It's Murphy's Law that the majority of household emergencies occur at the most inopportune moments. You lose power, for example, while you're asleep, meaning that your alarm never goes off to wake you for that critical early morning meeting with a prospective client who, if successfully wooed, will launch you and your company to instant prosperity. Or you lose hot water at precisely the time when you need to take a shower ... and it happens to be the coldest day of the year, a time during which a cold shower amounts to water torture. Or you're planning to prepare a home-cooked meal for someone special ... and if you can just distract him or her from the water dripping into the bucket in the corner of your dining room, the evening should be perfect.

Homeowners can solve some of the most common household maladies themselves. Others are just going to elude your abilities, and you'll have to rely on the skills of a professional. Another law in Murphy's book: When you need the phone number of a professional and you need it fast, you won't be able to locate it. That's why it's a good idea to post the numbers of your trusted plumber, electric company and gas company, electrician, heating/air conditioning repair company, etc., next to your telephone. You may even consider making copies of that list and keeping it near every phone in the house. In the event of a power outage, you don't want to seriously injure yourself on your way to the one phone in your house with the list beside it (Murphy's Law #187: You won't be anywhere near that phone when you lose power).

If you discover (when you turn on the water full force, of course) that you're out of hot water, first, stop shouting. Then find your water heater. It's usually located in your utility room, in the basement if you have one, or in a separate closet usually off the hallway in which your bedrooms are located. If it's a gas heater, you'll want to see if your pilot light is still on. The pilot light is located at the bottom of your water heater. If the light is out, find the master control valve (also located at the bottom of your heater), and turn off the gas. Then open all of your windows to remove any traces of gas from the air inside your home. Call the gas or utility company, and arrange to have a professional relight the pilot light in your water heater. Then bundle up, microwave yourself a cup of hot chocolate, and wait for the pro to arrive.

If you own an electric heater, check your fuse box to see if you've got a blown fuse. If that's not the case, one of your circuit breakers could be open.

If you've got an electrical power outage -- and you're awake to notice it -- this is the time when you're going to wish you'd had the foresight to purchase a flashlight to keep on hand for emergencies like this. If you've already got one, great. If you don't, light some candles if you can locate them (and your matches or lighter). The first step is to determine whether this power outage is neighborhood-wide, or if you were singled out to have this much fun.

If only your house is affected, you've probably either blown a fuse or tripped a circuit breaker. To determine which, if either one, is the case, find your fuse box (probably located in the same place as your water heater -- in the utility room or basement), and check the service panel inside. This panel tells you whether you've got fuses or circuit breakers. There's not much guesswork here: Fuses generally are round, glass fixtures arranged in rows. Circuits, on the other hand, are black switches, which can be reset very easily. To reset a tripped circuit breaker, find the switch that either doesn't line up with the other switches on the service panel, or the switch that's displaying a red tab, drawing your attention to it. Once you've identified that switch, simply shut it off, then turn it back on to restore power.

If you've blown a fuse, you've got more work ahead of you. To locate the blown fuse, you'll need to identify the one that appears different. Look for one that appears burnt behind its glass covering, or one with a spring that appears contracted instead of stretched like the others. Once you've identified the blown fuse, you'll have to replace it with an identical one. Ask a professional if you have any doubts that you've purchased the right replacement. Installing a more powerful fuse than the one you're replacing is dangerous.

'Tis the season for roof leaks. If you live anywhere on the Southeast coast and were lucky enough to be spared the total devastation of our recent hurricanes, you probably still were subjected to frequent downpours of rain. And with that comes roof leaks. Your first step, once again, is to identify the source of the problem either in your ceiling or the roof of your attic, if you have one. It's best to take a flashlight in order to pinpoint the exact spot of the leak. Mark the spot with a pen or marker, and place a large pot or bucket underneath it until the professionals arrive. If you've got an attic leak, and your attic consists of a vaulted ceiling and beams with no floor, place a board on top of the beams underneath the leak, and place your pot/bucket on top of the board. Then call a professional to seal up the leak.

One other piece of advice: In the event of one of the above-mentioned household emergencies, be prepared to discover another one soon. Because after all, bad things happen in threes; that's another Murphy's Law for the books. But with a little foresight and a phone list, you'll hold your own.

Published: September 29, 1999

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