Plumbers And Other Homeworkers Share The Weirdest Stuff They’ve Witnessed In Our Homes
How weird and uncomfortable does it feel letting a service professional into your home to do some work? We trust them, but we often spend the morning stress-cleaning every square inch of the place because we're scared they'll judge us. Well...don't worry, because they've seen much worse.
Plumbers, painters, carpenters, delivery people, and other homeworkers all took to Reddit to share the strangest and most disturbing things they've seen on the job. Trust me, these will make you feel better about how dusty your picture frames are.
Some Puzzling Decor
"Was a firefighter another time in my life. Had a night call to a mobile home for an elderly lady once. We walk in and it's dark but as my eyes start to adjust I think, 'Oh that's weird wallpaper.' I keep looking around, 'huh, it's on the ceiling too.' Weird inconsistent patterns and rectangle shapes. Eyes adjust some more while we are talking to her until I wonder 'are those puzzles?!'
She had hundreds of puzzles that she had glued when completed to every surface of her mobile home. Walls, ceiling, living room, bedroom. Every square inch covered. Weird..."—Reddit
Valley Of The Dolls? Try An Entire House Full Of Them
"My boyfriend is a locksmith. During the 2008 recession, Las Vegas had thousands of homes that were getting repo'd or abandoned. The company he worked for would have him go in at night and change the locks to keep people out. This particular house looked totally normal from the outside.
But inside, in every room, there were those creepy 'time out' dolls. They look like a kid hiding their face or pouting after being put in a time out. There were dozens, lining the walls and not laying down, but standing up against every wall of the house. The house's electricity had been shut off so all we had was flashlights. Altogether, we counted 63, but there might have been more."—Narwheggie, Reddit
When Nature Calls, The Conversation Doesn't Have To Stop
"I'm an electrician and I was troubleshooting a bad outlet in the bathroom of a former NFL player. I was taking all the outlets apart, following them to see if I could trace out the home runs when he comes in and starts talking football.
We are in the middle of talking when he just walks over to the toilet and starts going number two.
I couldn’t see him but there was just a little pony wall between us. He didn’t even stop telling his story, it was crazy. I walked out because of the smell, he came out a little later and it was like nothing ever happened."—thatsLife12345, Reddit
The House Was Rotted And Ready To Collapse
"I am a house painter and about 10 years ago, I was going to paint an older woman's home. I always start by removing the faceplates from outlets and switches and in the first one, I found an outlet full of dead termites. I went and asked the woman about it and once she saw it, she called her pest control guy who was quickly on his way.
Well, the pest guy looked all around the house, pulled a few more outlet covers off with the same results. He then climbed under the house for a few minutes until he comes back and declares the house a total loss. The floorboards were hanging on by a thread, the walls were all soft, and the entire house could collapse at any moment. I packed my tools and told her not to worry about paying for my time."—JoseofthePainter, Reddit
The "Special" Room
"Quite a while back, I used to install high-end entertainment systems and home theatres and distributed audio for wealthy people. One day, we get a call to this nice guy's house—first floor is your typical rich person place, but downstairs there was a room labeled 'Special.'
It had hidden speakers, a screen, and a multimedia projector. So you know what I thought the 'special' room was. When I had to go back to change a bulb, it turns out the room was a chapel. It had a one-person pew in front of a shrine, Orthodox icons on every surface, shelves with relics. All Christian antiques, and by my Master's in Religion, no less than 500 to 1300 years old. He told me not to tell anyone."—wjescott, Reddit
Bird Is The Word (And The Ringtone)
"I was a medical equipment delivery guy for a couple of years. I went into a dementia patient's house and had to instruct his caretaker on how to set up a tank of O2. As I was kneeling down, my phone went off with my notification tone, a singular beep.
The pet bird nearby seemed to have taken a shine to that noise and mimicked it perfectly. The caretaker and I looked at one another and she said, 'I've been here for six years and he's never done that before.' From then on, every time I delivered, that bird would instinctively 'ping' me until I let my phone notification sound go off, after which the bird would celebrate by bobbing his head up and down and turning in a circle." —Mr_Mori, Reddit
200 Chickens Flew The Coop
"Used to deliver oxygen to people's homes. Saw plenty of weird things. Lots of hoarders, but this one took the cake. He didn't want to let us into his house, but I had to do a home safety assessment before I could set up the equipment. He was anxious about letting me in because his house was a 'mess.' He kept telling me about his messy house.
