Question: (Central Heating) Water is circulating up expansion pipe into header tank, pump is on lowest setting. How can I cure this?
Answer: Your system has a pump that continuously circulates the water around this system. It is possible that the pump is not circulating it around the system but rather it is pumping it up into the header tank…. [Continue Reading]
Question: Why is my hotpoint gas powered water heater leaking from the relief valve at the top ofthe water heater; BTW the heater is only 4 years old. Is there anything that I could my self to fix this?
Answer: The T&P valve, or pop-off valve is a safety device on water heaters that releases pressure from the tank if… [Continue Reading]
Question:
Isolating the hot water system, instead of draining the system every time is there any reason I can’t fit a stopcock to the hot pipe coming out of the top of the hot water cylinder?
Answer:
In the US, it is prohibited by some local codes to have a valve that closes on the hot water outlet of the water heater…. [Continue Reading]
Question:
All of the sudden my bathroom sink does the following. Both hot and cold water will run but once the handle reaches about halfway the water flow slows dramatically. Both hot and cold doing the same thing.
Answer:
The mixing valve in the valve body may be clogged or defective. Many faucets can be cleaned, but the process varies by brand… [Continue Reading]
Question:
Can under the slab leak caused by broken pipes cause damage inside my home such as bathroom?
Answer:
Water from leaks under the slab will take the path of least resistance, and that is often up through the slab to flood areas of the home. The slab in most houses has cracks, or spaces alongside pipes providing an easy path for… [Continue Reading]
Question:
I would like to stop my child from taking long showers. How can I shut off the supply of hot water to the shower?
Answer:
In most cases, there is not a separate shut off valve to just a shower, as the shower is usually hard plumbed. You should have a shut off valve on the cold water inlet side of… [Continue Reading]
Question:
I have four bathrooms, two up and two down. The main toilet is on first floor and at the far end away from the outlet line to the road. Each time this toilet is flushed, a fairly large air bubble first erupts, then the contents flow out. The other three are OK. What is the probable cause?
Answer:
A common cause… [Continue Reading]
Question:
A few weeks ago, we had my husband’s wild friend in town and he got sick in our bathroom sink and clogged the overflow drain. Now we can’t get rid of this nasty smell that permeates the bathroom. We have tried drano which did help remove the clog, however the smell is nauseating.
Answer:
The overflow drain is near the top… [Continue Reading]
Question:
I have a problem with sewer water from the street coming into my 30 unit building, when there is heavy rain water backs up from main sewer trap and floods basement, also back up by yard drains can a check valve be installed in front of the main sewer trap to avoid water coming in from the street.
Answer:
There are… [Continue Reading]
Question:
Recently whenever I use our washing machine, it smells like sewer. We have a high efficiency washer, fairly new, and I’ve used the clean cycle on it (with bleach) several times, thinking that the smell is from the washer itself. To no avail. It seems that the smell is only after the first load or so, with continuous use,… [Continue Reading]