I’ll spare you photos, but the hubby and I were in for a big surprise the other night when the main plumbing line for our house backed up – right into one of the bathtubs and the utility sink in the garage. Pleasant, it was not.
You see, the hubby did a load of laundry and when the washing machine drained the bathtub and the utility sink filled with water. Obviously we were a bit concerned, so we did a quick bit of research and realized that something was clogging our main sewer line – we crossed our fingers that the problem was something small and that tree roots hadn’t grown into the line. Armed with a bit of knowledge, we called our home warranty company, American Home Shield.
Some people swear against home warranty companies, but our home warranty has already saved us buckets of money (like with that leak in the crawl space) and we’ve only been here about 6 months. In this case, a plumber came right out, snaked the line (and found a Clorox disinfecting wipe in the line – weird!), poked around a bit more and voila – no more surprises in the tub! Whew, we were so glad it was an easy fix!
We’ve had our fair share of plumbing woes, but I’m certain you guys have some stories that will make ours seem like a walk in the park. Spill the beans!
Image courtesy of Cartoon Stock.
Oh my goodness! We had a home warranty our first year in this house, and it saved us buckets of money too…but we decided not to renew it after that, and we haven’t needed it. LOUDLY knocking on wood!
We luckily haven’t had any major plumbing problems. I would like to install new lo flow toilets…but that’s it!
Oh this has totally happened to us. Except our lines were did have tree roots in them. It was our first weekend in our new home, I was home alone for the first time and running the laundry and dishwasher. All of a sudden I heard the strangest gurgling sound and found a DISGUSTING mess all over in our bathroom. I have never used so much clorox and commercial cleaning products in my life.
I am cancelling our Home Warranty because our company is HORRIBLE. “2-10 Home Warranty” They take FOREVER to dispatch anyone out and the companies they do send are a bit sketchy to say the least. I have heard of some AWESOME home warranty companies {you obviously have one of them} but ours unfortunately was not one of them. They didn’t even try to “keep us” when I called to tell them we weren’t renewing. What kind of company in this struggling economy lets a customer leave without some type of persuasion!? I’m hoping and praying that nothing goes wrong from now on! Keeping my fingers crossed in Kansas!
Glad your situation was resolved quickly!
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~Lindsay
Lindsay,
Wow, that sounds horrible!! I’m sorry about the crazy tree roots (and funky mess), and that your home warranty company hasn’t treated you well. Talk about adding insult to injury! I guess we really have been lucky to find a good company. I hope that all of your plumbing issues are behind you!!
~ Liz
Sounds awful, Liz! Glad you got it fixed quickly though. You know, I am always tossing out junk mail from home warranty companies but maybe I should give them a second thought! On the other hand, is it a good investment for a new or newish home?
Averill,
You know, that’s a great question. Our former home was a brand-new townhouse and we didn’t buy a home warranty – luckily, it turns out that we didn’t need one. I suspect that’s typically the case with new builds, but there are always things that could go wrong (particularly if the construction wasn’t top-notch). With a new build, you may want to just see how things go for the first few months – if you don’t have any problems then you’re probably in the clear, but you can always purchase a warranty later if you’ve been faced with a slew of problems. Of course, keep in mind that a warranty won’t cover problems that you already know about, so be sure to purchase one before your air conditioner dies. :) Hope this helps!
~ Liz
hi, i saw your room redesign on this young house and headed over to your blog- love it!
we just bought our first house back in august, and it was built in the 1950s! the seller offered to split a home warranty from American Home Shield, what a blessing. they have been great and we really have used it- we are going to renew it. we have gotten plumbing stuff taken care of and a new air conditioner… now if only the furnace will go out at the beginning of next winter… haha!
Sabrina,
Congrats on your new home!! I’m so glad you’ve had a good experience with American Home Shield, too. I’m totally with you, hoping that anything major that’s going to happen happens while we have the home warranty – fingers crossed!! :)
~ Liz