Flooded

 

"Why is the carpet wet? ", a chill runs down the spine. We were in the living room and the boy was pointing at the floor. As I looked I was filled with dread as I looked to see a big wet dark patch by the wall. Worryingly not the first incident of its kind. This was my wife's flat before I met her and up until this year we have had no dramas. In fact up until lockdown ditto. But about 6 weeks ago the same call by the same boy. This time though in the hallway. My wife had arranged a shower setup in the bath for the first time in years and unknown to us in that time the sealant around the bath had come away so when the shower was on the water soaked through. Thankfully no lasting damage done. Shower removed.

Last Thursday night though was something I have been fearing for a long time. My oldest daughter keeps running baths and forgetting about it which is why she is banned from doing so when we are out. I have been living with that fear for a long and finally last night that was realised. The only surprise was it was my wife who ran it and forgot. Total nightmare. Opening that bathroom door to be hit with a wall of steam and see the floor covered in water was soul destroying. More so when we realised we did not own a mop. Towels, bed sheets and hairdryer.

It was all fixable. That was apparent thankfully. We had caught it early enough yo sort it. More drying today and a few washing machine loads later and it's getting there. That was not my big concern though. That was for down below where we have an elderly man living. My fear was we may have damaged his ceiling- or the owner's to be more exact as he rents directly from the estate agent. As yet no word on that. When I see him I'll ask him. We are hopeful though we caught it on time.

In this day and age there is no need. We have an Echo dot and its easy to ask it for a reminder when you run the bath. It's do simple and so handy. Hopefully that will be put to more use in future. I get the feeling though that a repeat performance won't be on the horizon.