If you’re in the city, this might sound strange, but my house has well water, a septic system and oil heat. I call it the holy trinity of country living.
Recently, any time we were using water, the compressor in our basement would kick on – almost continuously. We thought the problem was with our sprinkler system and called the company that services it.
“Nope, not us,” they said. Call the water guy.
Who is the water guy? In 15 years, we had never done anything to our water supply… other than drink and bathe in it.
There was a sticker, on the compressor. It was already there when we moved in. I called.
Not only was the company still in business, they immediately pulled out our file… or at least the paperwork they filled out when the house was built. Someone would come out and the depending on what had to be done it could cost somewhere between a pinky and two legs.
I have heard horror stories of people needing new wells, new pumps… thousands of dollars into a hole in the ground – literally!
Let’s face it. In matters like this – esoteric subjects like well water – I am at their mercy. If the water people said we needed a new well drilled, who am I to dispute?
Lucky us – they were honest!
A quick service call and re-pressurizing the compressor was all it needed. I wasn’t there, but the serviceman told Helaine there might be some ‘red water’ for a little while, as sediment came up.
This would be the end of the story… except for what happened this morning. Helaine went to take a shower, but before she did, she also started a wash¹. She got into the shower, turned on the water and stood under a full dribble!
Uh oh.
Actually, the solution was pretty easy. Our well water goes through a paper filter before it gets to the rest of the house. You’re supposed to change the filter every month or two. I was only a few years overdue.
The extra sediment that came up after the compressor was serviced was the coup de gras for the filter. It was totally clogged with little bits of red clay. I removed it, put in a new one and opened the valve to start the water flowing. Then, it was my time for a shower.
Holy cow! The blast was enough to knock me off my feet. OK – that’s hyperbole, but it was stronger than I can ever remember.
So, the compressor no longer runs continuously and we have major league water pressure. Life is good. And, we’ve found another honest company to deal with.
We are all so dependent on the skills of others. Life is so complex. Even something as simple as water needs expertise to flow.
In some way, we are all helpless.
¹ – I’m taking her word on this. I am not awake at that ungodly single digit AM hour.