When you live in a house that was built in 1922, it seems like there’s always something to fix. We’ve found over the years that maintaining this old house is quite an adventure. Most of the time you can see a problem, but that might not be the problem. Take last night, for example.
When Drew yelled up from the basement, “THERE’S WATER LEAKING FROM THE PIPE!” it sent Baird into a mad scurry. Sure enough, there was a steady drip coming from a copper pipe that was only 7 years old. Further investigation was most certainly required. Tracing the pipe to the upstairs, Baird saw that it connected to the heater in the kitchen. Hmmm. We haven’t turned the heat on yet this fall, so what’s up with that? Oh, there’s the rolling cooler sitting nearby. It appears empty, but maybe some water leaked out from between the liner when I was cleaning it. No, that feels completely dry. What then? Who knows? It's getting late, so let’s just put a bucket under the pipe in the basement and call it a night. Maybe it was just a bit of condensation; after all, it was humid today.
This morning Baird woke up to standing water on the kitchen floor. Oh yeah. I ran the dishwasher late in the evening – it sometimes leaks. That’s got to be it. Except that as I walked barefoot across the kitchen floor I realized it was really sticky. As I tried to open my eyes and think coherently before the coffee was even poured, let alone consumed, my first thought was, “I know it’s been awhile, but I’ve got to mop the floor today. It’s just so disgusting!"
At which point Drew asked me to check for more Pop Tarts. I often use the stairway to the attic, which is just off our kitchen, as an auxiliary pantry. I knew there was one last pack of Pop Tarts hanging out back there. The doorknob to the attic door is broken. Opening this door when the doorknob is broken requires a special coordination that involves needle nose pliers in one hand and a Phillips screwdriver in the other.
I jimmied the doorknob and swung the door open. Then I noticed that the bottom of the door could easily clip the large watermelon I had resting nearby on the floor. Oh, look at that - It’s already happened! Someone earlier in the week didn’t see the door hit the watermelon, which sliced through the skin, causing the watermelon to leak its juices, sending liquid down the small hole by the heater into the basement. The places where the door had met with the watermelon were not noticeable from afar - this was only deduced after close, careful inspection.
Sometimes the problem at hand has a much more subtle root cause, which isn’t always obvious at first glance. It’s ok to involve others and ask for help. The answer is oftentimes right in front of you, you just have to know where to look. And sometimes the use of unconventional tools leads to the discovery of the root problem.
It was easy enough to toss out the watermelon, but the rest of the cleanup was a hassle.
When Drew yelled up from the basement, “THERE’S WATER LEAKING FROM THE PIPE!” it sent Baird into a mad scurry. Sure enough, there was a steady drip coming from a copper pipe that was only 7 years old. Further investigation was most certainly required. Tracing the pipe to the upstairs, Baird saw that it connected to the heater in the kitchen. Hmmm. We haven’t turned the heat on yet this fall, so what’s up with that? Oh, there’s the rolling cooler sitting nearby. It appears empty, but maybe some water leaked out from between the liner when I was cleaning it. No, that feels completely dry. What then? Who knows? It's getting late, so let’s just put a bucket under the pipe in the basement and call it a night. Maybe it was just a bit of condensation; after all, it was humid today.
This morning Baird woke up to standing water on the kitchen floor. Oh yeah. I ran the dishwasher late in the evening – it sometimes leaks. That’s got to be it. Except that as I walked barefoot across the kitchen floor I realized it was really sticky. As I tried to open my eyes and think coherently before the coffee was even poured, let alone consumed, my first thought was, “I know it’s been awhile, but I’ve got to mop the floor today. It’s just so disgusting!"
At which point Drew asked me to check for more Pop Tarts. I often use the stairway to the attic, which is just off our kitchen, as an auxiliary pantry. I knew there was one last pack of Pop Tarts hanging out back there. The doorknob to the attic door is broken. Opening this door when the doorknob is broken requires a special coordination that involves needle nose pliers in one hand and a Phillips screwdriver in the other.
I jimmied the doorknob and swung the door open. Then I noticed that the bottom of the door could easily clip the large watermelon I had resting nearby on the floor. Oh, look at that - It’s already happened! Someone earlier in the week didn’t see the door hit the watermelon, which sliced through the skin, causing the watermelon to leak its juices, sending liquid down the small hole by the heater into the basement. The places where the door had met with the watermelon were not noticeable from afar - this was only deduced after close, careful inspection.
Sometimes the problem at hand has a much more subtle root cause, which isn’t always obvious at first glance. It’s ok to involve others and ask for help. The answer is oftentimes right in front of you, you just have to know where to look. And sometimes the use of unconventional tools leads to the discovery of the root problem.
It was easy enough to toss out the watermelon, but the rest of the cleanup was a hassle.
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