For questions relating to the water system of a home or other building, including plumbing and fixtures, water heating, water filtering and treatment, and irrigation/sprinkler systems. Questions regarding swimming pools and spas should have the additional tags "pool" or "spa".
12
votes
5answers
1k views
Why does the shower get cold when I flush, and how can I prevent it?
When the shower is running and someone flushes a toilet, why does the shower get cold (or sometimes hot) in some houses, but not others?
More importantly, would fixing that require replacing the ...
9
votes
4answers
930 views
How can I prevent spillage from my bathtub?
Let's set the scene:
The horizontal surfaces of the bathtub in my apartment are flat. We have a double shower curtain (with the waterproof bit that hangs on the inside of the tub and the fabric bit ...
1
vote
0answers
25 views
Can poly plastic water storage tank be used to store hot water?
Another set of questions in context of my home-brew solar water heater:
Can poly-plastic water storage tanks, be used to store hot water (140deg F / 60deg C) ?
How can I thermally insulate a 50 ...
6
votes
1answer
2k views
How to stop outside rainwater from coming in under the wall and through the concrete floor of my garage conversion?
I have got a problem with an attached garage converted den in a 1978 built brick home.
The heavy spring rains are redirected to the two year old perforated drain system on the side of the house ...
0
votes
2answers
134 views
+200
Is it safe to install this hot water tank from ebay?
Is it safe for me to replace my electric hot water tank with this continuous electric unit that I bought on ebay?
(I'm in Australia)
Technical Specifications
rated power 6.0KW
...
2
votes
1answer
93 views
Why is my electric water heater making an intermittent groaning noise?
My 8 year old electric water heater started to make a strange rattling noise a couple of weeks ago. The noise happens at random and lasts for only a few minutes. Short bursts of noise about a minute ...
2
votes
1answer
54 views
What are my options for installing a water softener on the opposite side of the house from the main water supply?
Background Info
My main water supply on my home is located on the east wall of the home, whereas my garage is located on the west side of the home. There is no water softener loop in the home, and in ...
3
votes
1answer
67 views
How do I keep water from getting in and out of a dishwasher drain air gap?
I have no idea what this is called, so I apologize for the vague title. If someone knows what it is, feel free to edit it.
When I turned on my dishwasher (just moved in), water started spewing from ...
3
votes
0answers
52 views
What should I do about a potentially bad repair of a leaking pipe?
In our apartment, the ceiling began leaking in 2 places. One of the places, the water was brownish and had multiple droplets, the other the water was clear. We called maintenance at 8 am and no one ...
0
votes
3answers
92 views
How can I build an automated water valve for a coffee maker? [closed]
Our home has a remodeled kitchen and we have yet to install a backsplash. Before we do I was wondering if I couldn't add some functionality.
We currently have a simple coffee maker sitting on our ...
0
votes
3answers
278 views
Why is the water pressure so high from my overhead water tank?
We have recently rented a house and it has normal taps fitte, and a normal
overhead water tank, but the water pressure is very high. The water comes out
with so much pressure, that if I am trying to ...
3
votes
2answers
102 views
Can/Should I Move These Pipes?
I need to fix a broken ball valve (luckily the valve doesn't leak until I turn it on) that runs to an outside faucet. Also, all of these pipes are CPVC.
When I looked at replacing it, they seemed to ...
2
votes
1answer
1k views
How can I repair water damage under the kitchen sink?
I found out that our kitchen water connection had somehow loosened up and was leaking water on the floor underneath the sink. Now the particle board cabinet floor is warped quite a bit. I was thinking ...
6
votes
3answers
308 views
How can I determine what is in my water?
My question is, how can I determine exactly what these "floaties" are that I see in my drinking water? I know that I sound crazy and more than a little obsessive-compulsive....my wife tells me this ...
-1
votes
0answers
28 views
5 stage reverse osmosis filter recommendation for EU market [closed]
I've read quite a bit on reverse osmosis filters, so I roughly know the upfront and maintenance/consumables costs but as I have no experience with any manufacturers and live in EU, I would like to ask ...
0
votes
1answer
150 views
What is the name for this round metal drain cover?
