Delta40
01-19-2013, 07:21 PM
I knew the hot water had run out when a God-awful scream came from the bathroom. My daughter was always a big sook that way. A little bit of cold water and she would go through the ceiling. When she was little, her older sister would turn on the tap in the kitchen while she was having a shower just to annoy her. I had thoughtlessly done it myself a few times and yelled out 'sorry' when she screamed. But this time it was definitely because of the system. A few minutes later she came thudding out, a towel wrapped loosely round her stick figure, half dried and I swear I could make out the tears from the water.
'Mum, that hot water has never worked and you have to get it fixed right now.' So simple. I mean let's face it. For thirteen years it's been pumping out boiling hot water and suddenly it doesn't and according to her it has 'never' been any good. I love these absolutes. Then she tells me more. 'I'm not joking. It did the same thing yesterday. I didn't even get the conditioner out of my hair before it ran out.'
'Well it works fine for me.'
'You're just saying that because you don't want to spend the money to get it fixed.' Maybe she's right. I also don't spend as much time in the shower as she does yet here she stands before me wearing yesterdays mascara streaked across her face.
It's the middle of summer and temperatures are rising to 42c. Who wants a hot shower anyway? I've got things to look forward to in life and the cost of replacing the system is really going to disrupt that. My holiday this year. Perhaps it can wait until I get back. It's so bloody hot at the moment that even the birds don't twitter in the morning.
'Live with it. I haven't got the money right now. Just think honey, this could happen in winter.' She throws a mild, young adult tantrum while I see if the system needs re-lighting but it doesn't and I figure it's slowly dying from old age and I will have to fork out at least $1500 for a new one. Then I will have to pay a gas plumber to install the bugger.
A couple of weeks pass and sure enough the hot water starts to run out while I'm in the shower. I have enough time to soap up, shampoo but it's all gone by the time I'm rinsing out my hair and I have to admit that even I want the luxury of standing under a shower to gather my thoughts, plan my day before springing into action. Cold water doesn't let me do that and I don't care if the temperature is 36c at 5.30am. A hot shower actually cools you down. So I call the gas plumber and my daughter tells everyone what a b itch I am for making her suffer.
He arrives late in the afternoon, a strapping young bloke with great thick legs. I love those tan steel capped boots with the hard yakka look. You know the type I'm talking about? 'I can lift heavy things' bloke. I get so dizzy inside watching him as he stretches up to unscrew the cover to my hot water system, I don't care that I'm getting slugged $50 for the call out fee. He asks me what the problem is so I tell him all about my shower experiences.
'Yeah these gas systems are pretty much designed to cark it after 14 years.'
'Will I have to buy a new one?'
'We'll see. Might just need a professional clean.' And with that he whips out a dustpan brush and dusts the hot water system from top to bottom. Occasionally he blows on it too. I smile at all the tools of the trade he must have learned at gas plumbing school while admiring his shapely form. Sometimes, I have a feeling of total abandonment wash over me and I wish I could engage in my wild sexual fantasies. He is roughly twenty six and really very cute.
'Hey do you like fresh eggs I've got heaps I need to get rid of'
'Sure I'd love some.'
'No worries.'
So I test the hot water at my kitchen sink and he confirms what he suspects.
'Yeah she just needed a good clean. They get dusty after a while but otherwise there's nothing wrong with them. This little beauty is good to go for another few years I reckon.'
'That's a relief. I thought it was going to cost me big time.'
'You won't be able to get parts for her though. So you'll have to replace her at some point.'
He charges me $160 for the dustpan clean and thanks me for the eggs assuring me if there are any problems to give him a call on his personal mobile. I'm thinking it's a shame that I probably remind him of his mother or an aunt as he drives away in his fancy van. My daughter is ecstatic at the thought of a repaired hot water system. The evening is so balmy. Mosquitoes are gnawing their way into our flesh as the air-conditioner works overtime. We relax as the house cools till finally my daughter says she is going to enjoy a hot shower. Five minutes later, a mighty scream erupts down the hallway.
