What things around the house have caused you a panic attack when they stopped working? (opener, furnace)

[ragnarkar]

What appliances/services/things/etc. around the house have broken before and caused a panic attack?

1) Internet
2) Hot Water
3) Sump Pump

[Pitt Chick]

I have NEVER had a panic attack over a broken item.
Why a panic attack?

[missik999]

1. Furnace.
2. Garage Door Opener

[CFoulke]

I agree with Pitt Chick - why a panic attack? You just take things in stride and take care of it. I have gotten annoyed with stuff, and a couple of years ago we had a power outage for 11 days after a hurricane went up the east coast. I wasn't panicked, just frustrated that it took so long for it to get fixed. I still had water and a bathroom, didn't have to cook (!), got caught up on my reading, and just waited it out. It could have been worse......

[Cattknap]

The refrigerator stops working the day you are having a Christmas party for 35 people.
The sink clogs and all the toilets back up 30 minutes before your open house.
The furnace stops working when the temperature is 10 degrees and every heater/air conditioning guy in town is booked.

Maybe not panicking exactly but not really thrilled either.

[Geneyus]

When the A/C unit goes out in July and no one can come out until tomorrow.

[Driller1]

For me it was the electric before I had a generator.

I noticed no one said water (well pump) yet.

I have answered the phone to hear panic many, many times.

Even been yelled at because no one was available on a week-end or holiday.

Geee.......we are a drilling company not, a public utility.

However, on a warranty job we WILL work all days. (and have)

[desertsun41]

Panic attack when it stopped working? The wife.

[Cattknap]

Originally Posted by desertsun41

panic attack when it stopped working? The wife.

:-)

[spacelord75]

We had just had our crawl space encapsulated a month prior when we had this wicked storm come through the area with the most intense rains. The power goes out and it dawns on me "Oh crap...the sump pump won't work!" After about an hour of stressing I finally go down into the crawl, knowing our high water table will have risen with the rains that are causing flash floods all over the area and, sure enough, our sump pump is overflowing! I start using big cups to scoop it into buckets and hand to my wife to dump out about 10 ft downhill from the house and I"m not making a dent. After about an hour, I give up, as the rains have stopped yet I still can't make a dent in the water even with probably 50 gallons scooped out. I resign myself to alcohol in the comfort of my candle lit house when suddenly the lights come on, I hear the pump kick in and within 10 minutes the sump pump is totally empty! Needless to say, I invested in a battery pack back-up for the pump the next week!