The last sound you want to hear as you nestle into your soft bed on a snowy winter night? Rushing water. Why, what is that I hear? Flying out of my warm bed, I run to the bathroom- yes, the roar of water, just like when the sprinklers come on at 4 a.m. in July… and yet it’s December and the sprinklers were blown out two months ago, and I’ve got six inches of snow in my yard. Panic.
Run to the kids bathroom- no water there. Run to the kitchen, laundry, garage, basement- the roar is loud, but no water to be seen. Oh holy hell, is it in a wall? I realize I don’t even know where the main shut-off valve is. Flinging open the basement utility room, there are a myriad of valves, and I have no idea which one does what. Taking the stairs two-at-a-time back upstairs, I grab the phone and call my friends up the street. Help!
Her husband is gone, but she calls another family, and within five minutes, two brothers and their father are on my porch, followed shortly by my friend’s oldest son. The brothers come equipped with headlamps and the father is carrying a bucket of tools, and they slog out into my snowy backyard to find the main.
Within five minutes, the water is shut off, and all is well. An outside vacuum valve (there was a fancy word for it, but I can’t remember what he called it) had popped from the freezing, and just had to be shut off. My yard is full slushy water and snow, but there was no damage to my home. And my water in the house is fine. *huuuuuuge sigh*
And, they showed me in my basement where the main-line shut-off is, should I ever need it. It’s going to take me a while to calm down enough to sleep now… Man. Whew. Holy cow. Grateful. Again.
Dandelion Mama 
Thank goodness for friends! I’m so glad it was in the yard and there was no damage to the house. Sleep well tonight:)
So glad it turned out well.
Thanks be to good friends!
If you don’t already know, ask some friends to show you where the main switches are for everything in your house – water, electrical, and gas if you have it in your house. Very important to know in case of an emergency and very important for those of us in the Pacific Northwest should there ben an earthquake one day.
Phew!! What a relief it wasn’t in your home. I’m glad you had friends close by to help you quickly.
I don’t think I would have handled that nearly as well as you did.
I really do think that people who show up that fast have a super cape stashed somewhere. So glad you got the help you needed.
hehehe I am sorry to laugh, but I know exactly how this feels! I heard that same whoosh! only to find the water heater literally exploded –KABOOM!– and water wash rushing from it’s warped and split seam. I did as you did and called my brother in law for help. It took him about 5 minutes to get there, but frankly in that 5 minutes my entire (albeit small) house was flooded in about 2 inches of water…yikes. Oh well, finally got that new improved water heater!
Here’s to good friends and heros who come a runnin!
I can only imagine the panic. This reminds me that I have no idea where any of those things are and should really find out!!! Thank goodness for good friends and neighbors who rescue us from imminent disaster ……
That ended SO much better than I thought it would. Yay for that.
ICE SKATING PARTY AT YOUR HOUSE!!! Woohoo!
you need a vacation my friend!
So glad you had help.
While we’re on the subject of being prepared for home related crap – do you have a carbon monoxide detector? We’ve been saved twice by ours.
I do. It lives in my basement.
Hooray for hero rescuers and relatively easily-solved problems!