As I indicated yesterday I was hit with a nasty bit of the vertigo. The world toss’d and turn’t and was generally unkind. This morning things weren’t much better but I was able to at least get up the gumption to shower. I figured the luxury of steaming hot water running over the back of my head and neck might provide some balance and relief.
I was in the shower for a total of about two seconds when I realized something was very, very wrong. The water that was spraying down from the nozzle was neither luxurious nor steamy. It was warm at best, and getting a lot colder. My heart dropped as I realized three very quick bits of reality:
- The water heater isn’t working, and
- We’ve got a baby in the house so no hot water is not an option, no matter how dizzy I am, and
- Kiss my Saturday good-bye.
After trying one time ignite the pilot light I did something I rarely ever do, I called the customer service number on the water tank.
* * *
If you go out on the Internet right now you’ll find that the opinion on Whirlpool water heaters isn’t very good. People are very un-fond of the gas/temperature control unit and how it is a complete piece of crap. I pretty well share their opinion since I was now falling victim to this contraption for a second time in owning this water heater.
I can tell you, however, that for me their customer service is stellar.
* * *
After working with a really nice guy on the other side of the phone we were quickly able to determine that either the temperature controller or the warming something-or-other (scientific term) wasn’t going to work. They offered me waiting until Tuesday for replacement parts or getting a redemption code to get a new water heater for free today. The nice man on the phone told me that the Lowe’s will either require the entire water heater or just the label off of it, to call them, and take my redemption code to them for the new water heater. Great experience.
After getting off of that phone call I then called Lowe’s and they informed me that I would need to bring the entire water heater in to them. This wouldn’t be bad news but the hard water in our area has all of the hoses I own bonded to water they are connected to. It also turns out that, I believe, the water softener puts a crystal saline sludge into the water heater, which I wasn’t aware was there and kept clogging every hose I used. I threw in the towel, got another hose, and finally worked out this clogging issue.
So, at around 11:30 AM I discovered that the hot water heater was dead, by 4 PM I had the new hot water in place and by 6 PM I was heating water again. I wouldn’t exactly call that an entire loss of day, and not a bad turnaround time. The only thing that does bum me out is not getting the stuff I planned on getting done in that time window now has to be pushed back.
I knew I planned on writing about trying a psuedo-Bullet Proof Coffee after making it tomorrow, but I’ve got a few hours of work ahead of me still today so I think I’m going to go try to brew some right now.
-Will
