9.09.2010

Oh FFS! Who do you have to service lewdly to get a decent shower around here!?!!

I may have mentioned that I've had a lot of trouble with hot water heaters over the years. I probably brought up, once or twice, that I've had a fair bit o' strife over the last 2 years and 3 months I've been living in my present location with one particular water heater. I stress that it's one particular heater because in this case, it should be a different one by now despite the unvarying location.

It's just shit. Ever since moving in here it's sucked. It used to just make the hot water go off every couple of minute so you have to stop the water and start it again and wait for it to heat up. We just shrugged and accepted it until it started acting all wiggy, not heating up at all, exploding all over our kitchen, spewing dirty water everywhere.. and we got someone to come in and fix it. I told him of the original problem, as well as the pressing one, expecting that to be fixed as well. When he was done he said it was fixed. I asked if it would stop cutting out like that and he said.. well no, but when it does you'll see this red button and it'll heat up again. Thanks. That really helps when I'M IN THE FUCKING SHOWER AND HAVE TO COME OUT TO THE KITCHEN AFTER I JUST COVERED MY HEAD WITH SHAMPOO AND CRAP, but that was it.. and after that, it stayed on for longer, but when it stopped, it didn't just come back, you had to press the red button.. which is in the kitchen and it never came on right away, you had to wait and try a couple of times. Generally it was long enough to have a relatively brisk shower, so we lived with it.

It did the exploding thing again at some point, and went back between being on for a few minutes and going out with option to turn water on again and heat.. and staying on for a bit longer but without the option to come just back on. We got used to it. It fucked up again, made horrible growling noises, stopped working sometimes.. exploded over our dishes a few more times.

Earlier this year it fucked up again, worse than usual.. another thing still.. it wouldn't come on sometimes.. no reason, no idea why or when, it just wouldn't, and then later it would. Then it started turning the heater on every time the hot water came on, and as this was almost a month ago.. actually in the summer, which was kinda fucking hot, we considered it a negative. We managed like this for a while and finally emailed them about it.

A couple of weeks later I got a phone call that the dude was coming, like today. By then this latest problem had mostly subsided and we were getting the water going out quickly, and heater coming on thing still.. or something. So he fixed it. Or should I say "fixed" it. Not his fault, he did what he could, and told me the thing was old and fucked up, and the owners just don't want to pay for a new one, but it was fixed.. oh but the heater will come on every time the hot water does.

So that was it. Turned out, apart from the heater coming on every time the water did, and the water pressure being really low, and the water not heating up as much as it would, all was fine. I mean, it didn't cut out anymore. We thought.. what the fuck, it'll do.

The last few days there's been no change in the water pressure, but the water seems to be cooler. Just a few weeks ago it would heat up sometimes to a really nice shower heat but now it seems to exclusively fall between barely lukewarm ie cold if you try to stand under it, to only just tolerable for a shower.. certainly not a comfortable shower.. and definitely not an enjoyable one. It moves between these temperatures completely randomly, we tried doing different things like turning the heater on or off, or filling up the water tank but it makes no difference, it's warm, ie a temperature it's possible but not exactly comfortable to shower in, when and if it wants to be. The local weather gods seem to have decided that September/summer/over it's particularly trying.

And that's it for my tale of water woes. I went into more detail than I expected. Sorry for boring you :Z

3 comments:

Ronald said...

It's the little things that matter isn't it? We seem to cope better with the big issues of life - death, failed relationships, and illness; but broken showers and wayward water-heaters, dripping taps, and late trains, can often tip us over the edge. My highspeed Internet connection was frustratingly slow this morning, so much so, I wanted to scream, stomp, stamp, flounce, and spit out the worst expletives! Gosh, I was cross.

Michelle said...

You are so right. The worst thing about stuff like this is you feel like you don't have a right to complain about it.. there are people in the world without even running water let alone hot! People with no internet connections at all! And not even computers! People dying and shit..

but.. fuck, it sucks. I like my hot water and I like my internet. I'm weak, I'm accustomed to it and I'm unable to viably function without it. Those other people are strong, they can take it!

And my word verification is mosestif.. I'm sure it means something.

Michelle said...

maybe not..