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What is Water Hammer and How to Stop It!
Water hammer, also known as hydraulic shock, is a banging or knocking sound that can occur in pipes when a valve, a tap or faucet is quickly closed. The banging noise and vibrations from water hammer can be felt throughout a house and, in multi-storey buildings, because the water pipes pass through and serve every level, banging can be heard on building levels far from the source of the water hammer. It can be caused by a variety of factors, including high water pressure, improper pipe installation, or worn out valves. Some causes include, the fitting of a new dishwasher or clothes washing machine, or fast closing mixer style taps that shut down or stop the water flow quickly.
Stopping water hammer can be challenging, as it often requires identifying the root cause of the issue and then implementing a solution. Some common solutions include installing water hammer arrestors, which are devices that absorb the shock of rapidly moving water, replacing worn out valves, or adjusting the water pressure.
In some cases, the solution may be as simple as tightening loose pipe connections or securing loose pipes.
However, it is always recommended to consult a plumber if you experience water hammer, as they can diagnose the issue and recommend an appropriate solution.
Water saving tips for Spring
Now we are really into spring and the gardens are blooming, after our long weekend heatwave, the lawn needs to be watered.
A dripping tap can waste up to anywhere between 30 and 200 litres of water a day. That’s over 70,000 litres a year.
So here are a couple of simple water saving tips to get you through spring and the long hot summer ahead.
Ensure all household and garden taps are always turned off tightly so they don’t drip. Don’t force taps as you can damage them and actually cause leaks.
Develop a regular routine of checking all indoor and outdoor taps, washers and pipes for leaks, cracks and breaks.
Check all your household appliances for water leaks. Learn how to repair leaking taps; a new washer is inexpensive and easily available at your local hardware store.
If in doubt call us for some over the phone guidance on 02 9664 4990.
Happy Plumbers + Great Service = Happy Clients
We have a great team of plumbers here at The Lone Drainer and Pronto! They are good at their job. They Love their work. We call it “Furk”! Having FUn..at..woRK
On Monday afternoon, 27th October 2014, I got the following email:
Hi Dave,
Thank you so very much for taking my phone call early this morning and organising Chris and Leigh to come to my house so quickly.
Chris and Leigh arrived, knocked on my door, introduced themselves with smiles and put me at ease that my sewerage problems would be fixed.
Such a relief. I could not have had nicer people to arrive on my door step. Both well mannered and very pleasant people to talk to.
I also had a problem with my kitchen sink tap. Unfortunately I had to leave Chris at the kitchen sink as I had to go to work. He did a good job and I now have a brand new tap looking at me! Both men were very efficient.
Again, thank you for being so prompt and getting the job on its way.
Kind regards,
Julie B. Randwick NSW
Leigh and Chris with Plunger
Water….. Water everywhere!
Its been raining……. a lot! We have had blocked stormwater pipes, blocked sewer pipes, burst pipes, damaged water pipes and leaking taps of all kinds to attend too. The common denominator is Water
Yes, Water.
Now summer is just around the corner and it’s getting hotter, we are exercising more and sweating a lot!
So my simple health tip, not just for athletes, is drink more water! It flushes unwanted toxins from your body and keeps the brain alert. It just makes you feel better.
Stop Leaking Taps
As a plumber, the majority of house calls I make have to do with leaking taps. Obviously in most cases it is correct to call a plumber but some times we are called to houses to carry out a simple plumbing job that takes five minutes which could have easily been completed by anyone with a little know-how.
Here are a few pointers that can help to avoid problems like these:
- Treat taps gently. They should be turned off with thumb & forefinger. If you are having an arm wrestle turning your taps off, stop it!
- Try to repair a dripping tap if you can. Always turn the water supply to the house off first!
- Simple repairs can be done by anyone. Don’t forget the o-rings, tap washers, tap seats and fibre washers. Lubricate them all.
- There are so many types of taps available today, even the pros need to seek advice.
- There is no shame in not being able to repair a dripping tap. I have seen plumbers who are grown men cry over leaks like these.
Flush with Facts
August is the month of the good toilet flush!
Flowing sewer drains, my favourite topic in the whole wide world, is Not what I mean dear readers!
I’m talking about the toilet and the cistern; the little tank of water that flushes our loo.
So here’s 3 Flush Facts:
1. The toilet flush button is the most un-hygienic place in your bathroom.
2. A full toilet flush is more water than most people in the world use daily.
3. A leaking toilet cistern can waste up to 24 litres of water daily. That’s a whopping 2160 litres of wasted water in your quarterly water rates. And that’s from just 1 toilet cistern.
So, next time you are sitting and thinking………. Think about that!
