Water Heater Sacrificial Anodes

July 26th, 2012 Posted in Water Heaters
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Most homeowners give very little thought to maintaining their water heaters.  For most, the water heater sits quietly in the attic, basement or garage where it is ignored for years until the day it stops working or starts leaking.  Then, the plumber is called to replace the water heater with a new water heater and after the water heater installation, it is ignored again until the cycle repeats itself.

Under these conditions, a typical water heater lasts about 10 to 12 years before the tank corrodes through and starts to leak.  A leaking tank is the most common reason for a water heater replacement is which is too bad because with a little maintenance, a water heater can last 20 years or more.

Water heaters slowly corrode from the inside out.  To stop the tank from corroding, water heaters are built with sacrificial anodes which are soft metal pipes inside the tank.  These pipes corrode instead of the tank.  The rate of corrosion varies depending on the quality of the construction, amount of minerals in the tap water, and other factors but a typical anode lasts about six years.  Some water heaters are equipped with two anodes that together will last about twelve years.

Once the sacrificial anodes have corroded away, the tank will start corroding and within a few years the tank will corrode through and start leaking.  Replacing the anodes before they are completely used up will help the tank last much longer.

Replacing the anode on your water heater is a moderately difficult task.  Depending on how and where the water heater is installed, replacing the anodes may involve removing the water heater.  Since there is no way to tell how much of the anode is left without removing it from the tank, the best way to handle water heater anode replacement is to have a single anode replaced every 5 years and double anodes replaced every 10 years.  This will help insure that your water heater tank is protected against  corrosion.  Unless you are very comfortable with your skill level, this is a job that should be handled by an experienced plumber.

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Avoiding Clogged Drains

July 26th, 2012 Posted in Clearing Clogged Pipes
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A clogged sink drain is at best an inconvenience and can also cost you plenty in time and effort not to mention the cost of having a plumber come out and clear the clogged drain.  Almost every home gets a drain clog at some point in time, but you can save yourself some money and aggravation by adopting habits that keep clogged drains to a minimum.

Clogged drains are the result of an accumulation of debris including soap, hair, grease, oil, chemicals, toothpaste, food particles, and anything else you flush down the drain.  Start by limiting the amount of these materials that go down the drain.  Install screens on bathroom sink, tub and shower drains to catch hair and large soap particles.

In the kitchen, don’t pour grease or oil down the drain.  Save grease and oil in a jar and dispose of it in the trash.  When washing dishes, scrape off the food particles into the trash rather than flush them down the drain.  Use plenty of hot, soapy water and after letting the dishwater out of the sink, flush it down the drain by running the hot water.

Once a week, fill your sinks and tubs up with hot water, then open the drain. The weight of the hot water will help flush out any foreign material in the drain line.  If you have a walk in shower, use a common household plunger to cover the drain and fill the floor pan with hot water.  Remove the plunger and let the how water flow through the drain.

In the event of a clogged drain, try clearing it using a household plunger.  If that doesn’t clear the clog, call a plumber.  Never use chemical drain cleaners or clog removers.  They can do harm to your pipes and are dangerous to handle.

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Wet Spot In The Yard?

July 26th, 2012 Posted in Water Line Repair
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A leaking water service line can go unnoticed for weeks or even months, especially in the summer months.  When your family is actively enjoying outdoor recreation activities, that may mean more frequent showers, more loads of laundry, and filling up the swimming pool.  In addition, in the drought conditions that are currently affecting most of the country, you may be using a lot more water for outdoor watering.

All of these things add up to higher water usage which can hide one of the first signs of a water line leak.  For most homeowners, an unusually high water bill is the first indication that they may have a leak in their water service line, but if you are using more water than normal to maintain your lawn, fill your pool, or for showers and laundry, you might not notice the increase in your water usage caused by a water leak.

The next most common indication of a water leak is a wet or soggy spot in the yard that never seems to dry out.  When the rest of the yard is bone dry, this area will be soft or even mushy and the grass will be greener and grow taller in this area.  If you have a mushy, wet area in the yard, you should definitely have it checked out by a good local plumber.

Wet spots in the yard can be a sign that you need water line repairs.  If you have an irrigation sprinkler system, a wet spot can be a sign of a leak or other malfunction in your system.  Wet spots can also indicate a leak in your swimming pool or the pool filter plumbing.  If it is a smelly wet area, you could have a problem with your septic system or sewer line.

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Homeowners Are Responsible For Water Service Line Repairs

July 26th, 2012 Posted in Water Line Repair
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Many homeowners don’t realize that they are responsible for maintaining and repairing the water service line that runs from the water meter at the street to their home.  Your local water authority maintains the water main at the street and the line that runs from the water main to the meter, but the water line on your side of the meter is your responsibility.

