Couples' Quick Action Checks Condo Flooding

DEAR HAMMER: I wanted to relate to you the recent "fun" my husband and I had with our water heater in the hopes your readers could use the information.

We were hosting a dinner party last week when, near the end of the party, my husband noticed a hissing sound coming from the utility closet. We both ignored it as we said goodbye to our guests. As I began to wash the dishes, I noted that the water was very hot; then it quickly went lukewarm and cold as I rinsed the dishes.

About then, my husband asked, "Who spilled wine in the hallway?" He wiped it up, only to return five minutes later to more liquid. That's when we paid attention to the hissing from the utility closet. Opening it up, we noticed water pooling under the water heater and beginning to spill out into the laundry room and hallway. The hissing sound was water rushing through the cold-water feed pipe into the water heater. Water dripped from the overflow valve and from the bottom of the tank.

My husband quickly shut off the gas at the water heater (using the on/off/pilot control knob at the bottom of the unit). He explained that even though the pilot light had been doused and a valve would keep gas from continuing to flow, turning the controls to "off" was an important safety step. He also turned the temperature control to its lowest setting.

Then he tried to close the shutoff valve for the cold water feed pipe. Problem! The water would not shut off, and it was continuing to leak out into the utility room.

While I contacted the maintenance man for our condominium, my husband located and shut off the main water valve for our unit. This meant we would have no water, but it also would stop the condo from being flooded.

The maintenance man came right over, despite the late hour, and drained the tank for us to stop additional flooding. He noted that the cold-water shutoff valve had been improperly installed, which is why it didn't work, and that he would need to replace that as well as the water heater.

In short, by acting quickly to address the water heater breakdown, we were able to minimize damage from the flood. We had only a little discomfort at spending the night without running water, but the heater was replaced and the shutoff valve repaired. I hope your readers can use this information if they ever hear a strange hiss from the utility closet. -- Tress V., Atlanta

DEAR TRESS: Many thanks for the story! I'm sure my readers will benefit. Most important is that your husband knew where shutoff controls for both the water and gas feeds were located, and prevented additional flood damage.

HOME TIP: Before an emergency happens, take time to locate and note the location of main shutoff locations for your home's water, gas and electric feeds.

Send questions or home-repair tips to homeguru2000@hotmail.com, or write This Is a Hammer, c/o King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.

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