Some folks sip mimosas at brunch in their free time, others hunt down vintage treasures, and then there’s the special kind who find themselves knee-deep in questionable liquids. When disaster strikes and the basement turns into a swamp of biohazard, patience and a sense of humor become survival tools.
Sometimes, life hands you a soggy mess and zero backup, and that’s when you realize that adulting is also scrubbing up sewage soup while someone else’s hair gets done. Just like one Redditor was left cleaning his mother-in-law’s basement from raw sewage while she was at the hair salon.
More info: Reddit
Some weekends bring you peace, while others bring you projects that test your health insurance coverage
Image credits: Raychel Sanner / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
One man and his wife get stuck cleaning sewage water from his mother-in-law’s basement while she’s at the hair salon
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The man and his wife are knee-deep in sewage water, trying to save whatever they can, but most things are ruined
Image credits: Kampus Production / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The mother-in-law doesn’t want to reschedule a hair appointment, so she goes to the salon while the couple cleans
Image credits: Salty-Tomato5654
The couple spends an entire day cleaning and pays $1,500 out of pocket for supplies, but gets rewarded with pizza and sodas
The OP (original poster) and his wife live in Chicago, so they’re not new to heavy summer storms. But one day, that storm went from “oh, rain” to “we’re going to need a boat” in under one hour. Six inches of rain fell so fast that the city’s combined sewer system basically gave up and said, “Good luck, everyone.”
Now, the OP’s mother-in-law has been here before. But did she get backup insurance coverage? No. Did she store her belongings in waterproof bins? Also no. Everything from sentimental keepsakes to storage boxes to random “just in case” stuff sat directly on the floor, begging for disaster.
When the sewage hit, it wasn’t just water. It came up from every drain, toilet, and shower like a bad horror movie remake. But the mother-in-law is almost 70 with knees that sound like bubble wrap, so she couldn’t exactly be scrubbing floors. When the OP and his wife showed up ready to work, she was nowhere to be found.
Turns out, while the couple was literally shoveling sewage soup, she was in a salon chair getting a blowout. They vacuumed, mopped, disinfected, and ran industrial fans, and by 7 p.m., the basement was clean-ish. So, the OP and his wife were rewarded with thin-crust pizza and sodas.
Total bill for their heroics? $1,500. Total thanks? Not really proportional to the smell they endured. But the OP gets it. Two months before, his mother-in-law lost her husband suddenly. Watching years of memories get tossed into a dumpster while the air smells like a porta-potty is not great for the soul, especially when you’re grieving a loved one.
Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Grief isn’t just feeling sad; it’s like your brain and heart decide to crash a surprise party. It can sneak up as fatigue, confusion, anger, sadness, depression, or sudden bursts of tears over absolutely nothing, or everything. People handle grief in all sorts of ways - some throw themselves into work, others just freeze, stuck in a fog of memories and what-ifs, and some just disappear into a “do not disturb” bubble.
It’s messy, unpredictable, and can hit you hard, months or even years later. So, if someone’s acting a little out of sorts after a loss, cut them some slack. Grief doesn’t have a timer, so be patient, check in, show some love, and maybe send snacks or memes, but both work wonders. Because people who are dealing with grief need to feel loved and needed.
Some folks will help out with the kids or pets, others will take them shopping, and some might just sit and listen to whatever they want to share. But there are those who show their love through acts of service, even if it means cleaning up sewage from their basement. Because as the saying goes, “actions speak louder than words.” For folks whose love language is acts of service, this couldn’t be more true.
It’s all about showing you care by doing stuff, whether that’s making a cup of coffee, fixing a leaky faucet, or grabbing their favorite snack when you go shopping. These gestures say “I care about you” without needing a thousand heart emojis. If you want to win their heart, skip the sweet talk and grab a mop. Because nothing shows love quite like standing in toxic waste while someone's hair gets a happy ending.
What do you think of this story? Would you have helped with the cleaning or said "good luck" and called it a day? Share your thoughts and comments below!
Netizens say the man and his wife are good people for helping out, but suggest they send the woman a bill for the supplies