Come to find out, it wasn't just messy. It was filled with 200 chickens. He was proud of his show chickens and wouldn't let them live in a barn or coop. The smell was unbearable. Other than that, he was a super nice guy."—Good_Looking_Karl, Reddit
You Really Don't Think Smoking In Bed Started The Fire?
"Long ago, I did estimates for fire and water damage repairs for a restoration company. This couple had a smallish fire in their bedroom. When I enter the home it's seemingly normal, smells like smoke (there was a fire, makes sense). They take me to the bedroom and it was the mattress that had endured the majority of the fire.
Next to each side of the bed are 10-gallon buckets FILLED TO THE BRIM with cigarette butts and hundreds of spilled over butts all over the floor. I was just in awe how they could live like this in their bedroom, especially since the rest of their home seemed tidy and normal. 'How did the fire start,' I asked (required to ask). 'No idea,' the husband replied."—Living_Kumquat, Reddit
Delivering Pizza To The Tooth And Nail
"I delivered pizza but for older or handicapped customers, I'd always bring it inside. One time I delivered to this lady who was COVERED in cat hair, head to toe and the inside of her house was rancid. I couldn’t go in there without holding my breath every time.
One time in her kitchen on a table a paper plate were what looked like teeth, and I mean A LOT of teeth, different colors and shapes and all just horrifically repulsive. Don’t know whose teeth they were—from what I could tell she had all if not most."—ohfman117, Reddit
This Rat Was On A Rampage
"I was a paramedic in Oakland and once I was in a home where a child had been bitten by a rat in her crib. As we were standing there talking to the mother about her options, a rat walked up to one of the firefighters and bit his boot.
The firefighters had to stomp on the rat until it went limp and the rat was taken to the health department for testing. That was a strange situation."—HenryRN, Reddit
The Guinea Pigs Were The Real Homeowners
"I'm a face painter who does children's birthday parties. I've never had any super sketchy experiences, just a few run-down homes, but the kids always have fun.
I went to one house, kinda messy and smelly, but no big deal. I started setting up my supplies and I heard a weird 'peep' sound above me. I look up to see a guinea pig running through a clear plastic tube attached to the ceiling. Then I take a good look around the house and notice the whole place is covered with a network of guinea pig tubes. The mom noticed me looking around and nonchalantly told me they have like 10 guinea pigs."—toxik0n, Reddit
A Little Obstacle Course To Start The Day
"Foodbank delivery to homebound elders. I always fill two banana boxes (around a foot and a half by 3 and a foot deep) of all types of food and deliver to his house. One time after delivering to him for 3 years, I have to come inside because he hurt his foot.
He had never thrown out a single box. They lined every wall and entrance. He built a castle around his bed and a series of paths through his house. It was like those pillow forts you would make as a kid, but with boxes. I asked him if he wanted help getting rid of them and he said no. That it was fun and helped with his dementia."—DirtyMartiniMan, Reddit
The Table Turkey Could Last Another Few Weeks
"Work in lead abatement for a city/county-run program. It's mostly low-income people that receive the free (or heavily subsidized) work. The people receiving the work are out of their homes for a week or two while we work.
This one lady was going to be out of her house for 2.5 weeks while we did a bunch of stuff. She left a full, raw turkey just laying on her counter. Of course, we toss it by day four because it's starting to stink and attract a lot of bugs. A week later she comes by and wants to get it to cook it, and becomes incredibly hostile when we tell her we pitched it. The city ended up buying her a new turkey that evening."—CappucinoBoy, Reddit
Tip Your Pizza Deliverers Well, Folks
"I delivered pizza/food for a few years, and saw some interesting stuff! Not quite that interesting, but pretty close. One man answered the door nude, and made zero apologies... he tipped me okay, so I just shrugged and handed him the pizza.
