Advice From A Modern Woman- A Hidden Danger

The phone rang and I grabbed it as I moved through the kitchen. My daughter was FaceTiming me.

“Mom, HELP!” my daughter screamed into the phone. My eyes took in her face as she screamed again. “I don’t know what to do!”

Her face and hair were soaked, as water continued to rain down on her.

“What’s the matter?” I found myself screaming back as a sound of gushing water penetrated the speaker of my phone.

“I think it’s going to explode!” she was frightened, and yet, I didn’t know what she was talking about.

Hearing the frantic screams of our daughter, my husband rushed to the phone. “Calm down,” he shouted at her. “Take a breath and tell us what’s wrong.”

She swung the phone around and the camera landed on an explosion of water shooting out of a closet.

“It’s the water heater!” She screamed again. “What do I do, what do I do?”

My husband looked at me and I looked back at him. We both shouted, “Turn off the water valve!”

Our daughter yelled again over the water. “I don’t know where it is. OH MY GOD! It’s going to explode.”

She was frantic now, as we could see her apartment flooding with water. Then the line went dead.

What were we supposed to do 4,000 miles away? The phone rang again.

“MOM?” our daughter called out again.

“Let me see the water heater,” I yelled back. “The valve should be on it or on the wall.”

I’m going to stop here to tell you this… the valve is on the water heater most of the time. Sometimes it may be on a wall next to it or you can turn the master water valve off for the house. However, when the water is coming out at you, as if you were standing under Niagra Falls, it’s hard to see anything, let alone a shut off valve.

What had happened to our daughter was unusual for most water heaters that begin to flood a house. My daughter had been sitting on her couch in the living room, when suddenly the water heater closet door blew open and an explosion of water shot across the room hitting her in the face. It continued to shoot out in an explosive manner, flooding the apartment and her in a matter of minutes. She had tried shutting the door to slow the water but the pressure was too great.

Back to her looking for the water valve…

“I can’t see it!” She yelled over the roar of water.

“Go shut off your electricity!” I instructed back. “You are standing in water! Then go get a neighbor to help!” I yelled loudly. She hung up again.

My husband had disappeared and came back shortly out of breath. “Where did you go?” I asked.

“I was going to look at our water heater and tell her what to do…. But we don’t have a water heater!” He was exasperated.

“What? Surely there’s one in the basement!”

“NO, I can’t find it. Do we have a tankless one?” I had no idea. We have only lived in this house for six months, and I guess we never had a need to look for it or notice it.” The phone rang again. Our daughter stood before us, shaken and soaked, as tears fell down her cheeks.

“My neighbor shut it off. I’m so embarrassed.”

“Is your neighbor older than you? I asked, as I witnessed the water stained walls and floor. I figured he had to be older and had experience with water heaters.

“No,” she sighed heavily. “I was going to get him when he opened my door to check on me. He could hear me screaming for help. I guess his water heater blew out last month, so he knew what to do. Look at this mess,” she said, as she swung the phone camera around. The water had clearly taken over, washing the years of sediment throughout the apartment.

We felt terrible. She had just moved into the apartment and all her new furniture was soaked or under water. It was then that I realized that I had never talked to my kids about the hidden danger of the water heater.

I’ve taught them to cook, clean, do laundry, take care of themselves, run a car, etc but NEVER have I talked to them about a water heater AND never did I say… when you move, look for your water heater! So here is what I suggest you do about this HIDDEN DANGER in your home. Educate your child or children before they go off into the world and are left helpless trying to figure out what to do when their home is being flooded! (and check to make sure you know where your own water heater is!)

The STEPS to Maintain a Water Heater

• Make sure they know where the water heater is located (ours is in the attic in this home!!)
• Make sure they know which valve shuts off the water, which is the pilot light, and which is the temperature gauge.
• Make sure they know how to turn off their electricity and/or gas in case the water heater malfunctions.
• And tell them how to maintain the water heater. A water heater should be drained every 6-12 months under normal water conditions. But if you have hard water or lots of minerals in your water, you should flush the tank every three months. It is the minerals in the tank that eat away at the metal of the tank. In my daughter’s circumstance, the tank’s explosion was caused by the way the minerals cut into the metal causing a “higher” flood than the usual “base of the tank” flood.
• Educate them on how to maintain the water heater base tub that are required by law in homes. This means keeping them clean and free of debris.
• Educate them on what to do if the water heater fails – throw down large rugs, pillows, towels after they turn off the valve. And make sure they air out the carpet and floors completely to prevent mold from growing.
• Explain how to file an insurance claim immediately, taking photos of damage and if a rental, contact the landlord.

Next time your child calls from across the country or down the street, let’s hope it’s for fun and not for an exploding water heater. Trust me, there is nothing worse than feeling helpless so far away. Preparation is the key…. To my daughter, I’m sorry I failed you, but I promise, you’ll never forget how to shut off a water valve again! (nor will I!)

Watch Video: https://youtu.be/OeuQBUv32jYhttps://youtu.be/OeuQBUv32jY