by Gary Mays | Mar 29, 2014 | City of Gold Coast, Consumer Issues, Gold Coast Plumbing, Hot Water Heat Pump, Hot Water Solar, Hot Water Temperature, Insurance, Leaking Pipes, Plumbers, Plumbers Gold Coast, Plumbing Emergencies, Plumbing Maintenance, Water, Water Leaks
During much of the year on the Gold Coast we frequently hear clients ask why do I need to maintain my hot water system there is nothing wrong with it and I’m still getting plenty of hot water. In summer it is easy to forget just how much we depend on our hot water systems for showering, bathing, cooking, washing dishes and washing laundry.
But by April many people suddenly appreciate just how important their hot water system is when it fails to deliver enough or frequently no hot water. Frequently the signs that there is a problem with the hot water system have been there for months and often would have been diagnosed and rectified as part of an annual service. Because hot water systems appear to be complicated many people adopt a head in the sand approach but in reality like most working fixtures in your home they will always benefit immensely from a bit of routine maintenance
In over 37 years of experience we at Whywait Plumbing are well aware that Murphy’s Law applies usually in a spectacular fashion to the failure of a hot water system with most of them failing and leaking late at night usually when it is very cold. In all honesty basic maintenance of your hot water system is fairly simple but vitally it can double the effective lifespan of your hot water system.
To maintain your hot water system the main things you need to allow for are:
- replacing the sacrificial anode every 5 – 7 years
- flushing out all of the minerals and sediment that over time are deposited in the bottom of the storage tank every 3 – 5 years
- have the tempering valve maintained, tested and certified every year
- flush the temperature and pressure relief valve (TPR valve) every 3 – 6 months
- replace the temperature and pressure relief valve (TPR valve) every 3 – 4 years
- replace the expansion control valve (ECV valve) every 3 – 5 years
Apart from flushing the temperature and pressure relief valve (TPR valve) all the other work is legally required to be undertaken by a licensed plumber.
Most concerning from our perspective is the failure to replace the sacrificial anode which is the biggest single cause of premature hot water service failure. Regularly replacing your sacrificial anode will extend the life of your hot water service by ten years or even more. Whywait strongly recommend that you call us to service your hot water system and replace the sacrificial anode every 5 years as the cost of the service is minor compared to the thousands of dollars replacement costs not mentioning the inconvenience.
The one task we recommend you personally undertake is to activate and flush the temperature and pressure relief (TPR) valve. TPR valves continuously work automatically discharging hot water if the temperature or pressure of the water in the storage tank gets too high. Many people fail to understand if your TPR valve is not functioning properly it can potentially cause the tank to explode.
Flushing a TPR valve is relatively easy and straightforward, plus is something you can do yourself, but if the valve is already continually dripping water in all likelihood it needs replacing. To trigger the relief valve and flush it out all you need to do is lift the lever on the front of the valve all the way open and let water discharge from the drain pipe for 5 – 10 seconds then slowly put back the lever in place.
Very simply maintaining your hot water system is an investment not a cost.
By Gary Mays
by Gary Mays | Mar 3, 2014 | City of Gold Coast, Cold Water, Consumer Issues, Gold Coast Plumbing, Kitchens Outdoors, Plumbers, Plumbers Gold Coast, Plumbing Maintenance, Plumbing Renovation, Whywait Plumbing
What plumbing is needed in an outdoor kitchen is a question that we are getting asked more frequently at Whywait Plumbing. To be honest an outdoor kitchen is exactly as the name says – a kitchen built in an outdoor living area so plumbing needs replicate those of inside your home.
As restaurants have increasingly focused on alfresco dining this has now flowed through to our homes. Landscaping design is now all about creating an elaborate outdoor entertaining area complete with alfresco dining where meals are served from an outdoor kitchen.
Outdoor kitchens have increasingly become more and more sophisticated to allow gourmet meals to be cooked and served so frequently include the following:
- permanent storage cupboards
- preparation and serving bench spaces
- sink and prep sink
- bar fridge
- wine cooler
- ovens and or stove top
- range-hood
- barbecue with wok burner
- dishwasher
- beer on tap
- designer lighting
- gas heating
- coffee machines
- ice machines
- pizza ovens
From a plumbing perspective many of these appliances and fixtures need to be connected to water reticulation, sewer drains and gas reticulation. Ideally your outdoor kitchen should be located with easy access to your house to enable easy connection to existing water, drainage and gas lines. Building an outdoor kitchen without easy access to these existing connections will mean that you have to install extra services lines which will blow your budget costs upwards.
In an ideal world you should plan for your outdoor kitchen when building a new home so that you can ensure that the water, drainage and gas pipes are installed before the landscaping is undertaken. It is easy to plan ahead for the possibility that you may install an outdoor kitchen in the future even if your original design doesn’t include one by installing live capped off water connections, drainage connections and gas connections outside for potential use in future. When you are building a new home the cost to install live capped off connections is usually under a $1000 compared to upwards of $10000 to install new connections at a later date.