Rainwater drains from an acre uphill from us into an underground system that has been in place for 50 years. It works fine, except that the 16-inch round metal cover for the drain has rusted through. ...
2
votes
1answer
126 views
Is it normal for tap water to turn brown/blue when the pipes freeze?
In our old apartment, the pipes would freeze during the winter during the night, and in the morning sometimes the water that came out of the tap was blue at first. We spoke to a plumber, and he ...
1
vote
1answer
91 views
How can house hot water pressure be kept stable if more than one hot tap is open?
We have a Vaillant Ecotec combi boiler in the loft. When showering, hot water pressure is fine. But if someone opens any other hot tap in the house, it massively reduces the hot water coming into the ...
4
votes
3answers
2k views
Why is the water in my toilets orange?
My wife and I just moved in to a brand new house and have started to notice that the water in the toilets is an orange color, and is starting to leave stains in the bowl. After looking online briefly, ...
0
votes
1answer
74 views
How does this axial-flow propeller pump work?
I am trying to repair my aquarium pump. It is an axial-flow (rotary) propeller pump. It accidentally drew air when I was refilling the aquarium after moving it.
After that it didn't pump anymore, but ...
1
vote
2answers
220 views
Is “bronze and silumin” mix actually possible in a ball cock?
In my apartment bathroom there's a thick steel pipe with hot water going from the floor beneath through my bathroom and to the store above. There're two pipes welded into that vertical pipe and a ...
2
votes
2answers
104 views
How can I fix this leaky water heater?
I have an electric Water heater and it is starting to leak from what I believe to be the pressure release valve. I just wanted some tips on how I can fix this before the leak becomes unmanageable. The ...
8
votes
4answers
6k views
How much water do water softeners waste?
I'm considering buying a water softener, but I heard that they waste a lot of water, and I don't really want my water bill to skyrocket.
I haven't been able to find any clear indication of how much ...
3
votes
1answer
86 views
Do shower water supply line covers need to be sealed or caulked?
I don't know what the proper name of the cover is that hides the hole that the water supply line comes through the wall, but does it need to be sealed to prevent moisture and steam from getting in to ...
2
votes
1answer
129 views
What to look for in a new water radiator?
The water radiators I have under each window are 50 years old, and I would like some new ones. They measure HxLxD 50x100x20 cm.
The new ones I would like should be as thin as possible.
I live in an ...
3
votes
3answers
290 views
Do home radiators waste water?
I received my second quarterly water bill and cannot believe it says I'm using 49,000 gallons of water each quarter. That's over 500 gals per day!
So I started thinking about average water usage per ...
0
votes
1answer
64 views
Are PEX required for shower mixers?
From my understanding it is normal to mount a PEX like this one in the wall.
And that it is not legal to have hidden connections in the wall.
Question
Why are PEX so often used (required)?
Is it ...
2
votes
1answer
127 views
How to clean a calcified bathtub outlet that I can't dismantle?
Because the tap water in our area is extremely heavy in calcium, our faucet filters calcify quickly. I regularly remove all the faucet filters in the apartment and soak them in vinegar overnight, but ...
0
votes
0answers
56 views
How do I fix this dripping tap?
So I have a dripping tap (see picture), and I'd like it to be fixed. But I could not figure out how even to take it apart. I have tried turning various moving parts around, to no avail. Does anyone ...
4
votes
1answer
236 views
How do I modify a refrigerator water line to add a shut off valve and flexible pipe?
I recently bought a house and bought a new fridge to go with it. The copper pipe that connects to the fridge water has a shut off valve underneath the house and is extremely inconvenient to access. ...
4
votes
2answers
378 views
Should we install an overhead tank or cistern tank?
We are building our home (a 2-storey house) and a cistern tank was suggested by our architect for aesthetics. We asked around the neighborhood and one person has a cistern and an overhead tank but ...
2
votes
1answer
399 views
Why is my main water supply shut off valve leaking even while closed?
While prepping to install a new kitchen faucet, I went to shut off the water supply to the house since there were no valves under the sink. I mistakenly chose to turn the city-side (gate valve) supply ...