Some utilities offer service contracts for the water supply line, but these are not available in all areas. The water service line is usually buried a foot or two underground and most homeowners don’t give it much thought because it rarely needs any maintenance.

Unfortunately, if it bad news is that when a water service line breaks or starts leaking, water line repairs can be expensive depending on whether or not the water line can be repaired or needs to be replaced.  Most water lines installed in the past 15 years are either copper or PVC pipe. These lines have very long service lives and rarely leak or break.  Most problems are caused by the line freezing, the ground shifting, or a heavy vehicle being driven over the line.  Your plumber can usually repair a broken or leaking copper or PVC water service line by digging up the line at the leak and repairing it.

Older homes may have galvanized or polybutylene pipe installed.  These materials have a limited life span and eventually corrode, usually from the inside out.  Repairing a leaky or broken galvanized or polybutylene water service line rarely makes sense because a new leak will soon form in  another location.  These lines should be replaced if they break or start to leak.

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Extend the Life of Your Water Heater With Annual Flushing

July 26th, 2012 Posted in Water Heaters
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A storage type water heater is one appliance that often does not get the regular maintenance it needs.  Water heaters usually last about 10 to 12 years before corrosion eats through the tank and the water heater starts leaking.  Water heater installation and repair can be expensive.  However, along with changing the sacrificial anodes when scheduled,  flushing the sediment out of your water heater annually will help it last longer and can even reduce the amount of energy you use to heat water.

No matter how good your municipal water supply, there will be a very small amount of sediment suspended in your tap water.  Unless you have a whole house filtration system that removes the sediment before the water goes into your water heater, this sediment will slowly accumulated at the bottom of your water tank.  In some cases, so much sediment accumulates over the years that it noticeably reduces the capacity of the tank.

The sediment layer can also act as an insulator that makes your water heater work harder to heat up the water and maintain the temperature.  In all cases, the sediment and minerals accumulating at the bottom of the water heater tank will accelerated corrosion and cause the water heater to fail prematurely.

By flushing the water heater annually, you remove the sediment build up and avoid such problems.  Water heaters have a drain valve at the base of the unit for just this purpose.  You can hook a garden hose to the drain valve and drain out the sediment from the tank.  Be sure to turn off the electricity or gas to the water heater before beginning and follow your manufacturer’s instructions to avoid getting scalded by hot water.

Flushing the sediment out of your water heater annually and changing the anodes when scheduled can help your water heater last 20 years or more.

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The Many Advantages of Low Flow Toilets

July 20th, 2012 Posted in Toilets
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If you still have older, pre-1995 toilets installed in your home, you are missing out on the many advantages of low flow toilets.  You may be one of the millions of Americans who are hanging on to their old water hungry toilets because they have heard so much bad information about how poorly low flow toilets work.

It’s true that when low flow toilets were first introduced in the mid 1990s, the performance in most of them was seriously lacking.  “Double flushing” and clogged toilets were common.  However, manufactures have since stepped up to the plate and designed water efficient toilets that work just as well or better than the old water wasting models. The time has come to retire those old toilets and join your friends and neighbors who are enjoying the many advantages of low flow toilets.

Toilets account for about 25% of the indoor water usage in the average U.S. home.  A family of four uses over 25,000 gallons of water per year for toilet flushing. Older model toilets use between 3.5 and 7 gallons per flush. Compare that with 1.3 to 1.6 gallons per flush for modern low flow toilets.

You can cut your water usage for toilets by as much as two thirds by switching to new low flow toilets without any loss in performance.  You will save money on your water bill and it’s good for the environment too!  In addition, if your home is on a septic system, low flow toilets reduce the amount of water that flows into the system and can help your system last longer.  Talk to a reputable plumber about installing low flow toilets in your home.

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Save Money With a Tankless Water Heater

July 18th, 2012 Posted in Tankless Water Heaters
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Most advertisements for tankless water heaters focus on the joys  of having an endless supply of hot water.  Tankless water heaters heat water as it is needed instead of keeping a large tank of water hot like a standard storage type water heater.

Since tankless water heaters can heat water on demand, they can provide as much hot water as you want as long as you don’t place too large of a demand on the water heater.  Depending on the size of the water heater, it may be able to keep up with two showers or a shower and the dishwasher, but if you try washing dishes while two separate showers are going, you may hear some complaints.

While it is great to be able to take a long shower without being concerned about running out of water, one of the greatest advantages of a tankless water heater is the energy savings.  A standard storage type water heater wastes energy by keeping the full tank of water hot so it will be available when needed.  The problem is that most of the time, the hot water won’t be needed for hours such as overnight or while you and your family are away from home during the day.  The energy wasted keeping the tank of water hot when it is not needed is called “standby heat loss”.

