My worst week as a repair guy happened in a single Tuesday

I had a day last month where I went to 3 different houses in Akron and every single one had a fridge leaking from the water line. The first one was a simple o-ring, the second had a cracked valve, and the third just needed the filter tightened. By 4 PM I was so fed up I almost snapped at a customer who asked if I could fix her washing machine too. Has anyone else had a day where every call was the exact same problem?

2 comments

2 Comments

fiona_clark1mo ago

Fridges are funny that way, you know? My buddy runs a plumbing crew down in Canton and he swears by the days when every single job turns out to be the same stupid thing. One time he told me he had five houses in a row with toilets that wouldn't stop running, and it was the same flapper valve on four of them. The fifth one was a cat toy jammed in the fill valve, which I guess is close enough. It's got me wondering if there's some kind of cosmic force that decides "today is fridge water line day" just to mess with repair guys.

ben4861mo ago

Good catch though @fiona_clark, but toilets and fridges are different systems. Fridge water lines are usually 1/4 inch plastic tubing running from a saddle valve, while toilets use a 3/8 inch supply line. I've seen guys swap parts between them thinking it's the same deal, and it never works out. Your buddy's story about the cat toy is classic though, that's the kind of weird stuff that keeps plumbing interesting. Wonder if he's ever had a day where every call was a bad ice maker instead of a flapper?