Another time, I was delivering to a trailer park, and when I got there, the customer had his door open but was fast asleep on an easy-chair. I stood there awkwardly for a minute, until his neighbor came over and said, 'Oh, he always does this. Gets drunk, orders pizza, then passes out before it arrives! Just take the money on his coffee table and leave the food.'"—LollyHutzenklutz, Reddit
I'm Shocked These Homeowners Thought Their Place Was Worth Robbing
"I was installing alarm systems, and one day I went out on a service call. Stepped into a literal cesspool, and thanked God for my plastic booties to protect my shoes from walking on their disgusting carpet.
I was shown to the alarm panel, and when I pulled the panel off the wall to see why it was not powering on, an army of roaches started scurrying out of the wall. Turns out the panel died because several roaches had electrocuted themselves on the circuit board."—BootNinja, Reddit
Why Get A Security Camera When You Can Get...Dolls?
"I used to help deliver furniture for my grandfather's upholstery business. One day, we were delivering a couch to a rather expensive looking home. Right as we walked into the front door, there was a floor-to-ceiling glass case built into the wall that was about 12 feet long and 10 feet tall.
It was filled with those glass dolls of varying sizes. A few of them were at least 4 feet tall. What made it extra creepy was the fact that all of the dolls were angled so that they were 'looking' at the front door. The only person that was home was a 75-year-old man."—Sirhc978, Reddit
Was She Saving This Suitcase For A Vampire?
"Used to work pest control, went into student accommodation to deal with insects. Carpet moths or bedbugs.
This one room is fairly clean, but we have to spray all fabrics with the chemical in question to prevent any eggs from having a safe space to gestate, so open up suitcases, wardrobes, that sorta thing. One suitcase is full of used tampons that she was saving for... who knows what reason, actually, and I don't want to know."—RTa98, Reddit
The Winter BBQ
"Inspecting an oven a tenant had complained was smoking. Yup, it definitely was. Tenant thought an oven could be used like an outdoor grill.
The guy had been cooking meat directly on the oven racks and just watching all that glorious fat and grease just drip down and accumulate. It had been building up in the bottom of the oven and the little drawer underneath for months. How he didn't burn down the whole building is beyond me."—twostepsfrombutter, Reddit
The Actor's Shrine That Started Off Creepy And Then Got Creepier?
"My brother is an insurance adjuster. He was in one house and they had a basement that was an homage to Scott Bakula. Tons of pictures and memorabilia.
He says 'Wow, you guys are really big fans?' They look confused and say, 'Yes, that is our son.' My brother felt like an idiot. There was the last name Bakula on their form."—debbieae, Reddit
The Chicken Ate My Internet?
"I used to help with dispatch calls at an ISP. One day, I get a call from a tech who was always a joy to chat with. Tech: Hey. I wanted to call to formally let dispatch know that I will be leaving a job early and unfinished.
He explains there are chickens everywhere, there's poop covering everything, and it burned out the internet lines. He let the customer know that this would be a charged service call, and they tried to get the chickens to attack him. Those people called in every day for a few weeks after to complain about how unprofessional the tech was and how we were a terrible company."—therenaarena, Reddit
What's Mine Is Yours, Take The Bathrobe
"Real Estate Photographer here. The client was wealthy and had a very nice home. She and her husband were home while I was shooting, and I asked the woman if I could remove her pink robe which was hanging on the shower door. She replied, 'feel free to put it on.' Caught me off guard but I just moved it aside.
This woman was beautiful and had nude photos of herself hanging around the house. So I keep moving through the house to shoot and I told her I was about to wrap up but needed to photograph her walk-in closest, to which she replied: 'try on anything you want.' I didn’t take her up on her off, finished the shoot and left."—podfoto, Reddit
The Feeling Of Being In A Nice Glass Artwork Store
"Handyman here—was called to a blocked sink at a lady's house. So I get to the door and she opens it—and the house was like Delores Umbridge's office.
