There is some confusion going on about plumbing terms and I’m here to help clean up this mess.  A client calls and the conversation goes like this: They “have a new shower faucet and would like you to come out and install it”.  When we get to the job site there will be a Delta valve in the wall with Delta faucet (trim) outside the wall.  The client has purchased a Moen faucet trim to put on the Delta valve.  That won’t work – they are not compatible.  All manufacturers of tub and shower valves such as Delta, Moen, Price Pfister and Kohler, to name a few, make their faucet trims to fit their valves.  They want you to buy their products.

If you are looking to spruce up the bathroom as far as the tub and shower faucet trim goes, here are your options:

• Change out the faucet trim that is compatible with the valve already in the wall which would consist of a new eschucheon, handles, spout, showerhead and getting that trim in a different finish.

or

• Remove some tile from the front side or drywall from the back side of the existing valve and install a new brand valve and matching brand trim.

If you are one of those people that have a 2 or 3 handle tub and shower valve, you are pretty much out of luck.  In the 1990s a new Plumbing Code was implemented stating all tub and shower valves will now be a Scald Guard valve.  This means, for the most part, that the valve will be single handle, rotate counter clockwise to turn on and will have a top limit for temperature.  The stop limit will be set by the plumber at the time of installation so that the temperature does not exceed 120 degrees to protect the little ones from getting hurt.  There are a few 2 handle scal guards on the market however most people don’t find them effective.

 Since these new low flow toilets came on the market, I have heard the cries of dissatisfaction from our customers on a regular basis.  The calls that come in for clogged toilets have been numerous to say the least.

 It seems like every time I work on a toilet there is a plunger standing at attention, ready to be used in an instant to prevent an impending unpleasant task.  Regardless, my thoughts on low flow toilets are that they are here to stay and for a very long time.

 To plunge or NOT to plunge is the question.  Toilet plungers:  they have been around for a long time, look the same and do more than attempt to unclog a toilet.  The Number 1 cause of a toilet leaking at the base of the bowl and getting water on the floor or into the ceiling below the toilet – is when someone uses that plunger.

 The toilet is set down on top of a wax ring which is used to seal the toilet drain to the drain in the floor, designed to prevent water, when flushed, to go where it’s supposed to go – down the drain.  When you plunge a toilet it pushes water pressure against these wax rings and can cause the wax ring to blow apart and cause a leak.

 Auger:  Toilet clogs really should be augured. 

 So how can we help to prevent a clog?  You can use a toilet paper that is NOT, and I repeat NOT, an absorbing paper.  Or, you can use less paper…or there is one other thing which you have probably figured out on your own, or have you?

1. First, and most important. I take a garden hose cap, which you can purchase at your hardware store for about $1, and put it on my outside faucets. Then I turn the water on. If I hear water running, I know I have a burst hose-bibb. Better to know this quickly than to run your hose for a while and then find your basement full of water.
2. I usually turn on my sprinkler system (and also my swamp cooler when I had one) in late April or early May.
3. Check your sump pump to make sure it is working. You will need it operating soon.
4. Check the water pressure in your home to make sure the pressure reducing valve is working. Pressure should not be above 80 lbs. 40 to 60 lbs. is the normal pressure for your home.
5. Get the crabgrass preventer down on lawn before April.
6. Change the batteries in smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.
7. Replace the furnace filter.
8. Tune up the lawn mower.
9. Get outside and enjoy Mother Nature.

 Most homes built after the mid 1970s were required to have a French drain.  This is a perforated, 4” flexible pipe that is laid in a ditch, around your foundation, embedded in small rock and covered with plastic before the dirt and concrete is put in to make your basement floor.  Usually both ends of the pipe terminate into a pit where a sump pump is installed with a discharge line that runs to the outside to get rid of the moisture.  Without a sump pump in the pit, there is a good possibility all the moisture is going to come up into the basement or crawlspace.

 Now is a good time to make sure you are prepared for the spring snows and spring and summer downpours.

 Go to your pit, usually located in a corner of the basement or next to the access door that goes into your crawlspace.  Take the lid off and see of there is moisture in the pit.  Is there a pump inside of it?  If so, you need to see if the pump is working.  First, make sure the electrical plug that the pump plugs into is working properly.

 There are two different types of pumps.  One is with a mercury float – it is on a black coated wire with a black cylinder on the end of it.  The other is a white float attached to the pump on a lift road.  Pull up on either one of these floats and see if it turns on the pump.

 I can’t emphasize enough the importance of a working sump pump.

