Tap, Tap, Tap

I used to believe that my home maintenance vigilance was a function of the fact that I live in an old home.  These days, I realize that a certain household wariness is simply part of the home ownership bargain.  In my neck of the woods, the most common problems are those related to precipitation, both indoors and out.

I've experienced basement flooding in the past and I'm always wary of excessive water.  I keep my outdoor gutters cleared of leaves; I keep watch for the prospects of ice.  When it rains, I check the basement.  On top of that, my home has old-fashioned radiators and a steam heat furnace.  Steam heat running through pipes has a tendency to clink and clank, and I always have an ear tuned to sounds that signal danger.  Last winter, after my furnace received a tune-up, I needed to bleed the upstairs radiators (to remove air trapped in the pipes) and then adjust the pressure.  I discovered this after I awoke one morning to the steady sound of dripping water from the radiator in my bedroom.  Standing water is never desirable in your home, especially on the second floor.

So it is that I keep an ear tuned to the sound of water.  Last week, we had a steady hard rain that resulted in a series of flood warnings.  I became more vigilant than ever.  And in my bedroom, as I read at night, I would sometimes hear a steady tap, tap, tap.

For nearly ten days that tap tormented me.  I checked every radiator upstairs.  I checked the gutters.  I walked around the house, looking at the roof and foundation for signs of impending disaster.  I did all of this multiple times.  Everything seemed fine.  But still the quiet tap continued.  And so my anxiety grew.

Finally, after days of this, I discovered the source of the quiet tapping.  I have some lights in my bedroom that run on the timer and the timer had gotten stuck. When I repaired that glitch, the tapping magically disappeared and my problem was solved. 

My sanity will likely return a bit more slowly.