At this point, I always leave a spare key with someone nearby, just in case. Not perfect, but better than coming home to a backyard swamp...
That’s the truth—nothing like returning from vacation to find your lawn’s turned into a bog. I once had a neighbor call me about “weird gurgling noises” coming from my yard. Turns out, it was just the sprinklers... but now I wonder if I should’ve been more worried. Ever had someone totally misread a situation and freak you out for nothing?
Ever had someone totally misread a situation and freak you out for nothing?
All the time. I once had a buddy text me in a panic because he thought my “septic tank was exploding”—turned out it was just the neighbor’s dog digging near the vent pipe. Honestly, I’d rather have a false alarm than come home to a real mess, but yeah, sometimes people’s imaginations run wild. Still, better safe than sorry when it comes to anything involving water or septic... those surprises are never fun.
Man, septic tank alarms are the worst for false scares. My uncle once called me in a panic while I was at the movies because he heard the alarm and thought the backyard was about to turn into a swamp. Turns out, it was just a power blip messing with the system. I get why people freak out, though—nobody wants to come home to a biohazard zone. Would you trust a neighbor to check it out, or just cross your fingers and hope for the best till you get back?
I get the urge to just hope for the best, but honestly, I’ve seen neighbors make things worse by poking around. Had a client whose buddy tried to “reset” the alarm and ended up tripping the breaker for half the house. If you trust your neighbor to not mess with stuff, maybe… but I’d rather have someone who knows what they’re looking at. Sometimes it’s just a float switch acting up, but sometimes it’s not.