Let me tell the tale of the Great New Year’s Eve Flood of Aught-Six. You won’t hear it from anyone else. As most calamities begin, so began this one; not with a single odd event, but with the convergence of multiple odd events. In this case there were two:

  1. A stoppage in a pipe somewhere kept the toilet from draining.
  2. The flapper valve in the toilet stuck open, causing the water to run and run.

The end result of the convergence of these two events was the Great New Year’s Eve Flood of Aught-Six. At first, it didn’t appear to be too bad; water had run out of the bathroom and into the hallway, but that was about it. Becky called for me to help, and I quickly used the shut-off valve to stop the water. We grabbed some towels and started sopping up the mess. Then we heard another sound of water running. Suffice it to say that our floors are not waterproof; the wooden floor let water run through right down into the basement. And then a bunch of water backed up near the toilet and made its way down as well.

So downstairs we went, to find water running from the drop ceiling in several places. I grabbed a bucket to catch the worst of it, but there was already a nice puddle stretching from the computer table over to Laura’s playset. Again with the towels. My computer monitor, tower, and keyboard were fortunate; they got splashed on a bit, but didn’t suffer any damage. My printer/scanner I’m not so sure about; when I picked it up a good 2 or 3 cups of water ran out of it. I unplugged it and set it in the downstairs shower to drain out. I haven’t yet tested it for damage, but I’m not too hopeful.

Being as this flood occurred mid-morning, the rest of the day was spent cleaning and repairing; I replaced the various valves in the toilet and it seems to be much happier now. Two of the ceiling tiles in the basement were waterlogged beyond salvage; a quick trip to Lowe’s found me a partial package with just the two tiles that I needed, which was a much better option than having to buy a full carton of ten. Several hours of a box fan on high speed managed to dry things out pretty well in the basement. All that really remains is for me to hang the new ceiling tiles, sweep the floor, and test out the printer.

Thus ends the tale of the Great New Year’s Eve Flood of Aught-Six. Pray it never happens to you.