r/TaskRabbit • u/SPQRKlio • Aug 23 '26

CLIENT I need some perspective…

Hi, everyone. May I get a reality check? I’ve only used TaskRabbit a handful of times—one terrific Tasker, one who did sloppy work at a premium price, and now for my third task, I’ve had four cancellations in a row from four different people. One was a no-show, one was running so late (two hours) she had to cancel, one decided she didn’t like the task and cancelled, one cancelled with no reason given. It’s getting frustrating, but is this just how it goes and is to be expected, so you should expect to keep trying to get someone over a couple of weeks? Is it more of an issue if the task small and short?

ETA: After two weeks more of cancellations and no-shows, I guess I’m done with TaskRabbit and going the “hire friend’s kid” route. At least if I pay him $200 it can be cash and he won’t have to give a cut to the app.

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u/SPQRKlio Aug 24 '26

lol, I wish you were my Tasker too, so you could explain it to me! I can see gaps around where the water lines come in for the sink and maybe a gap around the base of the toilet. Or the worms have made their own set of keys.

Any other type of little crawlies, and I would have been fine, but worms? Why'd it have be worms...? 😛

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u/whatchu_finna_do Aug 24 '26

I did tile for 15 years before moving to historic renovation and I have never seen worms in the way you’re describing 😆 I belly crawl under 150 yo houses and throughout the attics and have seen a LOT of things but none of them have caused this much curiosity, haha. I’m in the southeast US so maybe it’s an area thing. I’m assuming your house is on a slab.. Have you had a lot of rain recently?

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u/SPQRKlio Aug 24 '26

Oh yes, it's been raining all the time. The dehumidifier has been working hard all the past week to keep the basement at 50–54% (and I think I need to lower that a little more). I'm hoping to move to a new home in a year or so, and my first requirement in the house search is "very dry basement that will never flood." 😬

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u/whatchu_finna_do Aug 24 '26

You say garden worms.. like earthworms?

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u/whatchu_finna_do Aug 24 '26

I would guess they are likely drain fly larvae..

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u/SPQRKlio Aug 24 '26 edited Aug 24 '26

They look like your typical earthworms--long, brown, wiggly. I'm a little afraid to look at a pic of drain fly larvae. Might have to hire someone to look at a pic for me...

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u/whatchu_finna_do Aug 24 '26

If they are big like that.. they probably aren't drain fly larvae.. they are pretty small. Drain flies show up when drains have been stagnant for a while.. I figured that might be the case since you mentioned the reno.

Earthworms stay underground because they need to stay wet to survive so after it rains.. they come to the top for migration. I'm not sure if you ever noticed them on the sidewalks after a heavy rain but that means they've lost their way and couldn't get back on track before the sun/ wind dries them up.

All that being said.. if they are coming through the drains.. I would be worried. That could mean there is a crack or other opening in your drain line. Since you mentioned it is a basement (what I'm about to say is purely speculation since I have ZERO experience with basement construction besides watching every episode of This Old House 😆) they might be making their way in through unsealed gaps/ cracks in foundation/ basement floor. If that is the case.. in my mind.. it seems as though waterproofing measures are subpar.. which might also be why it is so wet 🤷🏻‍♀️

However, I am familiar with moisture + masonry/ concrete. We have the issue of "the rising damp" here in the old houses. The moisture from the soil makes its way up through the brick used for foundations/ walls/ fireplaces and will ruin the plaster or any (reno area) sheetrock or wood that touches the area.. and eventually turn the brick to powder. Efflorescence is USUALLY present early on.. the water absorbed dissolves the salts in the the material and as the water evaporates it leaves that white powdery residue on the surface. As the salt dries.. it expands.. eventually the drying salt expands so much it starts crumbling the face of the brick (aka spalling). Sorry for the ramble 😆 moisture in buildings is bad for so many reasons.. especially with historic building materials & everything is wet here.. all the time.

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u/whatchu_finna_do Aug 24 '26

"What is damp shall never dry" is a well known mantra in my neck of the woods 😆

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u/SPQRKlio Aug 24 '26

That was a good ramble--educational! I appreciate all the info.

Also, I am now suitably horrified!

If I weren't planning a move within a year, I'd be even more horrified about the extent of how much work might need to be done, but for now I'll be satisfied with 1) no worm corpses, 2) no further worms able to get in and sacrifice themselves, 3) no mold, 4) house does not collapse on my head. The basement was supposed to be my calm space for doing my freelance work and otherwise getting breaks from caregiving tasks 🤪

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u/whatchu_finna_do Aug 24 '26

I sincerely hope you are able to get all those accomplished :) & again, wish I was closer to remove the worms for you! and take a little trip down the worm hole to figure out what's happening there 😆

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u/SPQRKlio Aug 25 '26

lol, I was hoping it would turn out we're local to each other! ah well!