I was just talking to a friend on the telephone. My water taps would no longer produce hot water. She said check the basement, to make sure your water heater hasn’t drained all over the floor. And she was right. Almost the full 40 gallons, all over my semi-finished basement floor.
My childhood friend from across the street, Danny helped me turn off the gas and water to it. Then he helped me drain most of the water from the basement. (Boy, Danny is such a good and loyal friend. I don’t know what I’d do without him.)
Anyways, apparently the soonest the plumber can come out is Friday or Saturday. And this next one is going make you all disgusted. But you know, I can’t take a shower without hot water (or should I try? give me your advice by all means:)).
And that is where I stand now. Any advice any of you could give would be appreciated.
Boy, first my car then my water heater. Does fate have it in for me or something?
(BTW, FYI the water heater is dated April, 1995. Maybe it was just unavoidable.)
Years ago I called all my utilities to request shut off for the day I was moving out of a house I’d been renting. Somehow the gas company screwed up and shut me down a full month early. I decided to look at it as a “whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” moment and forged on without hot water.
Ice cold showers suck, but there’s no reason to not appreciate the experience. Try it. It’s amazing what the human body can endure.
I feel your pain. Yesterday my central ac gave up the ghost and I had it replaced. In your case, suck it up and take cold showers. It’s only for a few days. Or you could heat water on the stove and do a sponge bath.
That’s one idea. The OP mentions that his friend lives across the street, so perhaps just ask him if you can come over every day or second day to use the shower.
And, by the way, if the OP has a gas-powered 40-gallon water heater, one option is to replace it with the tankless type. It might save energy (but it might also require a bigger gas supply).
At least yours wasn’t spewing like a volcano in your attic (the dumbest place to put one!).
I didn’t get it replaced for a week. And what a fucking pain to have to do that when it is in your attic. Do you have any family nearby? I went to my mom’s for showers.
I only recently learned that most water heaters have a sacrificial anode inside to help with the corrosion that is usually ultimately what causes the failure. They get coated and need to be replaced periodically. Fortunately, our Lake Michigan water here is very soft and it’s less of a problem.
The OP is in for a nasty surprise when the hot water tank is replaced.
I too have one installed from 2003.
My plumber has warned me the new tanks require more ventilation. Pilot lights frequently go out. He said I may have to cut a bigger hole in the closet door for more ventilation. My plumber said he gets a lot of service calls on the new hot water tanks.
This is from the energy efficiency changes made about 12 to 15 years ago. I lucked out by getting a traditional hot water tank just before the government screwed them up.
I dread replacing mine, but know the clock is ticking. It’s just a matter of time.
Well, stick with ye’old sponge bath for the next two days. You’ll be all right. And at least it’s summer time, not the middle of January. It’s not THAT disgusting, dude. I went about a week without a shower when I was in the hospital. I wanted to climb the walls. blech
Your hot water heater…well, that’s another story. Good luck.
They aren’t hard to replace. I’ve done several. The hardest thing is getting the old one out, and the new one in. Basement installs mean stairs. I fixed one in a building my wife rented for her business. It was in the ceiling. Really a stupid place, the ceiling below was destroyed. The one I have at home is a marathon, it has a plastic tank, with a lifetime warranty. I have replaced the heating coils. Hard water can screw them up.
