Plumbing horror stories are a peculiar topic—these things don’t happen often, but if they happen to you, they’ll change your life. Plumbing isn’t something you want to mess around with. It involves water and sewage, which have the potential to do a tremendous amount of damage to someone’s home. Here are a couple of horror stories that should serve as a warning and lesson to others.
One of our clients has a second home here on Smith Mountain Lake. We had a cold spell about two years ago during the wintertime. The home was unoccupied during this time of year, and one of the water lines froze and burst. Since the main water line hadn’t been shut off, about $140,000 worth of damage was done to the home. The water covered all the rooms in the second floor and traveled down into the main floor and into the kitchen. Damage was done to all the kitchen cabinets, hardwood, upstairs floor, and drywall.
Sadly, the entire thing could’ve been prevented with something as simple as shutting off the water. If you’re going to be away from your second home for an extended period of time, simply shutting off the line could prevent hundreds of thousands of dollars in water damage. Of course, we also have systems that can be put into place (such as automatic shutoff valves). At the end of the day, it really comes down to paying attention to your plumbing. You better believe that this particular customer is now very conscious about how he leaves his home. The incident changed his life.
Another client had a gas water heater that wasn’t well-maintained. The flue wasn’t expelling the fumes like it was supposed to. One day, the water heated caught on fire and caused a blowback. (Just like sewage, fire is definitely something you don’t want to mess with.) The fumes that built up ended up combusting. Luckily, the house didn’t burn down because of the quick response. Think about all the damage that can be caused by smoke and fire from a preventable plumbing issue.
The next horror story happened to an elderly couple in the Roanoke area. The husband was going through cancer treatment and the couple didn’t venture into the basement very often. They used disposable fiber wipes instead of toilet paper and flushed them down the toilet at an alarming rate. The wipes built up into the septic system and caused a backup in the basement. It wasn’t until they started to notice a foul smell that they realized that there was a problem. The sewage damaged all the downstairs carpets. Their nightmare was entirely preventable. It was a simple matter of being conscious of what was flushed down the toilet. Make sure you don’t put things down the drain if they’re not supposed to go there.
The last story that comes to mind involves a home with the water heater located in the attic. (There are some homes like this in our area.) The water heater wasn’t maintained and the pan was busted. The water heater started to leak and the water went all over the ceiling. Whenever ceiling drywall gets saturated, it falls down. It can be a major safety issue if the water heater is located over a bedroom.
At the end of the day, these horror stories may leave you in awe, but the lesson should be to take proper care of your plumbing. Pay attention to it and be proactive. I wouldn’t want anyone to go through these kinds of life changing events.
To prevent a nightmare from happening in your home, contact us online or give us a call at (540) 685-0366.
