Her church had stepped in to help her by hiring a plumber to clear the sewer line once before when the clog was especially bad. She had a fixed income, was widowed and on Social Security, and was dealing with health issues. She simply didn’t have the money.
But the tree roots continued to encroach, and Janet knew it was a matter of time before the issue would require serious remediation. But there wasn’t much she could do about it.
Then her toilet backed up and overflowed.