"Mom, William, get up quick, there is water pouring into the basement" Not what I wanted to hear at 4:00 am just a few nights ago.
My youngest son, Patrick fell asleep on our downstairs sofa while watching a movie. Being a deep sleeper he doesn't wake up easily once he's asleep. Well, unless cold water starts hitting him in the face. And that's exactly what happened. Cold water was hitting the table beside him and splashing onto his face. He jumped up and in his stupor looked around to see what was happening. According to Patrick, water was pouring into the basement from every can light and coming through the ceiling in other areas.
Not quite awake and not knowing how to process it, he ran outside to see if it was raining. Well, no rain. So in he went up the stairs and as soon as he hit the top of the landing, SPLAT! He stepped in water. It was everywhere!!! That's when he ran to get us. He and my husband worked feverishly to try to stop the water and at the same time trying to figure out where it was coming from.
They quickly discovered the water coming from under the refrigerator. Apparently something had gone wrong with the ice maker water line. William pulled the filter from the bottom and finally got the water to stop. By that time it was too late. Water was everywhere!
Now we went to bed late that night. Probably around 12:30 am. We heard nothing. We saw nothing. Sometime in between the time we went to bed and 4:00 am, the line malfunctioned. Had Patrick not fallen to sleep on the sofa and went on to bed that night, it would have been far worse. As it now, the hardwood floors on both levels of our home with have to be pulled out and replaced. The downstairs ceiling will have to be replaced. All the cabinets will have to be pulled out (not sure about replacement yet).
So much damage in such a small amount of time. It is amazing the damage water can do! But I am thankful that it wasn't worse and I am even more thankful for a very responsive insurance company. We called them immediately and they had a damage mitigation team at our house first thing the next morning.
Now my house is torn to pieces. And it's gonna get worse before it gets better. Right at Christmas too. But like I said it could have been much worse.
The moral of the story? Well, there really isn't one. These things happen and you have no idea when or why. Just be prepared with a good home owners insurance policy. And don't fuss at your son for falling asleep on the sofa!! I know I never will again!
Blessings to all!
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