Common pipelines; easements, ownership and liability #1
One recurring topic of 2010 is the Ownership and liability of common water, sewer and gas pipes.
When we send out an emergency response team to a ruptured gas or water pipeline or an overflowing sewer, the first thing our team thinks about is rescuing the property under threat. Often, it is after the emergency that ownership and liability of the problem are hotly debated.
This series of 3 blog posts is aimed at clarifying some of that debate.
Our friends at the Law Reform Commission have helped to clarify this interesting subject and in part it reads:
In most cases, persons using utility services that pass through several properties benefit by the existence of an easement of access over that service, entitling the user to enter the property on which the service is located in order to attend to the service. However, in the absence of such an easement, the user of the service is not allowed to interfere with the service, even where that interference is for the purpose of maintenance, repair, or relocation of the service.
One explanation of why there may not be an easement is that the properties through which the service runs were once commonly owned. When the common ownership ceased, new owners may have failed to ensure that easements over water pipes or sewer lines existed for the particular part of the property they were purchasing. The problem may have arisen due to an assumption that such a right was simply transferred with the purchased property, or by an omission on the part of the conveyancer. Whatever the reason, the failure to create and register an easement has given rise to a number of lasting problems. These difficulties have been compounded by the general reluctance of the Water Board to impose on new purchasers a requirement to install costly separate connections. Many properties today do not have a viable means of creating a separate connection at reasonable cost.
Burst water hose floods house.
It’s Saturday night in the city and we received an emergency call from a long term client, “HELP we have a tap over the kitchen sink that is leaking lots of water and flooding our kitchen.”
Now on a Saturday night, this sounds like a job for “The Lone Drainer and Pronto“! We were at the house within 30 minutes to repair the leaking tap!
The kitchen sink mixer tap had exploded, gushing water everywhere, and our clients who were having a peaceful dinner, could not turn the water off!
The 2 valves controlling hot and cold water supply to the kitchen sink flickmixer style tap, and the water meter at the front of the property could not be turned off. Both the taps had seized and the water just kept running out all over the kitchen!
Toilet Leaks Waste Water
How Much Water Is Wasted When I Continue To Let My Toilet Leak?
When a meter’s flow indicator moves and you know that all the water outlets are off, both inside and outside, you can be sure that there is a leak somewhere in your lines. The continuous drip of a leaky tap, or a constantly running toilet, will add dollars and cents to your water bill in a hurry. When this happens, it is time to call for toilet plumbing services.
It is estimated that $145.00 is added to your water bill annually if the toilet continues to run after flushing. This is money you are paying out that you don’t have to. The insides of the toilet cistern are inexpensive compared to the extra money you pay because your toilet is constantly running. So it makes sense to acquire plumbing services Sydney to fix your leaky toilet or tap.
The constant running of a toilet not only wastes water but will increase your utility bill over a period of time. That extra money, not to mention the water, could be used more advantageously.
Let’s think about the water that is wasted when you continue to let your taps or toilet leak.
Wasting water is no longer something you can do and not feel guilty about it. The shortages around the world can be helped if everyone keeps their equipment in good working condition, and if we are all mindful about how we use water and how we can prevent wasting water that can be better used somewhere else.
It would not be hard to put together a list of items you could purchase with the money you are paying for the wasted water from the leaky toilet. There are many ways to spend that $145.00. Whether the money is used for a needed item or for leisure, that money can be better spent on something that you will have for a while or something you will enjoy whenever you want to. Therefore, it is well worth it to hire plumbing services to fix your leaky toilet.
So many people can be helped by you simply ensuring that you do not waste water negligently. Neglecting to take care of your household can cost you hundreds of dollars in a short period of time. Lately, the economy makes us spend thriftier; hopefully it also teaches us to be more conservative of the natural resources that are limited worldwide. Contact one of the plumbing services Sydney to make sure you are doing your part to conserve water and put the water where it will do the most good.
Sydney’s New Water Desalination Plant – Why Your Water Bills Will Go Up
Why Dripping Taps and Leaking Toilets will cost More $$$ with Sydney’s New Water Desalination Plant
Do you have a problem with a leaky tap or toilet? You will be amazed how much money dripping taps and leaking toilets will cost you per day. On an average, one house with three taps that leak at a rate of 60 drips per minute will cost you the price of 64 litres of water per day. This adds up to a whopping 23,000 litres of water per year.
The price of water will go up as new plants are added, such as Sydney’s New Water Desalination Plant. The key to keeping money in your pocket is to contact plumber services Sydney and fix the leaks!
Water conservation is on everyone’s mind these days. The cost of water is going up because there just simply is not enough water without programs such as the New Water Desalination Plant. Just as all other water recovery programs, it is expensive to run one of these plants. The more water that your dripping taps and leaky toilets waste, the less water there is for everyone, and the more you will pay for that water.
