I’m not sure but, whatever the case may be; I am paying for it now.
German homes are constructed very well, and are pretty weather tight. Many (and mine in particular) have no bathroom fan. Of course, this will result in te formation of mold if the moisture from the shower is not dealt with. One popular method, and the one I use, is to open the bathroom windows for about 10-20 minutes after showering. This practice lets the steam out and allows the humidity to normalize.
Monday I was going out of town for the week, and was a little rushed in the morning. Today, Friday (the 13th) upon returning home, I realized that it was a bit cold inside the house. I turned up the radiators. However, I soon realized that they were not getting warm. Not eve tepid.
I turned on the hot water in the kitchen sink and it ran cold. I let it run for a couple of minutes and it remained cold.
I knew I had a problem, so I called my landlord. She called the heater guy, who was over to the house within 30 minutes. He said the system was low on water and didn’t have enough pressure in it. At least that was what I got out of it (he speaks very little English, and I speak even less German). He put some water into the system, and tried to restart it.
Nothing.
There was a valve that was stuck or something. All I got out of him was, “This is kaput!” It was too late to get the part today. He ordered it, and will come and install it the morning.
I am flying to Italy in the morning.
I’ve been gone all week, and still need to pack for this trip. I need to get some other things done around the house, and would very much enjoy being able to sleep in my own bed for at least one night . Only there is no heat in the house.
It is Friday night, and it is cold outside, and it is almost as cold inside. See, this is not the kind of cold that comes from not having heat in a house for 5 days. No sir. this is the type of cold that comes from some moron leaving the window open on Monday morning before he left.
So not only am I sleeping in a house with no heat, I am sleeping in a house that has had no heat for an unknown number of days. I am sleeping in a house that has had a window open for the past 5 days. In a town where the temperature has been hovering around freezing for at least two weeks.
So I’m not sure if I can blame it on Friday the 13th, Monday the 9th, global warming, or my own stupidity. What I do know; is that it is getting late, I will need to shower at the office tomorrow morning, and I can see my breath as I type this.
The brandy helps a little bit, but I need to get under some covers.
I hope it’s not this cold in Bologna!
p.s. At least the kimchi didn't explode in my refigerator while I was gone. And at least the cold seems to have dampened the smell (a bit).
5 comments:
Is there any chance that leaving the window open and the subsequent lack of pressure in your steam system be somehow inter-related?
Whatever the case may be, I can sympathize with your plight. We were without power for a few days here during the recent ice storm and heat was a precious commodity.
But at least we had hot water.
Hope you have a good trip . . .
-Steven.
Warm Valentine wishes to you Ug!!!!
Steven,
I thought that the two may be related also. That is why, when I talked to my landlord, I just happend to leave out the detail of the window being open for a week. But I don't have a thermostat here, each radiator has a manual control on it. And my hot water has been lost before (and I believe it's the same system). Who knows?
As a mechanical engineer I will offer my expertise to deduce the ongoing problem with the heating system.
As soon as I receive the airline ticket, I will make arrangements to fly out and address the problem.
PMG
Tony never understood when his parents told him to shut the door because they weren't heating the outside. :)
/Jim
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