Leak of 2011

Because things were starting to get a little boring around here...

Five days into our splendid beach vacation we got the call that all vacationers dread. The neighbors, looking in on our cat, had discovered a leak in the house. Source unknown. Water dripping from chandelier in dining room - onto the brand new dining room table - and in the office - where oh, only a dozen or so paper/photo projects are scattered about. All on the floor!

We scrambled to pack, threw the kids in the car first thing the next morning and drove home into the night, all the while coordinating initial clean-up from our cell phones. Our amazing insurance agent's office is less than a mile away and they came to the house to let contractors in and out all day. Turns out the leak was caused by a clogged line in our upstairs air conditioner. Who knew A/C units would put out that much water over just a few days time.

I must pause for a moment here and add one note of advice. Mothers always say to wear clean underwear because you never know when you'll be in an accident. Well, let me tell you, same goes for your house. Leave a clean house when you go on vacation because you never know when there will be some emergency. I'll admit there was a huge sigh of relief on my end knowing there wasn't a stack of dirty dishes by the sink or laundry piled up in the living room or other nasty housekeeping horror to be found while all sorts of friends and strangers traipsed through.

Imagining the worst, we arrived home in the wee hours of the morning Friday. Good news, the damage wasn't nearly as bad as we had envisioned. Bad news, it was in Sydney's room as well. Nothing like transitioning a sleeping toddler from a car to her bed in the middle of the night only to discover her bedroom has been overtaken by a massive dehumidifier.

So... We get daily visits by the moisture specialists (fan police) checking the walls and floor and spraying for mold. Sydney has been sleeping in our bedroom. It sounds like we're living on an airport runway here with all the fans and dehumidifiers blowing 24/7. The sound is deafening. I can barely hear the doorbell, much less a phone ringing. And don't even talk to me about the TV volume. We turned a few fans off the other night so we could actually hear some movie dialogue for a few hours, fearful the entire time that the fan police would catch us. And poor Fletcher's room is a good 10 degrees above normal due to the massive heat those same machines put out.

Here are a few photos of our current state.

Yes, the office is still a mess. At least now I have a good excuse.



Syd didn't quite understand why we were home but she couldn't sleep in her room. Fortunately (I think) she found our bed quite comfortable for naps.

Despite the shortened vacation and hassle ahead, we are grateful. So very grateful for our neighbors who found the leak and worked quickly to help us address it. Grateful for the amazing personal service of our insurance agent (State Farm/Sean Laughlin for any of you Fall Creek readers). Grateful for the quick work of ServPro (aka - the fan police) and response of our wonderful general contractor (Jorge Huerta also for any Fall Creekers). And grateful because the damage could have been oh so much worse.

Moral of the story...

• Location of your insurance agent matters.
• Have a friend or neighbor check on your house while you're gone even if you don't have pets.
• Hide a key outside in the unlikely event you need someone to have access to your home.
• And always, always, clean your house before you leave!