By replacing your existing standard water heater with a tankless water heater, you can eliminate standby heat loss and save up to 30% on the energy you use for water heating.   Your actual savings will depend on many factors including the efficiency of your existing water heater and your hot water usage patterns, but the EPA estimates that an average family of four can save about $100 per year by switching to a tankless water heater.

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Water Service Line Replacement

July 18th, 2012 Posted in Water Line Repair
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The water service line is the pipe that runs between the meter at the street and your home.  Many homeowners are unaware that they are responsible for any water line repairs or replacement of a leaky or broken water service line.  Your water company will take care of leaks in the water main or the line running from the water main to the meter, but everything on your side of the meter is your responsibility.

The water service line is buried underground and is usually very reliable.  Sometimes a water line will crack or break if a heavy vehicle is driven over it or if it is not buried deep enough and it freezes.  Also, old galvanized water lines and polybutylene water lines will eventually start leaking.

There are several different types of pipe that are commonly used for water lines.  Copper, polyethylene (PE), and PVC water lines have proven to be very durable and can usually be repaired when a problem arises.  If you have a leaky or broken galvanized steel or polybutylene water line, repairing it is a waste of money because it will soon start leaking somewhere else.  The upfront cost is higher, but in the long run, you will be far better off replacing the line with copper, PE, or PVC pipe.

Typically the process of replacing a leaking or broken water line involves digging a trench from the meter to the connection at the house and burying the new water line.  To avoid digging up your yard, many plumbers offer trenchless water line replacement.  They dig a hole at each end of the existing pipe and use a special machine to drag a new pipe through the old water line, breaking the old up as it goes.

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Is Water Line Insurance Necessary?

July 18th, 2012 Posted in Water Line Repair
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Have you received a solicitation to purchase insurance for your water supply line?  If so, you may be wondering if such insurance is necessary.  As a general rule, the answer is that your money is probably better spent on something else.  Most water supply lines will last a very long time without any problems.  If a leak does develop, it is usually not very difficult for your plumber to dig up the line and repair it.

However, there are some situations in which you may want the peace of mind of water line insurance.  There are two types of water lines that are known to be prone to leakage.  Galvanized steel pipes were used for water supply lines in many homes up through the 1960s.  From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s, polybutylene pipes were commonly installed.  Both of these types of pipes are known to fail prematurely.  Polybutylene typically fails within the first ten to fifteen years and cast iron pipe will last a little longer.

When these pipes fail, the entire line will need to be replaced and the water line repair  can cost thousands of dollars.  If your water supply line is galvanized steel or polybutylene, water line insurance might make sense.  Be sure you buy it from a reputable company and read the policy carefully for any exclusions or limitations.

Fortunately, most of the galvanized steel and polybutylene water supply lines have long since been replaced so check to see what type of pipe you have for your water supply line before springing for insurance.  Copper, PVC, and Polyethylene (PE) pipe are very reliable and usually last for decades without any problem.  If in doubt, your plumber can help you determine what type of water supply line you have and whether insurance is needed.

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Is Water Line Insurance Legitimate?

July 18th, 2012 Posted in Water Line Repair
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If you have received a mailing from your municipal water authority or a third party offering you the opportunity to purchase water line insurance, you may be wondering if it is legitimate.  The answer is that except in certain limited circumstances, water line insurance is a waste of money.

Many homeowners are surprised to find out that they are responsible for the water line that runs between the water meter and their home.  Your local water authority will take care of any repairs necessary to the water main on their side of the meter, but if the water service line on your side of the meter springs a leak, you will need to hire a plumber to handle the water line repairs.

Fortunately, except for galvanized steel and polybutylene water lines that were put into service between 20 and 50 years ago, water service lines usually last for years without a problem.  When they do leak, in most cases a good plumber can repair the leak relatively inexpensively unless you have an old galvanized steel or polybutylene water line.  However, in a few cases the entire water line will need to be replaced and this can be an expensive job.

Even if you are one of the few homeowners who has to replace their water line, buying insurance through a private company may not be much help. First, there are many companies out there that offer bogus insurance and are little more than scams. Even those that are legitimate seem to get a lot of complaints. Before you sign up for one of these policies, be sure to check the company out thoroughly.  Check with the Better Business Bureau or see if you can find any reviews or information about the company on the internet.

Sometimes your local water authority may offer a water line repair program where you can opt in and pay a nominal monthly fee such as $1 per month.  If your water service line breaks or starts leaking, they will handle the repairs.  These programs can be worthwhile and offer peace of mind at a very low cost.

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