TIL my old way of checking for blockages was missing a big problem
Last month in a Portland bungalow, I found a clean flue but the homeowner still had smoke backing up... so I borrowed a borescope from a plumbing buddy and found a huge bird nest crammed in the offset, three feet down from the top. What's the weirdest hidden blockage you've ever pulled out?
Man, that's a crazy find! I can totally see how you'd miss that with a normal check. It makes me wonder how many other weird blockages are just hiding out of plain sight. I bet that homeowner was relieved you figured it out before winter hit. What did you end up doing to get it all cleared out?
Actually, I kinda think the opposite. Most of the time, a good visual check catches the big stuff. People get spooked by one weird story, but honestly, those hidden blockages are pretty rare in my experience.
Yeah but what about the stuff you can't see at all? Like behind a wall or under a slab. A visual check won't catch that, but the problem still happens. How do you even start to look for those without tearing everything apart first?