I got an email from the water utility Friday, saying I’ve been using 92 gallons an hour for the last week. I can’t wait to see that bill. We tried turning off the water. It seemed to work. I sent an email back to the utility. Monday I got a new email saying it was flowing at 59 gallons an hour. Back to the basement.

I tried clamping off the outlet hose and made my own water park in the basement, complete with fountain. D’uh! So I fiddled with the controller until I got the water stopped. However, that stopped the water from flowing into sinks and things. Fortunately, I was able to get a plumber out in an hour. I now have water, just not soft water.

I can deal with that for the short-term. My next project is to drain the water heater, but that can wait until I get the new softener — next year, which is like tomorrow. What a great start to the year.

Hopefully, 2026 will be survivable. Happy New Year!