Hey guys I have been using this forum to get advice on household repairs over the years. However, I have not been able to find a cure for one particular problem by searching and finally had to join, LOL.
I just bought a new(3 years old) house and am finding a few problems. First of all, let me say that where I live has extremely hard municipal well water and the house does not have a water softener, yet... Althought one is being installed within the next two weeks. So, if I can't fix these problems before then, I will just ask the plumber installing the softener to take a look at the rest of the system. Although the cost savings and challenge are two things I enjoy by doing it myself. I think I already know the answer to a couple of problems, but I will post them all in case they are related.
1. First thing I noticed when I moved into the house, is if I flush an upstairs (2nd story) toilet, particularly the main one. I will get a loud bang in the wall on the main floor. Only one, rarely two. It sounds like someone hits the wall with a hammer but it sounds like the drain pipe to me and not the water lines. However, I am not sure.
2. when the backyard hose is used, I get a very loud squealing noise from the outlet. It sounds like a cat dying, lol. This one, I think is just a bad anti-backflow hose bib but I could be wrong.
3. Sometimes I have low water pressure for a few minutes when I first turn on the water. I've only noticed it once when I was using the kitchen sink and fixed it, or at least I think I fixed it, by turning the water on and off a few times. My wife says she has noticed it a few times and just waits a minute with the water on for the pressure to build. FYI - the kitchen and sink and backyard hose are on off of the same pipe and within a foot or so of each other, as the backyard hose outlet comes in from outside under the sink.
All piping in my house is flexible plastic. I *think* it's called PEX.
Any suggestions for fixing these problems?
I just bought a new(3 years old) house and am finding a few problems. First of all, let me say that where I live has extremely hard municipal well water and the house does not have a water softener, yet... Althought one is being installed within the next two weeks. So, if I can't fix these problems before then, I will just ask the plumber installing the softener to take a look at the rest of the system. Although the cost savings and challenge are two things I enjoy by doing it myself. I think I already know the answer to a couple of problems, but I will post them all in case they are related.
1. First thing I noticed when I moved into the house, is if I flush an upstairs (2nd story) toilet, particularly the main one. I will get a loud bang in the wall on the main floor. Only one, rarely two. It sounds like someone hits the wall with a hammer but it sounds like the drain pipe to me and not the water lines. However, I am not sure.
2. when the backyard hose is used, I get a very loud squealing noise from the outlet. It sounds like a cat dying, lol. This one, I think is just a bad anti-backflow hose bib but I could be wrong.
3. Sometimes I have low water pressure for a few minutes when I first turn on the water. I've only noticed it once when I was using the kitchen sink and fixed it, or at least I think I fixed it, by turning the water on and off a few times. My wife says she has noticed it a few times and just waits a minute with the water on for the pressure to build. FYI - the kitchen and sink and backyard hose are on off of the same pipe and within a foot or so of each other, as the backyard hose outlet comes in from outside under the sink.
All piping in my house is flexible plastic. I *think* it's called PEX.
Any suggestions for fixing these problems?