A Disaster Turns Into Peace of Mind. Chris in Plant City had every drain in the house backflow on Easter Sunday: tubs, sinks, toilets. He tells the story of the call that fixed it.
Read the transcript ▼
hi my name is Chris partner I live in Plant City Florida this past Easter Sunday I had a little bit of a catastrophe the family here all of our plumbing decided not to work and when I mean it decided that'll work it started back flowing through everything the tubs sinks all the toilets it's probably one of the scariest moments I've ever had not knowing what to do you know I had a plunger but I knew that wasn't gonna solve this problem so I jumped on the internet and the first place I saw all those true plumbers and I gave him a call I was in a panic I got there any strange service and the young lady I explained to her what my situation was and she could tell by the tone of my voice said it was pretty serious within 15 minutes I got a call back from OC he's one of the guys he's uh he's definitely my lifesaver he he came over within about a half hour and did all the proper searching you know find out what the problem was with what their where their back the plaza you know quad was and he sat me down and told me that we have a big problem he said that we basically lost our been in sewer line and that means that the using rsync to doing laundry taking showers to flushing toilets would not working this house anymore they cleared the line but the line had broke you know there was nothing that they could do until we got ahold of the insurance agent and that's what we did we actually had to wait till Monday they started popping the floor up and digging away and the crack was eventually longer and longer and longer and they actually went into the entire hallway to dig up we had about two three feet of dirt throughout the whole house all in the back list you know there's no place to put it our house is 37 square feet and it was a completely time and every time touched every tile throughout the entire house so to match those tiles you know after they dug them up you know it would have been wood was impossible to do they had every top so we wouldn't selected some new tile from their showroom they had a great selection really really good selection and my wife and I were in there and literally within a couple minutes we've picked one out that we just love and that's what we ended up getting the one that came in through this door was mr. Parker everything was pleased and everything was thank you and these guys treated my home of who's their home the true plumbers was there for us and they explained it step by step I had no idea what was gonna come but you know through their expertise they actually showed me literally every step that would happen all along the way my wife and I came down here to retire two years ago and you know our dream home that not being turned upside down and it's just a scary thought and you know panic everyday you just come in you see something different you know true builders are there in that in their calm cool collective voices telling us everything's gonna be fine and you know it's one thing to say that but it's another thing to do it and they did
About This Video
Chris in Plant City had every drain in the house backflow on Easter Sunday: tubs, sinks, toilets. He tells the story of the call that fixed it.
Read the transcript
hi my name is Chris partner I live in Plant City Florida this past Easter Sunday I had a little bit of a catastrophe the family here all of our plumbing decided not to work and when I mean it decided that'll work it started back flowing through everything the tubs sinks all the toilets it's probably one of the scariest moments I've ever had not knowing what to do you know I had a plunger but I knew that wasn't gonna solve this problem so I jumped on the internet and the first place I saw all those true plumbers and I gave him a call I was in a panic I got there any strange service and the young lady I explained to her what my situation was and she could tell by the tone of my voice said it was pretty serious within 15 minutes I got a call back from OC he's one of the guys he's uh he's definitely my lifesaver he he came over within about a half hour and did all the proper searching you know find out what the problem was with what their where their back the plaza you know quad was and he sat me down and told me that we have a big problem he said that we basically lost our been in sewer line and that means that the using rsync to doing laundry taking showers to flushing toilets would not working this house anymore they cleared the line but the line had broke you know there was nothing that they could do until we got ahold of the insurance agent and that's what we did we actually had to wait till Monday they started popping the floor up and digging away and the crack was eventually longer and longer and longer and they actually went into the entire hallway to dig up we had about two three feet of dirt throughout the whole house all in the back list you know there's no place to put it our house is 37 square feet and it was a completely time and every time touched every tile throughout the entire house so to match those tiles you know after they dug them up you know it would have been wood was impossible to do they had every top so we wouldn't selected some new tile from their showroom they had a great selection really really good selection and my wife and I were in there and literally within a couple minutes we've picked one out that we just love and that's what we ended up getting the one that came in through this door was mr. Parker everything was pleased and everything was thank you and these guys treated my home of who's their home the true plumbers was there for us and they explained it step by step I had no idea what was gonna come but you know through their expertise they actually showed me literally every step that would happen all along the way my wife and I came down here to retire two years ago and you know our dream home that not being turned upside down and it's just a scary thought and you know panic everyday you just come in you see something different you know true builders are there in that in their calm cool collective voices telling us everything's gonna be fine and you know it's one thing to say that but it's another thing to do it and they did
Every Drain Backflowed on Easter Sunday: A Plant City Sewer Line Story
Chris lives in Plant City, and on Easter Sunday his whole house turned on him: "all of our plumbing decided not to work... it started backflowing through everything - the tubs, sinks, all the toilets. It's probably one of the scariest moments I've ever had." Within 15 minutes of his panicked call he had a callback; within about half an hour a technician was at the door, and the real diagnosis followed: the main sewer line had failed.
What whole-house backflow means
When one fixture clogs, that fixture backs up. When EVERY fixture backs up - and especially when using one pushes sewage up through another - the blockage or break is in the main line downstream of the whole house. Nothing you pour, plunge, or flush will fix that, because the problem is not in any fixture you can reach.
First moves when sewage is coming up
- Stop using ALL water immediately - every flush and every shower is more sewage in your tubs
- Keep kids and pets away from affected areas; sewage water is contaminated, full stop
- Skip the chemical drain openers - they cannot fix a main line and they make the standing water caustic
- Photograph the mess before cleanup for your insurance file
- Call a 24/7 plumber and say the words "every drain is backing up" - that phrase tells a dispatcher everything
Insurance and a broken sewer line
Coverage for sewer failures varies enormously by policy: the resulting damage inside the home is often covered while the buried pipe itself may need a specific endorsement, and cause matters (sudden breakage vs long-term seepage). What is universally true: documentation decides claims. A plumber's written diagnosis with camera footage - exactly the process Chris describes, clearing the line first and then walking him through insurance and repair - is the evidence that gets a legitimate claim paid.
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