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".
4
votes
3answers
266 views
How to make water move in a square bed
Say I have something similar to the image below:
Now, where you see the rocks, I want to put water that goes a little higher than the rocks, and I want the water to move in one direction all around ...
2
votes
2answers
299 views
How do I force a tight globe-valve water shutoff to fully close?
I tried to close off the water valve (a multi-twist globe-valve) leading to my back-yard water supply (the shutoff valve is inside the house) but it will not twist fully shut. Is it safe to give the ...
1
vote
2answers
131 views
Can I replace my oil-based water heater with several electric ones?
I was looking at this question, which is somewhat related to mine but didn't give me a good answer: How to evaluate the suitability of an electric tankless water-heater
Basically, my mom's water ...
3
votes
1answer
821 views
How to stop a whistling hot water tap which also has a mind of its own?
The hot water tap in my kitchen whistles quite loudly when it is in a certain pressure range -- at very low and high pressures it is fine, but within the sweet spot it whistles away.
It also seems to ...
3
votes
1answer
640 views
Why is my third floor hot water pressure so low?
The hot water pressure in our 3rd floor shower is very low. The 2nd floor shower however, has very good pressure. The problem is not the shower head, which actually produces great pressure when ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
How do I repair drywall around a bathtub?
I have an area of drywall that is next to my bath tub that has gotten soft and crumbly. Mostly held together by paint & caulk now.
I'm reasonably sure I understand why. We're getting some water ...
3
votes
2answers
246 views
How can I add an ice maker water line?
I have the following setup with a T with a valve to an above sink water filter.
The line from the T has one steel braided 3/8” line and goes up to the sink as 3/8”. The other is a thin PVC line ...
2
votes
1answer
240 views
Leaky newly installed PVC drainage pipe
I am pretty bad doing handy work. Anyways, I decided to add a water drainage to my concrete flat roof. I had mocked up all the pipes and finally waited for a sunny day to remove it all and glue all ...
7
votes
7answers
1k views
Is there a good way to test water quality in your house?
What are the best ways to test for water quality in your house? The water is from a well, not town water. Are there any products that can continuously test the water coming in (versus manually ...
2
votes
1answer
549 views
Why would I run out of water for a few seconds and then get full pressure back
When I turn the water on for a few minutes I get great pressure and then the water totally stops. After 2-30 seconds the water comes back on and seems fine for the duration. At first I thought it ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
What could cause low water pressure in tub and no water coming out of shower head?
Water pressure in tub has suddenly dropped and water will not come out of shower head at all. I can hear what sounds like water running up the pipe to the shower head when I have the tub faucets on, ...
1
vote
0answers
35 views
Can I repair water damage under the kitchen sink with a sintra panel? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
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 undernieth ...
2
votes
1answer
217 views
Is this hole at the corner of the foundation major issue?
I am in the process of purchasing a home. I found the perfect home but of course, I found water stains in the basement walls (mostly close to the floor). I also noticed a small hole at the corner of ...
3
votes
3answers
345 views
How can I filter iron out of kiddie pool water?
Our well water is high in iron. In the house, we put salt with an iron remover into our water softener. The outside bibs don't run through the water softener, however. The other day we filled up the ...
4
votes
4answers
2k views
Is there a way to trace water pipes through walls?
I recently purchased my house and I am trying to find my internal valve to turn on my external faucet.
Unfortunately the previous owner put in a bathroom in over where the water line enters the house ...
4
votes
5answers
2k views
Do external faucets have an indoor shutoff valve somewhere indoors?
Spring is here! So I decided to see if I could draw some water for watering the plants outside and... no water and no pressure at my outside faucet.
I just bought my house (1948 victory house in ...
1
vote
0answers
48 views
Can I use a water tank and pump to feed a boiler?
As the title suggests I would like to know if I can use a water tank and pump to feed my boiler?
I want to get rid of my electric shower and currently I have large water tank with a pump feeding to ...
