WILL IT EVER STOP?

Sunday afternoon, about 45 minutes before church, it was discovered that the east wing of the house was flooding. We quickly turned off the water to the sink, toilet, water heater, etc. I am just a lone single girl and am not too savvy on what to do when a flood occurs. I quickly noticed that it seemed to be coming from under the water heater. I determined the water heater had leaked, so Ginger and I began the steps necessary to empty the water heater as well as prevent it from filling back up.

As if that wasn't bad enough...all 3 toilets stopped working at the same time. This is not a good thing with seven people living in this house. We went to church, came back and had a delicious lunch at my Uncle Clarke and Aunt Jill's home, and then we returned home hoping the problems had resolved themselves. No luck!

So I called my cute plumber Scott. He rushed over, even though it was a Sunday night, and went to work trying to fix the problem. No go. He was mystified. The next mornig he returned with help. By this point, I had a "revelation" that the water heater had not actually leaked, but that the main line had backed up under the water heater making it appear as if it was the problem. Come to find out...this was exactly what had happened. Drains were backing up all over the house.

Once this determination was made, the men started coming. From the city, from the sewer company, from the home warranty plumbing company, etc. The handyman and landscaper were also there. Everyone wanted in on this action...except me...I just wanted out! After many long hours, the clog in the street was dislodged. Rumor is, in this town, you are responsible for your own pipes until they reach the main city line. Cameras were threaded down clean-out pipes (new vocabulary word for me) and problems were discovered. In the end, there is a "belly" in my sewer pipe where debris will settle over time. I was given instructions on how to manually flush it with the water house and a "jet ball" so the belly of the drain can stay clear and this will not happen again.

During the chaos of it all, I snapped this picture. The thought occurred to me, "What happens when a damsel is in distress? All the caring men come out in their white trucks to rescue her. Too bad when they leave they take all her money."




This was an expensive inconvenience. Not only were checks written out to these rescuers, the hall laminate will now need to be replaced because of the flood damage. The perils of being a homeowner. I think that is another reason it is not good for woMAN to be alone, this kind of stuff should be a man's concern. I should be in making all the men lemonade! However, as time goes on, I am recognizing that I can do hard things...I can do MANY hard things....and with a smile.