Monday, January 12, 2009
Cold Snap
Yes, it’s been cold here lately. Colder than usual. I don’t think I’ve seen temps above the mid-30s in nearly two weeks (perfect opportunity for Russia to stop supplying gas to much of Europe by way of Ukraine). It was 6-degrees this morning when I drove to work! It’s been so cold that you have to take precautions so your pipes don’t freeze -- like letting the outside faucets drip and making sure your radiators remain on. Duh! It’s cold, so therefore our radiators will remain on.
So, Saturday morning, I had just returned from a week in Garmisch and was getting ready to take Benjamin to swim lessons (yes, we go to an indoor pool). As usual, we were rushing around at the last minute, so when Zachary asked me to come look at something in the garage, I let out a sigh. “No Mommy, you really need to come look at this,” he said with a tone of seriousness in his voice.
Much to my surprise, we had a huge puddle of water in the middle of our garage, and more water dripping down from the ceiling. When I checked the attic above, I discovered more water next to the water heater. Joy. I guess that also explains why our kitchen floor was cold the night before (we have in-floor heating downstairs).
I immediately tried calling our property manager -- no answer. So, off we headed to swim lessons, otherwise we’d be late. Enter my Blackberry (which I haven't really embraced yet). While watching Benjamin in the pool, I emailed our property manager with the details. She replied back, made a phone call, and, before I returned home, a repairman was in our garage assessing the situation (fortunately Zachary stayed home -- it’s so nice having a son responsible enough to be able to do that!). Score one for my Blackberry.
The culprit? Frozen sludge in the pipe that doubles as a drain pipe and the downspout of the gutters. It had clogged the pipe, so water backed up to the water heater in the attic.
The most significant victim of the water dripping from the attic? The Christmas tree box. Fortunately the tree wasn’t in it yet. Score one for procrastination -- I knew it would eventually pay off! I’m still waiting to determine whether the box can be salvaged or not. Fortunately I have an empty dishpack that I think will suffice as a replacement Christmas tree box if need be. When we tipped the Christmas tree box on its side to let all the water pour out, the water froze a rock from beside our garage onto the box. In less than 30 minutes. That’s cold, folks!
I was concerned about the stack of pro gear boxes full of work-related books and binders that were stacked neatly below the Christmas tree box. You know it’s pretty cold when icicles form on the outside of the boxes ... in the garage! Fortunately, the Christmas tree box collected most of the water and funneled what water did escape toward the wall or the fronts of the boxes below, so there was very little damage to the contents of the plethora of pro gear boxes.
The second-most significant victim of the water? Zachary’s Boy Scout camping gear. He has a huge bin where he keeps his camping gear so it stays together, yet out of the way, when it’s not a camping weekend. Unfortunately, he didn’t put the lid back on it after packing for his last campout, and water seeped through everything and collected at the bottom. Icicles formed on the outside of the bin and in his clothes inside the bin. I think he’ll remember to close the lid to his bin tightly from now on!
We spent a good bit of time completely emptying Zachary's bin, drying everything off that we could, laying out what needed to dry naturally, and washing all his clothes. Zachary cringed when he saw that some of his Intercamp photos were damp. I wonder why? Maybe because they were pictures of GIRLS at a CO-ED campout? MacKenzie gladly brought his photos inside to spread out -- it was very cold working in the garage. What fared best? His rain gear that was still inside a ziplock bag from a previous campout. How appropriate!
Water is still dripping from the water heater, so I have a bucket in the attic to catch it and am waiting on the landlord to send someone out to try to fix it once and for all.
So, Saturday morning, I had just returned from a week in Garmisch and was getting ready to take Benjamin to swim lessons (yes, we go to an indoor pool). As usual, we were rushing around at the last minute, so when Zachary asked me to come look at something in the garage, I let out a sigh. “No Mommy, you really need to come look at this,” he said with a tone of seriousness in his voice.
Much to my surprise, we had a huge puddle of water in the middle of our garage, and more water dripping down from the ceiling. When I checked the attic above, I discovered more water next to the water heater. Joy. I guess that also explains why our kitchen floor was cold the night before (we have in-floor heating downstairs).
I immediately tried calling our property manager -- no answer. So, off we headed to swim lessons, otherwise we’d be late. Enter my Blackberry (which I haven't really embraced yet). While watching Benjamin in the pool, I emailed our property manager with the details. She replied back, made a phone call, and, before I returned home, a repairman was in our garage assessing the situation (fortunately Zachary stayed home -- it’s so nice having a son responsible enough to be able to do that!). Score one for my Blackberry.The culprit? Frozen sludge in the pipe that doubles as a drain pipe and the downspout of the gutters. It had clogged the pipe, so water backed up to the water heater in the attic.
The most significant victim of the water dripping from the attic? The Christmas tree box. Fortunately the tree wasn’t in it yet. Score one for procrastination -- I knew it would eventually pay off! I’m still waiting to determine whether the box can be salvaged or not. Fortunately I have an empty dishpack that I think will suffice as a replacement Christmas tree box if need be. When we tipped the Christmas tree box on its side to let all the water pour out, the water froze a rock from beside our garage onto the box. In less than 30 minutes. That’s cold, folks!
I was concerned about the stack of pro gear boxes full of work-related books and binders that were stacked neatly below the Christmas tree box. You know it’s pretty cold when icicles form on the outside of the boxes ... in the garage! Fortunately, the Christmas tree box collected most of the water and funneled what water did escape toward the wall or the fronts of the boxes below, so there was very little damage to the contents of the plethora of pro gear boxes.
The second-most significant victim of the water? Zachary’s Boy Scout camping gear. He has a huge bin where he keeps his camping gear so it stays together, yet out of the way, when it’s not a camping weekend. Unfortunately, he didn’t put the lid back on it after packing for his last campout, and water seeped through everything and collected at the bottom. Icicles formed on the outside of the bin and in his clothes inside the bin. I think he’ll remember to close the lid to his bin tightly from now on!
We spent a good bit of time completely emptying Zachary's bin, drying everything off that we could, laying out what needed to dry naturally, and washing all his clothes. Zachary cringed when he saw that some of his Intercamp photos were damp. I wonder why? Maybe because they were pictures of GIRLS at a CO-ED campout? MacKenzie gladly brought his photos inside to spread out -- it was very cold working in the garage. What fared best? His rain gear that was still inside a ziplock bag from a previous campout. How appropriate!Water is still dripping from the water heater, so I have a bucket in the attic to catch it and am waiting on the landlord to send someone out to try to fix it once and for all.
Labels: Pam's thoughts
