In an article titled “Life without Hot Water” on the Food Buzz website, a consumer tells how she and her husband survived for two weeks without their water heater …

Our water heater quit working two weeks ago. My husband and I decided to wait for our next pay check, so we could buy a new one for cash – rather than using a credit card. Well, it’s been an interesting two weeks.

Initially, it was quite fun having to heat up water on the stove to wash the dishes. We poured hot water into the sink and rinsed the dishes with cold water. We soon realized that this combination wasn’t working too well because the rinsing water cooled down the soapy water in the sink!

So, we filled a large plastic bowl with hot water and put it in the sink, then rinsed with cold water next to the bowl. That didn’t work too badly, except when it came to washing pots and pans. To clean the skillet, we boiled it in water, wiped it clean and rinsed. It got the job done, but it wasn’t perfect.

Our laundry didn’t pose too much of a challenge because, nowadays, most detergents work in hot or cold water. The worst part of not having our water heater was bathing. Fortunately, my mother lives close by, so we went to her house to take a quick shower every day.

Tomorrow, we’re going to buy a new water heater – YIPPEE! The last two weeks haven’t been easy, but somehow, we survived.