Help is on its way

Okay, where was I?

After mopping up most of the water that had spouted from the dodgy valve (almost a 10 litre bucket full) I sat down, contemplating what to do next. It was Sunday late afternoon, half past six and already pitch-dark outside. My first reflex was to phone my mother to tell her about my ordeal. But that wasn’t really an option as there wasn’t much she could do to solve the problem. Moreover, the whole matter would have her worrying, with a sleepless night as a result. And at her age she needs a good night’s rest.

Finally I decided to call my landlord; a decision I took reluctantly, considering that the poor man is undergoing cancer treatment at the moment. His wife answered the phone and was very helpful and sympathetic. She even apologized for the inconvenience. She also suggested that I’d call a nearby plumber and have the bill for the repairs sent to them.

Nothing to do with today's subject, but yet another pretty picture of a resident of the Antwerp Zoo. This is Kai Mook's mother.
Kai Mook is the baby elephant that was born in the Zoo almost two years ago.

I googled the company’s phone number, called their office and not surprisingly got the answering machine … this was Sunday evening after all! There was a standby technician available till 7.30 p.m. though and I was given his mobile phone number. By then it was almost 7 o’clock, so I had no time to waste. I called the number once, twice, three times … and each time got his voicemail. After the third attempt I left a message. All I could do was wait and hope that the technician wasn’t a loafer who was already celebrating the end of his weekend duty with his pals. Five minutes later the phone ran and ten minutes later a tall and bulky young man came walking up the stairs. Help had arrived!

He carefully examined the spot where the geyser of water had emerged and very quickly came up with a diagnosis. Two parts, a valve and the expansion tank of the heating system needed to be replaced. He asked me to turn on the water supply again. I did, and when I came back upstairs he showed me where the dodgy valve was. Every now and then a drop of water appeared at the edge of it and gently plopped into the funnel of the underlying pipe.

My recent ordeal had been caused by a valve  that had succumbed under the combined pressure of the hot water for the shower and the heating system. Until the valve and the expansion tank are replaced I am not to use both at the same time. He also advised me to cut the water supply during the day when I’m not at home. If the valve were to fail while I’m out, at least the water wouldn’t be spouting from it, flooding the apartment.

On Monday morning an order was put in for the two spare parts that needed replacement and a technician will come over do the repairs on Thursday afternoon. In the meanwhile I make do with what I have: 30 minutes of heating every night, just to break the chill, and a lukewarm shower as soon as I’ve turned off the heating system. Every morning I dutifully descend the steps into the basement to turn off the main water supply to the apartment. In the evening, when I get home, I walk down the steps again to turn the water back on.

Luckily the weather is very mild for the time of year. Wednesday was particularly sunny and the temperature indoors was 21.6 C when I came home. I therefore decided not to turn on the heating. I warmed up some of the thick vegetable soup I had made on Saturday, snuggled up under a fleece blanket and watched an extremely interesting program on the BBC, called H£ir Hunt£rs. Maybe you’ve seen it too. All in all not a bad way to spend a November evening …

I wrote this entry yesterday. Right now I'm waiting for the plumber to arrive and do the necessary repairs. If all goes well I should be at peace with the water gods before long... Keep your fingers crossed!