Yesterday (Tuesday) morning:
So I woke up yesterday morning to the sound of running water in my laundry room. Checked out the room and noticed that there was water all over the floor--water which seemed to be coming from the water heater. Panic. Call the office ladies at school. Then call my landlord (who lives in Florida, btw)...
After chatting with them, I called some plumbers, who couldn't make it out to the house until the next morning (today). Thinking to myself, "Alright. I have to be at school, like a minute and a half ago--I'll just put some towels down and when I get home tonight, (at, like 6PM), I'll re-visit the situation."
So, I put towels down, pack my lunch, and leave.
An hour later, I am still worried about the house--have visions of Schnappy rowing around in a little boat. I call my ex to see if he will go over and make sure that the cat is not drowned. He says he will go by in the early afternoon. Feel a little better...
He calls me and leaves a message--I teach from 2-5--to say this, "It looks bad. There's a leaking pipe and the water is collecting rapidly." Panic again. Tell my students about the water heater drama and one woman (thanks, Mallory!) tells me to call the Austin water people, so that they can turn off the water. I do that, and save Schnappy the indignity of rowing like a galley slave.
Spent the night at E!'s house--eating Chinese take-out and watching cable. Super fun slumber party!!! After the fun, though, I lay in bed half the night worrying alternately about the chances of coming home to a smoking hole in the ground AND the fact that I don't have anything to wear for Easter. Worrying is my secret Ninja skill.
This (Wednesday) morning:
Woke up from weird dreams about water and malls. Had some tea and cereal at E!'s house, then came home to my own. Schnapps seems to be holding down the fort quite well... no smoking hole in the ground. The house smells pretty crappy, though, so, as I wait for the plumbers, I open all the windows (allergies be damned!) and light a candle.
Plumbers get here and the story is not-so-good--Need to replace the water heater, it's tilting to the left, and could have fallen down last night if the water hadn't been shut off. Also, apparently there is a warning tag on the water heater that I had not noticed--something DANGER about gas leaks and vents and a variety of ill-sounding events that could or could not occur, depending upon the placement of the water heater and the flow of gas. Awesome. Further, the people who installed this 1935 heater used two different kinds of pipe, the plumber tells me, so there is alot of corrosion. At this he sticks his finger in one of the pipes to show me said corrosion. I have been washing my hair with corrosion. Double awesome.
My new plumber friends are off looking for another water heater right now. They will be back in a little while, they said, and they will replace the whole thing. They seem very nice, and I am glad that they are saving us from hair corrosion and gas leaks.
I need a nap and a martini.
1 comment:
Wow. That totally sucks.
I feel your pain, though. In the house we rented last year, we had an incident that resulted in water, water everywhere, and definitely not the kind of drops you'd want to drink.
We didn't have water for, like, two weeks, so we just moved the hell out.
Good luck.
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