A chilly shower or no shower were the options for students in Stevenson Towers Friday morning.

A leak in a domestic hot water line had to be repaired by NIU plumbers. The domestic line affects showers, laundry and sinks, said Kevin Vines, chief engineer for the heating plant.

“[The plumbers] originally thought it was a heating line but found out it was a domestic hot water line,” Vines said. “The line was leaking and needed to be repaired.”

The line had to be shut down, drained and turned off so plumbers could make proper repairs, he said.

“We just had to replace the fitting on the pipe, but all of Stevenson was affected,” said plumber foreman David Tripp. “The leak was up in a bathroom area of A-Tower.”

The age of the piping probably caused the problem, Vines said.

Some students were frustrated about the lack of hot water, which was off from early morning until the afternoon.

“Around 10 a.m. I noticed there was no water at all, a half hour later the cold water was running but no hot water,” said junior psychology major Tyler Volkers. “I have 8 a.m. classes every day and the only thing that wakes me up is a hot shower, so it was frustrating.”

Other students walked to another residence hall to shower.

“I realized the cold water was working but not the hot, so I called my friend in Grant Towers,” said Dan Ridenour, a junior philosophy and criminology double major. “I find it funny I went to Grant to shower, because Grant is supposed to have a bunch of problems.”