Burst Pipe
We had a pipe burst in the laundry, and it flooded the kitchen a bit. I was home alone, ran outside to turn off the valve, but I couldn’t turn it. I called Valya, and she contacted Seryoga — he’s a family friend. He lives nearby and works as a programmer from home. He came over with another friend, and they managed to turn off the valve with some difficulty. Levy called for emergency help from work. He works very far from home and couldn’t leave that day. By the time Valya arrived, I had already scooped all the water outside, and the carpet was only damp near the entrances to the rooms.
After a while, an emergency crew of two arrived to remove the water and dry the premises, and a plumber arrived separately, who quickly fixed the pipe. I told Valya, why dry it when it’s 40 degrees outside, and everything will dry naturally. But the crew leader walked through the rooms with a device that looked like a phone that showed the wet spots (they were highlighted in a different color). It turned out that the baseboards were soaked, as well as the areas where the toilets are located, since they are adjacent to the kitchen. We contacted the landlord, who approved the drying process. After that, huge floor fans and dehumidifiers were brought into the house, all the wet baseboards were removed, and the washing and drying machines were taken out of the laundry. We also had to clear the entire floor in the closets and near the toilets. In general, it felt like a major renovation that lasted three to four days. But most importantly, the fans were humming day and night, drying with warm air.
It was impossible to sleep in such a place, so we temporarily moved with our belongings and food to a timeshare hotel (we love those; I’ve already mentioned it). The insurance company covered the hotel costs since it was an insured event. At the hotel, we did laundry and cooked. In the mornings, everyone left for work, Mark went to school, and I was dropped off at home because the drying crew had to check the equipment every day and move the fans to the still damp areas.
Here’s another American trait — if the instructions say to dry, they will do it. We often rely on “maybe.” Valya asked at work whether the house needed drying in such heat, and everyone unanimously said that it definitely did. Well, maybe they’re right since houses here are built from wooden materials, and everyone fears mold.
After work, everyone returned to the hotel: homework, practice, dinner. Right in front of our windows was a beautiful pool with water slides, and one Friday (when we got off work early), we allowed ourselves to swim in it. It was already mid-September, and in the evenings, as the sun set, swimming in the pool wasn’t very appealing, and they turned off the slides in the evening. After we returned home, we had to clean everything up, unpack, just like after a renovation.
