I’ve been plumbing for thirty years now and in that time I have seen a pattern of plumbing disasters that could have been avoided with just a little knowledge by the home owner. I’m not talking about home owners doing their own plumbing repairs although under the right circumstance there is nothing wrong with that either. No, I’m speaking about knowing your plumbing system. Homeowners need to know how it works and what to do when it suddenly stops working.

There are a handful of questions each home owner or for that matter each tenant should know the answers to. If you do then it may be that one day an emergency plumbing issue suddenly develops and that knowledge may save you from a flooded house, long conversations with your insurance agent (or landlord) and a whole bunch of frustration. Let me assure you that if you are trying to gather this information as your house is flooding you will be in for an exciting time.

 So, what are these questions?

Well the first one is: How do I turn off the water to my house?

If you are on a private well system the valve is usually in the pump house.  If you are on city water the city has a shut off valve in the meter box usually located at the property edge along the street. The catch is that this is the city shut off and they don’t really want you using it to shut off your water. If this valve gets damaged because your messing around with it you will discover your problem just became your neighbor’s problem as well because the city will have to shut the neighbors water down along with yours to fix the damaged shut off. You can also expect a bill and probably a “discussion” with a city official for messing with their equipment. Your neighbors might want to speak with you too.

So, you should have your own shut off valve. Do you have one?  Do you know where it is? If you know you have one and you know where it is then congratulations. You’re probably ahead of the curve. Now, when was the last time you tested it to see if it actually works? Those are three very important questions to know the answers to. Many older homes don’t have shut off valves so in an emergency you will have to rely on the city to get out quickly and turn the water off. My experience is that they are pretty good at doing this but if water is flooding into your living room and soaking into your expensive carpet because the bathroom and hallway have already absorbed all the water they can I can promise you it won’t feel that way.  If you’re not sure if you have a personal shut off valve you can look for it at the edge of your house in a meter box, or possibly in the basement. Find the city meter box and the water line will usually head in a somewhat straight line from there to your house. That will give you a hint as to which side of the house to look on. If you’re not sure it might be money well spent to have a professional either locate and test the valve for you or figure out how to have one installed before a problem does develop. Plumbing code says you should have a shut off valve on the cold water inlet to the water heater also. This valve will turn the hot side of your water system off.  Good to know if you have a leak on the hot water side because it will allow you to still have cold water in your house. The questions are. Do you have one? Does it work? Can you get to it?

Insurance adjusters have ranked washing machine hoses as the number one reason for an insurance claim. Washing machine hoses are good for about five years and should be checked regularly for wear. So the questions are: How old are your washing machine hoses and when was the last time you leaned over the washer and looked at them? Look for rust spots near the connections or bubbles on the hose. If you see bubbles I’d turn the water off at the wall and either call a plumber or replace them yourself immediately. By the way do those valves at the wall work? If this is the number one insurance claim it might be wise to know for sure these valves turn completely off. It is not uncommon for them to leak if they haven’t been used for a few years.

If you ever notice bubbles in the paint on your wall or the floor seems to be swollen in spots. Pay attention to that. It may be a slow leak that is not causing water to puddle up but in reality is causing more damage over time. Mold developing is also a sign of moisture and could be quietly telling you of a big problem.

Last but not least let me mention sewer line clean outs. Many homes do not have a clean out but if your sewer line ever backs up it can save you big headaches. A clean out is a pipe about four inches in size (inside diameter) that is tapped into the main sewer line and brought to the ground surface. It should have a removable cap or plug. This clean out can be used to clear your line with a cable without going in the house. Home owners can save a lot of time and money by simply knowing if they have a clean out and if so where it is. In many cases you can stop your house from overflowing with raw sewage by removing the cap until the plumber can get there. Do you have one? Do you know where it is? Is it accessible?

These are items every home should have and every home owner should know about. They should be checked periodically to be sure they are going to perform when called on to do so. If you know you have them, you know where they are, and you know they will work when needed the chances are you will save yourself some very expensive damage if you ever need to use them.

by Terry Middlebrook

This entry was posted on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 7:43 am under Plumbing Tips. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.