By Gary Mays
by Gary Mays | Feb 7, 2014 | City of Gold Coast, Cold Water, Gold Coast Plumbing, Insurance, Leaking Pipes, Plumbers, Plumbers Gold Coast, Plumbing Emergencies, Plumbing Maintenance, Toilets, Water Leaks, Whywait Plumbing
Every business relies on many factors and unexpected disruptions are an everyday occurrence to be managed . From a plumbing perspective the best management technique is preventative maintenance which is critical plumbing advice for business owners. One of the most disruptive plumbing problems faced by business owners is a sudden leak or failure of a plumbing appliance or fixture. (more…)
by Gary Mays | Jan 27, 2014 | City of Gold Coast, Consumer Issues, Gold Coast Plumbing, Insurance, Plumbers Gold Coast, Plumbing Emergencies, Plumbing Maintenance
What you do next when your home is damaged by a storm on the Gold Coast or Logan City is always determined by the extent of the damage. In South-East Queensland severe storms can strike at any time whilst being unpredictable and the cause of major property damage. Water inundation is often the cause of most concern and will cause the most damage to your possessions, fixtures and fittings.
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by Gary Mays | Jan 18, 2014 | City of Gold Coast, Consumer Issues, DIY Plumbing, Gold Coast Plumbing, Insurance, Leaking Pipes, Plumbers, Plumbers Gold Coast, Plumbing Emergencies, Plumbing Maintenance, Water, Water Leaks
Badly installed or faulty plumbing installation will flood your home and is a risk you need to minimise. At Whywait Plumbing we have lost count of the amount of flooded homes we have attended. A flooding house caused by faulty plumbing leaves home owners angry, frustrated and often soaking wet.
Whywait staff frequently have to deal with distraught homeowners who are heartbroken by the loss of family heirlooms such as photos and documents. The problem with most plumbing is that it is hidden in the walls or the roof or the floor or is underground. While some plumbing problems are preventable it is impossible to deal with things you cannot see like pipes in walls or in the roof space.
There are steps every homeowner should take inside their home that ultimately can save you a lot of time, money and aggravation. At Whywait Plumbing we recommend you take the following steps to prevent your home being flooded from inside:
1. Know where to turn off your water – always know where the main water supply valve is to your home and practice turning it off to ensure you know how to do it. At regular intervals check that the valve is working. When going on holiday turn off the water supply to your home to ensure you do not return home to a flooded house.
2. Check washing machine & dishwasher hoses – the hoses to these essential household appliances are invariably manufactured from plastic or rubber. These machines are constantly left turned on to the water supply meaning the hoses become part of the plumbing system. In case of an emergency it pays to know where the valves are to isolate the machines plus check the valve is working at regular intervals. At regular intervals check the hoses for bubbles or soft spots or if there is moisture on the hose as these are signs of a potential problem looming.
3. Check hot water tanks – if you hot water tank is inside your home usually in a cupboard or occasionally in the ceiling it pays to check it at regular intervals. A hot water tank will generally last 7 – 15 years depending on location and water quality. Once the tank is over 10 years of age it is living on borrowed time. Always ensure you know where the isolation valve is for the tank and check it at regular intervals to ensure it is working.
4. Check toilets – your toilet cistern is connected permanently to the cold water supply and will either be connected to the cistern tap under the cistern by copper pipe or a stainless steel flexible connector. Leaks are common at the connections so it is wise to check the cistern tap is working and to check the copper pipe or flexible connector for kinks or signs of moisture as these are signs of a potential problem looming.
5. Check sinks and basins – your kitchen sink and your vanity basins are frequently connected to the hot and cold water supply with stainless steel flexible connectors. These connectors are one of the most frequent causes of flooded homes. Frequently there are no isolation valves under the sink or basin so you need to check these connectors at regular intervals for kinks or signs of moisture as these are signs of a potential problem looming.
You cannot prevent everything and unfortunately there are no warnings to tell you something is about to burst.
The most important thing though is to ensure every person living in your house knows where to isolate the main water supply and how to turn it off. If you are not sure of how to isolate your water supply call Whywait Plumbing now.
By Gary Mays
by Gary Mays | Jan 11, 2014 | Bathrooms, City of Gold Coast, Cold Water, Consumer Issues, Gold Coast Plumbing, Health Issues, Hot Water Temperature, Plumbing Legislation, Queensland Government, Sustainable Plumbing, Water
You can save money by washing your hands in cold water because research just released by Dr Amanda Carrico a research assistant professor at Vanderbilt University proves you do not need hot water to wash your hands.In fact using hot water is completely unnecessary to hygienically clean your hands and is simply wasting expensive hot water.
Washing hands with soap and cold water is as effective as hot water.
In reality all you need is cold water, a good quality soap, friction to scrub your hands for 20 seconds followed by rinsing them off and then finally completely drying your hands. The research proves that this simple hand washing procedure is just as effective as using hot water plus it reduces your energy costs and saves you money.
The heating costs of hot water are the largest single energy cost in most Queensland homes with it generally being around 30% of your electricity or gas bill. Eliminating hot water from your hand washing routine will reduce your electricity or gas bill by 5%.
Dr Carrico’s research is conclusive that you cannot tolerate water hot enough to kill germs on your hands. Hot water at 55°C will kill some germs but even at that temperature will scald you. In fact constantly using hot water to wash your hands can irritate your skin and adversely affect the outside protective skin layer.
In Queensland the laws were changed in 1995 requiring tempering valves to be installed on new hot water system installations covering new homes, non like for like replacements or when moving an existing hot water system to a new location on the property. This means that it is law that hot water delivered to bathrooms used primarily for personal hygiene purposes be regulated by use of a tempering valve or a thermostatic mixing valve so that is does not exceed 50°C. Therefore unless your home was constructed prior to 1995 it is unlikely that your hot water is hot enough to effectively kill germs on your hands even if you could tolerate the high temperatures.
By all means use warm water if it is more comfortable for you but there is no need to have it hotter than 40°C which the research proves is just as effective as water at 55°C in removing germs from your hands.
By Gary Mays
