The Five Thousand Dollar Flush
I had planned to have something crafty and beautiful to share with you today. Something like this:
I mean that’s the point right? Show pretty things, spread the creativity? But then a little something happened last Friday that pretty much threw my plans for a loop.
It all starts with this guy. And his new affinity for the potty.
Apparently I was distracted for a few minutes and I didn’t notice little man sneaking off to the master bedroom. And to the bathroom. Once there he happened upon a roll of toilet paper which he promptly threw in the toilet and flushed. Apparently after that he came back to his Mommy who was none the wiser of the chain of events that just began.
Some time later I ran downstairs to the kitchen to grab something quickly when I heard a strange noise start. I can honestly tell you I have never been more surprised in my life when I realize that noise was water flowing out of the vent in the ceiling of my kitchen. A lot of water.
I ran upstairs and turned the water off then quickly ran back downstairs to try to contain the water flowing into the kitchen. I put down towels and buckets to catch it-at this point it was also coming out of the light fixtures and switches on the walls as well. (I turned the electric off.) The water continued to run out of the ceiling for an hour after I turned the source off. Who knows how long it had been running before it started leaking through?
So needless to say this, ahem, situation, threw me for a loop. A few phone calls later I had an emergency water remediation crew on the way and a husband who was none too pleased to find out that his relaxing Friday night was most definitely not going to be relaxing.
So far they have placed numerous fans and dehumidifiers both upstairs and downstairs which are insanely loud and run constantly. They should be finished with the drying process today. Then we’ll start repairs. The ceiling in the kitchen (over my eat-in nook) will need to be torn out, and possibly part of the wall. We are hoping to save the tile in the upstairs bathroom. I’ll know more over the next few days.
I was so crazy lucky I was downstairs when the water started coming out of the vent-if I had been upstairs I never would have heard it and the damage could have been much worse. I was able to keep the water from damaging the wood floors. I’m also very thankful for homeowners insurance…while the deductible we have to pay is no small change, the entire cost of the process is expected to be around five thousand dollars and I’m very glad we don’t have to cover the entire thing.
Most of all I’m thankful that while the little guy made some mischief that he didn’t get hurt when he snuck off to the bathroom. I’ve heard horror stories of small children drowning in toilets and I try to keep the bathroom doors shut. I don’t know if it was my own absent mind or one of my older boys that left the door open but I’m thankful it was only a big (expensive) mess and not anything more serious.
So am I the only one this has happened to? What’s the worst mischief your little ones have caused?
Holy Cow! Oh my goodness, I can not even comprehend that. We once lived in an apartment above a store and when they re-tarred the roof they never attached the rood to the siding, so there was an inch gap on the roof. One thunderstorm later and it was like a waterfall cascading down the side of our apartment. A lot of our stuff got ruined and unfortunately, I had sucked and not moved my renters insurance yet (we had it, but I hadn’t changed the address… whoops!) Insurance is so so so important. And apparently, you need to tie that boy to a chair when you’re busy! lol
lol, I tried strapping him into the highchair but he can slip out…I’m about to put him in a playpen when I have to do things like cook but I’m not sure even that can contain him!
My daughter was very active (trouble maker in the making) that when I would have to run down stairs to get the clothes out of the dryer.. I had to put a play pen upside down with heavy books on the corners.. and fly like a jet!!! Glad to hear he is fine and the house is near back to normal!
Oh no!!! What a mess! I’ve had numerous bathroom issues with my now 9 year old. Similar to this. But, definitely not so costly!! I hope your bathroom is even better then before!
Thanks Janel, we’re still keeping fingers crossed that we don’t have to rip up the tile, we should find out tomorrow!
Oh my word…. what a weekend! I hope the repairs are done speedily!
Thanks Courtenay! They said everything should be fine by Christmas!
Melissa – I love your perspective on this. And I’m very thankful that the harm caused was nothing more than structural and cosmetic. So glad your little boy is safe. Makes me get a little teary just thinking of the what if…
My son never got flush-happy, but he did once take a sharpie to my refrigerator. (And when I tried to remove it, he said, “But it’s pretty.”) And then there was the time he used our ink return address stamp all over my beautiful linen covered cocktail ottoman. There was no mistaking who owned that ottoman after that incident.
One of my friends’ teenaged sisters threw a party while her parents were away and caused $40,000 in damage. Something about big ceramic flower urns getting pushed into the pool, holes punched in walls, etc. Now, that was not a pretty sight and you can just imagine the reckoning that teenager faced….
lol Amy, one of the reasons I just ordered that Typewriter Milk Paint from you was to paint a white desk that got the sharpie treatment from one of my older boys!
Oh MAN. I am so bummed that it turned out to be this bad! But good thing you were downstairs and caught it before it got worse. Good thing our kids are cute, right?
