Wednesday night I decided to replace the last piece of two
toilets that hadn't been flushing nicely. Felix was taking a bath (upstairs
bathroom) and I was sitting right there with a wrench, so I figured it was as
good a time as any.
I had taken 3 trips to Home Depot, 1 trip to Fred Meyer, and
spent a good amount of time reading forums and even watching some YouTube
tutorial videos to make sure it really was going to be as simple as it looked:
unscrew the old supply valve and screw in the new one. And, keep a small
container and a towel handy in case a little water came out during the process.
So I grabbed the wrench and started removing the old nut. A
couple of droplets of water formed under the valve, just as the video warned
might happen. I gave the nut another crank and WOOSH it was like a fire hydrant
blasting out of the wall. Water EVERYWHERE and it just kept coming at full
speed. I’m sure I swore or yelled or both because Felix immediately stood up in
the tub and started freaking out, reaching for me to get him out.
Over the sound of the blasting water, I tried calling my dad
– no answer. Tried calling my mom – no answer. So I ran downstairs and grabbed
my kitchen garbage can, thinking maybe I could catch the water and throw it
into the tub while I called emergency plumbers with my free hand. But the water
was hitting the garbage can with such force, it was bouncing back out and hitting
the wall. I tried plugging it with my hand – not a chance. Tried forcing the
new valve on to close it up – not a chance.
I called a couple of emergency plumbers but my phone was so wet
at that point, it wasn't working and they couldn't hear me. It was the stuff of
nightmares. “Hi! My house is flooding and I need help!” And all I’d hear was “Hello?
Hello? Click.” Omg.
Meanwhile Felix was standing in the bathroom naked, crying and
covered in bubbles. I put him in the living room and ran outside to start
banging on my neighbors’ doors. (One benefit to living in a townhouse, I
guess.) First one, not home. Second one was a grandma with a friend. Third one
was a guy and they all came running over. The grandma asked if she could help
with Felix, so I just motioned to a diaper and said “Sure! Put a diaper on him!”
But he ran from her, climbed the stairs and slipped in the water,
his little bare bum hitting the floor. I took him back downstairs and the neighbor
got him diapered and wrapped in a blanket on the couch. Then the three of us
ran around the house turning off every valve we could find. We didn't know what
else to do.
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| Anxiously looking out the window while random neighbors come and go. |
Meanwhile, the water had filled the hallway and started
creeping down the stairs. At some point I had tossed the cats into Felix’s room
behind a closed door, but the water was approaching that room and was working
its way into my room.
Moments later, another neighbor appeared with a tool to turn
off the water supply to the house - which happened to be outside under a manhole cover in the street in front of someone else's house. The grandma’s friend had to move her car so
he could access the shutoff valve, and a few seconds after that, silence. Thank
god, the water was off.
I went into “get this shit outta here” mode. The neighbors
brought piles of towels and even sleeping bags to soak up the water. I tried
calling my parents again a few times but they still couldn't hear me, so I headed to
the kitchen to get a bag of rice. It was raining in the kitchen. Water pouring
from multiple spots in the ceiling and pooling on the countertops and all over
the floor. I threw my phone in the bag of rice and started trying to squeegee
the water out the back door with a Swiffer. It sort of worked.
 |
| Nothing a few towels can't handle. Pfft. |
I called my parents with someone else’s phone and they came
over. The next couple of hours were a blur of soaking towels, ringing them
out, and running Bissell carpet machines over the carpet to suck the water out.
It was working well – we probably pulled up 20 – 30 gallons.
Before bed, I was feeling pretty good about everything. I
had installed the new toilet part and turned the water back on, and my phone had
dried out and was working again. The carpet was feeling remarkably dry and I
had a couple of fans going. After working hard to get Felix to sleep in his own
new toddler bed over the previous week, I had to give in and cosleep. The evening was
just too chaotic.
Yesterday morning I got to work and decided to call my
homeowner’s insurance company and have a pro take a look at my house just to
make sure it would be okay. Oh, ignorance is bliss. I met the guys at the house
later and their little moisture meter revealed the true extent of the damage.
Nearly all the flooring upstairs has to be replaced, including the first layer
of subfloor, as well as most of the kitchen ceiling downstairs. Even though it
didn't appear the water had reached Felix’s room, it seeped through the carpet
pad and through my closet wall into his closet.
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| This is quite a few feet from where I thought the water stopped. |
Bonus damage: My next door neighbor’s bathroom floor and
kitchen ceiling. We share a bathroom wall so it makes sense that the water got
through to his side.
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| My kitchen ceiling is out. I'll probably upgrade to recessed lighting while we're in there. |
I have homeowner’s insurance and paid my deductible out of
savings. Sometimes I feel like the universe is conspiring against my plans to
save money so we can move.
To be continued…
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