Down the Drain

It was a rough night at This D*mn House. Five minutes before I was planning to go to bed, I discovered water over much of the laundry room floor. That’s never a good sign. Oh no, thought I, not the brand new water heater!

No. It wasn’t. The culprit appeared to be the air conditioner. I thought the drain hose may have sprung a leak or else it just was draining from under the unit as some water had pooled there. Again, no.

Then, I heard a drip. Ever so faint, but a drip. It was coming from the overflow pipe which runs along the sink. That means one of two things: the main is clogged and it’s backing up from the yard or either the kitchen or bathroom drain is jammed up.

Luckily, I’ve learned to keep clog-busters on hand. I cleaned up the floor and the sink as best I could and then poured a gallon of main line stuff (I don't know the name, but if you're genuinely interested I'll find out and let you know) down the drain. I grabbed a bottle of Roto Rooter Build-Up Remover and headed upstairs. (This is really good stuff. They also have a fairly helpful FAQ page on their Web site which I've consulted before.) I poured some in the kitchen sink and then poured more into the bathtub drain. I covered all the drains, told Mom not to use water or the sinks for anything if possible ‘til morning, and went to bed.

I needn’t have bothered. Toby yowled and screamed. He shut up and Mother Nature started in, lighting up my room and shaking it for good measure. This upset Ozzie who got unsettled, finally settled, and then decided he needed to pee around 3.

Mother Nature gave up, Ozzie was nestled back in bed, and Toby resumed his yowling. I told the mother that the cat goes to the vet soon or I neuter him myself. I’ve got just the tool to try out on him.

It didn’t look like what I had cleaned up was sewage. I prayed that it wasn’t. And I’m happy to report this morning that I confirmed that. I began my day by flushing out and plunging drains, running like a mad woman up and down the basement stairs, yelling to mom to run water or to turn it off. Turns out it was the kitchen sink. So the worst I’d been messing with was dirty dishwater though I’ll spare you a description of what came up when I plunged. That meant that the shower was no longer off limits, so I hit it.

And now that I’m completely exhausted, it’s off to work. I feel, but hope I don't look, like what came up out of the drain.

Home ownership is great, isn’t it?

After the Storm (s)

Things began to die down last night as sunset approached. In fact, the sun started peeking through as one of the last heavy showers fell. Me being me, I began searching madly for the rainbow.

I found it.

And then I found the sun shining through my neighbor's rain gauge and thought that was an interesting shot. Looks like we got in excess of 2.5 inches of rain. And we're in for more. In fact, we've already had at least one round this morning, The doppler, though, doesn't show anything else immediate but says there's a 30 percent chance, and that we're possibly in for a thunderstorm.

I hope the chance stays low as I am going to meet Lawrence later to get that new water heater! After some comments on the blog, discussions with some folks at work, and wisdom from Lawrence, I've decided to go with the GE at Home Depot. Lawrence has something going on this morning so I'm going to meet him at the store later. Going a little earlier to get some things I need for other projects.

I spent about two hours last night moving all the gear that has currently taken up residence in the family room (all for future This D*mn House projects) so that we have a clear path in and out of the basement for the great water heater exchange. While that takes a lot off my mind, it puts it a lot on my plate. So, going to grab some breakfast and get the day under way. Yee-hah!

Plans, Changing Plans, and Taxes

There's been a change of plans on the new vinyl fence. I guess it was fate that we had the meltdown with Lowe's previously. Carole now wants a standard six-foot dog-ear. It's on sale for less than half the price of the fence that we had originally talked about.

Works for me. Just as long as we get the vinyl. The wood fence is shot. I need to remember to grab a few before shots before I kick it down. So here's my list for the next few weeks:

1. Replace water heater.
2. Order fence.
3. Complete brick-a-bracking. (Also known as brick-hoarding.)
4. Get tools for sidewalk demolition.
5. Tear down fence.
6. Demolish sidewalk.
7. Start bricking porch.

And that's just the beginning. I'll have to reassess in a few more weeks and update the list. Care to guess how I'll be spending my vacation? I'll probably take a day or two later this month and also tack a few days onto the Fourth of July.

Oh, and the tax bill came. More than a 10 percent jump from last year! Sheesh. So much for owning the house. I guess you never really do.

Wallowing In Water Heater Woes

A little discolored water on the laundry room floor on Sunday didn't faze me. At first, I thought it was Tigger. He is 16. He is a cat. And cats leave you all kinds of niceties on the floor on occasion, especially older and sometimes incontinent cats.

A little more water made me think it was the air conditioner drain hose leaking. It wasn't. Was it leaking from inside? Maybe, but I didn't see it. It's done nothing but rain, rain, rain here for weeks so it was possible we'd sprung a leak. Checked everywhere. Nothing. Also checked all the pipes for a leak. Nothing.

I also checked the water heater. Couldn't find a spot, except around one of the feet, that was wet. That didn't count though. The floor around it was damp, so it would naturally be damp, too. But after more water last night I went over it VERY thoroughly and found a damp spot on the bottom. Prognosis: The water heater is dying.

To its credits, it's time. It's almost 20 years old. (I cringe to think that when that one went in, I was a college intern!) They sure don't make them like that anymore. In fact, today's models average 8-13 years -- if they even make it to 8! Pathetic.

Buck up li'l camper, the remedy seems pretty simple: Buy a new one. OK, but which one? There isn't a dealer for Richmond, the kind in place now, within 100 miles. So, top of the replacement list were GE (Home Depot), Whirlpool (Lowe's), and Kenmore (Sears). I did a lot of researching online. And with all the complaints and the bad news about the leading manufacturers that I uncovered, I can't help but be confused and concerned.

First, the Whirlpool "Flame Lock" water heaters were the subject of a huge class action suit that was only settled in the past several months. Second, Whirlpool water heaters are actually made by the American Water Heater Company (AWHC), one of four such manufacturers in the United States. AWHC also make products that GE and Kenmore slap their stickers on the side of the tank and distribute to stores such as Lowe's and Sears. So much for those brands!

Another issue, but with some levity, came through this YouTube submission. It's long, but pretty hilarious. (If you can't stick it out, fast-forward 'til he does the impression of the Sears' gal calling him at about the 4:50 point. Priceless.)

I guess I'll have to call Lawrence and see what he recommends. And see what his schedule is like and if I can get something done this week. If you've got suggestions, I'm open to them.

I know that I don't want to wait until the thing goes completely out and Tigger needs scuba gear.

And so another adventure begins ...