Tag Archives: water leaks

General Safety Issues

WEIRDEST HOME PLUMBING MYSTERIES SOLVED (GUEST POST)

 By Chelsea Terris 

The inner workings of household plumbing systems are not fully known to every homeowner. Often, problems arise that appear to have no logical explanation. Mysterious though they may be, most plumbing issues have logical causes. Check out the below issues and their strange but sensical origins. 

Condo Conundrum

When the resident manager of a multi-building condominium association is called for help, he finds water leaking down the wall of the kitchen to the bottom floor. A review of the plumbing situation in the unit directly above reveals no leaks and no water running down. As it had been raining constantly for several days, he investigates flashing on fireplace exhausts, adjacent to the wall of each kitchen unit, but detects no leaks. Meanwhile, the amount of water coming into the lower unit increases by the day.

Finally, a leak from the dishwasher in the unit on the very top floor is discovered. The water found its own level through an incomplete brickwork job behind the dishwasher and traveled down, passing the two units below, ending up back in the bottom condominium unit. Mystery solved!

Snaking Clogs

In the city of Jakarta, Indonesia a luxurious home with many bedrooms, each with a full bath, is having problems with clogged toilets. No reason can be found by the homeowner for these clogs. More confusing is the tendency of the plugging problem to switch from one toilet to another in a seemingly random manner.

The solution turns out to be a resident python. The snake entered the home’s plumbing through the network of sewers in the city. The solution? When chemical cleaners were placed in four toilets at once, the unhappy snake decided to clear out of the fifth toilet, post haste.

Shower Shock

In an old house, a homeowner experiences electrical shocks each time he uses a shower in the main bedroom.   The cause is the location of some very old wiring, wrapped around the shower water supply pipe where the insulation had worn away. Once the wiring was replaced, the issue resolved.


When weird plumbing issues strike, your best bet is to call a professional plumber. You never know the real story until a trained expert takes a look, and the causes may amaze you!

 

 

Chelsea Terris

General Safety Issues

STOP EXPENSES FROM LEAKING AWAY (GUEST POST)

 Sent by Dan Oztunc 

As recent extreme weather events have once again demonstrated, water, our most treasured resource, can also be a source of wide spread and costly damage to society. This is not just applicable to structural deterioration and loss of infrastructure induced by flooding, but more commonly with technological issues where even the smallest amount of water leaking into an electric circuit can result in a complete shutdown of the system. With such extensive use of electronics in business, communications and heavy industries, the risk of economic loss by water leaks is higher than ever. 

Fortunately, it is possible for businesses to protect themselves against such difficulties by installing water leak detection systems and alarms, whereby specialist water detecting equipment is fitted in susceptible zones and connected to audible or visual alerts to incite an immediate response. Where necessary, the leak detector can be remotely connected to a water valve shut off system whereby the water supply is cut off on instant discovery of a leak with no need for human intervention. 

Areas of risk include, but are not limited to, water pipes, air conditioning units and drip trays, office tea rooms, wet rooms, under floor water services and water tanks which could overflow. The types of detector equipment available will vary according to the area being monitored and can be mains or battery powered. For example, a spot probe will optically detect changes in water levels in drip trays or detect changes in sound or vibrations from the appearance of unexpected moisture. Alternatively, detection cable can be laid out to cover larger areas and detects leaks in any direction as soon as water comes into contact with it. Advantageously, the wire can be easily wiped off to swiftly reset the detector. 

The alerting systems can range from a simple buzzer and lamp to discreet wall mounted alarms with bright LED outputs which allow for distant visibility and in recent years an SMS alerting service transmits the alarm directly to the individual. So now, by applying a simple preventative measure, there is no reason to allow finances to flow away into unnecessary repair costs.

This article was written by Emily Banham on behalf of CMR Electrical, design and manufacturers of water leak detection equipment and much more. More information can be found on the following link – http://www.cmrelectrical.com/water-leak-detection.htm