What’s Lurking in Your Plumbing?

Over the years plumbers and homeowners have found some extraordinary things inside home’s plumbing. Take a look at some of the craziest things that have been found and encountered by bathroom goers. It might surprise you just what can fit inside the pipes of your home, and the damage it can cause. And no we’re not suggesting that an octopus can come out of your bathtub faucet.

There is sometimes an irrational fear that pops into your head while sitting on the pot that something could crawl out. What if we told you this wasn’t as irrational as you expected. It seems as though every plumber has at least one story that came from pulling something unexpected out of the pipes they were working on. It also seems as though many have witnessed something unexpected climbing out of the pipes all on their own.

Commonly Found

There are some things that are found in home pipes that are far more common than you may realize. Each of these, as unusual as they seem, are found too often when the plumber is called.

• One in every three people has admitted to dropping their cell phone in the toilet. Of these, a surprising number end up being flushed down the drain. This may be attributed to cell phones becoming smaller and thinner as the technology progresses.
• Jewelry is one of the most common things plumbers are called to receive, just after medications and money. Recently a $7,000 engagement ring was retrieved after being flushed accidentally down the drain.

Animals…

• Alligators: There were urban legends that originated in the 1920s that alligators were lurking in the sewers of New York City. Although the actual facts have been exaggerated, there were signs that some smaller alligators may be present under the city.
• Frogs: An invasion of Cuban Tree Frogs started years ago, and shows no signs of stopping; the frogs have already made their homes in Georgia, South Carolina, California, and even Hawaii and Canada. In Florida the frog problem is so bad it has caused several power failures.
• Lizards: In many areas like the southwest United States, lizards coming through the plumbing into toilets is a fairly common, albeit uncomfortable happening. But since they are insectivores, we have nothing to worry about when they show up.
• Possums: I bet you didn’t know that possums could climb through pipes or hold their breath in water but baby possums certainly can. There have been numerous cases around the world of possums making their way through plumbing fixtures and into houses, also the reason for this is probably more accidental than anything.
• Rats: Rats have easy access to our homes through our toilets. They use their acrobatic and swimming skills to maneuver up the pipes. Being little creatures they can fit through just about everything from big pipes to small cracks in the piping.
• Snakes: Many snakes like to make their home in the plumbing of homes and apartments, finding their way in through the sewers. Most snakes found in toilets and not water-dwelling making them dangerous to accidentally sit on while using the bathroom.

Just Plain Strange

• In South Carolina in 2007, an older gentleman called professional plumbers for help after losing his false teeth down the drain. Surprisingly after being recovered, the dentures were still intact. The owner even planned on using them once again.
• Don’t follow the lead of one man from Pennsylvania who flushed a plug-in air freshener down the toilet. It became lodged where the drainpipe meets the floor, and did not have the desired effect.

Don’t allow anything unusual to go down your drains. If something does mistakenly go down, call a professional immediately. This will not only increase the chances that you will find your belongings, but will prevent problems from occurring with your plumbing. Have a plumbing problem or question? Call Shamrock Plumbing today (801) 505-9505!