It Really Smells!

          At first it was a sick smell from our basement.

          I thought it might be sewage backing up since years ago we did have a sewer blockage and had to have somebody come to open the line for us.  There are a few problems that are part of our system from when the house was built in the early 1960's. But we have not had any problem since then.  I checked everything and could not locate the source.

          Then a few days later we had 9 to 10 inches of rain from a tropical storm.  And, as usual, we had some water in our basement.  But it wasn't nearly as bad as some past experiences.  So I opened our two basement windows and the cellar door.  With the sump pump and dehumidifier running all soon cleared up.

          But the smell didn't go away and I had the growing feeling that we might have some damage from the water, such as mold.  I checked everything that I could and still could not locate the source of the smell.

          Years ago we had a squirrel get into our basement.  It eventually died behind some furniture.  That smell was terrible.  We finally found the remains plastered to the floor.  Could we have a squirrel once again?  I didn't think so since we tried to eliminate the places an animal could gain access to our basement.  

          But the smell persisted.  We hoped that fresh air and the dehumidifier would eventually take care of the smell, but it didn't.

          Then last Wednesday my wife went down to the basement to get some items out of the freezer for supper.  I suddenly heard her call for me.  I feared that she had fallen again and I rushed downstairs to help her.

          Thankfully she hadn't fallen but when she opened the freezer door she was hit by this horrible smell.  Everything had defrosted.  The bottom of the freezer was filled with blood from the meat that we had stored there.  It was horrible and it definitely was the source of the smell.

           It turned out that the circuit that contained the freezer had gone bad.  We have no idea how long it was off - probably a week or more.  Everything in the freezer was ruined.

          I had just talked to our youngest son so I knew he was home.  I called him back and told him our situation.  He said that he would be with us to help as soon as he could.  Thankfully he was able to come.  And with a mask and gloves he cleaned out the freezer as best as he could.  He was God's provision for us since we could not have done it ourselves.

          Then I called my brother-in-law who is a retired electrician to ask for names of electricians he could recommend.  He gave me some ideas including one who had done some work for him.  I was thankful for his suggestions.  But I was surprised when he actually showed up a little later with his equipment.  After much work he found the problem was with a neutral in our electrical box.  And he was able to get our current back on. It wasn't the freezer.  God's provision once again.

           But he recommended having the entire box replaced.  It was the original from when the house was built although it had been added to when our kitchen was remodeled and our central air was added.

          So on Thursday morning I called a local company.  They came right out and gave me an estimate.  I agreed.  On Monday they came and after about eight hours of work replaced and upgraded our box.  It is a relief to be in a situation which is now much safer.

          This week we worked on cleaning out the freezer and have done the best that we could without damaging the coils.  We will now begin to refill it when we can afford to do so. My estimate of replacing what we had is about $750.  The electrical work will cost at least $1,200.  This comes about two weeks after we had to have our digital piano repaired at a cost o about $900.  But the Lord knows.

          It is ironic always amazing how our prayers are often answered.  A few weeks ago I knew that the freezer really needed to be defrosted and I didn't know how we were going to do it anymore.  We could no longer get down on our knees and do it ourselves and we couldn't ask anyone to come and do it for us.  But the Lord decided to do it for us.  Of course it did cost us a considerable amount of money. But it is now done and somehow He will provide that as well. 

          And the smell is gone!