Next to light, the most important creature comfort is water and plenty of it.  The most common causes of failure lie with the pump itself.  If one of the deep well type gets out of adjustment, repairing it is a professional job and unless you are unusually expert, don’t attempt it.  Telephone for a plumber or handy man.  But with the shallow well pump, you can, in a pinch, replace the leathers that make the valves exert the proper suction.  In any case, it is good sense to have an extra set of the leathers always on hand.  Near our own pump there is a glass preserving jar half full of neat’s-foot oil and, pickling in it, a spare set of pump leathers just waiting for something to happen.  We also have a box of assorted faucet washers.  It is over a year since we have had to replace one; but when a faucet suddenly refuses to close, we know where the proper valve is located so that we can shut off the water long enough to replace the troublesome washer, usually the work of a few minutes.

Then there is the heating system.  Here the most common demonstration of temperament is sulkiness on a heavy damp day.  In any event, provided the fire is free from clinkers, we have a standard remedy.  An average-sized electric fan is placed before the open ash pit door.  Set in motion, its breeze provides a forced draft and, in from fifteen minutes to half an hour, our furnace fire is once more glowing and throwing out heat.

Also, the country house owner, who discovers that furnace or fireplace flues which have heretofore functioned properly are smoking, should investigate the circumstances without delay.  The troublesome flue may only need cleaning, or a dislodged brick or other obstacle may have blocked it.  Whatever the cause, the chimney should have immediate attention, for excess soot is the common cause of chimney fires.  If an excess odor of coal gas indicates that the fumes are filling the cellar instead of going up the chimney, open the hatchway and as many windows as possible.  Then check the furnace completely.  Investigate the cause of the trouble and you will find that the smoke pipe connecting the furnace and chimney is out of place.  Don’t try to replace the dislocated pipe until the cellar is thoroughly aired, for furnace fumes can be almost as deadly as those exhausted by an automobile, for the same reason, the presence of carbon monoxide gas.  So when working on the pipe be careful to retreat out of doors on the slightest feeling of faintness or other disturbing symptom.  The safest way is not to attempt to replace the smoke pipe until the furnace fire is out.

There are one or two other things down cellar that can go awry when least expected.  One of the most common is flooding caused by abnormally heavy rains and leaks in foundation walls.  Look first for these where the pipes from the eaves, known as down-spouts, reach the ground.  Provide dry wells, troughs, or other means to carry this rain water away from the foundation.  After your cellar flood has either evaporated or been pumped out and the foundation walls are dry inside and out, repair the cracks through which this water trickled, as well as others that might have contributed to the trouble.  Use a rich cement to which has been added the proper amount of water-proofing chemical.