Who thought being a gr'up was a good idea?

Last night I went to take a shower only to discover no hot water.

Now I had done laundry earlier in the day and knew by the fact that the drier had worked that I had gas. I was groaning about the fact that maybe I had to replace the 5 year old water heater.

Went into the basement to investigate. Water all over the area where said water heater and furnace are. I got it mopped up and investigated... no it was not the water heater.

It was actually the humidifier attached to the furnace that is all of 5 inches (if that) from the water heater. A hose had come off and for the life of me I couldn't figure out where both ends attached. I got the one end attached to where it was dripping and ran it into a bucket.

I got the rest of the water up so air flow returned to the pilot light of the water heater and got that started again. However I was flummoxed as to what to do about said humidifier.

This morning I emptied the bucket and came into work. One of the benefits of where I now sit is that I sit near the directors and managers of Operations, Engineering and Facilities. I casually asked if any of them had a good heating/cooling guy they could recommend and explained the situation.

When I went home on lunch to check on the bucket (emptied it even though it did not need it) and took the pictures the said Directors and Managers asked for.

Showed it to them and they all agreed... yep the thing is shot. Not surprising since it is almost 40 years old.

They gave me advice on what to do. First and foremost tonight I get a neighbor to help me turn the water off to the humidifier (I tried at lunch and just don't have the hand strength to turn the valve). After that all of them said it would be up to me, but it doesn't need to be replaced. I could live without one and just use room humidifiers in the winter if I find I need them.

I've got calls out to a couple heating and cooling companies for estimates to replace. So we shall see.

But damn, this grown up gig sucks.