0
votes
2answers
481 views
How to tighten/fix ice-maker's drainage tube connector?
On the back of our fridge is a drainage tube (I assume it's for the ice maker; correct me if i'm wrong). Whenever water drains out of it, it leaks. I've identified that the source of the problem is a ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
How can I make a mixer shower more powerful?
The Mira mixer shower has variable temperate settings from 1 (cold) through 10 (hot), plus the extra bit for hot water only.
I normally shower at 3 and was thinking there must be a way to let more ...
4
votes
3answers
381 views
Are hot water returns worth putting in?
Once I saw on an episode of This Old House that they were putting in hot water return lines: pipes that recirculate idle hot water back to the heater so you get hot water right away, instead of ...
2
votes
1answer
436 views
Could water temperature fluctuations be caused by new plumbing?
I'm having a new bathroom installed. I hired a plumber to do all the water works. He ran all the lines; he is now waiting on sink and toilet to arrive to finish installation. Since he ran new line, we ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views
Why is the fridge water line popping out of the connection when under pressure?
I am trying to run a water line for my fridge. I put the saddle valve into the sink cold water copper pipe. That seemed to work fine - no link from the valve. But, when I screw the plastic tubing ...
4
votes
2answers
327 views
Building indoor water feature / water fountain
I would like to have my own little waterfall inside my house. I find the flowing water very soothing and relaxing.
I have seen a couple of "desktop" water fountains, and that is the rough idea, now ...
2
votes
2answers
2k views
What is causing my gas water heater to squeal?
I have a gas water heater. Starting yesterday, when the flame is on, the unit makes a squealing noise of moderate volume. The noise stops immediately when the flame turns off. This means it is not ...
4
votes
3answers
275 views
How can I safely collect and store water for extended periods of time?
Am from a place where the summer heats up to temperatures of 38 C to 44 C and water is a major problem. I thought of building a tank so that water collected from rainy season can be purified and later ...
4
votes
4answers
460 views
Is it possible to collect rain water from a roof for drinking use?
For a re-roofing or new build, I was pondering the possibility of capturing and purifying water for drinking use. Are there good examples of this? What roofing materials should be used or avoided?
...
0
votes
1answer
475 views
Why did my hot water stop?
I have a Rinnai RL94 tankless water heater. Today something went wrong and now I have no more hot water.
The machine is not showing any kind of error code like it has in the past when things went ...
4
votes
4answers
5k views
Why is there water in my washing machine barrel some time after a load?
I have a frigidaire front load washing machine, and we are finding a few inches of water in the barrel after running a load, but not right away -- it takes at least 1/2 an hour before the water ...
7
votes
1answer
1k views
If the iron levels in our home's water are too high, how do we adjust them?
Although I haven't tested the actual water quality in our house, we often get orange colored stains in toilets and around drains where water has evaporated - which I would assume are from high iron ...
3
votes
1answer
939 views
How can I replace my main water shutoff valve?
I just recently purchased a house that was built in 1979 with galvanized plumbing. The water main just outside the house looks like this:
I'm planning to replace it, but I want to make sure it's ...
2
votes
2answers
960 views
What could cause tap water to become smelly after a while?
I keep two glass bottles filled with tap water in a small fridge in my bedroom. The tap water smells fine out of the spout. A few days ago I noticed that the tap water begins to smell bad after ...
4
votes
2answers
338 views
How can I prevent mineral build-up from my water?
I'm not sure whether my house receives really hard water, or water that has a lot of junk or sediment in it, but I am constantly having to soak my faucet spreaders and shower heads. Recently, I ...
2
votes
1answer
1k views
How can I prevent sudden increases in shower water temperature
I assume, but am not sure, that this is caused by someone else in the house competing with the shower for cold water.
I'm guessing an anti-scald valve might be necessary but perhaps there is a way to ...
3
votes
2answers
325 views
How can I identify the source of a leak at the hot water heater?
