Have you tried a heating pad, on low, for your hands? I have arthritis, and that helps sometimes.

June

Hi June - I haven't, but I suppose I could (turned up high!). The other thing I do is to heat those microwavable packs all the time. But sometimes, even from peeling carrots, etc., they get so painful that I go to the quickest source of warmth I can find, which is hot water.

How old is the water heater? Could be the heater is dying. They'll start leaking. I speak from experience. Just replaced mine. One of my cats came screaming at me one day. I thought it was the food dish, water dish or litter box needing attention, which he'll complain about. Followed him and he kept yelling at me, past the dishes, down the basement, past the litter boxes, into the laundry room, over to the corner of the basement and he walked up to a river of water going across the floor to the floor drain, turned around and meowed at me, then went and licked the rusty water! LOL It was leaking from the water heater. My last one that died had a wet floor and then the bottom literally fell out of it. That was not good. It put out the pilot light. Kind of scared me if that could have set off the gas. But it wasn't on other than the pilot and the thermocouple took care of that. More than you probably cared to hear about eh?

Cynic, are you a guy? Or a woman who's wonderfully capable in practical matters? I strive to be the latter, but most days I don't even come close.

The specs label on the water heater shows a date of 1983, but it's not clear what that date refers to. It's possible that the heater is that old, but I thought we had an electric hot water heater more recently than that. Not a lot more recently, though, so it could very well be a 1983 model. Time flies. The heater also has an Energy Guide label on the side. Any idea if the Energy Guides have been around that long?

I'm pretty sure the pilot light is out. I don't see a shut-off valve, but I don't smell propane either. So I'm guessing it has an automatic shut-off. Hope so!

The extended family member mentioned above is coming over tomorrow around noon to check out the situation. I'm glad he can help--he's a contractor. I'll bet I need a new heater. I took a quick look at what's available at Lowe's and Home Depot, just to see how much money I'll have to spend. I'm still not sure, because there's a wide range of prices in the various models.

Here's another thought: Considering today's propane prices, would I be smarter to go back to electric?

RE...your painful hands. I just purchased a paraffin bath for my husbands arthritic hands. These very cold temps can really make them ache. He hasn't tried it yet, but I have hi-hopes that it will help as much as/more than going to the hand therapy clinic all winter long. (From Wallys...less than $30.)

Oops--I just discovered that I'm out of propane. About an hour ago I used my gas range to heat water for tea, but now the burners are unusable. So I'm guessing that's the hot water problem, too.

However, I now realize that I'm probably going to need a new hot water heater soon.

Nanny, I hope the paraffin bath works for your husband's hands. My situation is quite different . . . I have sores on my fingers--tissue damage from the Raynaud's--and need instant warming many times throughout the day. Thank heavens I'm able to use disposable foot warmers to take care of the same situation with my feet.

Do you have a microwave?
I put a wet hand towel in the microwave for 2-3 minutes....then wrap it around my hands.

I'm so glad you mentioned that, Monica. I'm going to try it right NOW. Thank you!

Mmmmmmmmm.....that felt good! And so much less wasteful than running water to get it hot. Why didn't I think of this simple thing?

"Why didn't I think of this simple thing?"

Because when you're in pain your brain doesn't go into analytical mode -- it just goes into the "what can I do that will relieve my pain more quickly than anything else" mode.

I'm glad it helped you. I've had years of this RA, and have had to improvise many times.

I also have problems with getting cold in the winter.
My feet will cramp up when they get cold, and the hot wet towel is what I use for them.

Sometimes, I just get so cold all over, I get into the bathtub, with the water as I can take it, and a big beach towel ... soak the towel in the hot water, and cover myself with it like a hot wet blanket.

Were you able to get a delivery of propane? Is your furnace also propane? Oh I sure hope not because I know how cold it was in your area last night. My son is in the Poconos and called to tell me that it was only 3 degrees at 8pm.

Susan,
Hot water heaters have a life expectancy of about 10 years. I know money is tight, but you really should replace that thing BEFORE you have to. There's never a good time for one to go out. :-)

And if you decide to indulge in one of those parrafin things, my sister bought an old crockpot at a garage sale for a couple of bucks for that use.

I have a form of anemia that causes the same problems as Raynards. I will often wrap my hands around a light build. I found a desk lamp at Walmart that has a metal shade. I keep it by the computer to warm my hands while on the web. Just cannot use the energy efficient bulbs- they don't get warm! LOL

I have one of those parafin thingys...it's big enough for my size 6 feet, too.
Only thing is....warmth is only for a couple of minutes.

Alisande - Do you have radiators? I used to keep hand lotion/cream on one in the kitchen to use in the winter. Sure do miss those old clunkers :-(

The Gas Company was working on a Gas line and I was without Gas for 24 hours. No cooking No warm bath? So I used my electric coffee pot to get warm water for a bath and an electric crock pot for meals.

Susan, have you looked at the "Foot Spa" that has jets and heat. You could even use that on your hands and feet.

Gayle