'I hope you know that fvcking plumber was useless!'
I stare at nothing for a few moments before responding. When I think about it, that was a pretty cool dustpan brush he used and now I have his mobile number....
'Mum, that hot water has never worked and you have to get it fixed right now.' So simple. I mean let's face it. For thirteen years it's been pumping out boiling hot water and suddenly it doesn't and according to her it has 'never' been any good. I love these absolutes. Then she tells me more. 'I'm not joking. It did the same thing yesterday. I didn't even get the conditioner out of my hair before it ran out.'
'Well it works fine for me.'
'You're just saying that because you don't want to spend the money to get it fixed.' Maybe she's right. I also don't spend as much time in the shower as she does yet here she stands before me wearing yesterdays mascara streaked across her face.
It's the middle of summer and temperatures are rising to 42c. Who wants a hot shower anyway? I've got things to look forward to in life and the cost of replacing the system is really going to disrupt that. My holiday this year. Perhaps it can wait until I get back. It's so bloody hot at the moment that even the birds don't twitter in the morning.
'Live with it. I haven't got the money right now. Just think honey, this could happen in winter.' She throws a mild, young adult tantrum while I see if the system needs re-lighting but it doesn't and I figure it's slowly dying from old age and I will have to fork out at least $1500 for a new one. Then I will have to pay a gas plumber to install the bugger.
A couple of weeks pass and sure enough the hot water starts to run out while I'm in the shower. I have enough time to soap up, shampoo but it's all gone by the time I'm rinsing out my hair and I have to admit that even I want the luxury of standing under a shower to gather my thoughts, plan my day before springing into action. Cold water doesn't let me do that and I don't care if the temperature is 36c at 5.30am. A hot shower actually cools you down. So I call the gas plumber and my daughter tells everyone what a b itch I am for making her suffer.
He arrives late in the afternoon, a strapping young bloke with great thick legs. I love those tan steel capped boots with the hard yakka look. You know the type I'm talking about? 'I can lift heavy things' bloke. I get so dizzy inside watching him as he stretches up to unscrew the cover to my hot water system, I don't care that I'm getting slugged $50 for the call out fee. He asks me what the problem is so I tell him all about my shower experiences.
'Yeah these gas systems are pretty much designed to cark it after 14 years.'
'Will I have to buy a new one?'
'We'll see. Might just need a professional clean.' And with that he whips out a dustpan brush and dusts the hot water system from top to bottom. Occasionally he blows on it too. I smile at all the tools of the trade he must have learned at gas plumbing school while admiring his shapely form. Sometimes, I have a feeling of total abandonment wash over me and I wish I could engage in my wild sexual fantasies. He is roughly twenty six and really very cute.
'Hey do you like fresh eggs I've got heaps I need to get rid of'
'Sure I'd love some.'
'No worries.'
So I test the hot water at my kitchen sink and he confirms what he suspects.
'Yeah she just needed a good clean. They get dusty after a while but otherwise there's nothing wrong with them. This little beauty is good to go for another few years I reckon.'
'That's a relief. I thought it was going to cost me big time.'
'You won't be able to get parts for her though. So you'll have to replace her at some point.'
He charges me $160 for the dustpan clean and thanks me for the eggs assuring me if there are any problems to give him a call on his personal mobile. I'm thinking it's a shame that I probably remind him of his mother or an aunt as he drives away in his fancy van. My daughter is ecstatic at the thought of a repaired hot water system. The evening is so balmy. Mosquitoes are gnawing their way into our flesh as the air-conditioner works overtime. We relax as the house cools till finally my daughter says she is going to enjoy a hot shower. Five minutes later, a mighty scream erupts down the hallway.
'I hope you know that fvcking plumber was useless!'
I stare at nothing for a few moments before responding. When I think about it, that was a pretty cool dustpan brush he used and now I have his mobile number....