C Craft
Well-Known Member
This little rant is dedicated to the hurricane survivors. You forget until you have to go thru even a little piece of it, what it is like. I was awoken about five this morning. Thus is the life of chronic pain. I went to bed about a 1;45 so my brain is trying to figure out what she is telling me. After the second time or maybe the third! It sunk in she could hear water running and the hot water heater is going!! So I get up and sure enough I can tell there is water running somewhere and the hot water heater in the garage is cooking along! So I grabbed the flashlight went out all around the house came back and told her no water showing up outside. So started going thru the house and the rooms adjoining the bathrooms and kitchen. Still no water! Water is definitely running though. So I go to the street to cut it off. while I am right here I will check the meter. Can't see the meter anymore as they put an updated electric meter reading device on it about a month ago. So by now I should reveal that back in 2005 the year of all the hurricanes we experienced a pipe in the slab bursting, right after we got water and electricity back!! The copper had re-acted to the chirp in the clay. Not sure I am spelling that correctly but it is the whitish/gray streaks you will find in red clay. Anyway they seem to think in some cases it causes a reaction with the copper within the soil. And actually deteriorates a pin hole in the copper pipe!! Well so we have been out of water since this morning about 5:30 AM. So I had forgotten how much fun that is! It is kind of like camping in the house. To the folks who still don't have power or water I will have to say I do have a leg up!! But you would be surprised how many times you turn on a faucet or flush the toilet when you don't actually have water. I had some water on hand form Irma's uncertain approach to the area. And experience had me collecting water before I shut it off this morning. I turned it on this afternoon for a short while and we collected water again. The water you wash with is poured into a collection bucket that is used to flush toilets later, or emergency clean-up a spill on the floor! You brush your teeth that water then goes in the collection bucket for flushes later. Tonight's bathing water will be warmed and after use goes in the collection bucket. You learn to prioritize your flushes as it truly necessary at this moment! The reason I haven't called a plumber is to find a leak such as one under the slab requires a specialized plumber and you are looking at anywhere from $150 - $300 dollars. That is Monday thru Friday during business hrs. On a weekend/emergency it is $50 - $75 dollars show up fee and can be upwards of $100 pr. hr. So that bill could feasibly the neighborhood of $700 - $800. So I try to reach the Ins Co. to see if my policy will cover the emergency fee. Of course you can't reach anyone on the weekend . You can reach a line to report that the house burnt to the ground but, they can't tell you anything if your policy will cover and emergency fee. So I guess Monday I will have to hit a plumber early, cause I can't afford those kind of rates out of my pocket!! OK so I am thru ranting and back to the poor folks still suffering for the tragedy of the hurricanes. True I do have power to type this rant and I am sitting in the AC but we done this back in 2005 for almost 3 weeks. Every morning we got up and after a short breakfast we gathered water from a neighbor who had a well. We went thru the day working daylight till dark to shove down something for supper. Heat water for baths and gas the generator to lay in front of a fan so you could at least not sweat while you were not sleeping. Then daylight and you start it all over again. Today has really made my heart go out to all that still may not have power or water!!!! It begins to remind you of back in the day, when the day began at sunrise and wound down shorty after dark!! I know why they was tired! LOL Gotta laugh, it helps to keep from crying! Cliff
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