Chronic plumbing problems

Lately, it has been nothing but one plumbing problem after another in my house.

My toilet valve doesn't always close completely, and will sometimes drip-drip-drip into the lower bowl until the next flush. Two weeks ago, the tub drain plugged up solid. Last week my kitchen faucet fell apart.

Last night, I was waiting for a load of laundry when I caught a whiff of musty/poo smell. I went downstairs to investigate, and found a puddle steadily spreading from the sump crock as the washing machine drained into it. Frickin' float came loose.

So obviously my plumbing is slowly crumbling... Should I just tear it all out and start over, or deal with the repeated floodings and disasters as they come?

Reply to
dennisgauge
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just work the problems unless you want to rebuild your home.

how many years did you go with no or few troubles?

Reply to
bob haller

I would do this in an organized way... for the leaking stuff, how many of the same age, consider fixing them. Then consider ages of stuff like hot water heaters and compare to average useful age and consider them too (even if not leaking). Of course this is assuming you have money to spend and you own the house and want to stay put for a while.

Reply to
Doug

Nothing you cite sounds like a generic problem with the whole house. Look at each incident as an individual case.

Eg. If the float in the sump pump came off because of general wear, replace all the worn parts.

Reply to
Dan Espen

It sounds like the voice of frustration speaking here. I'm sure that you are just venting. (pun intended) ;-)

Obviously, "tearing it all out and starting over" is no small task and unless you are planning to spend a huge sum of money and live through a major renovation, it's not even a viable option.

It sounds like a number of items have simply passed their life expectancy. Replace them as they break and those problems will go away for a very long time. It's just that they are happening all at once.

Toilet innards are pretty cheap. Replace everything in the tank and consider upgrading to a dual flush mechanism.

The kitchen sink was calling for a new faucet anyway, so consider a pull-out sprayer model, soap dispenser and filtered drinking water tap.

It was obviously time for a full inspection of the sump system, so now is a good time to clean it up and replace any worn parts. You might even consider upgrading to a battery back-up or street water back-up system.

The stopped-up tub drain? Plunge it, snake it, remove the trap and clean it. If the clog was very close to the tub, there no need to be ripping everything out. The drain from my tub is less than 4 feet from the toilet stack, so when the tub drain clogs up but the toilet still works, I know that I don't have to search very far for the clog. It always turns out to be the rat shaped mass caused by the girl's hair.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

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