Advocate Blog

Whole House Humidifier

What does a humidifier have to do with plumbing? Aren’t they to be serviced by heating and air conditioning contractors? Well, the lines can be blurred a bit. There was a time when heating and cooling was considered plumbing. But do to technological advancement, the trades got more complicated. And the heating and air conditioning trade was spawned. And for good reason. You want a specialist when hiring a craftsman. Much like water heaters. But in this case, they blend a bit.

What is a humidifier

A humidifier is a device that adds moisture to the air. In this case, I’m discussing the whole house humidifiers mounted to the heating and air conditioning system housing. They have a water connection that’s usually attached to the water line above your water heater. A quarter inch copper tube runs from the water connection to the solenoid valve of the humidifier. And on the simple humidifiers, a stream of water flows over a paper pad. A separate duct bypasses the air conditioning coils and allows air to blow across the wet pad. This humidifies the air in your home.

Advantages of a Humidifier

One of the obvious benefits of the humidifier are that it helps dry skin from dry winters. This is especially true when you have a gas furnace. They tend to make things even dryer. But dry air affects your home as well. The wood work will crack less. The carpets won’t build static as much. And you can keep the temperature down on the furnace more if the humidity level in your home is higher.

Disadvantages of a humidifier

There is an upfront expense of installing a whole house humidifier. And the added moisture can sometimes encourage mold. They tend to waste water. They lower the efficiency of the blower in your hvac system. They need maintenance. If you forget to turn them off in the summer it will increase your air conditioning costs.

What kind of maintenance

A standard whole house humidifier needs to be manually turned on and off each year. That means turning the humidistat down, turning the duct bypass to “summer” mode. This closes the duct bypass. And replacing the humidifier pad in spring. If you don’t, it’ll grow mold. And you don’t want that in your homes air.

Common humidifier repairs

The repairs are where the plumbers will often come into play. Though they are simple machines, you always want a professional to both install and repair them. Have a trained hvac technician install the unit. But the plumbing you might leave to the plumbers.

Humidifier water shutoffs

The water shutoffs are the part of the system that I often deal with. Air

conditioning techs will install the self-piercing saddle valves to create a quick and easy water connection. They’re often used as refrigerator water shutoffs, too.These have problems with calcifying shut. As a plumber, I can tell you that a standard quarter turn shutoff valve, like you’d see under a faucet, is what you want. They have a full port opening and will last a very long time.

Solenoid valve

The humidifier solenoid valve sounds very technical. But it isn’t. It’s just a water shutoff valve that’s controlled by the appliance. They tend to calcify, too. This is especially true when the system is attached to the hot water side of the water heater piping. They have two little wires, two little compression water connections and two little screws. The average diy homeowner can handle this.

Humidifier evaporator pad replacement

The evaporator pad replacement is more maintenance than repair. But it’s worth mentioning. Get

the model of your unit off the front. Go to your local home store and get the new pad. They usually run less than twenty bucks. Pull the cover off the front of your humidifier. Remove the old pad from the plastic framing and slide the new one in.

In conclusion

Don’t let your whole house humidifier intimidate you. They are an important component in many home heating systems. Basic maintenance can be taken care of by your average diy homeowner. But when you need some basic repairs done call a professional. If you find that there’s no water flowing to your humidifier call your local Lees Summit plumber near you. In this case it’s Advocate Master Plumbing. We are also Lee’s Summit sump pump installation and repair specialists!

Washing Machines

The plumbing in washing machines are usually pretty routine. But for an existing washing machine it’s often incorrect. In this post we’ll discuss the plumbing components related to your washing machines.

Washing machines water shutoffs

The water shutoffs are what I work with most. Often when someone moves they find that the water shutoffs not only leak at the spout but they leak at the pack nut. While the pack nut can be easily tightened a leaking spout usually means replacement. You don’t want to try and repair a thirty or fourty year old valve. It’s a waste of time.

Types of shutoffs on washing machines

This may seem silly but the type of water shutoffs is really important. An

older style multi-turn valve is fine and can be repaired easily over the years. And a single lever valve that operates both the hot and cold at the same time may seem convenient. But that valve can also leak between the hot and cold and create a cross connection. (This is the first place I look whenever I have a plumbing customer with intermittent cold water in the hot side.) But individual quarter turn water shutoffs are what I prefer. They are easy to use and rarely leak.

Hoses for washing machines

Standard rubber washing machine hoses are suppose to be replaced every three to five years. And if you have excessive water pressure, even more often. And these normally come stock with the machines. But manufacturers are transitioning to heavy duty plastic. I haven’t heard too many issues with these so far. But my favorite washer hoses are stainless steel. They just don’t break. And you can reuse them. But you may need to replace the washers each time.

Washing machines inlet screens

I’m not trying to be overly inclusive but the screens in the washer water connections are too

important to overlook. A plumbing customer complaining about not having enough hot water flow in their washing machine is almost always a build up in the screens. Since water gets debris in it, the screens need to be regularly cleaned. And not just on the hot side. The cold water side gets clogged too.

