When do you walk away from a job?

[erpkid]

I had a call yesterday afternoon asking to deal with a blocked toilet.

When I got there, the pan was full to the brim with what I can only describe as poo porridge. With several large lumps in it.

They'd already put a bottle of 1-shot down, clearly hadn't had any effect.

So I put my hand round the back, and felt the pan connector going into a branch. Wahey! A rodding point, I thought. Took off the boxing, and it's an AAV (horizontally mounted, which I'm sure is wrong!)

The soil pipe then went about a metre horizontally, then an elbow through the wall into another room, which was fully tiled, no access panels. I thought about breaking out some tiles, but wasn't at all convinced that I'd find a rodding point, and didn't want to destroy things for no reason. It was on the 6th floor, by the way, so no way of getting to it from outside.

I could have removed the pan, but then everything in it, plus whatever was in the pipe, would have spilt all over their tiles floor with white grout (which would have absorbed and stained!). Plus, at the doorway, there was only an edging strip and then carpet. I had no big sheets to put down to absorb the poo and stop it getting to the carpet. I don't carry wellies on the van and wasn't willing to cover my work boots with poo.

So I advised them to call DynoRod and walked away.

What would you have done?

Walk I would have run !

 

[Leo21]

did it fall off the famous braket

No it's physcodelic camera.

 

[jase158]

bunch of babies!! I tell custard to pour kettle of water down it, saves my fuel and saves them a lot of money and hopefully they remember me for helping them out. if that don't work I go round, get my drain rod and plunge it with that. if that don't work I go outside and start plunging. had a couple that turned out to be toilet blocked full of sludge but usually just needs kettle of water

 

[stevetheplumber]

i would do them all day every day without a doubt the most profitable tool ive ever bought is one rod and a 4 inch plunger

 

[EPH]

I'd've syphoned it into buckets and tipped it over next doors wall.

 

[JCplumb]

I'd tell them I'm too busy to get out to it this week.
However I know a very reliable Bolton plumber who may be able to help, he's called Kev 😉
I have actually done that once...