Toledo Tales

Left: Opalewski conducting analysis on a forensic case

(Toledo, OH) Rick Opalewski has carved himself out a unique niche in the plumbing industry – he offers his expertise as a forensic plumber to companies and individuals in need of diagnostic and assessment services.

“Sometimes it’s simple jobs, like the dad who called me to determine exactly which kid’s toy clogged up the toilet when it got flushed,” he chuckled. “But other times I get called on tougher forensic cases, real whodunit kind of stuff. Those are the most rewarding personally and professionally for me.”

Among the recent cases Opalewski has worked on involved a marital dispute.

"A woman called me about her husband, who had just finished hooking up an undercounter dishwasher unit," he said. "She insisted that he had screwed something up because there was water leaking under the sink, and he said she was full of bat shit. Turns out the dude didn't properly tighten the drain line to the back of the dishwasher, and - get this - he didn't use pipe tape. All in a day's work, I guess."

Left: Getting to the bottom of tough backups

Opalewski said that one of his "most unusual" cases was centered in a University of Toledo fraternity house.

"The frat brothers believed that they had isolated the source of a 'major stenchage,' and his name was Josh," he recalled. "We were able to prove that, instead, the sulfurous funkiness actually came from the vent stack, and had nothing to do with the poor diet and excessive beer consumption of Brother Josh."

He paused before continuing.

"It's really about the people, man," he said. "I see my work as bringing folks together, or at least keeping them from braining each other with a pipe wrench."

Labels: forensic plumber, plumbers, plumbing