Water Water Everywhere....

T'was the week before Christmas when all through the house not a creature was stirring...except for a half asleep crazed woman.

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I have a home that was built in 1949, and nearly everything in that house has either been updated or replaced except for the 50-gallon water heater. One fine Friday morning around 1:30 am, I was awoken by the sound of gushing water coming from the central part of the house. Upon first thought, I couldn't imagine why my washing machine would be on so late, and then realization hit me like a boot to the face. I stumbled into the kitchen where, low and behold, the water heater had failed and was rapidly emptying itself into my new, completely renovated kitchen that I spent six months supervising a cast of contractors. Now since it's an old house, the water heater was located in what is considered the original utility closet where a washing machine was originally housed back in the day and is now simply used for storage. Upon opening the utility door, a cascade of water came streaming down onto the floor and onto my wine collection. Of course, being the wine snob that I am, my first reaction was to save forty-plus bottles of wine. Needless to say, I was completely soaked by the time I got every bottle to a safe and dry location. 

Next up, I called the plumbers to see which one could get there the quickest. Mind you, I was on the phone at 1:45 am, so realistically, no one was coming anytime soon. This meant I had to take care of this emergency on my own, and there was no way I was letting my newly remodeled kitchen nor my hardwood floors get destroyed.

So I sprang into action. First, I crawled up into my attic and found the valve to shut off the continuous stream of water (every homeowner should know where the main water shut-off is for their house). Then I went into my backyard and fought to get the water hose off of the faucet. Mind you, it was very late at night, it was below freezing, and I was soaking wet. I'm thankful that my nearby neighbors didn't hear the stream of profanity coming from my mouth. I finally got the hose off and dragged one end of the hose and laid it across my very green perennial grass and wrestled the other end of the hose into the kitchen, and attached it to the release valve on the front of the water heater. The final step was to shut off the gas line feeding the water heater. Around 2:30 am, my plumber called and said it would take him an hour to get to my home and that plumbers do not carry spare water heaters on their trucks since they have no idea of size, structure, etc. So with two sleep-deprived persons on the phone, I asked Adam if there was anything else that I needed to do, and surprisingly I had done exactly what he would have done. I'm glad I saved myself a $250 emergency service fee, and I didn't have to call my insurance company either! 

Once I got the remaining water mopped up and took every bath towel from the three bathrooms, I was ready to return to my warm bed, but first, I had to change into dry pj's. As I lay there, I was so very thankful that I was actually home when it happened as I was able to not only save my wine, but I managed to save my kitchen tile and my hardwood floors and a lot of heartaches.

And I did replace my water heater with a new Moritz tankless water heater with an additional emergency sensor and water catch. So if you live in an older home, remember to turn the water source off either at the tank or at the house. Then be sure to drain the water heater into a place other than the floor of your home. My plumber commented that not a lot of people know what to do in this situation. As homeowners, we always think about what to do in an emergency situation such as a fire, but a flood can be just as devastating and destructive.

Here's to wishing you and your family a very Happy and Dry New Year!