*splash splash splash*
tonight my kitchen sink broke.
by which i mean i was washing a pot and the hot water tap came off.
which meant that all of a sudden there was a fountain of water in my kitchen. from the tap. not the faucet. straight up and all over.
that i could not turn off.
(turns out the turn-off for the hot water is not under the sink, as you would expect, but inside the cabinet next to the sink. i did not know this.)
you'd be amazed how quickly one's kitchen floor fills with water.
i called the landlady's son in a panic - he lives behind me - and asked if he could come over and fix it. he said he just had knee surgery. i thought shit. he said he'd call his son. i thanked him. his son came over, expressed amazement and amusement at a. the fountain coming out of the hot water tap, and b. the water which was absolutely fucking everywhere. he reached inside the cabinet next to the sink and turned off the water. i thanked him profusely and admitted that i don't have a mop. he went to get one, and also brought a bucket. and i started mopping.
and then his mom came over, with another mop, and she helped me. (i think she's the landlady's ex-daughter-in-law. ex-wife of the landlady's son. mom of the landlady's grandson and granddaughter. the granddaughter and her daughters used to live in my apartment.) she was very nice. i apologized for the water in my kitchen leaking into the basement. i also told her i was really, really glad i live on the first floor so it wasn't leaking into someone else's kitchen.
eventually the kitchen was mopped enough and she took the mops and bucket and went back to her own place. i discovered that the water from the sink not only washed down the counter (i'd moved my toaster oven in a panic and unplugged the microwave) (the microwave is a little big to move in a panic) but washed into the drawer under the far end of the counter and into the cabinet right under the drawer. half an inch of water in the drawer. all my menus and brown paper lunch sacks and rolls of tape and half a box of hanukah candles and a box of sandwich baggies and two flashlights and a ton of pens and pencils and a pack of aa batteries and a pad of paper and plastic wall hooks and some random handi-wipes. my trash can is now very heavy because half the stuff in it is soaking wet.
on the plus side, the water is off and my sink isn't fountaining everywhere and thanks to two mops and three towels my kitchen floor (and counter and a cabinet) is mostly dry, and i took the drawer out, dumped the water in the sink, and leaned it up against the side of my tub to dry. all the pots and casserole dishes and ramekins and cutting boards and my wok and all the other stuff that was in the cabinet - and wet - is now in the sink or sitting on the counter or the washing machine. (i turned off the water to the washing machine too. just to be safe.) i changed my shirt, which was - like everything else - soaked. the plumber is coming at 8:30 tomorrow morning. and i even ate dinner.
i think i deserve a piece of pie.
by which i mean i was washing a pot and the hot water tap came off.
which meant that all of a sudden there was a fountain of water in my kitchen. from the tap. not the faucet. straight up and all over.
that i could not turn off.
(turns out the turn-off for the hot water is not under the sink, as you would expect, but inside the cabinet next to the sink. i did not know this.)
you'd be amazed how quickly one's kitchen floor fills with water.
i called the landlady's son in a panic - he lives behind me - and asked if he could come over and fix it. he said he just had knee surgery. i thought shit. he said he'd call his son. i thanked him. his son came over, expressed amazement and amusement at a. the fountain coming out of the hot water tap, and b. the water which was absolutely fucking everywhere. he reached inside the cabinet next to the sink and turned off the water. i thanked him profusely and admitted that i don't have a mop. he went to get one, and also brought a bucket. and i started mopping.
and then his mom came over, with another mop, and she helped me. (i think she's the landlady's ex-daughter-in-law. ex-wife of the landlady's son. mom of the landlady's grandson and granddaughter. the granddaughter and her daughters used to live in my apartment.) she was very nice. i apologized for the water in my kitchen leaking into the basement. i also told her i was really, really glad i live on the first floor so it wasn't leaking into someone else's kitchen.
eventually the kitchen was mopped enough and she took the mops and bucket and went back to her own place. i discovered that the water from the sink not only washed down the counter (i'd moved my toaster oven in a panic and unplugged the microwave) (the microwave is a little big to move in a panic) but washed into the drawer under the far end of the counter and into the cabinet right under the drawer. half an inch of water in the drawer. all my menus and brown paper lunch sacks and rolls of tape and half a box of hanukah candles and a box of sandwich baggies and two flashlights and a ton of pens and pencils and a pack of aa batteries and a pad of paper and plastic wall hooks and some random handi-wipes. my trash can is now very heavy because half the stuff in it is soaking wet.
on the plus side, the water is off and my sink isn't fountaining everywhere and thanks to two mops and three towels my kitchen floor (and counter and a cabinet) is mostly dry, and i took the drawer out, dumped the water in the sink, and leaned it up against the side of my tub to dry. all the pots and casserole dishes and ramekins and cutting boards and my wok and all the other stuff that was in the cabinet - and wet - is now in the sink or sitting on the counter or the washing machine. (i turned off the water to the washing machine too. just to be safe.) i changed my shirt, which was - like everything else - soaked. the plumber is coming at 8:30 tomorrow morning. and i even ate dinner.
i think i deserve a piece of pie.