As a past service technician and plumber myself, I can recall several experiences that were rather interesting to say the least. For instance, while updating some ductwork in a customer’s home we needed to remove some items that had been stored in the floor joists above the duct. We ran across two Crown Royal bags. The ties were not secure so a quick peek inside revealed LOTS OF CASH! I took the two bags upstairs and handed them to the elderly gentleman and all he had to say was “Oh, I forgot I put them up there!” I did find out later that there was $10,000 in each bag.
Our duct cleaning crew pulls some incredible items out of ductwork. Besides a dead mouse or two, there have been several times a little baggie containing Zig Zags along with some type of dried green plant gets sucked out. You can only imagine what it is. What a cleaver hiding spot, pull off your bedroom floor vent and stash your stuff. Can you imagine how upset the kid was when he found it was missing?
How about plumbers? Out of a toilets they’ve pulled, dentures, toothbrushes, a pet alligator, beanie babies, gloves, and fish (we suppose they wanted to drain their garden pond for the winter, and what a convenient way to get rid of the fish). Several times we’ve been hired by insurance companies to remove the p-trap under a sink to look for a lost diamond ring, we’ve never found one.
And what about all the homes we’re in? Some people are hoarders, some clean freaks. We understand that, but the family that flooded their unfinished basement and raised fish in the 12” deep water was very different. Especially the fact we were called out to give a bid on a new furnace. Come to find out, the water was deep enough it got into the blower wheel of the old furnace and shorted out the electrical motor! And the haunted houses!! One in particular comes to mind (my eyes are wide open again just thinking of this one). The homeowner was a retired mortician (sets the tone!), the furnace would break down, I would show up, put my gauges on the power lines and the needle on the gauge would go BERSERK! Reading’s way too high to be realistic, or another time, a pair of pinch pliers I just used and sat down beside me suddenly disappeared, only to be found on my truck dashboard when I went out to find another pair. And another time at the same house, while working on the furnace the manual gas valve turned off while I was watching the furnace operate ? ? Strange but true.
