THIS is what renter's insurance is for

[giza]

My toilet just exploded.

Well, maybe "explode" isn't the right word, but that's sure what it seemed like at the time!

I was woken up at 5 AM by what sounded like a "thud" coming from the bathroom. A "porcelain on porcelain" sounding thud, which was loud enough to wake me up. I shambled into the bathroom to see what was going on, and heard the sound of my toilet filling. I've had minor problems before, where the water hose inside the toilet would come dislodged from its tube, which was easy enough to fix by removing the porcelain cover, grabbing the (spurting) hose, and reinserting it where it belonged.

When I tried removing the porcelain cover to do that this time, I was greeted by a stream of water in right in the face! To my horror, I noticed that said stream was shooting straight up (it's never done THAT before), and that water was rapidly collecting on the floor, and starting to flow out into the hallway. Definitely not good!

I reached behind the toilet for the shutoff valve, only to discover that it was stuck tight! I was flailing about, getting ready to run down the hall to my neighbor's and see if he had a pipe wrench, when I suddenly remembered that I had a pair of pliers in the linen closet. I threw open the door (oh gee, there's water in THERE, too!), grabbed the pliers, and started twisting the valve closed, while water was raining down on me, like a water park from hell.

I finally got the water flow under control, and started to check out the damage. The bathroom was flooded with about a half an inch of water. The water had also gone out into the hallway, and worked its way into my bedroom, leaving the outer 2 inches of the carpet soaked. I was fortunate that I stopped the water when I did, because it's nothing that 20 minutes of mopping and a fan weren't able to fix. Had the water gotten much further, I would have had damage well into the hundreds of dollars, and had to file a claim with my renter's insurance, which would cover this sort of thing.

Post mortem examination of the now ex-toilet revealed that the plastic assembly that regulates the flow of water inside the toilet had actually separated from the base that it was attached to. This left the copper water pipe coming out of the wall exposed, and with nothing to regulate it, the water shot out full force. I also determined that the water struck the ceiling, as evidenced by the water droplets hanging from the ceiling. This also resulted in my possessions on the rack above the toilet getting soaked.

Oh well, that's an interesting way to start the week. At least I have an excuse to fail today's qualifying round in the Google Code Jam...

Comments

[featheredfrog.livejournal.com]

actually, check any sink faucet as well. does the water seem to be coming out at pressure? Your "Street Regulator" may have failed. This requires a visit from a plumber, but any or all of the units your side of that regulator are at risk of a similar explosion.

[giza.livejournal.com]

Yep, sinks are fine and the shower is fine. Thanks for the headsup, though.

[erastmus.livejournal.com]

Ick, I hate it when the plumbing breaks.. good thing that you happened to be home and catch it in time though, or you'd be greeted by a flashflood when you'd open the front door! It's also a good thing that you weren't actually sittong on the toilet when it broke down :)

[normanrafferty.livejournal.com]

Am I the only kid who read "Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Exploding Plumbing"?

[furahi.livejournal.com]

Whoa, sure glad you got bathed by water that was just comming into the toilet, as opposed of leaving it, that could be worse =P

[crywolf.livejournal.com]

This may be "different place, different rules," but if the flooding was caused by something which is the apartment's (or lessor's, if you're not in an apartment) responsibility to maintain, and not by anything that you did, then I believe they're responsible for cleanup. Renter's insurance would cover personal property which had gotten damaged in this incident.

For example (though this was about 10 years ago in Phoenix), one day, while having insomnia at 5am, I investigated a sound like a faucet turning on, which turned out to be the water heater. I had a new one later that day, they vacuumed up the water, and then came back later to do a more thorough cleaning of the affected carpet. The maintenance man was also very grateful that I was awake to hear it and turned off both the water and the breaker for the heater.

It may be worth asking about a free carpet cleaning due to the toilet explosion. It sure beats dealing with a moldy carpet (for both of you), and is probably covered by their insurance.

[tgeller.livejournal.com]

What he said.

And they should buy you a "Welcome to Dorney Park!" sign. ;)

[giza.livejournal.com]

Yes, I believe that "moldy carpet" would be a valid description for Dorney Park...

[netcrimes.livejournal.com]

Eeeyewwwwww.

I feel for you.

Good thing you don't use that blue Ty-d-bowl stuff.

[giza.livejournal.com]

That's what I did use, actually. It was a real b*tch to turn, though.

Or were you referring to something else? I'm not much of a plumbing guy, obviously.

[wildw0lf.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I thought exploding toilets only happened on "Mythbusters"

Cool you got it under control though, and didnt lose anything *wags*

[wildw0lf.livejournal.com]

And after that Assembly book dries out, you might as well keep in hanging around the bathroom. From what you experienced in the bathroom this past weekend, it's obvious that some assembly is required :) *wags*