Washing machines drain

The washing machine drain isn’t just a piece of pipe. It needs to be 2 inch pipe. Older homes may

have an 1-1/2″ drain pipe. But the pumps were smaller back then. It needs to have a p-trap between 6 and 18 inches above the floor if it’s a relatively new home. In older homes it may be in the basement floor. But you must have a p-trap. Otherwise, you’ll have sewer gas in your home. And you want the top of the washer standpipe to be level with the top of the overflow of the machine. If it’s shorter it can overflow with just a little bit of a flow restriction. If it’s too high the pump is being overworked. It won’t last as long.

Washing machines discharge hose

This is more an appliance thing than a plumbing thing. But sometimes the lines can be blurred. Plumbers will sometimes get calls about a water leak by the washing machine. The discharge hose is, on occasion, the culprit. It’s normally either a recent move that’s dislodged the clamp at the base of the machine or a hose that’s jumped out of the drain. You always want to zip tie them to the water shutoffs if you can.

Washing machine drain pans

If your washing machine is on a second floor you should have a drain pan under it. As a

disclaimer, I hate this. I think pans are more trouble than they’re worth. But it’s plumbing code. The assumption here is that if there’s a leak it’ll go into the pan. But rarely will the leak be under the washing machines. The pan needs to have a drain pipe connected to it that drains indirectly into a basement floor drain. If you have a floor drain under the machine with a p-trap on the second floor, that’s wrong. A p-trap implies it’s connected directly to the sewer. This drain is not going to regularly get water in it. The p-trap will dry out. That means you’ll end up with sewer gas in your house.

Who fixes washing machines

To be clear, plumbers don’t normally repair the machines. We only repair the plumbing for the machines. That would include all the things discussed here. And it would of course include washer drain clogs. But that’s a subject for another post. Just remember that if you need a local Lees Summit plumber, please call Advocate Master Plumbing. If we can’t fix it we can usually refer someone that can. And don’t forget to call us if you need a hot water heater installation in Lee’s Summit or Lee’s Summit sump pump replacement!

Dishwashers

Plumbers usually only deal with the dishwashers water and drain pipes. We do install dishwashers so a little wiring is involved. But the water and drain pipes are what we get the most calls about. There are a few common complaints that my plumbing customers have that we’ll discuss here.

Why can’t I get my dishwasher to fill with water?

Dishwashers water and drain pipes are constructed of only a few materials. The water lines are usually either soft copper or flexible stainless steel. They will sometimes get kinked or clogged with debris or hard water. But a lack of dishwasher water flow is almost always either a damaged water shut off or a water heater flow restriction. I normally hace to replace the angle stop.

Why won’t my dishwasher drain?

If your dishwashers not draining it’s usually an appliance issue like debris in the screens of the pump or a pump failure. But sometimes a homeowner installs their own garbage disposal. When they do they’ll forget to remove the knock out in the disposal before attaching the dishwashers drain pipe. This blocks the water from discharging.

Another reason why it won’t drain is a kitchen sink clog. Since it discharges into the kitchen drain pipes a clog would prevent proper drainage. And sometimes a kitchen drain clog can back up into the dishwasher drain pipe and into the dishwasher itself. That’s why it’s a good idea to elevate the drain pipe as high under the kitchen sink as possible. If the sink clogs it’ll have to almost overflow before any water backs up into the it.

Why does my dishwasher smell?

I was recently working in Lees Summit for a very nice older couple. They had just purchased a brand new dishwasher. They were very proud. But it stunk to high heaven. They cleaned it. They disinfected it. Nothing fixed the problem. There was some food debris in the bottom of their new dishwasher that was too big to fit through the pump screens. So it sat there and rotted.

Another reason is a kitchen sink clog. The clog can be the type we just discussed or it could be a little debris in the garbage disposal blocking the drain port inside. Instead of backing up in the sink it backs up into the dishwasher. Running the garbage disposal should fix it.

Why is my dishwasher leaking?

Leaks can occur from both the dishwasher water and drain pipes. A leak from the drain pipe can occur under the dishwasher. But it usually happens at the kitchen sink drain connection. This will need to be repaired.

If the water pipe leaks it’s normally due to recent work being done. The dishwashers water pipe won’t normally just start leaking unless something has been done to it. Otherwise a dishwasher water leak is the motor/pump seal or the door seal.

Who installs dishwashers?

An inexpensive option to have your dishwasher installed is the store that sold it. As long as there’s no complications they’re a cheaper option. But often the water shut off is old or the water pipe isn’t flexible. So better to call a plumber to install your dishwasher. Call your local Lees Summit plumbers at Advocate Master Plumbing. We’ll get it done right the first time or come back for free. We also offer water heater repairs & sump pump repairs!