Saving money is on everyone’s mind as prices go up and budgets get slimmer. One of the best ways to save money on household bills is to make sure everything is in top operating order. You can ensure that all your dripping taps and leaking toilets are in top shape by calling in professional plumbers. Plumbing in Sydney is quite a large business and everyone needs a plumber sooner or later. You need to call the guys who are professionals and can take care of your dripping taps, leaking toilets and all your plumbing needs.
The constant drip, drip, drip of a leaky tap in the middle of the night keeping you awake is not a good way to start any day. A person with a very busy schedule, which most of us have, does not need to listen to that tap drip even one more night. Call the professional plumbing services today and get them to stop that annoying drip from keeping you awake another night.
A leaking toilet can be just as annoying and as costly. Call plumbing services Sydney to solve your problems.
Some bathroom surfaces stain quite easily. That ugly stain in the back of the sink is caused by a tap that is constantly dripping. This will ruin an expensive sink. Call in the professionals to prevent the destruction of your beautiful sinks.
The phone book has a “Plumbing Sydney” section where you can find and hire plumber services and get your dripping taps and leaking toilets fixed so you save money and water. Call today for an appointment and, see how easy and inexpensive it is to have your house in tip top plumbing shape.
Problems with hot water during the long hot summer?
Welcome to 2010!
Over the Christmas and New Year period we were called to rescue people with all sorts of plumbing emergencies!
Burst water pipes, blocked sewer drains, leaking taps and toilets are commonplace, but, here at the height of summer, calls for help for running hot water is at an all time high!
Ruptured water heaters or burst water heaters happen all the time and we only think of it as a problem in the winter, but we love a warm shower in the summer just as much.
Try telling a family that we can’t replace their particular type of heater over the holidays, because…………..ahhhhhhhh!
So here are a few simple tips that will assist:
1. Know where your water heater is. You would be surprised how many people don’t know where their water heater is!
2. Know how to turn your water heater off.
3. Try turning your water heater off to check that the cold water valve that turns it off works. One emergency water heater job we went to on Boxing Day, could have saved the owner money if they could have simply turned their heater off at the control valve or tap. The tap would not work, so we had to shut down the entire house, cut out the faulty tap valve and fit a new valve. We then turned the water to the house back on, so our clients at least had cold water to flush the toilet, make a cuppa and have a cold shower until we could track down the appropriate new water heater that was needed.
4. Pull the pressure relief valve on your mains pressure water heater, let it run for 5 or 10 seconds. When you let the valve go the water should slow down and then stop. If it does not stop, try it again. The pressure relief valve should be eased at least every 6 months.
5. Make sure its dry and clean around the base of your water heater storage area. Keep it clear of leaf debris, and long grass if it is outside.
6. Don’t store flammable liquids, petrol or paint anywhere near a gas water heater.
https://www.thelonedrainerandpronto.com.au/hot-water-services.html
Never Underestimate The Power of Water and its Effects on Drainage
The awesome power of water and the damage it can cause has been widely witnessed in the past month, not only throughout Sydney, but also along the entire eastern coastline of Australia. These problems have been caused by freak weather patterns and the failure of man-made stormwater systems to cope with the sheer volume of stormwater.
Large storms in South East Queensland have caused the largest floods that the area has seen in 20 years. These floods left hundreds of people stranded for days, as well as causing millions of dollars in damage and completely submerging many towns, with levee banks being breached and rivers bursting their banks. Locally, damage from extensive rains was also seen in Coogee and Randwick with flash flooding sweeping parked cars out onto the street, turning low lying areas into lakes and severely damaging some local homes, properties and businesses like Coogee Bowling Club, only 200 metres from our Coogee base. The world famous Coogee Oval was submerged, with only the tops of the picket fence still visible.
Stormwater systems throughout the Coogee and Randwick area were put to the test, and any property with even slightly blocked stormwater drains had water lapping at their doors, and in some cases had water damage inside their homes. Many gardens were ruined by the “walls” of stormwater passing through.
Dolphin Street Coogee turned into a riverbed
On May 28th 2009, a water main running underneath Victoria Road in Bellevue Hill burst, causing such a great deal of erosion that a 25m stretch of road collapsed, washing away two cars with it into Cooper Park below. This landslide caused a major road to be closed indefinitely. The damaged gas pipes meant that the surrounding area had to be temporarily evacuated because of the risk of an explosion.
It has been reported in the press that water was seen leaking from the road in this area in the week leading up to this hole appearing.
Never ignore a leaking water pipe or blocked stormwater pipe.
Cooper Park below burst water main in Bellevue Hill