I say that all the time Kelly-God makes kids so cute so you forget how crazy and demanding they are sometimes!
Melissa – so sorry to hear about the damage, but you have such a positive attitude and really put a lightened spin on it.
This will definitely be something to remember for a long time. Glad you were able to save your h/w floors, hope the tile is salvageable as well.
Thanks Erica! We should find out if they have to take up the tile tomorrow, the fans are still blowing and they cut a hole in the ceiling this afternoon to blow air up there too. Fun times!
OMGoodness, not a fun Fri night for sure. Sorry it was costly for you, but I suppose could have been alot worse. The biggest mess that I can think of right now, although I am sure there have been many, but cant think of the moment. The mess was mostly made by me myself and I, but the kids definitely contributed. After school the girls asked if they could finger paint, so I took out all the supplies, I knew it would be messy and it was, but the kicker was, in the process of their creations, I thought I would get dinner ready and accidently dropped an entire bottle of olive oil on the floor. What a mess, it took me forever to clean finger paint mess and olive oil.
Ugh, cleaning olive oil would be horrible!
Oh, what a story Melissa! Thank goodness you were there – and downstairs – it could have been so much more worse. I’m sure your little (cutie of a ) troublemaker will hear this story later when he’s older!
oh yeah Heather, he won’t ever hear the end of this story! 🙂
YIKES!! After we flushed a short-lived goldfish so he could “go to heaven”, our three year old began flushing all sorts of odds and ends heavenward … discovered once the plumber had to use a pipe snake to dislodge plastic sharks, dinos and army men!! Hope the fans dry quickly and the damage is less than expected!!
Thanks Keri! Its so funny but my other two boys were never big on flushing things or climbing but that seems to be all thats on the little guy’s mind lately! He’s giving me a run for my money!
Oh my goodness, Melissa ~ so so sorry that happened. It is a good thing you became aware of the problem when you did ……sheesh! My boy shave done lots of little things…the biggest was when my oldest son was about 2 and my driveway was slag. He loved to play with those rocks….and throw those rocks….and one day….he threw the rock right through the windshield of my new car. And while this is by no means big…my youngest decided to eat part of a Marshmallow Peep that I Mod Podged just yesterday. Kids are fun! ; )
I am SO glad your little guy is okay and things are getting repaired.
hugs, mb
lol Mary Beth, I saw that about the Mod Podge! Too funny! And the windshield thing-I’d be freaking out!!
Oh No!!! I’m so sorry that happened, but glad you all were okay. Hopefully it will get repaired quickly!!
I’m hoping it isn’t a long process Crystal, tonight should be the last night of the fans then they’ll assess how to repair all the damage. So far it’s not looking near as bad as it could have been.
Oh, I’m just so sorry you’re having to go through this, but I’m so thankful no one was hurt and it can all be fixed!
Thanks Gwen. I was upset the first night but now I realize it’s just money, it’ll be okay. I’m just so thankful the baby is okay…when I was running upstairs to see where the water was coming from the most scary thoughts were going through my head.
YOu were quick to react and did all the right things once you realized what had happened ! Hope it gets all fixed up soon and thankfully as you said you were home and not on Christmas vacation like we were when our home flooded a number of years ago from a broken pipe! So glad all of you are ok though and that insurance will cover most of it! Hang in there chickie! Hooah!
Oh I know Heather, I’m so thankful I happened downstairs at that moment-could have been MUCH worse!
Oh my goodness. Hubs thought our little guy was bad. (the little guy is not 27) I had to show him this post to point out ours wasn’t as bad as he, an only child, thought. It is a good thing you were in the kitchen; I hate to think what could have resulted. A crimp in the budget for sure.
Janet
haha Janet! This third little one is showing me some new tricks! My first was an angel-so laid back and easy. The second was much more strong willed but this third little man is a tornado of chaos! Good thing he’s so cute, right? 😉
Nana says payback is H E double toothpicks! I’m still giggling. So glad the baby is okay.
Oh no! I’m glad you are all okay but what a nightmare. Yep home insurance is a must have!
Thanks Mel-I’m just thankful it wasn’t any worse-we definitely lucked out with the damage!
We had a flood in our home 5 years ago that caused damage in half the upstairs and almost the entire downstairs. I remember thinking it was never going to stop “raining” in our basement from the ducts! Fortunately for us as well we had insurance. We had to live in a hotel for 5 days because the blowers and dryers were so loud … we had approximately 12 total. One important thing we learned from our experience is the need for all homeowners to have sewer backup insurance. It isn’t normally a part of your policy, is very inexpensive, and worth the cost. We’ve used it twice since we bought it. So glad we learned about it. Don’t know why agents don’t tell you.
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