Because it can make a huge mess! And be very expensive! And make you look like a fool to the 8 plumbers you call to repair a hot water heater that isn't broken!
Apparently, changing the water and ice filter on the refrigerator isn't so much of a suggestion as much as it is completely and utterly necessary. Greg found a puddle around the water heater in the garage early Saturday morning, and assumed it was leaking. After some investigation and making the connection with some recent musty smells, we discovered the carpet under our dresser in the master bedroom was soaked, which is just on the other side of the wall from the water heater. The tile grout in our two pantry areas was also wet-looking. So we called around to several plumbers, trying to find someone who was 1) working on Saturday and 2) wouldn't cost three arms and two legs. We ultimately decided to buy our own heater and get the hourly plumber out to install it for maximum money savings. His first available was Monday morning, so we unplugged it and turned the water off to it and attempted to drain the water out. That evening we noticed MORE water by the back door, and figured the water heater was still leaking somehow. We traced the water to the fridge. Greg pulled it out from the wall and discovered a huge puddle under it! STILL thinking it was from the water heater, but wanting to be safe, we unhooked the water line from the fridge and mopped up the water. By that time it was time to get packed and ready to leave for Austin early the next morning. No time to mess with it anymore.
Skip forward to Monday, the heater gets installed while we are living it up in Austin, and we come back home to dry floors and hot water. Yay! So Greg reconnected the water line to the fridge. Couple of hours later there was more water. HUGE puddle under the fridge, and wet carpet in the bedroom again. Just great!!!!!! This time the investigation showed us the filter was leaking when attached, and when he unscrewed it, the water stopped. Awesome. The filter was apparently clogged and full and spewing water onto the floor. So, today I picked up a new filter for $40ish and we have a brand new hot water heater that was totally unnecessary. I'm going to tell myself we preformed preventative maintenance on the water heater to keep myself from having a money meltdown. Argh!
p.s. In regards to preschool (see previous post), we've decided not to send him. One more year with my boy getting to be a little boy at home with his mama is the right decision for our family. Thanks for the comments on here and on Facebook. I respect each and every one of you and am thankful for wonderful friends!
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