Drain Your Hot Water Heater…

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I have heard over the years that it is a good idea to periodically drain your hot water tank. It is one of those things that I may have remembered to do about 3 times out of 20 years of home-ownership. Today I stumbled upon an article which sheds some light on the matter, and I am now motivated to get with the program.

Paul Bianchina is an acclaimed builder and author. His article about hot water heaters is one opf many that I plan to convey in the near future. He has competant, no nonsense, easy to read approach to homeowner maintenance issues that I think you will appreciate.

Periodic flush does a water heater good

Avoid Freezing Pipes

When it gets cold there is nothing worse than when a frozen pipe bursts. The mess, the expense, is easily avoided with a few simple steps.

1. Protect all outdoor hose bibs . You don’t have to buy those Styrofoam covers. Simply wrapping the fixture with a thick rag will do the job just fine. Plus, you won’t have to chase your rag around the yard like those Styrofoam covers when high winds hit.

2. In some older homes you may find what is referred to as a “pet cock valve”, adjacent to an interior shutoff valve, in the garage and/or basement. The idea is to shut off the water supply to the exterior hose bib with the interior valve, then open the pet cock valve to drain any residual water from the pipe that extends from the shut off valve to the exterior hose bib. Use a small bucket to catch the water as the pipe is drained.

NOTE: Sometimes plumbing valves are broken by folks that are not sure which way they should be turned. A saying we recommend is “righty tighty, lefty loosey” i.e., clockwise (righty tighty) to close, counterclockwise (lefty loosey) to open.

3. Exposed pipes in the crawl space and attic are susceptible to freezing. While it is best to have these pipes permanently wrapped with black foam designed specifically for this purpose, it can be a difficult and tedious job, especially when it is already cold. A quick fix that should allow you to get through the cold spells for now is to loosely cover exposed pipes with any type of sheet or fabric. This will prevent frost from forming on the pipe exterior, a common prerequisite to water freezing inside pipes.

4. Running water? If you hear running water and nobody is home, investigate immediately. It could be a broken pipe. If it is, you will need to locate and shut off the main water supply to your house. It is surprising how few people know where their main shut off valve is. It is just as surprising how often plumbers place this important valve so that it is almost impossible to operate. If you have never used your shut off valve, be prepared for some degree of struggle. When the typical “gate” type valve has not been turned in a long time, it can be a bear to get it started. Using not too much force, or too big a wrench, coax that valve clockwise (righty tighty) until you feel the interior corrosion build-up break free, and continue turning until the flow stops.

In case you cannot turn the valve, or broke the valve handle as I once did, your back-up is the water meter outside your house. Aside from the creepy spiders, cacoons and such, this is often easier to turn off than your in-house shut off valve. All you usually need is a “crescent” wrench, also referred to a spanner. See the accompanying picture.

Once things are under control, call a plumber. Our favorite plumber is John Morelli of New Concepts Plumbing: 206-948-1617

Avoiding Bathroom Floor Troubles

If you’re a homeowner, it is likely that you have had to remove and reset a toilet of two, OR hired someone to do it. It’s a fairly easy, but messy, inexpensive task. However, a common problem with toilet installations is that some people and plumbers and re-modelers like to caulk the toilet flange to the floor. It doesn’t matter if the floor is vinyl, tile or wood, this is not a good idea. If the wax seal is broken, you want to know immediately by evidence of water running out onto the floor. If your toilet is caulked down, you’ll never see the water, and it will be forced down through the rough plumbing hole in the floor, into the sub-floor, and into the crawl space if it’s on the first floor. If it’s on the second floor, into the floor cavity and first floor ceiling sheetrock. Not good…..

I just spent an hour under a small one bath house we recently sold to a client. I wanted to see for myself what our Buyer’s inspector spotted as "rotted subfloor area adjacent to plumbing at bath/laundry room areas". The inspector wrote that he thought the problem may have been caused by water leaking past the rubber boot on the plumbing vent at the roof, and following the exterior of the vent pipe all the way down to the rotted floor area. While this may have been a contributing cause, it was evident from close visual inspection that most of the leakage came from the toilet. While we were under the house, I offered a bet to the repair contractor that was with me that we would find a toilet that had been caulked to the floor above. (Neither of us had been inside the house yet.) Sure enough, the toilet was caulked down. The only evidence a water problem was some slight discoloring of the caulk.

To avoid an expensive and needless repair, check your toilets. If they are caulked to the floor, remove the caulk. It’s a tedious task, but it’s a lot better than what could happen in the event there is a leak, and you are not aware of it.