Soothing sounds...or not...

I usually find the sound of running water soothing, and I’ve been known to intentionally leave the water level in my aquarium a bit low to create a soothing ambiance in my office. But there is something so totally un-soothing about hearing that sound immediately upon opening the front door, especially when you know nobody else is home.

When I arrived home on Thursday night the first thing to cross my mind was that somebody, somehow, must have left the water running in the kitchen. Or perhaps one of the cats learned a new trick. Of course that would have been way too easy. Instead, as it turns out, the plastic hose to the water filter under the kitchen sink separated from the brass compression thing in an apparent attempt to wash the kitchen floor the hard way. About four years ago we completely renovated our kitchen and most of the flooring on the main floor. I guess four years is enough time for dirt to accumulate on (and under) the relatively new hardwood floor in the dining room, because it apparently needed a good rinse too.

As I ran downstairs to the main water shut-off, I was visually and audibly reminded that the desk in my home office is directly under the kitchen counter. Since the renovations four years ago, I have known it was close, but I can now confirm that the hole the electrical wiring passes on the way to the dishwasher is directly above the leftmost part of my desk. The other hole is quite close to the wall, and the fact that my desk doesn’t touch the wall in the corner is likely the only reason the stuff on that part of my desk got a light shower instead of a bath. I also learned that there are a few holes through the floor directly above the large round table in my office, you know, the one in a convenient place to lay photographic prints and albums-in-progress.

The insurance company had a crew over that night, and they were back on Friday to pack the entire contents of my office (at least the dry contents), tear out some wet drywall and insulation, remove some underpadding, etc. An electronics company came by to pick up the not-so dry electronic gear (which fortunately did not include either of the PCs that were under my desk). About when I thought the worst was over, I noticed a bit of an odour and found that the floor drain into which they had the dehumidifier hose draining was, well, not draining. To be more precise, it was “draining” in reverse, and I don’t mean clear water. So I called in the roto rooter folks, who cleared the clog (which appears to have been baby-wipe related) and since the disaster folks were already here, it didn’t take them long to remove some more drywall. Two of the lads were kind enough to very carefully haul my shopvac outside where I could hose it out. The crew was done by around 4pm, and the smell is almost gone now, although some of it got into the carpet. It’s an odd feeling, watching people don gloves to handle your vacuum and carpet…

I’m told they’ll be back in about three days to pick up the fans, dehumidifiers, and large suction thing they have on the hardwood floor in an attempt to extract the moisture. I thought “wolf pack” was a weird thing for them to call a suction device with hoses and three large clear plastic pads over the hardwood. The crew was mostly francophone, and I just figured that I had misunderstood something. Once they turned it on I understood “wolf pack”. Just think “howl”...

There’s nothing to do now but wait, and it didn’t make sense for Laurie to cancel her long-awaited MGW weekend away with friends, so Emma, Big Sister, and I are spending a lot of time out of the house this weekend. Emma is fortunately used to a white noise generator in her room at night, and the additional noise didn’t seem to bother her or Big Sister at all. In fact, she had a marathon sleep-in, waking up around 8am instead of her usual 6:30. I guess she figured out that I needed a break, and rather than her usual crying upon awakening, this morning she started calling for mom and dad in English.

A normal conversation is considered around 60db. With the equipment in the kitchen running, the sound pressure at the kitchen door is 84db, or roughly 300 times as loud. To put it in perspective, a diesel train moving at 45mph 100 feet away is reported as 83db, and occupational heath and safety limits for an 8-hour workday generally fall within the 85 to 90db range. Shutting off the fan helps, but not enough to make the kitchen even temporarily suitable for dining. The “wolf pack” is hopefully sucking moisture out of the hardwood floor, and I’m hesitant to shut it off and allow the moisture to sink back in. Fortunately a 90-degree corner and the doors to our TV room attenuate it down to below 60db, so as big sister and I watch a movie it’s more of a nagging, whining irritation than a loud noise. I think we’ll be heading out to the Museum of Science and Technology after Emma finishes her nap. A few kids shouting over there should be refreshingly quiet. Maybe then we’ll head over to Home Depot and pick up a new filter for my shopvac so it’s ready for the next emergency.

Emma, of course, is her usual jovial self and she found the large fan in the kitchen amusing...at least for a few minutes.