Pro tip: a flooded basement in Akron taught me to always check the drain line first

I got a call for a washer not draining at a rental property, and the tenant said it just stopped mid cycle. Walked into a real mess, about an inch of water on the floor. Instead of pulling the machine out right away, I checked the standpipe drain and found a kid's sock jammed in there from the unit above. Clearing that fixed it in two minutes and saved me a huge repair bill guess. What's the weirdest thing you've ever pulled out of a drain line?

3 comments

3 Comments

wrenh651mo ago

Remember that sock. Makes you wonder what else gets washed. Pulled a whole action figure out of a kitchen sink trap once. Kid must have sent He-Man on a voyage. Found a clump of hair and jewelry in a shower drain that looked like a tiny wet animal. Always check the easy stuff first. Saves so much time.

the_dylan15d agoMost Upvoted

That He-Man story cracks me up but honestly an inch of water on a concrete floor is barely a mess, I've seen tenants not even bother to mop up worse. It's just water, not like it flooded the whole basement.

the_rowan1mo ago

That "tiny wet animal" comment is spot on... it's the stuff you can't identify that really gets me. Pulled a lump of grease and coffee grounds from a kitchen line that had the texture of wet clay. Makes you think twice about what goes down the drain.