Minor water damage in the household, while not really a daily problem, is something that we, somehow, manage to take in stride when the situation is called for. Clogged kitchen sinks, loosened faucets, blocked bathroom drain - these are just some of the more common domestic scenarios that we encounter from time to time. However, when water damage reaches the confines of our bedroom, our world is turned upside down. Well I don’t know about you but ours did.
For me, the bedroom is a haven; the safest and most comfortable room in the whole house. And I think most people will agree with me on one that an average individual spends at least a third of each day in it. So to deal with a water damage problem right smack inside this much-favored room is a downright unpleasant task.
I knew something wasn’t quite right when I woke up early one morning and sensed the unusual humming of the aircon. I felt humidity in the air instead of that nice cool feeling. I also noticed that my two kids beside me were tossing and turning about apparently in discomfort. A quick investigation confirmed my fear - the aircon wasn’t working right. And apparently, a not-so-cool room was the least of all our problems because even worse, the aircon was dripping water right into our computer placed directly beneath it. It looked like it had been doing so for quite some time already since a small puddle of water was then starting to form on the edge of the table, sliding down from the keyboard, and slowly dripping down to the floor.
It appeared that the unit’s condenser was not functioning properly and the drain pipe was blocked by molds and slush, hence the dripping. A visit and a thorough cleaning from the maintenance guy solved that particular problem easily enough. Fortunately, the keyboard bore the brunt of the water coming down from the aircon, which was easily replaceable.
Just when I thought I already could put the aircon incident behind me, I had another “brush” with water damage. This time, it involved our built-in closet crammed with clothes, blankets, towels, and even pillows. When I first noticed a small stain on a blouse I was wearing, I thought nothing of it and promptly decided to change it with another one. But when the second shirt revealed the same kind of stain, I knew then that those stains had to have come from the walls, which served as the other side of the closet. Removing all the pieces of clothing inside, we saw that a water stain had spread down from the ceiling and across the wall.
Following the traces of water that appeared on the wall revealed that the source came from the ceiling of the room. Our bedroom was on the ground floor of a two-storey house and it became apparent that the water may have originated from the top floor which had a bathroom directly above our room.
Calling a plumber in to get to the bottom of this water damage problem, we discovered that just as suspected, there was a leak in one of the bathroom pipes positioned above the closet. Had we found out about it much later, the consequences would have been more severe since the pipe was actually rather corroded already, and could have given way any time. Installing a new pipe in that section, although rather costly and inconvenient, was the only option available. So we had it done, problem solved.
But not without our bedroom losing some sense of comfort and privacy for a day or two there. Now I hope water damage will stay away for good. Even at least from our bedroom.
