It Burns!! LITERALLY!! (RANTY!)

[lupo pazzesco]

For the last week and a half, there's been a debacle going on in my apartment. I noticed a stain on the ceiling that kept growing and getting black. Fearing mold, I called maintenance. Turns out a pipe started leaking. A lot. A hole was cut out of my ceiling and bucket placed underneath it until said pipe could be repaired. I was warned it would take a few days, to get the correct parts and whatnot. It was supposed to have been repaired on friday, the 4th. However, we had a "winter storm" in Houston (Read: 2 inches of snow freaking everyone out, making them think it's the apocalypse.) So, of COURSE no one could drive to get the parts.

Monday arrives, and it turns out the local part shop doesn't have it. So, it's going to take another day, and causing the maintenance crew to drive farther out to the shop many many miles away to get said parts. Parts are obtained Tuesday morning, work is commencing.

Complications are struck. Work paused.

finally, FINALLY, I'm told, "Ok, it WILL be done by Wednesday!"

I come home. No hole. No bucket! Rejoice!

I go to take a shower a few minutes ago. Turn the water on to the dial I know is my favorite temp. Grab towels, strip down, hop in, turn around to wet my hair.

Boiling. Hot. Water!!

I yelp, turn around and try to adjust it down.

There is NO adjusting it! It's stuck on boiling hot no matter the point on the dial. I shut off the shower, but the damage is done. I'm scalded/burned down my back. Breasts, belly, face, ears and right knee, too (since I first hopped in the shower on the right side) I test all the taps in my apartment. I have no cold water. At ALL. That's when I realize the toilet is making funny noises. I try to flush it. The tank is empty because it can't refill. No cold water.

I took pics of the damage. I'm bright red and in pain, and currently have wet washcloths I tossed in the freezer for a few minutes, draped on my chest and back, and wrapped around my knee. It burns.

I called the emergency maintenance line. Supposedly, if it's considered a real emergency, they'll call me back.

I'm still waiting. And I'm crying because it hurts, and I just want my water to work correctly, and I can't even shower. Now my hair's wet and it's going to get tangled and nasty because I can't wash it without burning my scalp.

And I really, REALLY want a call back, but if I don't get one before midnight (an hour and ten minutes, in my time zone) I'm going to bed, and will raise hell as soon as the office opens tomorrow morning. I think plumbing problems constitute an emergency. We'll see what the maintenance and management office say.

ETA: Upon sitting, I discovered somewhere else, red, raw and scalded. And no. It's NOT my ass. But that I will not take a picture of.

[Der Cute]

Lupy, you need to goto the ER. NOW!!!

[Greenday]

Yea, burns that bad in that many places requires professional medical attention. Get to the ER.

[pitmonkey]

How is the water temp so high!!! Is the building using a boiler or do each unit have its own water heater? Either way that is way too hot. What if a child or old person had that happen to them. If you have burns in the nether regions it needs to be looked at, an infection would not be good.

[fireheart]

Lupo, I agree with Cutenoob. ER. Now. Stat.

[ArcticChicken]

I'm thirding the ER. Make your building people pay for it.

[SG15Z]

Ok Lupo that's it you need to find a new place and fast. This complex has given you nothing but trouble all year.

And I also vote for the going to the ER.

[lupo pazzesco]

I can't afford the ER, guys. And everything has faded, burnwise. Only thing right now is my skin is sensitive, like after a relly bad sunburn. I have aloe plants on my patio, and I pretty much butchered one of them to apply to the owies. As to the nether area, that's still sore, but there aren't any open wounds. I'll probably go to the health center later today to get it looked at on campus. As to how the water temp is that high? I have no freakin' clue, unless that's just pure hot water with no cold water added in like usual.

SG: I wish I could find a new place, but I'm under lease. They frown upon people breaking said lease, and I can't afford, financially mentally or emotionally, moving right now. I hate it. I know it sounds lame, and I hate it, but I just can't. Not right now, not with everything else.

I never got a call back from emergency maintenance last night. So, I guess it's not an emergency. I'm going to call work when they open, and see if I can go in a few hours later, so I can confront the office manager in person, and show her pictures of what happened, as well as make double damn sure that this gets fixed today.

I'm still upset, but it's calmed down into the quiet, productive yet scary mode of upset. I'll update later today, once I get things settled. Right now, I'm going to try and get a little more sleep.

[fireheart]

Just keep an eye on the burns Lupo. Continue with the aloe, any cool relief, and cold showers for a few days...

[lupo pazzesco]

Just keep an eye on the burns Lupo. Continue with the aloe, any cool relief, and cold showers for a few days...

I plan on it, if I get my cold water back, of course. Which I will. I called the maintenance dispatch line again at 5:30 this morning, and plan on being at the leasing office first thing when they open this morning. They aren't going to know what hit them.

[Jester]

Out of pure habit (which I think I got from my mother), I always test the water temp with a hand before I actually get in. It is such a part of turning on the shower that I barely think of it, but it has helped me avert both too hot and too cold showers in the past.

Gibbs' Rule #3: "Don't believe what you're told. Double check."
Gibbs' Rule #8: "Never take anything or granted."

These won't help you with your current situation, of course, but hopefully it will help you prevent any similar future situations.

[lupo pazzesco]

Yeah, my sister already got on my case for not testing it with my hand, though she wasn't nearly as tactful about it. I think she asked what kind of idiot jumps in without checking? Oh right, my sister! There's a reason she's the she-beast.

Don't have much of a defense except it was late, I was tired, and just wanted a quick shower before bed. Well, that and I'm a ditz at times. This is just one of those times where it proved painful.

[AdminAssistant]

Gibbs' Rule #3: "Don't believe what you're told. Double check."
Gibbs' Rule #8: "Never take anything or granted."

Y'know, they haven't done much with the rules lately...I think the last new one was "Your case, your lead" or something.

Sorry for the OT, back to your regularly scheduled thread.

[RayvenQ]

Yeah, my sister already got on my case for not testing it with my hand, though she wasn't nearly as tactful about it. I think she asked what kind of idiot jumps in without checking? Oh right, my sister! There's a reason she's the she-beast.

Don't have much of a defense except it was late, I was tired, and just wanted a quick shower before bed. Well, that and I'm a ditz at times. This is just one of those times where it proved painful.

Oh and the fact that while it could have been hotter than expected, who the heck ever thinks that their shower is going to be the temperature of molten lava.

So you not testing it is perfectly reasonable.

*Hands you loads of Ice Cream*

[Greenday]

So you not testing it is perfectly reasonable.

I like to test it to make sure I won't get hypothermia when I get in the shower. It usually takes a few minutes for my apartment's shower to warm up.