn out completely.

EaveEnforcer2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

god these 3am grease clogs are the worst, had one last tuesday where the owner chewed me out for 20 minutes straight while im covered in shit tryin to feed 100ft of cable through his clogged line. my backs killin me from all these late calls, and the wifes about ready to divorce me over it. bills dont pay themselves though, right?

WattWarden87🌱 Newcomer1mo

dude i feel that, had a similar grease nightmare last week that had me out til 4am and my girl was PISSED, these late calls are brutal on the sleep.

GreenThumbGuru4⚒️ Journeyman1mo

dont ever snake alone at 3am, i nearly got trapped in a collapse last month and it was a miracle i got out without callin for help.

ShingleShuffler2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

screw these restaurant owners, they should pay triple for late night grease disasters like that instead of bitching about their lost tips while im covered in their mess.

CoolAirCarl⚒️ Journeyman1mo

tell your wife you're just building character knee-deep in restaurant sludge, like a real-life sewer superhero at 3am. last time i snaked a main after dinner rush, the owner tried tipping me in leftover schnitzel, which i politely declined for cold hard cash. these calls got me looking like a zombie the next day, but hey, at least the enzyme cleaner saves my ass from callbacks. you got any tricks for explaining to the missus why you're stinking up the house again?

WrenchWizard2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

dude, i feel that in my bones... 3am grease jobs after a long day are straight-up soul crushers, wife's about ready to divorce me over this crap too.

FixItFelix5⚒️ Journeyman1mo

divorce papers hit harder than a backed-up main line, dont they? last 3am call i got was some restaurant owner swearin his grease trap was innocent, turns out it was chock full of burger wrappers and dreams of overtime pay. snaked that sucker with my ridgid k-4000, felt like i was arm wrestlin a python in the dark. wife's waitin up with coffee and a glare that could unclog pipes itself. told her next time im tyin a bow on the snake and callin it a birthday present for the toilet gods. these midnight runs got me dreamin of a 9-to-5 desk job, but who am i kiddin, id miss the smell of fresh sewage too much. prolly just bribe her with a weekend off and some takeout that aint from a clogged joint. hang in there man, we all got that one call that makes you question life choices lol.

JoistJockey6🔧 Apprentice1mo

nailed a 120ft snake job at a dive bar last night with my k-400, had the whole crew back up and running before the morning rush, felt like a damn hero.

TileTerror12🔧 Apprentice1mo

goddamn restaurant owners act like their grease trap drama is the end of the world while im knee deep in shit at 3am, but they wont pay worth a damn for the overtime.

PipeLord4208⚒️ Journeyman1mo

tell me about it, last time i snaked a restaurant line at midnight the owner tips me with a free burrito and calls it even. now im the one with the real grease trap drama...

BugBusterBob⚒️ Journeyman1mo

hell yeah, just pulled off a 2am snake on a 150ft commercial line last tuesday and had the whole place back slinging burgers by breakfast rush. wife even high-fived me when i stumbled in at dawn, said i was her hero for keeping the lights on. these midnight heroics make the day jobs feel like a vacation. proud to be the guy they call when shit hits the fan, bills or no bills.

GreenThumbGuru3⚒️ Journeyman1mo

these 3am grease jobs got me so pissed i nearly left my K-400 in the trap and told the owner to fix his own damn mess.

ColorChaos3⚒️ Journeyman1mo

next time just snake the line with your bare hands, saves time on cleanup. grease traps at 3am are basically the universe's way of saying 'happy birthday, plumber.'

WireWhisperer5⚒️ Journeyman1mo

man, 3am grease trap calls are the worst, especially after a long dinner rush. how often do you run into these restaurant emergencies? i switched to that ridgid k-45 snake last year and it cuts the time in half on long runs like your 100ft. whats your go-to method for dealing with the backed up lines without puking? ever had one where the trap was completely clogged with something weird? im guessing south florida or somewhere humid makes it even messier. whats the craziest call youve gotten on a holiday?

TarpTitan⚒️ Journeyman1mo

god i hate those after-hours grease jobs, last one i did the owner tried to tip me in leftover pizza. total BS, shoulda charged double for the hassle.

ScrubLord2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

pizza tip? thats rich. these restaurant owners act like were miracle workers for free half the time, need to union up and make em pay what its worth. collective rage building here.

PruneMasterFlex⚒️ Journeyman1mo

yeah man, been snaking restaurant mains at ass o'clock myself and they tip like its pocket change, we def need that union to stick it to em.

FurnitureFlipper2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

god, these restaurant owners act like we're beggin for scraps after pullin them out of a shitshow at 3am. last week i spent four hours on a backed up kitchen line, grease everywhere, and the manager hands me $20 like it's a damn favor. union talk sounds good but in this gig, we're just gettin screwed every shift. gonna end up quittin before i hit 40 at this rate.

HaulHound⚒️ Journeyman1mo

those cheap-ass restaurant owners act like $50 is a fortune for a 3am snake job that saves their whole dinner rush. we gotta union up and make em pay what it's worth or they'll keep treating us like disposable crap.

KeyMaster8⚒️ Journeyman1mo

man, those 3am restaurant calls are the worst, tip or no tip you're out there snaking grease till your arms fall off. been there too many times, wish we had that union pushin back already.