Ask a Plumber.

Is this thread still active? I have a plumber question, please.

 

The plumbers code was told to me the other day. It made my day, so here you go.

You get paid on Friday.
$#it rolls downhill.
Don't bite your fingernails.

Thats it.

 

Ok, the setup.
House on top of big hill. Deep valleys all around. When the wind blows very hard across the the front of the house from the west, the toilet will make a bubbling sound, and septic system gasses are released in the master bathroom. Its BAD!

Vents are on the back side of the house and are in the step up portion after the garage roof being lower.

It has happened about 10 times in 5 years. Always when very very strong storms are blowing in.

I don't know how to fix this. I think it related to air pressure being high on one vent stack, and the other vent stack being sheltered from the wind on the short kids bedroom and bathroom side of the house.

Do you think I should extend the vents up? Or is the a pressure breaker type of thing I could put up on the vent pipe?

Thank you in advance for the help.
I was a plumbers helper for a few months when my neighbor needed a hand for while, but I didn't love it.

 

Never seen it that bad. But you could put a trap weir on vent pipe and or vent the septic tank the same way to maybe help. Just dryfit it onto pipe to see if it helps. I always got complaints on low psi days after a front

 

Yep and people wonder why I’m an asshole at times. That’s what I’ve had to deal with daily for over 30 years.
Nice job

 

Yea I find a lot of epoxy also

 

Yes sir
Lots of the old still on campus so job security I guess

 

Well my shower drain has a “funky” smell coming from it and not sure what to do next....

I have taken the drain cover off and used bleach and a paint brush roller to clean the insides before it hits the water in the bottom of the drain. Made a slight difference...

Used several types of Draino or Lye drain cleaning products and no change (drain has no issue draining just was hoping it would kill/clean whatever is in the drain making the smell). Made a slight difference...

Not sure what to try next?

I am a very clean person and clean the shower/house twice a week with a strong mix of bleach and water so I am sure it’s not related to being dirty.

 

Home Depot has a drain cleaner in a black bottle called heat I think. Works really well. I see a lot of funk buildup in shower drains from hair conditioner since that’s the last thing done and not enough water to wash it out. I also catch a wife of Ac drain smell tied in a lavatory

 

Haven’t seen or heard of that one but will certainly pick up a bottle and try it out. Thank you

 

It’s powerful for being at box store. Be careful with it. It’s cold water activated

 

OHHH I LIKE DANGEROUS STUFF!!!!

 

It even dissolves hair

 

There's a little bit of everything here on TW. Never would have thought to come here for plumbing advice.

My house has a real Frankenstein plumbing system... galvanized, copper, PVC in various places. I'd guess the oldest is the galvanized which likely original to the house, and as things got repaired over the years, the copper and PVC were used. The water mains in my neighborhood are very old, so we run a main line filter. At any rate, we've recently started getting a high pitched squeal from the toilet. At first, it would happen towards the end of someone taking a longer shower, but it has started happening more frequently. Flushing the toilet will stop the squeal, as will turning off the water line valve to the toilet.

I'm assuming it's a water pressure issue - would low water pressure cause a sound like that? Or is it possible the inner works of the toilet are just in need of replacement?

 

Sounds like a float arm and float ball.

 

I've always heard that you only need to learn 3 things to be a plumber. Hot goes on the left, cold on the right and shit flows downhill. Get that down and the rest is easy.

A humorous story. Several years ago I was talking to the guy as they were pumping out my septic tank. He was telling me about a recent call they got about a backed up tank. When they pulled the lid there were dozens of condoms floating on the top clogging the drain.

Seeing this the home owner walked into the house. A couple of minutes later his wife runs out the door with him chasing her with a broom until she locked herself in her car and left. Somebody's got some explaining to do.

 

That's what the valve in my upstairs bathroom looks like. House was built in '58, and I'm sure it's original. Toilet upstairs was always running, and no one ever goes up there- so I shut the valve. Now, even if I open the valve up- no water gets to the toilet.

 

Stupid question: can the shower pressure be adjusted from the handle/valve itself?

Stupid context: a plumber came out a few weeks ago to repair a leaking tub spout, and in the process he said he adjusted the shower to give me more pressure, which I wish he wouldn't have, since now it's simply too much water and splashes everywhere in the shower and kinda hurts the body. This particular plumber didn't know what he was doing and told me I needed a new valve in the wall, but I suspected otherwise. I called for a second opinion and the plumber that came the second time said it was simply the cartridge, which he replaced, and fixed the leak completely. The pressure in the shower is still too high though, and the second plumber said he lowered it a bit from the inlet into the house, but not at the shower as that's not possible. So I am just wondering which plumber is correct. I am obviously more inclined to believe the second one, but the pressure it definitely different, so the first guy had to have adjusted it somewhere.

 

The first guy may of removed your shower head restrictor mandated in by our betters in congress and the senate for few extra bucks for everybody all around, except us suckers.

 

That's exactly what it feels like, as though the restrictor was removed, but he says he didn't touch it.