Monday, September 14, 2009

Water Woes


My good friend Emil from Alaska has been visiting for the last week. We originally had grand plans to soak up local color with day trips to farmers markets, a local winery, the highest point in Alabama (a paltry 2407 feet), and whatever roadside attractions we happened upon.

Instead, we have been soaking up water leaking from the water heater and making day trips to hardware stores.

While I'm bummed that this happened during Emil's visit, I'm glad he was here when it happened. I know nothing about plumbing. I know how to turn off the water to the house and I can put a pan under a drip. That's about it.

Thanks to Emil, I have running water again. If it wasn't for him, I'd be getting cold water only from the outside spigot until I saved up enough money for a plumber. Oh, say...four months. Believe it or not, I actually have things on my list of things to do that supersede hot & cold running water. Poverty sucks. But a great friend who knows how to fix stuff and will spend half his vacation fixing your stuff is priceless.

So we spent a few days living a rustic lifestyle. Or perhaps it was more like luxury camping. No running water except for the outside spigot. Buckets of water to flush the toilet. Pitchers of water lined up on the counter. Plus, all the flies that got in the house when we drained the hot water heater with a garden hose out the kitchen door. Ah...welcome to country living!




6 comments:

Fred said...

The minerals in the water here are rough on water heaters and multiple pinholes are not unknown. A good thing to do is cut the power to the water heater once a year and totally drain it to flush out these minerals. Cost a bit to refill and reheat, but it's still cheaper than a new water heater. I just had to get a plumber out to replace my relief valve (the one on the water heater, not the one on my head!). Are you finished with the tale of the body search?

Anonymous said...

Damn Jackie...good thing Emil was there to help. Fred is right, especially since your on county water.

Jackie said...

When we drained the water heater, we discovered lots of mineral sediment. Now, thanks to Emil, I know how to drain a water heater. I'll make the annual flushing a summer chore so I can use the drained water (cooled, of course) to water the fruit & veggies.

Still got probably two more chapters to the strip search story. I've had almost constant houseguests since July but, now that I have some time to myself, I'll try to finish the story before the month is over.

Anonymous said...

Yay for learning handy, but odd things and YAY YAY YAY for Emil, the good visitor.

Anonymous said...

Oh. That was me.
- Priscilla

Thomas Korn said...

phew. I'm glad Emril was there too, I would have googled the info and got it all wrong

btw; I dont get the pics of me posted?