Watered down Notes about Water
For me, water has been an ongoing lesson that’s relevant to everyone’s location and daily needs. For some reason, a water problem of some sort is usually the first “issue” when it comes to new home ownership. It’s been the reoccurring cause of the spike in my blood pressure since owning a home. First problem came in the toilet form, then a different toilet, then the pool, then the sprinklers, then another toilet, then the basement, the lawn, the sprinklers again…but we can get there later. We all use water, whether it’s from the city, or an in-ground well. Shower, Cleaning, Drinking, Washing, Flushing, Pool, Sprinklers, Garden Hoses…
Being aware of all the water you use and how it can all go wrong may be one of the most important homeownership lessons. Water costs money, it’s not free. Understanding where your water comes from, and how much you actually use are important facts. It’s rare to get a play-by-play walk through with the previous owner about water shut off valves, and condensation trays. So, learn where main water shut off valves live in your home. Label it. If you have outdoor water, know how that water system turns on and off.
It’s important to learn how to turn off the water to toilets too. If you ever find a puddle near your tank. (Yellow puddles are usually poor aim; Brown puddles are a nightmare) Take a look at the back of the base for the toilet valve and turn it to the off position. Hairline cracks in porcelain toilet bowls can drip slowly until you have a puddle of water on the floor. Slow drips are a painful problem because they don’t usually seem to be a problem until it’s really a problem.
UNDERSTAND THAT EVERYTHING YOU PUT DOWN YOUR TOILET HAS TO GO SOMEWHERE… Your toilet paper, feminine products, personal wiping preferences can not only cost you in store, but the big cost is at home. The more ply to the toilet paper, the more chance you have that it’ll get caught somewhere along the way. This slowly creates a blockage, a fatburg, a clog, an uh-oh. Just an FYI – Fatburgs are “a congealed mass in a sewer system formed by the combination of non-biodegradable solid matter, such as wet wipes, and congealed grease or cooking fat.” (Wikipedia). When you’re blessed with blockages that leads to an overflow its usually going to back up to the closest hole. Imagine going down to your basement after a shower to do some laundry and find miscellaneous toilet water all over your floors. Time to call that professional we talked about to.
If your water comes from a well, understand, wells dry out so in a dry season you may have to ration you water usage. Don’t get caught running late for work in the middle of a drought with shampoo in your hair because the shower stopped working. Well water is a combination of ground water, and rain water that collects and is pumped through your homes water system. Plumbing & Electric!! Well water systems also require chemical balance maintenance meaning you have to regulate the pH of your water supply by adding and balancing chemicals. Add amateur Chemist to your skills list, you boss.
In-ground sprinkler systems, garden hoses and automatic pool fillers all have pipes that are connected to your home but live underground. These pipes can break for a number of reasons and the fun part is you may not know until it’s a problem. All of a sudden you may have an oversaturated lawn flooded to ankle deep, or a burst pipe due to the water lines not being properly drained and blown out before winter set in. Both true stories, both human error.
Backed up drains from long hair, product residue or food particles don’t always call for chemicals. If you live in an apartment building, always call your superintendent before spilling chemicals down your drain. Septic systems and water are friends. Understand your septic system, know how to treat it (or call that professional we talked about) and remember that all your poop lives there so you really don’t want it to back up, or overflow. Especially when you have that system replaced before you first move in, and all of a sudden, your master bathroom shower stinks like sewage because something was installed wrong and it didn’t show up on an inspection. Another true story but this time from a mountain house. There are such things as ground water flooding a solid foundation and a basement due to heavy rain so research the benefits of a sub-pump system and other drainage options if you notice a consistent issue during heavy storms. If you live in an area with deep freezes make sure to shut off all outdoor water values and to blow out your pipes to prevent cracking over the season before the change of season. One less expensive headache come spring….