Some plumbing problems are, well, weird. Today we’re going to talk about the causes of some weird plumbing problems and how to deal with them.
This customer was about 5'11" and before this S bar was installed, the shower head was too high for her to even reach!
The shower head is too high or too low
If your shower head hits you right in the face, or you have to bend at the waist to wash your hair, your showerhead may be too high or too low. An S-shaped pipe can solve the problem, by either turning it upwards or down. People of diminutive stature or those who have a bathroom for young children will want the S-shape to curve downwards. Tall folks will want it turned up.
Advance warning: Raising the shower head could bring the splash zone above the level of the tiles. If you have this done, you’ll want your tile to reach above the splash zone so the wall won’t get water damage. If there is a window, the window has to be meticulously sealed.
Low or no pressure
As ridiculous as it sounds, plumbers get called to homes which have no water pressure only to realize that the water has been shut off by the municipality due to payment failure. This happens way more often than you’d think. If you have no pressure (or even no water) make sure your water hasn’t been shut off by the city or even at your water mainline before you call a plumber.
Otherwise, there are several possibilities. The shower head flow restrictor could be clogged with calcium or even sediment. Not often, but sometimes if there is a break in the line, you could be the lucky homeowner who gets a bunch of gunk in your flow constrictor.
It could also be a problem with the water heater or a burst pipe in the walls, which is much more serious.
Knocking pipes
If you hear knocking when you run the water, it isn’t ghosts! It’s called water hammer, and it’ often happens when a washing machine or faucet is shut off quickly. The hammering is the movement of water in your pipes, and the culprit is often high pressure, loose valves or loose support straps. Some people turn their faucets off more slowly, but the water hammer can cause damage. When it’s time to call in a pro to help, call a plumber, not an exorcist.
Orange is not a good color on tap water.
Orange water
If you have water, and it’s not, erm, water-colored, it could be caused by a few problems. But, the most common color is orange. The orange water is the result of rust, and, unless the water heater is newer, it’s almost always caused by water heater problems. If you turn on a cold tap and get rust-colored water, it isn’t that water heater. It could be caused by a faltering of water services by your municipal water company, too.
Sometimes it’s the kooky things which keep our lives from being humdrum and uninteresting; spooky knocking in the walls, mysteriously missing water or orange water from the tap will make life interesting! You know what else would be interesting? A visit from your favorite plumber to solve your kooky plumbing problem, or even the more mundane ones. Give me a call when you have plumbing troubles. I’d be glad to come out and fix them right up!
If you need an honest, dependable plumber in the Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe or Chandler area, call Jimmy at 480-757-1273
