Hello Friends! Today is a detour from my usual Friday post. No fab finds or pretty pictures to share today. Unfortunately, I spent the last two days with this guy--not my favorite date for sure!
I woke up very early Wednesday morning to the sound of water and my first thought was that we were finally getting some rain. It only took me a moment to realize the sound I heard was not rain. Still waking up, I sat up and thought maybe there was an issue with the toilet in the guest bath. When I got up, I stepped into a pool of water just about the time I heard my surge protector pop and the smell of my laptop power cord fry. I followed the sound to my kitchen, horrified to see that everywhere I looked was flooded with 2-3 inches of water. When I opened the kitchen cabinet under the sink, water was spraying full force from the cold water hose. I was able to turn off the water at the sink but I was overwhelmed with emotion. Being single takes on a whole new meaning during times like this and as independent as I am, I felt totally helpless. So I did what I always do when I feel overwhelmed, I prayed! Thank God for a helping friend, and we've definitely had better days than 7 hours with a shop vac but finally, the water was up and the sink hose repaired!
Besides extracting the water, everything had to come out of the one bedroom that still has carpet and all of the closets. Exhausted and relieved to be finished for the day, I was ready to take a break when I noticed how hot the house was. We are having our highest summer temps here this week, so at first I wasn't alarmed. However, when the thermostat climbed to 79 within 30 minutes, I was ready to call the AC guy. Seriously--on the same day! Incidentally, the two issues were not related. I thanked God again when it was fixed within an hour and under warranty! I wanted to share my experience with you because we all have home emergencies from time to time and it can be hard not to panic! My Mom may be 290 miles away, but she is still the first person I call when disaster strikes. She was a comfort to me and then Dear Firstborn called to encourage me during her lunch break after I'd sent her a frantic text. I couldn't help but notice the familiarity as she repeated words to me, I've often said to her ;) I filed with my insurance and will need to make sure there isn't moisture in the walls. I am still finding damaged personal items and cannot put my house back together until the carpet and closets are dry, so it will be a challenge! One of my biggest concerns is white markings that were left from the water on my stained concrete that I haven't been able to remove. Anyone seen anything like this? Suggestions?
I'll be sharing my progress. Thanks so much for taking the journey with me!
Do you pray or panic? Or a little of both?
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Oh Cecilia that's awful!! You are like me - I would turn to prayer, a good friend, and my Mom (if I didn't have the handy hubby I'm blessed to have). Sending prayers that something like this doesn't happen again and for complete resolution to all of these problems!!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what those marks would be? Maybe left over mildew marks from the water. You might need a commercial grade mildew remover?
Blessings to you for a much better and beautiful weekend. xoxo
My heart goes out to you. I am happy that your Faith, and Mom, were there to help you go through it. I have been in similar situations, and yes, it is too easy just to panic and want to give up. I know you still have a lot of work ahead of you.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes and Blessings,
Gwen
Oh my Cecelia ... what a mess and I just know you were overwhelmed to say the least. I hope your insurance company came right over to survey the damage and send help. I flooded three rooms in our house once just before we were to catch a flight out to go on a two week business/vacation. The Insurance company sent a guy over to move the furniture, vacuum the water; lift the carpet and put fans under it. We left and they took care of it. Our neighbor checked the fans every day to be sure they were not overheating. It was an uneasy vacation to say the least. Your insurance company may be able to assess the white marks and check for any other damage to the floor. Call me if I can help you get things back together.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Audrey
Oh no! I do a little of both...panic then pray to calm down. How awful and I'm sure quite the mess. I have no idea about the white marks unless it's like our grout where the salts in the concrete rose to the top. That took acid to remove. Maybe try apple cider vinegar? Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry, Cecilia. You know, I had the same thing happen to me about two years ago, it was one of my first blogging posts. I was sitting in the kitchen, there was a loud pop and then I heard water gushing under the sink. The hose just blew and water was everywhere. I couldn't turn it off from the sink, so by the time I ran down to the main and shut it off, there was two inches of water on my floor. Luckily mine was only in the kitchen, but I can imagine the damage you must have. I am hoping that you have very minimal damage, no mold and a quicker than expected clean up. Hugs...
ReplyDeleteI had a hot water leak under my home which ruined the carpet, the wood floor, the kitchen laminate, the sub-floor, all the under house insulation, and some dry wall on lower spots. It was such a mess and took quite a while to fix things. There are emergency flood companies who came out right away to remove the drenched insulation, put in fans to dry it all and it took 3 days! It was over $3000 in repair work!!
ReplyDeleteOh Cecilia I am so sorry. I hate it when that happens. I've been flooded twice this summer do to heavy rains, and it's no fun. I just put my pretend boxing gloves on and say a little prayer and punch right through it all. That's how I over come fear in my life. Good luck to you sweetie I'll keep you in my prayers. Big Hug, Jo
ReplyDeleteOh how awful for you! I panic first for sure and then call my husband. That sound of rushing water is too scary and I had that happen in the basement when I was alone. I can't imagine having it happen in your main living area. I need to follow your example and pray first! It will all work out because you did pray and left it in God's hands!
ReplyDeleteWhat a horrible thing to wake up to. I feel your pain! We've had so many water related issues in this house, but nothing quite like this. It's a good thing you were home at the time. I hope and pray that you'll be able to get everything back to normal....and even better than before.
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