Gotta call The Water Co. this morning, to begin what promises to be a Kafkaesque effort to get them -- or any other responsible entity -- to locate the street side water shutoff.
I tried poking around in the grass at the curb on Christmas day, to no avail. The shutoff tends to become hidden as the dirt builds up in that strep between the sidewalk and the street. (One of our neighbors landscaped this Fall and had just about a pickup-truckbed full of soil removed from that area to bring it back level with the sidewalk!) The plumber had tried looking Christmas Eve eve, without success.
It is, as they say, a mystery. Meanwhile, I did something moderately clever with a funnel, a bit of garden hose and the original plastic shoebox water "bucket" that, if it held up through the night, should free us from having to get downstairs every three to four hours to dump leaked water from the shoebox: funnel is self-amalgamating-taped to the hose, shoebox holds it in place under the drip and the hose runs to the floor drain. If it held up overnight, it ought to do for now; if not, well, the shoebox is right where it was, so it'll fill up again. At least that's the theory.
P.S.: The Water Company promises to come out sometime today and find our outside valve -- and to not shut it off. Here's hoping!
P.P.S: I am, intermittently, still sick. This isn't good.
Do you have Dig Safe in your area? The folks you call when you're planning on digging and don't want to hit anything? Here they always respond very quickly to such calls.
ReplyDeleteWe have Call Before You Dig, which responds within 48 hours, usually. Telling the water company that there is a leak *ahead* of their meter got their interest this morning.
ReplyDeleteIs it *possible* you are re-poisoning yourself? Along the lines of say, those flavored creams some folks use to flavor their tea-coffee? A spread for your toast? Anything???
ReplyDeleteNo.
ReplyDeleteI know where my H2O shut off is. I am wondering if I should have one of those keys that actually shuts it off. (plumbing supply, probably costs more than it is worth.)
ReplyDeletePlumbing problems are 3nd worse. You have all my sympathy.
Electrical problems that cause you to summon the fire department in the middle of the night are my #1 bad times as a homeowner. Backed up sewer comes in at #2. (It is nasty but you aren't worried about losing your house.)
And you can't get 1 fireman to come and see if what you smell is a problem. They live to light up the trucks and sirens and come en masse.