Episode 1

Last year when we closed the (rental) house up for winter I carefully emptied the hot water tank, turned off the electricity, closed the valves on the gas tanks etc so that we were confident that the house could be ignored for a few months. I also left all the taps open so that any water in the pipes would drain away rather than freezing. All very sensible I hope you’ll agree.

What I hadn’t realised is that the main water supply to the house had either not been completely closed or subsequently worked its way open slightly. So for a good deal of that six months there was a continuous slow flow of water running into the bath and out of the drain. Net result, an enormous water bill and a valuable lesson learned.

We learned the lesson so well that in spring and autumn we now do a test where we turn off all water appliances, read the water meter, wait an hour and then read it again. The slightest leak anywhere shows up very quickly. We can’t do this during the summer of course because people staying in the gites like to think they are at liberty to have a cup of tea or use the toilet according to their whims.

Episode 2

One of the guests staying in the house towards the end of summer this year mentioned that the water wasn’t very hot in the morning. Seemed odd, the water tank is plenty big enough, but no problem we showed them how to turn the switch so the water heated all day as well as all night and the problem seemed to be solved.

Just to be on the safe side we also called in the plumber to check all was well, thermostat not broken etc. He was happy to report that there was no problem at all.

Episode 3

Earlier this week, closing the house up for the end of the season I also threw insulation over the water pipes that go to the hot water tank, just to be sure they won’t freeze.

I happened to go in the house later that evening – lucky as it turned out, since it’s often weeks that pass with no-one going in the house – only to find that there was water everywhere – in the bathrooms and in the kitchen below. This was slightly unexpected.

Unhappy ending

Investigation showed that the valve at the bottom of the hot water tank was leaking quite seriously. Usually you wouldn’t notice, because it ‘waterfalls’ into a drainage pipe and disappears off outside somewhere. Throwing insulation on the pipes had knocked the drainage pipe out of the way, so the water could flow down through the floorboards instead.

This of course explains the lack of hot water experienced by a guest – we have spent the last month or two or three heating water that has been immediately leaking out and pouring away down the drain.

So whereas last year we were kicking ourselves because we had a super-sized water bill, this year we have gone one better and will have a super-sized electricity bill as well as a big water bill.

Although I have a feeling it’s the plumber we should be kicking rather than ourselves, for smilingly telling us there was definitely no problem while even as he was speaking we were pouring hot water away into the drains.