We’ve had a couple of wonderfully rainy weeks here. This does come along with some potential downsides when you’re used to free solar energy!
The laundry hasn’t been easy to stay on top of, despite having two freestanding racks that can be kept indoors since I posted about living without a dryer. But the bigger issue has been hot water. For the last couple of months, our electric hot water heater (which is turned on by demand) hasn’t been working too well. Then a couple of weeks ago, it stopped working entirely.
With no sun overhead for two weeks and no way to electrically heat the water, this wasn’t so fun! The biggest issues were showers, so we compensated by fewer showers (which isn’t really such a big deal in the winter) and heating water on our gas stove. Yesterday, the electrician came out to see what needed to be done, and found the heating element had burnt out. That had burnt out the switch, so he replaced both of them. He also replaced the thermostat.
These repairs weren’t very complicated but took place over three days – we learned that “I’ll be back in a minute” could (and did!) mean leaving one morning and coming back the next afternoon! But last night, when the repair had finally been done….bliss! Steaming hot showers for a reasonable amount of time (versus get in and out as fast as you can before the warmish water runs out), so nice!
You really do appreciate things more when you haven’t had them for a while!
Avivah
We had tolerably tepid water for the first time in almost a month yesterday. We tried replacing the element in the electric heater (because that was the problem the last time), but no luck. Since we don’t even know what the problem is we don’t know who to call either. The company who sold the original dud keeps telling me we don’t exist…so for now the kids get baths using the hot water from the Shabbos urn added to cold water and we take turns taking cold showers or running to a couple of really generous friends a neighbours. (And though it’s not a solution for DH, if this goes on long enough I’m considering a visit to the mikvah on an unscheduled night, and am prepared to pay for a steaming hot shower!)
Oh, Marion, I SO relate. Tolerably tepid – yep! That sounds so frustrating that replacing the element didn’t work – we were apprehensive as well that the first solution wasn’t going to be a go and were concerned about how much it was going to cost us to get hot water again, but were sooo grateful that it worked. And as for your personal solution – I had the same thought!