Our house is from 1978 with Galvanized Pipes / maybe some might be iron pipe under the house but I'm not sure, its all insulated and hardly any clearance. I don't think any of the previous owners ever flushed the lines or drained the water heater in the past. My old water heater (30 gallon) was so bad it only gave me 6 minutes of hot water. It's since been replaced with a new 30 gallon and the tub works great. I replaced all the pipes i can without going under the house.
Is there anything to fix the clogged lines, the bathroom sink Hot is clogged and the Hot & Cold in the kitchen are clogged. I've had people tell me to backflush it with air from the sink but im not sure of the exact procedure. Just looking for more ideas, maybe there is something special wire to run in the pipes to clean them out?
2007-03-02 17:02:05 · 5 answers · asked by Kwikiewit 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
I removed the supply line at each point and tried back flushing it with air, but it only helped for a few minutes.. allot of dark rusty water and junk came out each time i turned it back on. i think what i might have to do is hookup a hose to the pipe connection under the sink, open the main water valve back up and let it flush out the debris. i really dont have the time and money to replace all the old pipes right now.
2007-03-02 19:19:51 · update #1
bingo! take the supply line loose from the fixture and blow the gunk in the fixture back into a container of some sort under the sink. run a short piece of hose out the window and turn the water back on the restriction at the point where it enters the valve is where it usually plugs and since there is no restriction going to the hose it should pass. if it does plug up at the fixture supply valve turn off the water and run a wire down the line through the valve and retry.
2007-03-03 08:33:31 · answer #1 · answered by oreos40 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
your best option is to replace the pipes with something other than galvanized. I just did this in one of my properties, yea it sucks but it's the only real fix there is. I would have put in a bigger water heater too 30 gallons ain't much less money than a 40 gallon (for future reference) Take the aerators off your faucets and see if they are plugged, you might get lucky. Another option is to remove the supply lines from the stops under the sink and see if they are plugged in there anywhere.
Turn water off, remove supply from the stop then open the stop and see if there is pressure. Open the faucet and blow through the supply line etc etc. 9 times out of 10 when you disturb/work on galvanized plumbing you loosen up the crud and it blocks up something.
2007-03-02 17:24:29 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The old pipes are probably your problem. I want to ask you if you replaced the line with copper and why not? if you didn't. These won't hold the lime and rust like the iron pipes. Mine were clogged and I replaced them with 3/4 inch lines from the pump and 1/2 inch take off lines, all with copper. I can turn on the washer and still take a shower with no affects to the shower or washer. Yes, it going to cost you a little if you do your own work. It doesn't take long or much to learn to solder lines, practice is all. Go for it.
2007-03-02 22:15:06 · answer #3 · answered by cowboydoc 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The best ideal is one that you already have thought of and that is to back flush with air from different points in the bathroom, other wise I think you will have to replace all your faucet seals that will open the line and you can clean the rust and debre at the same time.
2007-03-02 17:28:08 · answer #4 · answered by puddog57 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry, your going to have to lube up and get under there to replace them.
2007-03-02 17:08:40 · answer #5 · answered by H-vaker 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