Friday, October 30, 2009

I Didn't Shoot the Albatross

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink ;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

Honest, I didn't shoot the albatross. I swear it. (The act that supposedly triggers all the woes of the mariner in this poem I loathed in a freshman lit class in college.)

I don’t know how many boards have shrunk but I do know that where the laundry room is concerned, water is supposedly everywhere. Quoth the mother. (Seriously hoping this is a case of one of her infamous exaggerations.)

She thinks it’s the water heater. The water heater that we replaced less than 18 months ago. It’s either that, or one of the basement walls sprang a leak. I’m leaning toward the latter though I won’t know for sure until I get home to check it out. Reading about all these complaints with relatively new GE water tanks leaking, she could be right though.

My preference is that there is nothing wrong with the water heater OR the wall. I'm rooting for a clogged kitchen sink (which has caused overflow in the basement before) or that the storm drains were temporarily overrun (which with all this rain is not farfetched) and THAT caused the overflow pipe to kick in. At any rate, issue diagnosis is one of my specialties and I guess I'll get my chance to see soon enough.

Whatever the cause, it’s not good. And definitely NOT the best way in which to start off the weekend. Of course, this kind of stuff ONLY happens when I'm incredibly exhausted, too.

Here’s hoping for a quick and easy fix!

6 comments:

Kate R said...

Ohhh, I am so sorry this is happening to you! I do hope it is the least of all the above evils, whichever that may be. Also hope the rest of your weekend goes a whole lot better.

denise said...

Oh no! Keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you! When will this rain ever end?!

Karen Anne said...

Geez, thanks for the pointer to the info about GE.

I can remember when it was a reputable, helpful company. My late Dad and one brother worked for them for literally decades.

My hot water heater is past it's "lifetime," and I've been thinking of a preemptive replacement rather than coming home to find a flood, having done that twice in my lifetime and not wishing to repeat the experience.

Does anyone know a dependable manufacturer?

Unknown said...

Gah! I hope it's nothing serious. I'd rather have a water heater leak than a basement wall leak, but that's only because I could fix the former myself but not necessarily the latter.

@Karen Anne: I can't suggest a tank water heater brand, but if (1) you don't have a large family and/or a large house and (2) don't live somewhere with hard water, consider a tankless water heater. I think there are still rebates for them. We've had a Takagi TK-2 for some years now, and love it. There's just the two of us (the cats don't use much hot water), and our water usage tends to come in clumps (e.g., laundry), so it's been perfect for us.

NV said...

When it rains, it pours! At least it's been easy to deal with thus far.

KarenAnne, I think Gene has the right idea!

Buy Dehumidifiers said...

I hope everything turned out alright! Leaks, especially ones you don't know the origins of, are nightmares. Find the leak and use a fan or dehumidifier to get rid of all that unwanted water asap, so you don't end up with an even worse mold problem.