My water heater has a slow leak. From what I can tell so far it is coming from either the cold water inlet or the hot water connection. The cold water inlet seems to be the culprit to me because that ...
2
votes
2answers
185 views
How to best insulate an exposed waterpipe during the cold season
i have an exposed (out of the ground) water pipe and during the night freezes over. What is the best way to insulate it so it does not freeze?
3
votes
1answer
548 views
Increasing water pressure with pump
I live in Karachi, Pakistan. We have underground water tanks and use motors to transfer the amount of water required to overhead tanks that then supply the house.
I get lower pressure in my house's ...
3
votes
2answers
494 views
How can I remove hard water build up from a washing machine?
What is the best way to remove any sediment build up from having hard water from a washing machine?
4
votes
2answers
491 views
What are some good downspout options for a brick house?
I need to replace the gutters and downspouts on my house, and I'd like to know the best approach.
The house is 100 year-old clay brick house. The old gutters were aluminum and used downspouts that ...
1
vote
1answer
512 views
How do I prevent water from leaking down my chimney?
When it rains hard, I get a decent amount of water coming in through my chimney. Is this normal? What can I do to minimize this?
It's a relatively new house; it has a guard on top, and the chimney ...
2
votes
1answer
1k views
Showerhead with “backflow prevention”
I bought this Delta showerhead almost a year ago. I remember the packaging mentioning a "backflow prevention" feature. Every time I turn off the faucet water streams from the area I've circle below, ...
3
votes
2answers
638 views
How can I repair a drain that won't stop leaking?
I have a kitchen drain that won't stop leaking. I've checked, and it's definitely leaking from around the joins in the PVC pipe. I've replaced several of the washers, as well as the P trap (bend). ...
0
votes
3answers
185 views
How can I get my sprinkler / home irrigation system to not ruin my car with water spots? [closed]
I have a sprinkler system (i.e. irrigation system) at home. Occasionally I park my car too close and it gets hit with the water. This causes horrible water spots. I've seen that some do-it-yourself ...
4
votes
2answers
672 views
What are these two pipes coming out of the house?
I am trying to figure out the purpose of a couple of pipes that are currently coming out of the house.
First, a couple of notes:
One-story house.
HVAC system is in the attic.
It is winter here. ...
3
votes
2answers
2k views
Hot water heater overflow outside drain pipe
My hot water heater's overflow outside drain pipe has been running hot water out of it non-stop. I turned the inflow water valve to the water heater off and the water stopped running. But what is ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
What should I do about an overflowing septic system?
I noticed a small puddle in the backyard that remained even when it's dry out, and recently realized that it's probably the septic system overflowing. The tank was pumped 2 years ago and I don't think ...
5
votes
2answers
354 views
What could be the cause of a washing machine hose coming loose?
Ok, I'm not a rocket scientist but this has me stumped. I have a new hot water hose for my washing machine. I replaced the O-ring on the faucet side of the the connection, tightened and went to use. ...
2
votes
1answer
239 views
My water softener has a setting for KCl (Potassium) / NaCl (Sodium), what does it do exactly?
I'm having some trouble with a relatively new water softener (<2 years). It seems like it is cycling when it should as the salt level is definitely going down, but the water is still hard.
While ...
2
votes
2answers
142 views
Why do my toilet valves seem to have started running at the same time?
I had a bad toilet that started running last year. This was in a bathroom that is not used at all (guest bedroom). So, i just closed the valve to that toilet and decided to look into it later. I ...
4
votes
3answers
106 views
Determining the correct depth of a well
My wife and I are looking to buy our first home and have found some promising prospects. One of the homes we like is in what use to be a rural area. Since this house was in a rural area when it was ...
2
votes
2answers
469 views
Why am I getting a lot of condensation in new shed?
I just got a new shed built with concrete blocks and a metal roof last month and thing is dripping with condensation from the roof. There is absolutely no insulation in the shed.
How would I get rid ...
