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G ot Drips? In this day and age,
water conservation is very important and vital to our society. Bay Area
Plumbing would like to help families and their households understand and to give
some important tips on how to fix simple drips and to conserve on
water.
1)
Keep track of your water
bill and be concerned of an unusal high bill. First make sure all water faucets
or devices are shut off. Go out to your water meter and see if you have any
movement after 5 minutes.
2) Listen through your home and pay
attention to any water sounds. If you have a leak, you will be able to usually
hear a harmonic sound generated by the leak.
3) Leaky
faucet drips. Must shut stops below
sink. Remember righty-tighty,
lefty-loosey. Shut-off clockwise to turn
water off. Handles can usually come off
with a screwdriver under hidden cap.
Stems can normally be removed with an open or adjustable wrench. Pull stem out and check inside for debris. Flush out body. Check rubber stem seats to see if needs
replacement. Take flash light and look
into faucet body to see if brass seats are ok.
You might need to pick up some seat tools at your local hardware
store. Each brand of faucet has a web
site where you can get the breakdown of your faucet
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4)
Toilet drips. A very
common leak is the flapper. If you listen, you can hear the water go by the
seal or the toilet will fill & then shut off. To check to make sure you
have no leaks, add food coloring inside tank to see if it bleeds into
bowl.
5)
Check hose connections
outside around your home. Disconnect hoses and see if any hose bibs need
replacement.
6)
Check any cross
connections between potable water and sprinkler
systems.
7)
Check any water lines to
pool. Fill valve. Make sure pool fill valve is in proper working
order.
8)
Check water softeners.
Make sure that the backwash mode is working properly.
9)
Check washing machine
area and hoses. Replace old rubber hoses with stainless steel. (last longer and
won’t burst)
10)
Last but not least, check
water heater area. Flush tank at least once a year. Look for water in pan or
drain line or relief line dripping water to outside. Be concerned about water
heaters over 10 years old
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