A Leak Already!

September 13, 2017

So far, living indoors hasn’t been the picture of comfort and ease that we had imagined. Go figure. πŸ˜‰

So, here’s the story:

We spent Monday shopping and moving. We needed to buy things like trash cans, cleaning products and a good vacuum with a HEPA filter. Then we went back to the ranch and Brett did the laundry while I gave Ramona a bath and packed up the van. When we were all ready we drove back to the apartment to unload. Then Brett went back to the ranch to get the rest of our stuff while I stayed behind to vacuum all the carpets. It was a crazy day but I did great. I didn’t notice any increase in symptoms.

I slept really well that night and woke up ready to face the day. Tackling the laundry was my first task. We had ordered a small portable washing machine that my mold avoidance mentor, Sara Mattson, recommended. She’s had one for a few months now and hasn’t had any problems with mold growing in it. I was excited to experience the luxury of a machine that washes the clothes for me!

Unfortunately, I was unable to get the machine to work. I wasted hours and hours messing around with it. I asked Brett to help me but he couldn’t figure it out either. I was so frustrated that I lost all my motivation and went to sit down. I wasted time until I finally decided to pull myself together and try again. Still no luck. Eventually, we just gave up and decided to do the laundry by hand in the bathtub. It wasn’t the best feeling to get to the end of the day and realize that I had expended a lot of energy without making any meaningful progress. Ugh!

This morning Brett called the washing machine company and finally figured out how to get it to work but the worst was still to come. Ramona discovered a leak under the kitchen sink while we were getting the washing machine hooked up. I couldn’t believe it!

We saw her licking the pipes (gross!) and noticed that her ears were all wet. Sure enough, the pipe was leaking and the tile underneath the sink was wet. Even the drywall was starting to get wet. We tried really hard not to panic and called maintenance immediately. A leak was bound to happen eventually. We just didn’t expect it to happen so soon!

I decided to do the laundry in the bathtub while we waited a few hours for the maintenance man to come. When he arrived, he got to work only to have to call someone else for help. I guess something went wrong while he was fixing it. The other man came in to help and they got it all fixed up.

At least that’s what we thought… until we turned on the faucet to do the dishes. One spot was still leaking! Luckily, Brett was able to fix it and I am happy to announce that, as of right now, the pipe is no longer leaking. Let’s hope it stays that way and that the wall dries out quickly.


By the way, Brett and I made a beautiful PDF of my favorite resources for suffering souls. I created the content and he made it look fancy with his superduper graphic design skills. It’s available for free to my email subscribers. Click here to sign up and receive 5 Resources for the Suffering Soul.

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19 Comments

  • Danae Kilber

    Oh nooo!! Ahh I hope things stay better!

    September 13, 2017 at 3:55 pm Reply
    • Ana Harris

      Me too! πŸ™‚

      September 14, 2017 at 11:11 am Reply
  • Natalie Julson

    Nuuuuuuuuuoooooooooooooo! Praying for you guys and that it stays put together and everything dries up quickly

    September 13, 2017 at 4:01 pm Reply
    • Ana Harris

      Thank you so much for the prayers Natalie! We really appreciate it. πŸ’•

      September 14, 2017 at 11:12 am Reply
  • Heather

    We had a leak our first day in a safe home too. We accidentally discovered that if you use a disposable tin baking tray to catch any possible drops that you are alerted by the dripping sound more quickly. Plus they’re cheap.

    September 13, 2017 at 4:10 pm Reply
    • Carolyn

      What a smart idea!

      September 13, 2017 at 8:57 pm Reply
    • Ana Harris

      Oh man! That’s a great idea Heather! Thank you! I think I’ll get some to put under the sink in the bathroom too.

      September 14, 2017 at 11:13 am Reply
  • Lisa

    I wonder if you could help the leak dry more quickly with a hair dryer or small portable heater?

    September 13, 2017 at 4:20 pm Reply
    • Ana Harris

      That’s a good idea Lisa! I wish I had a hair dryer!

      September 14, 2017 at 11:17 am Reply
  • Nanette Fenn

    πŸ™

    September 13, 2017 at 9:09 pm Reply
  • Nanette Fenn

    But, we will yet still be hopeful!

    September 13, 2017 at 9:10 pm Reply
    • Ana Harris

      Amen! 😊

      September 14, 2017 at 11:17 am Reply
  • Charis Rae

    Oh no! Hope things dry up quickly and there are no more leaks!

    September 14, 2017 at 8:36 am Reply
    • Ana Harris

      Thanks Charis!

      September 14, 2017 at 11:18 am Reply
  • Lizbeth

    NOO! That’s terrible! I’m glad he was able to fix it!

    September 14, 2017 at 10:46 am Reply
    • Ana Harris

      Yeah, me too! 😊

      September 14, 2017 at 11:18 am Reply
  • Jen

    Oh nooo! Praying it dries up completely and you have no more issues with leaks. Thank God Ramona found it so quickly! I’ve used a hairdryer to dry water that I found immediately. Maybe a small inexpensive hairdryer or dehumidifier would help in case it happens again. Praying it doesn’t though!

    September 14, 2017 at 12:57 pm Reply
  • Erin

    Oh yikes!!! That is so sad!!! I really hope the leak stays away and you have no other issues!!! I love you guys!

    September 14, 2017 at 6:57 pm Reply
  • Ann Sedlacek

    Anaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!! I quit reading your blog for a little bit, and I returned, AND NOW I SEE YOU’RE LIVING INDOORS?!?!?!?! Oh my gosh!!!!! I think the last post I read was something along the lines of “having trouble in campgrounds”. I was worried that you were so sensitive, you couldn’t even be in campgrounds! But poof, I come back later, and apparently you detoxed so well, that now you’re able to be indoors????? WOW! PRAISE THE LORD!

    You’re kind of make me want to try camping now. I never, did, for a few reasons. (I don’t have a husband to help me do laundry and take care of me when I’m tired, I don’t have the finances, I don’t have a van, etc. I also used to have severe leaky gut (the Lord healed that though, yay!) and I didn’t use to be able to eat raw foods, I had to boil them to like, babyfood mushy consistency. Hard to do that much cooking camping. Idk, I just never felt it was the Lord’s will for me to go camping, because it never fell into place. So I’ve been trying to stick it out in society.)

    I was also concerned that once I went camping, and my sensitivity increased…..that I’d possibly never be able to return to society again. πŸ™ Apparently though, this is not the case?????

    Btw, maybe you should train Ramona to be a mold detecting dog! I’ve read about those! They’re not perfectly accurate, but better than nothing. (I wonder if there’s also such a thing as a water leak/moisture detecting dog? Lol.) Either way, it sounds to me like the Lord totally used her to alert you guys of the leak. πŸ˜‰
    Then again even if you don’t train her, the Holy Spirit will probably just alert you guys if there’s ever a leak anyway. πŸ™‚

    He has certainly told me a couple times if there’s mold in a house. Sometimes down to the room.

    One thought I had: perhaps buy a moisture meter? In case a leak happens behind a wall, where Ramona can’t lick it? LOL.

    September 18, 2017 at 4:47 am Reply
  • Leave a Reply to Lizbeth