Thursday, January 24, 2008

The Bucket in our Bathroom


The story began a little while before Christmas.
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We have a vent in our bathroom sealing. With a big rain storm that came in, we discovered a leak dripping through the vent. I quickly got a bucket. I debated about whether to call maintenance (you are only supposed to call them for emergencies- otherwise wait for business hours.) After about a day, and the presence of other pressing issues (this could a whole other story, but the sound of mini- explosions in the gas heater- and/or no heat- quickly raised the level of importance since flooding, lack of heat and gas leaks were criteria, it felt like were were bordering on all three!!) I finally called him.
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While the other problems were fixed (well- semi fixed, but the apartment will never quite be a hundred percent!) He told us that he had been up there and he couldn't see where the water was leaking. He would wait for the snow/water to clear up and try to get a better look. The next door neighbors were also having some drippage in their bathroom.
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So we endured a few days of drippage. And when I say drippage, let me expound on the location of the vent. The drip lands smack in front of the toilet- or should I say, EXACTLY where a person would be if they were trying to use such appliance. This- may seem slightly amusing- however, becomes quite like Chinese water torture when endured long enough... (gladly we are on the top floor- so there is AT LEAST there is not that wonder of what is in the drippage- though it is a nasty brown rusty color)
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With the better weather, the drippage subsided. We never really knew if the problem had been fixed or the bad weather had just gone away. I think we went a whole two weeks without a problem and I gladly put the bucket back under the kitchen sink.
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But then, sadly, it came back. And when this is discovered while you have to use the above stated appliance in the middle of the night, it is not a welcome discovery...
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So we tried to make adjustments- but let me tell you- the area RIGHT in front of this appliance is hard to avoid- no matter how flexible you are. I quite frequently find myself the recipient of unwelcome drips, right when I thought that I was out of the way.
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Then it went away again.
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But alas, it is back. I have complained again. But I'm not sure what good that is going to do for me. I was complaining about this while at dinner at a friends house, and they suggested that we tape a cup to the ceiling, but there is way to much water for that.
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So Tuesday night, Bobby tied the bucket to the vent via dental floss (See Eric- Dental floss is actively used in our house!!) and I had a drip free night!! (well, I could still hear it all night, but at least it didn't drip on my head during the middle of the night appliance use!!)

7 comments:

Annalisa said...

YEAH, something new to read!!

Annalisa said...

LOL, that's really funny. Sorry, I'd posted before because I was just too excited about something read, but I've read it now. Maybe you could use some plastic and duct tape and funnel it into the drain of the shower? Now there's an idea, LOL. Might look like E.T. though?

Anonymous said...

Oy, no good. Kudos on the creative bucket hanging Bob!

Christina said...

This really, really reminds me of something that would happen in Thailand. And the sisters' typical response to it. You rock!

Melynda said...

So funny! How annoying would that be at 3 in the morning. I think you should move to Washington. It's a great place.

Jenny said...

Oh Megan. Oh Bobby. We had a good laugh over your blog this afternoon thanks to your posting!

Anonymous said...

Ooohhhh... good times! Just remember, "tragedy" + time = humor... this will be a treasured memory for many years in your "adventures in our marriage" file! love ya - Mom