Indoor Waterfalls

With the frigid temperatures, something had to happen. I felt safe at home despite all the bangs and loud noises. But last night was different. I fell asleep reading a book and awoke with a start. Whatever it was, my two cats were on high alert themselves. I jumped up and armed myself with my trusty Louisville Slugger baseball bat. I thought I heard water running. I ran quickly to my laundry room and nothing was amiss nor was anything wrong in the upstairs bathroom. But I was sure that I heard water running. I managed to run downstairs, and that was when I found an indoor waterfalls gushing through my back hall ceiling. At first my mouth dropped open and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Then I ran back upstairs, wishing the waterfalls would stop. I called my son, and he came over, promptly turned off the water and showed me where the water valve was, just in case this ever would happen again.

 

He and his wife and I stood looking at the water, and then pulled out buckets and trash cans to catch the water. I ran upstairs and got all my towels and blankets and sopped up the floor. My daughter in law did the same. My son poked holes in the ceiling releasing the water. Then he pried off parts of the ceiling and was able to find two breaks in the pipes, which he capped.

 

It took a while before we got the water wiped up. Thankfully it wasn’t in my living areas. There was enough damage to the ceilings in the toy room and the back hall. Besides, there would be a need to clear out the damaged toys. The small carpet was soaked and would be thrown away.

 

The next day, I would have to call a plumber to come over and file an insurance claim. I realized that I was lucky because I did have water and could live with my minor problem. On the following Saturday, a plumber arrived and fixed my pipes. Now I am patiently waiting for a call from my insurance company’s storm team to assess the damages in person. I am still waiting for a claims adjustor.  Everything takes time, and patience isn’t my strong point. Neither is staring at the holes in my ceiling. But I figure, by spring everything should be taken care of…right? I hope so!