Hello this is PlumberX. People always ask me what gave you the idea and what made you create these how to plumbing videos? Coming up with the idea w...
Hello this is PlumberX. People always ask me what gave you the idea and what made you create these how to plumbing videos? Coming up with the idea was easy. After many years as a plumber and servicing customers at there home I’ve seen a lot of people in tuff situations, people that could not afford a plumber, people that didn’t have time to wait for a plumber to come to there home and make repairs, hearing horror stories of Plumbers that have rip off costumers and gave bad service, to me this was a loud cry for help. One story come to mind; A friend of mine calls me and ask, PlumberX could you do me a favor and help this older lady that I know, and go by and look at her Plumbing, she needs plumbing work really bad but she’s to scared to call a plumber because of the cost, and she know that if I send you over there to check out the plumbing she can trust me as a friend recommending you, sure I said I could do that. The next day came and I went to the older lady’s home she came to the door with a pleasant smile very humble. I could see it in her eye’s she didn’t have to say a word ( What is this going to cost ) she was very polite and courteous. Sir would you like some thing to drink and I do appreciate you coming to check out my plumbing on such short notice. No problem mam, lets see what’s going on here with your plumbing. This way Sir in the kitchen. As I walk through the home I saw in the corner of my eye younger children around 3, 5 and 6 years of age running around …
The filters in our household faucets have been getting clogged very frequently over the last 2-3 years. Within 1 month of cleaning them out the water flow will be reduced to a mere trickle again. The house is 11 years old and four plumbers have tried in vain to help us. Today a new plumber said the gunk in the filter was soft and squishy, almost like wet-paper. He didn’t think it resembled lime or calcium build-up. After he cleaned out the filter in the kitchen sink, he reinstalled it & allowed the water to run for about 3 minutes. When he checked the filter, there was already something in it. He pulled it out and it was a small oval object with a long tail (like a teeny-tiny seed pod or dead tad-pole). We did this several times and every time we pulled out something similar. The community water department sent two men over immediately. They took a water sample, which they said ‘looked clear’, and said the "specimens" that I had saved looked like small pieces of shredded plumbers tape to them. Has anyone ever heard of this? How could plumbers tape get inside the water line? And why has it been going on for over two years? I know the men from the water-dept have a vested interest in not starting a crazed-water-panic, so until I get some unbiased confirmation I’m certainly not going to drink, cook or even brush my teeth with it. Thanks ahead of time for your combined wisdom!
I just spoke to someone who said that our house has all copper pipes, therefore the only place plumbers tape would have been used was on the ends. They also said that it tends to be extremely lightweight and flimsy and after 11 years would have dissolved and not be an issue. We built the house 11 years ago & when I look back on our records, we’ve been having this same issue (faucets plugging up super quick) and contacting different plumbers for 3 years.
I just checked the filter and there’s more of ‘it’ in there today! No one wants a ‘water-scare’ in their neighborhood, so I’m sure the guys were just trying to quell any rumors until they could get the water sample back. I realize they were doing their job… but their response just isn’t adding up in my head. I’m going to take the slimy worm-like items that I have retrieved today & have them tested.
I feel like Erin Brokovich (sp?)… perhaps I should have offered them a drink of water from the tap before they left!
Hello this is PlumberX. People always ask me what gave you the idea and what made you create these how to plumbing videos? Coming up with the idea was easy. After many years as a plumber and servicing customers at there home I’ve seen a lot of people in tuff situations, people that could not afford a plumber, people that didn’t have time to wait for a plumber to come to there home and make repairs, hearing horror stories of Plumbers that have rip off costumers and gave bad service, to me this was a loud cry for help. One story come to mind; A friend of mine calls me and ask, PlumberX could you do me a favor and help this older lady that I know, and go by and look at her Plumbing, she needs plumbing work really bad but she’s to scared to call a plumber because of the cost, and she know that if I send you over there to check out the plumbing she can trust me as a friend recommending you, sure I said I could do that. The next day came and I went to the older lady’s home she came to the door with a pleasant smile very humble. I could see it in her eye’s she didn’t have to say a word ( What is this going to cost ) she was very polite and courteous. Sir would you like some thing to drink and I do appreciate you coming to check out my plumbing on such short notice. No problem mam, lets see what’s going on here with your plumbing. This way Sir in the kitchen. As I walk through the home I saw in the corner of my eye younger children around 3, 5 and 6 years of age running around …
The water in my upstairs bathroom had recently not been getting hot in the shower, the sink was fine as was the rest of the house. Well, my husband has a friend whom is a plumber that came out and pulled something that looked like a wooden golf tee out of the line and he replaced the cooper pipes and the faucet. Well, now there is no hot water coming out of the pipes in the upstairs and downstairs bathroom but the water in the kitchen and all of the sinks gets hot enough to scald you what’s the deal. We have a gas heater by the way but it is one that doesn’t have a pilot light.
