what the f*** else is going to go wrong!
I woke up this morning looking forward to going to a birthday party later this evening.
Made pancakes for breakfast, tidied up, decided I'd wash the dishes, because I hate coming home to a dirty sink.
I have one of those taps where you lift the handle to start the water flow.
Turned this handle to the left because that connects the hot water, and as I turned it, the silly thing lifted itself, too fast, too high, now it's broken and won't shut off. Stoopid tap!
(since the sink was now half filled with hot water, I washed up the dishes as the water continued to fill the sink)
I've turned it all the way to the right, for cold water, and pushed it back down as far as it will go.
The water is still running. About a litre a minute. A litre!! I put a jug under it and measured.
I suppose I could stand beside the sink and hold that handle down for as long as it takes.....
I've called maintenance and said this is an emergency and they will send a plumber, but it may take up to 5 hours before he gets here. In the meantime I should shut off my water supply. I frantically ran around to the few neighbours that I know speak English and asked if there was a shut off tap and where would it be? One didn't know, one wasn't home, the third neighbour said there isn't an individual shut off tap per flat.
Well, I can't just shut off the water at the mains, even if I knew where that was. Too many people would be affected, some of them with mental health issues, they just wouldn't understand what was going on. Like my back door neighbour who never knows what day it is and frequently runs out of food because he doesn't know he should go and buy some....
So I'm stuck here on the internet, whinging again, because I can't even shower in case the plumber knocks on the door. If he does take 5 hours to get here, I'll be missing the birthday party. If he comes and does the repair early enough I'll still get there, but I texted the hostess just in case, she said "no worries".
So now I wait.
Luckily I'm not one of those people who has to pee every time they hear running water.
Made pancakes for breakfast, tidied up, decided I'd wash the dishes, because I hate coming home to a dirty sink.
I have one of those taps where you lift the handle to start the water flow.
Turned this handle to the left because that connects the hot water, and as I turned it, the silly thing lifted itself, too fast, too high, now it's broken and won't shut off. Stoopid tap!
(since the sink was now half filled with hot water, I washed up the dishes as the water continued to fill the sink)
I've turned it all the way to the right, for cold water, and pushed it back down as far as it will go.
The water is still running. About a litre a minute. A litre!! I put a jug under it and measured.
I suppose I could stand beside the sink and hold that handle down for as long as it takes.....
I've called maintenance and said this is an emergency and they will send a plumber, but it may take up to 5 hours before he gets here. In the meantime I should shut off my water supply. I frantically ran around to the few neighbours that I know speak English and asked if there was a shut off tap and where would it be? One didn't know, one wasn't home, the third neighbour said there isn't an individual shut off tap per flat.
Well, I can't just shut off the water at the mains, even if I knew where that was. Too many people would be affected, some of them with mental health issues, they just wouldn't understand what was going on. Like my back door neighbour who never knows what day it is and frequently runs out of food because he doesn't know he should go and buy some....
So I'm stuck here on the internet, whinging again, because I can't even shower in case the plumber knocks on the door. If he does take 5 hours to get here, I'll be missing the birthday party. If he comes and does the repair early enough I'll still get there, but I texted the hostess just in case, she said "no worries".
So now I wait.
Luckily I'm not one of those people who has to pee every time they hear running water.
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Just not a good day...the universe is trying to tell you something..maybe you weren't meant to go to that party. Maybe the plumber is single and a hunk. You never know. Are you all dressed up?
ReplyDeleteDelores; I'm not dressed up yet, the party isn't until 6pm. The plumber is probably the same one who has been here twice before, older, married, most definitely NOT a hunk.
ReplyDeleteThis is when renting becomes a good thing. You don't have to pay for the plumbing. At least, I hope not.
ReplyDeleteYou are so, so lucky on the peeing front. We once had a large fishtank in the bedroom that made my nights a misery.
ReplyDeleteHope the plumber (or his younger, hunkier offsider) gets there soon.
ACK what a pain!!!
ReplyDeleteI had a pipe BURST under the sink one night, at about 11pm.
THAT was fun, running around the yard in the dark, trying to find the water mains.
I hope now as I write this that the plumber has arrived and saved the day and that you managed to get to your party.
ReplyDeleteOur pace is leaking as we speak, from too much rain and a hole in the roof but only over the laundry where the dog sleeps. So it's bad for him but not for us. He may need to sleep elsewhere tonight, which he'd enjoy.
There's often a bright side to most things however bleak. I hope you can now see it.
Look at you nearly dropping the F-Bomb! I hate it when things go wrong in the house or on the car because my hubs has NO idea how to fix anything so we rely on a handyman too.
ReplyDeleteBetter luck to you today!
Rubye Jack; one of the best perks is free repairs. I'd have to pay if I deliberately broke something, for instance if I was the kind that trashed the home and somehow put a hole in a wall....
ReplyDeleteEC; it would have been a different story if I'd been drinking coffee, that's what makes me go.
Toni; oh, that's SO much worse!!
Elisabeth; the problem has been resolved and surprisingly no plumber was needed.
While the water kept running, I'd go out to the kitchen and hold down the handle to stop it for a few minutes, then when I let it go the water would start running again, well after about an hour and a half, I held down the handle and when I released it the water stopped!! I tested the handle on and off several times and it worked just fine. So I cancelled the plumber and went to the party.
Jennifer Kay; I used to NEVER drop the F-bomb. Since knowing my second husband (now ex) I've said it a lot. A LOT! But almost never out loud.
I'm glad I live in a place now where building maintenance takes care of all necessary repairs, and the grounds too!
Glad everything worked out for you. Maybe a plumber should look at it anyway? Next time it happens it may be worse.
ReplyDeleteThat's awful when they give such a vague idea of time they "might" turn up. Hope you got to go to your party, E!
ReplyDeleteAnd hey, I know you'll like this: the word verification for this comment is "fixitio" !! Ha ha ha
How weird that the tap started behaving all by itself....
ReplyDelete.... won't it be naughty again on another day?