"I believe this should be included in the school curriculum."
View pictures in App save up to 80% data.
While you may not see an issue with using the bathroom during roof repairs at your house, one roofer has gained viral attention for posting a public service announcement about it.
TikTok user Robert Brewster (@robertthebrewster), who lives in Alabama, might have saved a lot of homeowners from embarrassment. In short, he said that your roofers can tell if you go to the bathroom while you’re getting work done.
"Please, don't relieve yourself while I'm up here on your roof," Brewster remarked. "I really would prefer you not to do that while I'm around."
Is it advisable to stay away from the bathroom while roof repairs are taking place?
He proceeded to clarify his reasoning—naturally, while perched atop someone’s rooftop.
“Your [expletive] travels right through this pipe and hits me in the nose,” Brewster exclaimed, gesturing dramatically at the problematic pipe. He then feigned gagging, indicating just how intolerable the odor could be. However, the audience seemed to find the alert entertaining.
“I feel like this should be taught in school,” one woman wrote. “Because none of us knew this.”
As of Saturday, Brewster’s video had amassed more than 320,400 views.
Houses are equipped with plumbing vent pipes. This is the pathway that air must follow when you flush your toilet—or brush your teeth or do laundry, for that matter.
When you poop, your fecal matter isn’t legitimately shooting directly up the pipe, as Brewster suggested. Rather, it’s the air that is needed for proper water flow in your drains. The pipe essentially lets air escape as water flows down.
But these pipes can get clogged. This might happen if there’s an accumulation of debris on the roof or a rust buildup in the pipe. Signs of a clogged pipe include a build-up of water in your drains, gurgling drains, or sewer smells. Typically, a roofer or plumber can help resolve these issues, but homeowners can fix minor clogs of their own with a garden hose.
Homeowners value the advance notice.
In the comments section of Brewster’s video, many users said they weren’t aware their bowel movement and roofing pipes were connected.
"I have no knowledge about life," a user remarked humorously.
"One person commented, 'This would have been really useful when my husband was putting a new roof on our house.'"
"Few individuals are aware of what lies atop their roofs," remarked a third participant.
Other homeowners pointed out another important face: When you gotta go, you gotta go.
“One viewer recounted, ‘I was dealing with a nasty stomach bug on the very day my new roof was being installed.’”
“Sir, I have IBS; I don’t control when I have to go,” another wrote. “It tells me.”
"One user remarked, 'I really hope you don't fix my roof while I'm in the middle of [pooping].'"
In the meantime, a few users humorously suggested that they may have gotten Brewster's advice a bit too late.
"Hold on, is that the reason my husband fell from our roof while he was installing shingles?" a woman inquired.
"Those poor Amish folks when I was dealing with that stomach bug," someone else commented.
"One user confessed, 'I'm honestly struggling to recall whether I went to the bathroom 19 years ago during the roof replacement after [Hurricane] Katrina,' showing a hint of embarrassment."
@robertthebrewster ♬ original track – RoberttheBrewster
The Daily Dot has contacted Brewster through a comment on TikTok.
