CJ BC Plumbing Tips

By CJ BC Plumbing Tips | Certified Red Seal Plumber, British Columbia, Canada Does your home have a water pressure problem, or is something else causing the symptoms? A bathroom faucet splashes harder than expected. A toilet occasionally refills without being flushed. You hear a bang when the washing machine stops filling, or you notice a small drip at a plumbing connection. These are situations worth investigating, but none of them proves that your home's water pressure is too high. A dripping faucet may have a worn cartridge. A toilet may have a leaking flapper or fill valve. A banging pipe may be affected by rapid valve closure or inadequate support. Water pressure is only one possible factor. The practical approach is to measure the pressure, identify where it is being measured, and understand how the plumbing system responds before replacing components or adjusting a valve. This guide takes you through residential water pressure from a plumbing professional...

  Water Heater Dripping From the Relief Pipe? 4 Causes and Safety Tips Finding a small amount of water near your hot water tank can be confusing. The tank may look perfectly normal, yet a few drops of water appear beneath a narrow pipe running down its side. One possible source is the discharge pipe connected to the Temperature and Pressure Relief Valve (T&P relief valve) . This valve is an essential safety device. Water coming from its discharge pipe should never be ignored, even if the amount seems small. In this guide, CJ BC Plumbing Tips explains how the valve works, four possible causes of dripping, the difference between normal thermal expansion and excessive pressure, and what homeowners should do next. 1. What Is a Water Heater T&P Relief Valve? A Temperature and Pressure Relief Valve is designed to help protect a storage-type water heater from potentially dangerous operating conditions. As its name suggests, the valve responds to two conditions: Excessive temperatu...

  Frost-Free Outdoor Faucet? Why You Should Disconnect the Hose Before Winter A frost-free outdoor faucet can help protect your home during cold weather, but the name “frost-free” does not mean the faucet can be ignored all winter. One of the most common fall maintenance mistakes is leaving a garden hose, splitter, timer, or other attachment connected to an outdoor faucet when freezing weather arrives. For many standard frost-free faucets, proper drainage is an important part of how the faucet protects itself from freezing. That means one simple fall task can make a real difference: Disconnect the garden hose before freezing temperatures arrive. How Does a Frost-Free Outdoor Faucet Work? A standard outdoor hose bib usually shuts the water off relatively close to the exterior portion of the faucet. A frost-free faucet is different. On a typical frost-free design, the operating stem extends farther into the building, and the actual shutoff point is located deeper inside the warmer po...

  Water Behind a Tub Spout? How to Find the Leak Before It Damages the Wall Finding a small amount of water around a bathtub spout may not look serious at first. However, water appearing where the tub spout meets the wall should not be ignored. The visible water may be coming from a simple gap around the spout, but it can also indicate a problem with the connection behind the finished wall. The important first step is not to immediately apply more caulking . Before sealing anything, determine when the water appears and where it is actually coming from. As a Certified Red Seal plumber with more than 10 years of hands-on plumbing experience, I recommend approaching this type of problem systematically. A few simple observations can help distinguish surface water from a plumbing connection problem hidden behind the wall. Why Is Water Appearing Around the Tub Spout? A bathtub spout is connected to piping extending through the finished wall. Depending on the installation, the spout may c...

 A sewer smell in a bathroom can be unpleasant and concerning, but it does not always mean there is a major sewer problem. The odor may come from something as simple as a dry floor drain or unused fixture. However, it can also be related to a trap, drainage connection, or venting problem. Before assuming the worst, it helps to identify exactly where the smell is coming from. Where Can a Bathroom Sewer Smell Come From? When I investigate a sewer odor in a bathroom, I first try to isolate the source instead of immediately replacing parts. Common areas to check include: • the bathroom sink drain • the toilet area • the shower or bathtub drain • a floor drain • rarely used plumbing fixtures If the odor is strongest near one particular drain, that gives you an important clue about where to start. Check Rarely Used Floor Drains One of the first things worth checking is a floor drain that has not been used for a long time. A properly trapped drain normally holds water inside the trap. Thi...