We’re having a problem getting hot enough water to come out of the shower faucet in our 1950’s house. The water right now is not hot enough to take a warm bath in. The sinks in the kitchen and bathroom get scalding hot water but the shower only gets hot-ish water. The bathroom was redone recently…the plumbing replaced and tiled over. I think there is a problem with the faucet knob that is installed because if you pull up on the handle a little bit hotter water comes out. I want to have a plumber come out to see if the faucet knob can be replaced and solve the problem but I dont want him to come and tear my wall apart! My cousin said that if the plumber takes off the existing faucet that the hole in the tile is too small for him to see the pipes and he’ll definitely have to tear the wall apart? Am I screwed? Any suggestions? I’m dieing for a HOT bath!
The thing on the faucet that you push down or pull up, wont move anymore….so my adult boys cant take a shower in there…so now my youngest son, just turned 30, cant take a shower, but he uses my shower now. Both laid off no money for buying a new faucet deal and on disabled widow soc sec, no money from me to hire a plumber. Does it need to be replaced? It doesnt LOOK BROKE. It just wont switch from tub to shower head. What can we do? Please help!! I cant use my shower either, but that’s because i cant get up in there now. I am 63 and finally first time in my life, have my own bathroom. SORRY IF IT SOUNDS SELFISH, BUT I DONT WANT TO SHARE MY BATHROOM. My daughter takes me to fitness usa 3 times a week where i exercise in the pool, and shower with lots of water pressure. btw, that is the other problem we have in this trailer and this park, low water pressure. the park has wells, and i think it is affecting our pipes. The rust is unreal. I have a little pool out back, and you should see the DARK RUST COLOR ON THE FILTER WHEN I CLEAN IT OUT. OH MY. One other problem: water softener quiet going through full cycle, it would start but not finish the cycle. Had son take all the old salt out of it. Now i have been looking for a "new" one on craigslist. It is difficult to live here without one. Cant drink the water, so we use a Brita filter i got at salvation army. works great. somebody told me there is this little part on the water softener (Kenmore) that gets junk in it and that makes it not work? ever heard of such a thing? is it possible that is the problem? cant afford a regular plumber for sure here in flint michigan. JUST ONE MORE THING: something is leaking under kitchen sink, and now thewood is rotted under there. Wht could my son look for to see if he could fix that? He has no plumbing experience. ONE LAST THING (I PROMISE): one whole wall in living room (where i had fish tanks) the outlets quit working. That wall is shared with the kitchen ….outlet on floor behind stove now quit working also. Other outlets on that kitchen wall DO WORK. Across from that is the kitchen sink, above the sink are 3 hanging little lamps (they were there when i moved here 3 years ago), they have QUIT WORKING, but the switch to the overhead in middle of kitchen still works (both switches are together). What do you think could be the problem there? Are they related to each other?……problem in kitchen andliving room? problem on one side of kitchen and the other? Other switches and outlets in kitchen are working fine.
Sorry about the LONG questions, thought it was my last opportunity for today and that i was out of questions. Is there an agency that would help me with this since i am 63 and disabled on low widow soc sec (600 a month)?
We bought a newly built house a little over a year ago which had a 1yr warranty on the construction. About 5 months in, we noticed the wood flooring in front of the kitchen sink had started to warp really bad. We called our builder to come out and he also brought the plumbing contractor he had used on our house. It turned out that the hose connection on our kitchen sink faucet that pulls out from the base had become loose, allowing water to leak and run down the back of the cabinet and then seep in to the wood floor. The plumber actually said that this issue was a known problem for the faucet he installed and proceeded to crimp the hose connection, thereby sealing it so it wouldn’t become loose again. The three of us agreed that we would wait a few months for the wood floor to dry out to see the extent of the damage and go from there. The builder said that he would have to take it up with the plumbing contractor at that time if any repairs were needed.
Fast forward to this month where, after having the heater running for weeks, the planks in the wood floor really dried out and now there are about 1/8 inch gaps that run about 2-6 feet on some of the planks. We called our builder and he sent out his wife, who runs the wood floor business that put in our flooring. She came out and said that she would give us an estimate for the repair and that *we* would have to contact the plumber to get him to pay for the fixes. We realized after she left that they had totally changed their tune. At first they made it seem like they would fix the floors and deal with the plumber. Now it seems like they’re basically saying we can hire them to fix the floors, but if the plumber is going to pay any money, it’s up to us to handle getting it from him. I don’t think that’s right since the damage occured while our house was under warranty, which makes the builder responsible for any damage caused by his sub-contractors.
They are a very nice couple which makes this especially tough. I don’t want to have to get lawyers involved unless I’m totally sure that we are in the right. Any thoughts?
There are statutes in my state regarding damages that result from defective construction. Essentially, it’s like an honor system for licensed contractors and I downloaded a pdf that explains the whole process of filing a claim with the state’s Construction Contractor’s board. Thanks,everyone for your advice so far.