1
vote
1answer
54 views
How can I fix this broken connector piece on my Symmons shower Knob?
I was trying to get the knob off so I could potentially increase the amount of hot water getting mixed and it seemed to be coming off nicely but then snapped. By nicely, I mean it was a steady ...
1
vote
1answer
88 views
1
vote
1answer
141 views
Is it safe to not have a safety cutoff on an immersion heater?
I'm having some serious trouble with the immersion heater in my apartment. I believe the set up is similar to the one described in this answer, however there is no thermostat to turn the immersion ...
2
votes
2answers
122 views
How can I turn off the power to an outlet if a water alarm is triggered?
I'm installing a dishwasher on a second floor, and after having 3x dishwashers leak during their run cycle during my life, I'm understandably hesitant.
I will definitely be installing a water alarm. ...
0
votes
1answer
106 views
Why is cold water coming from the hot part of the faucet? [duplicate]
The last plumber I called made a test. He closed the cold water intake to the 40 gallon gas water heater. The he opened all the hot water faucets in my house. After a minute passed,
the faucets, ...
0
votes
2answers
791 views
What could cause a shower to give warm water for a few seconds, then only cold water?
The house has four bedrooms. The 40 gallon gas water heater is about 60 feet from this
shower. The house is a one story house in flat terrain. I have already changed the mixing faucet for the shower, ...
1
vote
1answer
210 views
Why does the hot water run cold at less than 'full throttle'?
I'm as environmentally conscious as the next American (probably not very) but here's an example: I like to rinse dishes that I've just washed in a stream of hot water as this works best for drying. I ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
What causes a water heaters relief valve to discharge water?
I have a Gas Reliance Water Heater 1212. I found recently (in winter) there is a water dip through the relief valve into a 5 gallon bucket. Sometimes, it can fill the whole bucket. Sometimes, it has ...
9
votes
5answers
1k views
Is this plastic pipe connecting city water to the main line dangerous?
I bought a whole house water filter to hook up to the main water line. The plumber who came in said that he won't be able to install it because the pipe that comes from the ground hooked up to the ...
0
votes
1answer
209 views
Low water pressure in house
My inside water pressure is very low. My outside pressure is good. I did disconnect an old water softener and just connected the input and output pipes from the softener together. I would like to ...
3
votes
5answers
7k views
Can a wet vac be effectively used as a pump?
Can a wet vac effectively be used as a pump to move water?
I figure if a basement floods, that this can serve as double duty.
2
votes
0answers
62 views
Where could the air in the water system be coming from?
We live on the top two floors of a small brownstone walkup. To get the heating to work upstairs I need to bleed the baseboard heater almost every other day. All faucets in the house sputter, and the ...
4
votes
3answers
8k views
How do I find the source of the water leaking through the ceiling?
I live in Minnesota in a single story rambler with full basement. In an upstairs corner bedroom I started noticing some water leaking in the closet ceiling a week or two ago (picture is current, it ...
0
votes
0answers
54 views
How come the hot water comes out irregular but there is nothing wrong with the sprayer in our shower?
We have a spayer in our shower. The hot water does not come out evenly and there is nothing clogging the sprayer.
1
vote
0answers
46 views
How/where should I put a water dispenser on this counter?
My friend's coffee shop has a hot water dispenser they use for drip coffee and tea. It's already filtered, and accessible to customers.
It would be terribly convenient if we customers could get cold ...
6
votes
4answers
625 views
Should I install an inline water heater for my bathroom?
It takes 3-4 minutes of the shower running before the hot water reaches my upstairs bathroom. I'd like to not have to waste all that water and time. My initial though was to install an inline water ...
1
vote
1answer
90 views
Could excess water in the boiler cause overflowing radiators?
The water level for my boiler seems to go above the labeled height. We now have a sporadic water leak that is not showing itself. Could it be that the excess water in the boiler is causing this ...
0
votes
0answers
20 views
water heater temperature is erratic when not used regularly [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Why is the first shower of the day is colder than the second?
My water heater set at "very hot" puts out luke warm water if not used for awhile. After I shower or do ...
