“Sometimes the truth is better than fiction”

A Beautiful Smile.

A few years ago on a day much like today we received a call for a plugged toilet in the Ogden, Utah area. It sounded like a typical service request, so I was dispatched to the home. When I arrived, I knocked on the door and heard a voice call out, “Come in!”

Inside sat a sweet older woman in a recliner. I introduced myself as the plumber and assured her I’d take care of her bathroom issue. She explained the symptoms: the toilet was plugged, slow to drain, and wouldn’t flush without backing up.

In the master bathroom, the toilet was indeed full let’s just say, not with clear water. I headed out to my truck for my trusted plunger, the first tool any plumber uses for a simple clog. After a few attempts I got the toilet to drain, but the moment I flushed additional toilet paper, it backed up again.

At that point, based on years of plumbing experience, I knew the problem wasn’t in the drain line it was an obstruction inside the toilet itself.

I retrieved my toilet auger, a handheld drain-cleaning cable that can reach 3 to 6 feet into the toilet. As soon as I ran the auger down the throat of the toilet, it snagged hard. The cable tightened, bound up, and refused to budge. With a couple twists and some steady pressure, I was finally able to pull it free.

And that’s when I saw it:
A full upper set of dentures wrapped tightly around the end of the auger.

They had been lodged perfectly in the trapway, blocking everything.

I removed the dentures, and made sure the toilet was flushing properly. Then I walked back into the front room to explain what I’d found.

Holding out the dentures, I said, “Here’s what was causing the blockage.”

The woman took them from my hand, looked me directly in the eye, and said,
“I’ve been looking all over for those!”

Then without hesitation she popped them right back into her mouth.

She looked up and gave me the biggest, happiest smile I’d seen all day.

Story by Vic Bachman, Master plumber, Mike Bachman Plumbing.