The great toilet escapade of 2010
Let me preface this with two very important facts.
1. Water is freaking expensive out here.
2. Two neighbors whose houses were built by the same builder have had water pipes in the concrete slab burst causing weeks of work and damage.
On Saturday afternoon I walked into the master bathroom only to hear that the toilet was running. Being the super handy woman I am, I lifted the lid off the tank to assess the situation and found that the floaty bulby thing had broken off the arm thingy that it lifts to plug the hole (bet you didn't know I knew such fancy plumbing words huh?). I replace the lid and bend down to the turny off knob and turn off the water. Tada! Fixed til somebody comes to fix it. Right?
Wrong.
Sunday evening I walk in that bathroom just to check on things and notice a decent amount of water in the floor. I assess the situation and find that the turny off knob is dripping water. Hmm. It's a small little bitty leak so I dry up the water and lay down a towel. Monday morning I get up, check the towel and it's wet but not sopping wet. I change out the towel and start down the hall to get Madelyn's clothes only to find out that OH NO! The carpet in the hall is wet! I immediately call the property manager to make her aware and to update my previous maintenance requests. I'm kind of starting to freak out.
I take Madelyn to school, come home and reassess, the carpet is definitely wetter and the towel in the bathroom floor is just barely damp. Hmmm...
I determine that I have a burst pipe. I turn off the water to the house and call property manager again, worried about the problem. I call the hotel and make a temporary reservation - for a week. I call my rentors insurance and make sure that I would be reimbursed if I was displaced.
It's now noon. I go to pick up Madelyn and get a phone call as soon as I get home that plumber is on his way. I'm fighting myself not to pack a suitcase, but mentally I'm doing a checklist of things that I don't want in the house with workers when I'm not here. Check books, legal documents, that kind of stuff. Plumber comes and fixes the floaty thing and the knob thing and says that the water in the hall is from the teeny tiney drip. I don't believe him. He checks the meter and says no water is going anywhere. I can't tell if the carpet is more wet or not.
I start drying the carpet with towels, I soaked 3 beach towels and 2 bath towels and it still wasn't dry. I call property manager again and tell her that I'm concerned. She sends handyman over to assess the situation. He says the water "rode the slab" like it was surfing or something and that's why the carpet is wet.
Fine. I cancel hotel and determine that we'll stay in the house and if it's wetter in the morning then I'm going to make them pay water bill and fix the dang thing.
Tuesday morning and the carpet is drying with a fan blowing on it. Who knew the plumber and handyman knew better than I did?
The best part? When handyman left, he looked at me and said "Are you going to be OK now?" I was totally that freaked out crazy woman who couldn't handle a minor toilet leak.
Fan-freaking-tastic.
1. Water is freaking expensive out here.
2. Two neighbors whose houses were built by the same builder have had water pipes in the concrete slab burst causing weeks of work and damage.
On Saturday afternoon I walked into the master bathroom only to hear that the toilet was running. Being the super handy woman I am, I lifted the lid off the tank to assess the situation and found that the floaty bulby thing had broken off the arm thingy that it lifts to plug the hole (bet you didn't know I knew such fancy plumbing words huh?). I replace the lid and bend down to the turny off knob and turn off the water. Tada! Fixed til somebody comes to fix it. Right?
Wrong.
Sunday evening I walk in that bathroom just to check on things and notice a decent amount of water in the floor. I assess the situation and find that the turny off knob is dripping water. Hmm. It's a small little bitty leak so I dry up the water and lay down a towel. Monday morning I get up, check the towel and it's wet but not sopping wet. I change out the towel and start down the hall to get Madelyn's clothes only to find out that OH NO! The carpet in the hall is wet! I immediately call the property manager to make her aware and to update my previous maintenance requests. I'm kind of starting to freak out.
I take Madelyn to school, come home and reassess, the carpet is definitely wetter and the towel in the bathroom floor is just barely damp. Hmmm...
I determine that I have a burst pipe. I turn off the water to the house and call property manager again, worried about the problem. I call the hotel and make a temporary reservation - for a week. I call my rentors insurance and make sure that I would be reimbursed if I was displaced.
It's now noon. I go to pick up Madelyn and get a phone call as soon as I get home that plumber is on his way. I'm fighting myself not to pack a suitcase, but mentally I'm doing a checklist of things that I don't want in the house with workers when I'm not here. Check books, legal documents, that kind of stuff. Plumber comes and fixes the floaty thing and the knob thing and says that the water in the hall is from the teeny tiney drip. I don't believe him. He checks the meter and says no water is going anywhere. I can't tell if the carpet is more wet or not.
I start drying the carpet with towels, I soaked 3 beach towels and 2 bath towels and it still wasn't dry. I call property manager again and tell her that I'm concerned. She sends handyman over to assess the situation. He says the water "rode the slab" like it was surfing or something and that's why the carpet is wet.
Fine. I cancel hotel and determine that we'll stay in the house and if it's wetter in the morning then I'm going to make them pay water bill and fix the dang thing.
Tuesday morning and the carpet is drying with a fan blowing on it. Who knew the plumber and handyman knew better than I did?
The best part? When handyman left, he looked at me and said "Are you going to be OK now?" I was totally that freaked out crazy woman who couldn't handle a minor toilet leak.
Fan-freaking-tastic.
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