HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
July 23, 2005 This week was a real pain in the drain – literally. Two weeks ago about one quarter of the basement and the bathroom was completely flooded. This situation occurs every once and a while. On rare occasions, Rapid City, South Dakota has a torrent of rain - the ground becomes saturated and the water finds its own level – in our basement. Residents can only water the lawn every other day (if your house ends in an odd number, you can water the lawn on an odd day – the same applies to even number houses). The lawn was brown from not watering due to a defective oscillating sprinkler, and we had not had time to purchase a new one. So, we used a small stationary jet sprinkler and left it in one spot on the lawn for about four hours to give it a good soaking. The next day the basement was flooded. Before we had replaced all fifteen windows in the house, water would cascade through the casings and panes. Since the window casing and panes were not the problem, we thought that there was a small crack in the foundation and or there was a leak between the floors of the house that was emanating from the outside water tap. Tracy was looking at spending a truckload of money to dig up the entire foundation, have it inspected and install black expandable sealant to prevent other leaks from developing in the future. Also, the outside water tap and pipe leading into the house would need to be replaced, and the ceiling of the basement would need to be cut into. More money - Oh, Geez! As we were pondering this thought, water was percolating from under the newly installed air conditioning / heating system. We called the company that installed the unit, and they replaced a small drain that lead from the unit to another drain, that lead to the main sewer pipe. The next day, water was still percolating from under the base of the unit. We called again, and the service guy found seven gallons of water hiding in a void, under the filter of the unit. Okay, problem solved – Right? Nope! This morning we awoke to one quarter of the basement flooded. It now appeared that the main sewer pipe was clogged. We then called the Rotor-Rooter guy to snake the main sewer of the clog. Lately, Rapid City has been in the grip of one hundred-degree / plus weather. Since the air conditioner had to be shut off, due to the fact that water could not drain from the unit. Meanwhile, the washing machine spewed soapy water into the bathroom, basement, and into the room where the A/C – heating unit resided. Ten large towels, five drained one-gallon pails of water and a mop later, the situation was under control. All fifteen widows of the house were opened for ventilation. However, there was no breeze to be found. Meanwhile, the thermostat began to rise from a comfortable seventy-three degrees, onward and upward to eighty-five degrees in a time span of one hour. It was hot outside, and boiling inside. It took about four hours for the Rotor-Rooter guy to show up. In less than twenty minutes the drains and sewer lines were cleared, and we began to clean up the remnants of the flood. The washing machine had a good workout cleaning the towels. Thankfully, there is a large clothesline in the backyard, where the towels are hung to dry in the blazing one hundred-degree heat, no breeze environment is useful. The air conditioner was then engaged and it took an additional three hours for the temperature to fall back to a comfortable seventy-three degrees, once again. Tracy & I were exhausted, hot, and we were unable to find the humor in this farce. Normally, we can laugh off situations like this. However, after returning from an extremely heat filled, two day stay on the ranch in Belle Fourche - we were not in a laughing mood. Tracy had spent the previous evening attending to one of her young sons who vomited from the heat, at two o'clock in the morning. This episode would not have been an issue - However, her eight-year-old son did not quite make it to the bathroom, and he spewed the contents of his dinner all over the kitchen floor. Tracy was exhausted, and not in good humor when we faced the flood in the basement and bathroom, this morning. Who could blame her? We kept our cool while bailing out the basement, bathroom & laundry room of soapy water; and chalked this latest "happenings" up to memories we would like to forget. Tracy has marked her calendar for the month of November to have the drains cleaned. Hopefully, if the drains and sewer lines are Rotor-Rootor'ed every six months – the great flood will not present itself in the future. The six-year mystery of floods in the basement has been solved, and we saved thousands of dollars of money on speculative foundation and plumbing repairs. Home ownership is a "money pit." Every time a homeowner turns around, there is something that needs to be repaired or replaced. However, there is no place like home sweet home. However, it can be a royal pain in the drain and wallet when the Money Pit Gods get cranky. ------------ Email Argile Stox: argilestox@gmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
