The source of the problem is isolated

I think this here might be the friggin’ problem.

Several months ago, my landlord (after hearing my complaints about the cold winters) had some guys install a new heater in my apartment. Free of charge.

Well, it turns out they had this workaround. The vent (or exhaust, or whatever) should normally exit out of the wall via a circular opening, fitted to the size of the PVC pipe. However, they just had the window half-opened, and had the pipe exiting out that way. And meant to come back and fix it.

Apparently, they forgot about coming back.

So… I’ve had my window half-open this whole time. With single digit temps outside, I’ve been shooting out warm air in some kind of vain attempt to warm the rest of the world. On the bars of the window, there was a slight later of ice. And… my lack of hot water was due to the fact that the pipes froze.

If you live in Wicker Park/Bucktown, and noticed that it’s been half a degree warmer than you expected outside… you’re welcome.

Thankfully, the guy who came down with me set to fixing the whole thing immediately. He headed out to Home Depot to pick up some supplies, and had everything sealed off within an hour or so.