Once more, showers from above...There is no letting one's guard down around here. I was readying myself for Bible study, going into the laundry room to get my dried-flat shirt from atop the washer. Wait! What's that I hear? NO!!!!!! Water dripping---again!
Trembling, I headed down the hall and detected the water coming in at a rapid pace from above my unit. As I attempted to push the buttons on my phone to summon Connie, I also tried to put my shirt on. As I finally got my fingers lined up on the right keys on my touch phone, I also headed up to the 4th floor to see what was going on. I reached Connie at the same time I got to 404, pounded on the door, and then went in, since it was unlocked. Misty, the tenant, was on the phone on her patio, and unaware of the leak. We worked our way down the hallway and she got to the bedroom first. Her "oh my God!" told me the leak was from above her and away I went. Connie told me she was going into the penthouse unit as the owner was home, she also unaware of the leak. Yikes! Good thing I was home yet!
I sent Justin a text message telling him I had a flood and needed help, then began grabbing stuff from the room. His stuff is all over the place, though not quite as bad as it had been. On one table I had the box of the kids' art, shrink-wrapped, which had been taken down for the Great Flood repairs and never put back up. Fortunately, they were spared the drips.
The majority of the leaking was coming through the ceiling, fixtures, and fans in the bathroom, and from the ceiling seams in the bedroom. I managed to relocate the mattress from the daybed, the big air bed in its bag, and other big stuff not normally in my physical ability to move. Or would that be desire? I also threw down towels to begin the mop up, as Connie came in to let me know they had shut off the water and the dripping would eventually end.
When Justin got here, he helped throw down towels, moving the stuff out of the way of the water, into his room. He carried the mattress to the river room and propped it in the open door to help dry it. We put on the fan on the A/C unit to move the air around, the ceiling fans as well. In the meanwhile, the neighbors were coming and going, checking to see we were all set, one couple coming with towels and cleaning supplies. I did not need them but was so thankful to have them come. They said they started upstairs and were working their way down. So nice!
Herve, the man whose unit had the broken pipe, came to see if I needed anything and I asked if he had a fan. He was going to Wal*Mart to buy some and I offered him money to get one for me. In a couple minutes he was back with a commercial-style blower fan which he set up in my bathroom to help dry the ceiling. He had it on hand, evidently. He also put a super fan in Misty's unit above mine to help get hers dry.
Jeff came from downstairs to check on my damage, and reported they 'only' had water coming out of their sockets in the bathroom. We have adjusted our versions of 'terrible' as time goes by after the Great Flood! Connie checked on Misty several times and used the wet vac to help her mess get cleaned up. Jeff was concerned that my ceiling drywall was soaked but I think the water ran out through the lights and vents. I hope so anyway. Mike K. is coming tomorrow to check on things for me, to use his moisture meter to detect any remaining problems.
Later, Gus came up, finding out about the disaster, and gave me a big hug. He said he hated for me to go through this again, such a dear man. This time, he was spared, as far as he knew. Gus had been away this a.m. and came home to the news. Love that he came up to check on me. I have the best neighbors, even though they leak on me, and I on them!
Meanwhile, Justin pointed out a problem with his toilet, the fact that it keeps running. Not running over, but making a filling sound, and then sort of flushing. Oh, that's all I need to hear...I had been after him and after him to clean up his living space but now it was even worse with the extra stuff piled in his room. But the bathroom, where a plumber needed to work, had to be accessible. Due to stress and a sense of urgency, after he went back to work, I tried to clean his bathtub. Yech! I used two different spray-on products and even managed to get down close enough without actually kneeling to wipe the tub out. I do have a sense of pride for when the plumber comes in the morning!
At noon, I met Justin for lunch at La Napolera, where I had a strawberry margarita with half my quesidilla. I had to pick up my prescription from Wal*Mart anyway so that's why I was coming to the Island. He went with me to pick up some storage bins for the stuff in his room, I got my blood pressure pills (not a moment too soon), and came back home. He had more work today, knowing he was staying late to help his father move stuff around again in preparation for a yard sale at the office.
This evening I went out on the sundeck with my neighbors and we revisited the day's events. It was the first time the new folks had come out and they treated the group with wine. They were the ones who invited us all for King's Cake in January, and had the leak today. It was nice out, in the mid-70's, and was good to see everyone again, especially those who had come to the rescue earlier in the day.
Once Justin got home, we got busy moving stuff around in his bathroom in order to allow the plumber ready access to the back of the toilet. Butch had screwed the storage cabinet to the wall so it wouldn't tip forward. Justin removed the screws, and lifted the cabinet up and over the toilet. Nothing is ever simple, and it seems nearly impossible to get things nice and clean again.
Funny, but at lunch, Justin asked me, "Well, did you call Joanne yet?", knowing that I am ready to move again. After every episode like this, I am ready to move. I know I can't consider selling with Justin living here, too much crowding and disarray to show properly. Will have to wait some more and perhaps, recover from the shock and settle in, settle down, a bit. Can't do that! Can never let one's guard down around here, and I am right to be a bit paranoid, it seems...
