The Landlord, the Plumber, and the Leaky Geezer

For those who don't know, in March, a major leak occurred at our water heater, or as they call it here, geezer, which is located in our attic. Water poured through and collapsed our bathroom ceiling, streamed down the hallway, and flooded our living room. This occurred just before a team of volunteers was coming to help us with our work. We knew we had to get this problem solved, and soon. 

We called the landlord, and the landlord sent the plumber, who came, looked at the problem and asked for a plastic bag. Well, ok. He turned off the water, drained the tank, and used a strip of the plastic bag to wrap the threads on the leaking water line. That held for a while, but after the team left, we began to notice water again dripping down the bathroom wall. 

 Again, we called the landlord, who this time brought the plumber. Although he didn't tell us his solution, with the blessing and encouragement of the landlord the plumber climbed into the attic, turned down the temperature on the geezer, came down and reported, "We have the problem solved and have stopped the leak."  George and I found out about the temperature reset later, when it was time to take our showers. Brrr! 

Not that they are related, what followed next was a week of flu for each of us. Neither of us felt like seeing the plumber during those days. So, although the water from the geezer went from hot to tepid, the lines continued to slowly leak, and the water continued to drip, drip, drip from the ceiling and drain down the walls. Repairing the leak would have to wait until we were feeling better. 

So, yesterday we called the plumber, and he and the landlord came out this morning. This time, the plumber was certain that he had a sure solution. Seeming rather pleased with himself, he walked us around the house to an alcove near the driveway. Then he said, "I know how to fix your leaking geezer problem. The leaking geezer damages your ceiling, so, I will move it outside, here on this side of the house. When the geezer is outside, the water can go down the drain, so a little leak will be no problem."  I wasn't quite sure how to respond. Incredulous, I answered, "Uh. No. We will not move the geezer outside, and we will not have a leaking problem, not even a little one. Moving the geezer outside is not an option and having a leaky geezer is not an option. Uh, ok?"