We Could Have Had a Fire during the Night But Disaster Was Avoided – Hot Water Heater Malfunctioned – Saved by Rinsing One More Glass before Bedtime –

 

Ready to retire for the evening, I checked out the kitchen. The dishwasher was loaded. I needed only turn it on to wash the dishes while we slept. I noticed a glass and decided to rinse it off and put it in the dishwasher with the others. This glass, clean and sparkling, may have saved us from a fire.

When I picked up the glass and turned on the hot water to rinse it before putting in the dishwasher, I noticed the the water was unusually hot. I almost dismissed it, but decided to turn it on again. The water was hot enough to burn my hands. This was not right, so I brought it to Steve’s attention.

First Steve said he’d check it out in the morning, but he thought it over, turned around, and headed for the front door. He told me to get a flashlight. We went outside in the dark, and Steve flipped the breaker to turn off the electricity to the hot water heater.

In the morning Steve took the cover off the controls on the hot water heater and saw that it needed repair or replacement. We replaced it. The installer told us we probably would have had a fire during the night if Steve had not disconnected it last night.

Since Steve had his hip replacement surgery, we have experienced several challenges, but we will not complain. His hip is healing beautifully. The hot water heater was bound to fail eventually. It was sixteen years old. All is well. We are grateful to God for so many blessings we cannot count them.