Water can be good and bad
A tale of “I could have done without these.”
I put some fertilizer on about 2/3 of the onions. During the night there was a light rain. That’s the (partial) good news.
Now for the rest . . .
A few days ago there was water leaking out of the water softener, onto a stone tile floor. The amount seemed to be about two or three cups. I cleaned it up and there was no more. Of course the glaring question is: Why?
A nagging question such as that demanded a glass of wine, but that didn’t provide an answer. I had other things to do, so with the assumption that an ignored problem will cure itself, I went about doing other things.
Saturday night I went to bed about 10 PM and woke at midnight for a trip to the bathroom. Then I stepped into the dinning/kitchen area and found a wet rug and a half inch of water in the kitchen and attached laundry area.
The hiss of escaping water was coming from the washing machine. I had run a load early and dried the stuff, all with no problem. I turned on the lights and stepped into the room where the shut-off lever is. Water, again, from the softener was on the floor. This was a minor issue compared to the gallons on the floor in the other rooms –laundry/kitchen/dining. The dining areas has a carpet, 43 years old, well worn, and full of dirt.
I should mention these areas are to get a new wood floor covering, with a third of the pieces on-site (on the covered deck).
After shutting of the house water, I got a bucket and a couple of towels and sopped up the water, alternately working in both places. There was still a slow leakage from the softener but it was easy to keep up with. The other areas were a 2 hour effort. Anything on the floors had to be moved and/or carried outside.
The old rug was soaked. Water was slowly seeping through it. A few towels worth slowed the advance, with no water showing movement. Still, a soaked carpet is not a good thing so I started removing it. Being glued down, wet, and dirty required another two hours of work.
Here is a photo from about 3 AM.
The carpet removal is about half done. I removed 10 inch wide strips (3 from the cleared left side) about 8 feet long. Any longer and I could not get them outside without difficulty. The water (and dirt) made the pieces heavy and water ran from them as I carried them. As I moved to the right, there was less water and the work became easier. I moved three pieces of furniture back when there was sufficient space. They were temporally in front of the wood stove – a very hot wood stove. I started a small fan (also about 3 AM) to help dry the floor. Some of the soft pad did not come up with the carpet and was wet but it dried rapidly with the low humidity, the fan, and the heat from the stove.
About humidity: The area usually has a relative humidity (RH) of about 8%. It rose to 10% during this episode.
I found the leak at the back of the washer. There is a bend where the hot water hose attaches to the machine. The hose failed at that point. The orange in the photo seems to be fabric/plastic wrapping pushed out from the pressure of the escaping water.
It may be that there is a buildup of iron-sediment (or something) in the intake area. To-be-determined.
I’ll replace them both. I think that unit has been here for 10 or 12 years. Tips are at the following link:
https://www.scottoplumbing.com/3-tips-to-prevent-washing-machine-hose-rupture
I suppose one should replace these every 10 years to be on the safe side.
Meanwhile, knowing where and how to turn the water off (2 solutions: whole house or behind the machine) is a “must know” for everyone.
What now?
Well, I need to get fertilizer on the rest of the onions.
I will tackle the other problems Monday and Tuesday. We won’t be pruning those days but I have a dental appointment at 11 AM Monday.
That’s all for now.
Keeping Track on the Naneum Fan
John