Caution! Family Suffers Emergency and Near Tragedy Due to DIY Repairs

While it’s great to have some DiY skills and the enthusiasm to do home fixes on your own, it is critical to know your limits.

A landlord and tenant learned that the hard way in Blooming Grove last week when they tried to repair a sewer line themselves.  Apparently believing it was “just a clogged pipe” they opened the pipe and tried to clean it out by themselve! The sewage drained out in the home’s basement. (yes, you read that right). This was a Town-supplied line and at the Town Board Meeting Supervisor Rob Jeroloman emphasized that not only would town workers have been there much more quickly if they had called Town Hall, alleviating what turned out to be a much larger problem, he probably would have been there himself within an hour. Now there were complications determining where the stench in the neighborhood was coming from after a sump pump had been used to release the mess in the basement out into the yard, thus causing the additional concern of impact from the stench on neighboring houses and children playing outdoors.

Mold had quickly spread through the house, making it determined unsafe to live in due to the serious health danger to the family. In this particular instance apparently no one became ill, but Jeroloman wanted the community at large to understand the risks of trying to do this kind of technical labor without understanding the risks… and that help from the Town is just a phone call away.

Fortunately the landlord made a temporary arrangement for the family to stay in Town at Sleep Inn, but due to the extensive cleanup that the house now may require the family having to find alternate permanent housing.

Lesson learned? Know your limits and when to ask for help!!