Every wall, shelf, and horizontal surface was covered in decorative plates, figurines, and teapots. The hallway was exactly me and one plumbing toolbox wide between occasional tables and shelves with more stuff on them. That was the most nervous and slowest walk I made through anyone's house trying not to knock anything over. She was friendly and made tea, but I moved so carefully in there."—Stooby2, Reddit
She Never Quite Grew Out Of Her Collage Phase
"I'm a commercial sparky, but my company sometimes takes residential jobs when there's not a lot of other work. So we were doing some work at an apartment complex and they were inside one unit that this weird lady lived in. Apparently she was really friendly and talkative—but just kind of gave off a vibe like she wasn't all there.
My journeyman asked to use her bathroom at one point and apparently it was covered wall to wall, ceiling to floor with magazine cutouts—nothing graphic—just random pictures from random magazines cut and pasted everywhere. He said he just waited for lunch or until he got home to piss."—The_Trilogy182
Snake People Need To Give The Rest Of Us A Warning
"I was doing a mural on a wall for the apartment of one of my best friend's brothers. This was my first time going to his place after knowing him for a little over 15 years. To my surprise, he had maybe 10 of those Rubbermaid bins just with snakes in them. Just laying in the living room. All kinds of snakes different breeds or whatever. Different colors, sizes. Completely threw me off guard.
When I asked him about it, he says that's nothing, takes me into this other room where there were glass tanks all around, maybe 3 walls of the room there had to be near 40 snakes total in his apartment."—UptownUchiha, Reddit
Big Abraham Lincoln Fan
"Not weird or disturbing, but this has always stuck with me. I used to deliver pizzas. I delivered to this elderly couple. The lady answered the door in a nightie and wearing one sock.
She was taking her time to get her money so I browsed around their setup inside. The only thing they had hung up on their wall was a 5'x7' photo of Abraham Lincoln. That's it."—shartnado3, Reddit
I Can't Even Imagine Going Near One Goose, Let Alone Living With Them
"A hoarder that lived with a bunch of... geese... in the house... and would speak to them constantly. They would always bite her. It was a very large home she owned, and she moved into the guest house to rent the big one out.
I'm just standing there... and I'm looking at these old b/w photos in the hallway. I asked her who they were of? 'They're of me, dear.' She used to be a gorgeous old actress/model. I just looked at the pics, then her, then pics... then she yelped as another goose bit her."—ImCaffinated_Chris, Reddit
The Home Decorator That Had A Stinky Muse
"I used to help install shutters in homes. You know how normal people have a picture frame with like a big picture in the middle of someone's face and then smaller pictures of them around it?
Well, instead of that, this one had small pictures of the person around a big picture of their feet."—SauciestMeerKat, Reddit
Grandma Was Going Out Of Town This Weekend
"Not really disturbing, but still shocking: I'm a personal care assistant for elderly clients. I go into their homes and essentially just assist them with day-to-day activities and make sure everything's okay in the home.
While organizing one of my clients' wardrobes, I found a stack of about twenty, unopened, Magnum Trojan protection tools. I think you know what I mean. This particular client is in her late 80s. Get it, Granny."—okaybrie, Reddit
He Wore An Itsy-Bitsy, Teenie-Weenie, Purple Bikini
"Fire Alarm Inspector. Working in a cheap long-term hotel and knocked on a door where a larger man dressed in essentially a purple bikini opens the door half asleep.
Enter to test the smoke detector and tried to keep my eyes off the bed, but I knew I had seen something...tried not to look but I did and there are some adult items lying next to the tv remote. The detector then decides to not alarm in a timely fashion, so I’m just staring at the wall hoping it will alarm so I get out of the room."—Karlen89, Reddit
This Is Probably Why Being A Chimney Sweep Isn't Really A Job Anymore
"My father is a chimney sweep, and from time to time I work with him when he needs me. Till this day, the weirdest thing that I've ever seen on the job happened two years ago. We pull into the driveway to this farm, nothing weird so far, but once we get out and go inside to check out the fireplace, we see that the house is filled with farm animals.
Chickens, pigs, a small calf, you name it, all inside the house. Their reasoning was that they were just really comfortable with animals. Everything else was completely fine, nice folks, successful farm it seemed. It smelled horrible though."—jasongraham_, Reddit
