There are so many times that we are glad to just be renting our home. I know there’s a sense of comfort and security owning a home but the costs would be too much for us to handle.
Last year, after we returned from visiting my husband’s family in the Netherlands, we noticed a rotten smell in the house. We were going crazy trying to figure out where it was coming from. It seemed to get stronger when the central heating went on and we confirmed it was coming from the vents. We were wondering if it was some mold on the water heater pan but that was fine. That was back in late October and it was just starting to get cold. It was either stink or freeze.
Just in case, my husband when to check under the house since the vent pipes weren’t sealed at all. Guess what he found? About half a foot of still, dirty water! We contacted our landlord right away. It turns out that the pipes in our place had totally rotted through (huge gaping holes with gunk built-up as well). They were likely the original ones from when the house was built in the 30s and were never replaced. That meant all drainage from our kitchen and bathroom had been leaking into in our crawl space for who knows how long, remained still for the month we were on vacation, and then got stirred up again when we got back – gross! Then, because we didn’t know what it was for a while, we had been breathing in our own waste for a month or more – blech!
Yep, all the pipes had to be replaced immediately. I wonder if the owner had some kind of California home warranty to cover the unexpected costs. The workers that came all had masks on and every time they came out from under the house you could see them gasping for fresh air. If it stunk up here in the house, I can’t imagine how nasty it was down there. After pumping all the water out, everything had to be sanitized. The door to the crawl space was left open during the day and a fan was constantly running to dry out the space. Finally we could breathe again!
That’s what happens when things are not maintained well. Even if they are though, appliances will eventually suffer from wear and tear, plumbing issues are bound to come up, and heating systems may have a breakdown here and there. Home insurance is a must for any kind of structural damage or theft but it’s a good thing American Home Shield covers what that doesn’t.
2 comments
Outside of the stench, it’s actually really scary because of the potentially dangerous mold it could have created!
So true. That why it was taken care of ASAP. Fortunately we’re fine except for that extra ear that has been growing on my shoulder 😛
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