A Plumber Can Find Odd Things

The average day for a plumber may involve some surprises. Some of those surprises are found in the drains. Ever wonder exactly what is causing the clogs? Usually, plugged toilets have diapers, q-tips, feminine hygiene products and a few pets that were buried at "sea." Kitchen sink drains are commonly stuffed with food or bacon grease. Garbage disposals routinely go on strike after vegetable peels from potatoes or carrots get pushed through. Bathtubs, showers, and bathroom sinks are notoriously stopped up by wads of hair. But that's not all. Here are some oddities that plumbers have found in household plumbing:

- Trout: No, not a goldfish. The story goes that the technician with the plunger and auger device pulled out a trout that weighed nearly three pounds. Goldfish, shmoldfish, that's nothing. This plumbing fisherman did not let this one get away.

- A child's toy: A day care center that wondered why their toilets weren't working found out. They also found out where the stuffed animal was that they were missing.

- Snakes: When a pet snake gets lost down someone's toilet in your apartment complex, you might think twice before sitting down with a good book. There are reports of rattlesnakes and boa constrictors being retrieved from deep within some plumbing pipes.

- Dentures: Has Grandpa lost his teeth again? Dropping one's false teeth into the john is apparently more common that one might imagine. Why a person would flush after dropping them in remains a mystery. One report of a gentleman who dropped his dentures into the depths is that he planned to scour them up and pop them back in his mouth.

- A plumber's dozen pairs of jockey shorts: This surprised technician actually pulled fourteen pairs of men's undies out of the drain. We've all heard of dryers that eat socks, but toilets that eat underwear? That's a new one.


- The head of a mop: Guess the homeowner was trying out a new method of rinsing after a floor cleanup and lost his head. What's worse, those clean, freshly mopped floors got flooded with muck as the mop head was retrieved.

- Rapunzel's tresses: Did Rapunzel shampoo her hair at this house? We've all heard of hair balls clogging the works, but there are reports of a technician pulling a two foot long wad out at one time.

- A Scottish badger: In Scotland, a badger was plunged up during a drain cleaning. What's even more strange is that the critter lived to tell the tale.

- Mature shrubbery: Well, the shrubbery didn't actually end up in the pipes but the roots did. Those trees and bushes in the front yard are smart. They know where the water is and they grow toward it. Problem is that their roots end up in the lines and it's an expensive repair job.

When you're a plumber, you get to see some unusual things day in and day out. After you've pulled a trout, toy, snake, false teeth, 14 pairs of underwear, a mop head, 2 feet of hair, and a Scottish badger out of the drains, you probably can pull a rabbit out of your hat, too.