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Woes of the orchidist

Discussion in 'General Chat' started by xmpraedicta, Oct 9, 2015.

  1. Oct 9, 2015 #1
    xmpraedicta

    xmpraedicta Prairie angraecoid nut Supporting Member

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    The price we pay for our plants sometimes extends beyond the plants themselves, or growing paraphernalia. I came back after being away from the city for 5 days to find that my grow tank had sprung a leak, and flooded the entire top floor of my house, dripping down onto the first floor. The laminate is buckling, the carpet is sopping wet, and I have no idea the extent of damage in the floor. I've been trying to use a shop-vac to get as much of it as I can. It's Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, so no professional services are open, and I am required to leave the city again on Tuesday to go to work. It's a nightmare, and I'm ready to grab a bottle of wine and just crawl crying into bed. Living in a dry climate is a small mercy. I am shaking my fist at the plants who seem to be laughing in my face as they frolic in the 99% humidity. Sigh. I hope I can look back on this in 5 years and laugh.
     
  2. Oct 9, 2015 #2
    Marni

    Marni Well-Known Member Staff Member Supporting Member

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    I am so sorry to hear this. I hope that damage is less than imagined and it only takes 2 years to laugh about it.
     
  3. Oct 9, 2015 #3
    spiro K.

    spiro K. Well-Known Member

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    Don't take it too hard, things like that happen to everyone.
    Hook up a de-humidifier in the wet room and run it day and night.
    That should dry things up.
    I had a radiator spout water for hours on the wood floor, it buckled , and I thought it will never recover! It did after drying out.
    Anyway, good luck!
     
  4. Oct 9, 2015 #4
    KellyW

    KellyW Orchid wonk Staff Member Supporting Member

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    Oh, no. So sorry this happened to you. I hope you get things under control before you have to leave town again.
     
  5. Oct 10, 2015 #5
    xmpraedicta

    xmpraedicta Prairie angraecoid nut Supporting Member

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    Thanks for the encouragement, all. I'm going to have to try and find some professionals tomorrow. I lifted up a bit of the carpet and the pad underneath is soaked through.
     
  6. Oct 10, 2015 #6
    sam1147

    sam1147 sam1147

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    Take care,this is just money.
     
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  7. Oct 10, 2015 #7
    naoki

    naoki Well-Known Member

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    Oh no, that doesn't sound good, Calvin. I had a similar leak incidence from the planted aquarium recently, but it wasn't as severe as yours... ShopVac will do the job, but if you have SteamVac for carpet (you can rent one from grocery store around here), it might be easier to cover the large area.

    The positive side could be that at least, your plants were ok, right?
     
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  8. Oct 10, 2015 #8
    Ray

    Ray Orchid Iconoclast Supporting Member

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    If it makes you feel better, it was just your place. It could have been worse.

    An old college friend really got into tropical fish for a while, and used a "water exchanger" on the tanks: a small stream of fresh water squirted into the tank, while another siphoned out the old water - a great way to change the water without shocking the fish, and the outflow was great for watering plants.

    One day he was doing that and fell dead asleep. Several hours later, not only was that plant VERY well watered, but so was his carpet and those of the two adjacent apartments, and the one below him!
     
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  9. Nov 27, 2015 #9
    DrWanCanada

    DrWanCanada Member

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    Sorry to hear that! I had a similar incident with my terranium, where the leak happened over several days. Covered my living room carpet and destroyed the shelves. So I had a double guard collection installed to make sure that doesn't happen again! It does dry after a while!