image credit: Sears
Yesterday our water heater bit the dust.
This is not the first time it has happened. We got to talking last night, and decided that, counting this time, it has happened at three of the four homes we have owned over the years.
One very memorable time comes to mind. We lived in a house that had a LOT of uncarpeted floors. I had spent the day sweeping, cleaning baseboards, and mopping. At some point in the afternoon, I was looking across the room, and I remember thinking how shiny the floors looked. I was patting myself on the back for doing such a good job on a back-breaking chore. Very quickly I realized that no amount of mopping would make the floor THAT shiny, and I realized that there was a slowly spreading flood of water on all the floors I had just finished cleaning. The water heater, which was located in the hallway, had developed a severe case of incontinence. The water leaking from it found it's way into the walk-in cedar closet right across the hall, then down the hall into a bathroom, around the corner into the den, and into my large craft closet which of course had cardboard boxes sitting on the floor. Ugh...the mess! I can honestly say that I have never since mopped floors without thinking of this event.
Because Carey was home yesterday, and because he is ever vigilant when it comes to observing the workings of every mechanical device in and around our home, there was less mess and distress this time than was caused the previous two times we've dealt with the results of good water heaters going bad. He was able to drain the water safely outside with minimum leakage onto the laundry room floor. We had to make do without hot water last night until we could purchase a new unit today...a very small inconvenience, all things considered.
What a blessing it is being married to a man gifted with mechanical aptitude and skill. He removed the damaged unit and re-installed the new one all by his lonesome...saving us over $200 in service fees.
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We have replaced two water heaters here, in 16 years. Ours is in the basement, but the way the floor slants, when it leaks, it runs under a wall, and into Louie's pool table area, which is carpeted. The first time, he was sitting downstairs in his office and heard it start leaking, and stopped it. The second time, it hadn't leaked onto the carpet yet, but Louie and my brother replaced them both. I don't what we would do if we had to pay for all the fixes and installations we have had here. What a blessing you and I have in our spouses!
ReplyDeleteBeen there done that!
ReplyDeleteglad your man about the house was home, too!