Mythbusters Adam and Jamie get to do what I'd like to do to my water
heater.
So, it was around midnight and I was working on today's entry when I became aware of the dogs.
They had started in the middle of my cellar office. But every five minutes or so, they would get up and move a foot or so closer to the cellar steps.
After the fourth exhibition of this behavior, I decided to investigate. I spun in my chair, put my feet down and heard a decided squish and saw water pool up out of the carpet.
This is Not a Good Thing. Aside from the water meter and the inside main heading off into the garage, there are no other water sources down here. The meter and pipe were bone dry. Which meant...
It was the water heater. (Notice I don't say "hot water heater" because hot water does not need to be heated.) My office and the laundry room are separated by some two by fours concealed by some quite lovely wood-grained particle board paneling, so I had to get up and go into the laundry room to assess the situation.
The area near the water heater appeared damp, but not particularly wet. Long story short, the tank will be replaced tomorrow. I have to clean out the area around the tank, which is behind the furnace and where the cat litter boxes are located. The cats are not especially neat, and with the litter spread all over the place, the Augean stables come to mind.
I'm going to have to drag out the wet vac and suck as much water as I can from the carpet. It's over 25 years old, and has seen over a dozen dogs and a half-dozen cats walk, lie, and engage in a range of unpleasant things on its surface.
As for the smell... imagine the odor of a wet dog. Now imagine the odor of a wet dog with a surface area of about 300 square feet.
I found a can of good ol' Neutron Industries' NI-712 concentrated odor eliminator. The stuff really works, although I'm not certain it's because it actually does something to the odors or because it destroys the olfactory epithelium of most primates. I can't even begin to imagine what this stuff must do to the dogs.
Anyway, hope to be back tomorrow once our infrastructure issues are resolved. The water heater's 15 years old, so we beat the average life expectancy of about 8 to 12 years with room to spare.
I'll try to keep that pleasant thought in mind as I muck out the laundry room...
For you completists:
Today is Tuesday, November 29, the 334th day of 2016, with 32 days remaining. There are 22 days until the winter solstice, 25 days until Festivus, 26 days until the start of Hanukkah, 27 days until Christmas Day, 53 days until Donald Trump becomes president of the United States, and 709 days until the November, 2018 mid-term election.
Some persons born on November 29 who said interesting things:
Louisa May Alcott, American novelist and poet best known as the author of the novel Little Women (1868) and its sequels Little Men (1871) and Jo's Boys (1886);
Ann Dunham, mother of Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, and an American anthropologist who specialized in economic anthropology and rural development.;
Madeleine L'Engle, American writer best known for young-adult fiction, particularly the Newbery Medal-winning A Wrinkle in Time;
C.S. Lewis, British novelist, poet, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian, broadcaster, lecturer, and Christian apologist;
Wendell Phillips, American abolitionist, advocate for Native Americans, orator and lawyer;
Mary Schmich, Pulitzer Prize-winning American jornalist; and
John Templeton, American-born British stock investor, businessman and philanthropist;
Hope to be back to normal tomorrow....
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