Thursday, November 4, 2021

Our Halloween Horror Story #ThankfulThursday

Meows from Mudpie!

Two years ago on Halloween night we got 4 inches of rain and our leak prone basement nearly did Mommy in. A water disaster couldn't possibly happen again on Halloween - even worse this time - could it? 

It could, and it did. 

I'll turn things over to Mommy to tell you all the nasty details.

Mommy here. On our Friday Fill Ins last week I mentioned that I was worried about the washing machine because on Thursday when I went to do a load of laundry I found it half full of water. Naively I hoped it was just a fluke, but of course I could never be that lucky.

One thing that kept nagging at me was remembering that on Wednesday the sump pump had gone off for the first time in a number of months after we'd had quite a bit of rain on Tuesday. I mentioned it to my dad but he assured me the two couldn't be connected, it was just a coincidence, and that the problem had to be with the washing machine itself. Throughout the day on Friday and Saturday I kept checking it, and it remained empty.

Saturday evening it rained quite heavily and just before midnight the pump went off. Before going to bed I decided I would put my mind at ease and check the washing machine...only to find it half full of water again. That gave me my answer. The main drainage pipe had to be plugged and it was pushing water back in.

I bailed the water out once again and prepared for a night dozing on the couch as I knew I would have to remove the water manually every time the pump went off. (I didn't dare let the water out of the machine on its own for fear of letting more water in, and obviously I couldn't dump it down the sump pump, so every single pail of water had to be carried up the basement stairs.)

The pump didn't go off again until 6AM, then 10AM, then 11:20, and by noon it was going off every 50-55 minutes. The rain was predicted to continue until early evening, and the washing machine wasn't just filling halfway anymore, it was filling nearly to the top. I was having to remove water as it was coming in to keep it from overflowing. Then I would carry nearly 10 full pails up the basement stairs to empty the basin as best I could before starting all over.

Talk about fighting a losing battle! 

I was hoping to avoid an emergency call to a plumber but by early afternoon I realized I needed help. The septic company came around 4 with a 60 foot drain auger and pulled out a tree root, clearing the pipe. They warned it'll probably happen again and the pipe will need to be replaced at some point. (Coincidentally, the man who came was named was Brandon. I was almost tempted to say, "Let's go, Brandon!" to see what his reaction would be, but I thought better of it.)

Needless to say, Halloween was completely ruined. On top of that, I got to see less than an hour of the second-to-last NASCAR race of the season. 

In spite of everything, I'm thankful that the pump went off once last week to signal there was a problem, and I'm thankful I trusted my gut and checked the pump before going to bed on Saturday night, because if I hadn't by Sunday morning water would've been everywhere. 

And yes, my father has heard more than one "I told you so" out of me the last few days!

13 comments:

My GBGV Life said...

You and my mom are a lot alike. She notes there is something wrong but ignores it and just hopes it will magically fix itself. Then eventually it turns out to be a bigger problem with emergency status. Glad your drain is cleaned out for now at least.

Patricia T said...

Wow! That definitely sounds stressful. I had a problem with pipes under my house, this summer. The leak was repaired but I’m on edge for more to happen, since my house is old. Hope you can get yours fixed and don’t have to worry.

Brian's Home Blog said...

What a mess and what a stressful time. We're sure glad it wasn't worse. Thanks for joining our Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!

The Florida Furkids said...

What a mess. We hope you don't have to replace the pipe!!!

Sandee said...

What a horror story indeed. I would be doing the I told you so too. I hope you can get that pipe replaced soon.

I'd have been tempted to say that to Brandon too. I wouldn't have either.

Have a fabulous Thankful Thursday, Mudpie. My best to your mom. ♥

Mickey's Musings said...

Yikes!! That is a terrible problem.
Our biggest issue was our old washer died and it will be another week before the new one comes :/
Here's hoping you do not have any more issues!!!!!
Purrs, Julie

pilch92 said...

That is more horrible than Nightmare on Elm St.

Marvelous Marv said...

I'm glad you went with your intuition! I do hope that your problem is solved for now. And we purray that the rest of this year is totally uneventful.

Summer at sparklecat.com said...

Ugh, what a nightmare! I'm glad you called for help because it sounds like it was totally out of control.

Smudge said...

Yikes! Dad says welcome to homeowner's hell. Sounds like it could've ended up much worse, though. And when you think you're done telling your dad "I told you so", throw in one more for good measure.

Peachy, Stippie, Angel Binky and Granny said...

OMCšŸ™€We have experienced this too one time and at Granny's mom's house who had a shoeshop, the whole shop was standing under water because of a broken pump...Aargh....Extra Pawkisses for better days to comešŸ¾šŸ˜½šŸ’ž

CRYSTAL said...

I hope this Brandon got everything fixed for you and you won't have problems anymore.
From one NASCAR FAN to another, that's the worst to miss the last race of the season. It was some finish too.
GOOD LUCK

The Menagerie Mom said...

Well, this sounds like one of the worst ways to spend Halloween. I'm sorry you had to deal with all of this, especially on a day that was supposed to be fun. At least you prevented even more major issues by trusting your gut and getting Brandon out there (I'm saying it in my head, repeatedly, trust me). We hope things are calm and quiet for you now!