 I have found that I get the best results by asking someone in the service industry.  When you are not sure which  service company to choose, call around and ask for referrals.  The person who is referring the service company is confident in their choice and so we find that’s the best kind of referral.  The person you’ve asked for a referral surely doesn’t want to lead you astray. 

 Angie’s List is another possible referral source.  You pay a small fee for Angie’s List subscription service and you are able to read about the service companies and the reviews they receive from their clients.

Take the time to ask for referrals.  The majority of time you will be satisfied with the results.

 I have been asked on a continuous basis which is a better water heater, a tank or tankless?  I respond by giving them a few facts.  The concept behind a tankless water heater is a great one. Water runs through it and can give you endless hot water at a temperature of approximately 120 to 130 degrees.  It can retain that temperature as long as you don’t exceed approximately 5 gallons of water running through it in one minute.  A bath tub will put out 5 to 8 gallons of water per minute.  When someone else in the home is taking a shower and the auto washer is running all at the same time, water temperature drops dramatically.  To compensate for the drop in temperature you would need to add another tankless water heater, and possibly two.

 The average cost to install and supply a tankless water heater is between $2,700 and $4,200.  Do your homework to make sure a tankless water heater is right for you.  I applaud the manufacturers of these tankless water heaters because they can be a very good product.  In a trade magazine last month, they finally told the facts truthfully about these tankless units.

 The problem is not the garbage disposal for they can grind up nails and glass although this is not suggested.  The problem is the baffle tee which is part of the drain piping directly below the kitchen sink.  There is a drain pipe coming from the disposal, usually a horizontal line and a vertical line, coming down from the other side of the sink.  These two lines go into the baffle tee that then goes down into the p-trap.  The baffle tee has a baffle in it, hence the name, that actually closes off ½ the diameter of this pipe.  This is where the clog usually is located. 

 To prevent the baffle tee from clogging up, feed the food into the disposal slowly while running water.  Give the disposal time to do its thing, grinding up the food into little pieces.  Probably the best way to prevent these clogs is to just put the garbage into the trash.  If you do this, there will be no damper put into your party and you won’t be paying a plumber the day of your event.

Are you thinking winterization?  You should be.  The rule around our house is to disconnect the outside hoses on the 15^th of September.  We don’t put them away but just get in the habit of disconnecting them.  The sprinkler system is shut-off, drained down and blown out no later than the 10^th of October.  I can always drag the hoses around if we have an Indian summer.

 Make sure the water shut-off valve for the sprinkler system is shut off completely.  You will know this because the drain on the shut-off valve will eventually quit dripping.  Make sure that none of the outside faucets are dripping after the hoses have been removed. 

 Turn off the water to the swamp cooler and drain down the water line and water in the pan.

 If you do these things now, before the first freeze, you won’t be calling a plumber in the spring.

But I know right away what it is – sewer gas.  How does it get into your home and how can you prevent it?

Sewer gas is just part of the plumbing system and it’s always there.  We prevent it from coming into your home with a p-trap.  Every fixture in your home and a fixture is considered a sink, toilet, shower, tub or a floor drain, has a p-trap below it except for a toilet where the p-trap is built into the bowl.  If you don’t know what a p-trap looks like, open the cabinet door underneath the kitchen sink and you will see a part of the drain piping that is shaped like a ½ circle.  This ½ circle hold water in it all the time to prevent the sewer gas from coming up into your home.  They will either be chrome, black or white in color.

The most common calls we get from our clients are that they complain of smells and it is usually after they have been away from their homes for a long period of time – usually 4 weeks or longer.  What happens is the water in the p-trap evaporates which allows sewer gas to come up from the drain and through the (plumbing) fixture.  If you have a fixture that does not get used very often, it’s a good idea to run some water through it once a month.  Floor drains in the basement, usually by the furnace or water heater, is one that you probably never think about.  Pour some water in it once a month.

The three most commonly used shut-off valves in your home would be: a gate valve that has a round handle that you turn clock-wise to shut off; a stop which has a oval handle that you turn clock-wise to turn off and a ball valve that has a lever handle that you pull up or down ¼ turn for on and off.  These three valves have one thing in common – a packing nut located behind the handle and around the stem.  The nut is 6 sided.  This packing nut tightens the packing around the stem so it won’t leak.  When the valve is opened and closed a lot or if not used very much, the packing will get loose, rip or just disintegrate. 

Does this sound a little confusing or is this just a little bit too much information?  You’re right.  All you really need to know is this:  If you open and close a valve and it starts leaking behind the handle, use a pair of pliers or crescent wrench and tighten the packing nut clock-wise just a little, until it stops dripping and you have just saved yourself a service call.