Last Friday, the hot water heater began to leak. Well, that's not quite right - the hot water heater has leaked since we moved in - but last Friday it went from a drip.... drip.... drip from the value to a steady stream of water flowing from where the valve attaches to the tank. I noticed the leak because when I went into the workroom to look for something it seemed kindof.... steamy. Then I took a closer look at the heater.
First call - plumber. Fortunately (?), we'd signed a contract to have the water heater replaced three days earlier. I was waiting for an install date (which at the time, hadn't been so pressing). He seemed somewhat concerned about my ability to turn off the existing water heater, because, "righty-tighty, lefty-loosy" is such a challenge for us women-folk.
They scheduled the repair on Tuesday. The weekend we were already going camping, so we didn't have to worry about showers or hot water then. But our camping return, Monday and Tuesday mornings were a different story. On the one hand, it was very inconvenient to shower at the YMCA or fitness center. On the other hand, at least we had options. We did have to have a space cleared around where the new hot water heater was going to go - and if anyone has seen the workroom, you'd know what a challenge that was!
On Tuesday they came and installed the new hot water heater. It's a tankless hybrid, which means it's not totally tankless, but sports a 3 gallon tank to provide a little instant water. It is sleek and cool-looking, hanging there on the wall.
It does make me pause a little to reflect on the on-going costs of homeownership. In the last 3 years, we've replaced the furnace, A/C, hot water heater, and roof - plus removed 5 cottonwood trees, re-landscaped half the yard, and waterproofed the deck (twice). I see how people could get underwater not just from paying a mortgage, but paying for all the extra crap that goes along with the mortgage.
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