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Greetings!  

Summer is in full swing now and I hope that this newsletter finds all of you taking advantage of the beautiful weather as of late and enjoying family vacations. Here are some thoughts for the season.

I've had several phone calls recently from customers with low water pressure problems. There can be several reasons for this:

1. With the current dry conditions, it may simply be that EVERYONE is watering their yards! Peak demand for water usage is in the morning and then again in the late afternoon/early evening. I have had the water pressure in my own home drop to 35 PSI in the evenings during the summer which is low.
2. Your water softener could be malfunctioning. A quick way to check this is to by-pass the water softener and see if the pressure goes up throughout the house. If it does, your softener will either need to be serviced or replaced.
3. If you have low water pressure throughout the house with just the hot water, the problem is with the water heater. Typically the fittings that many plumbers use to connect the hot and cold water lines (dielectric unions) become plugged to the point where very little water can pass through. These fitting need to be replaced to fix the problem. I use solid brass fittings to prevent this from happening with my water heater installations.

If you have a sprinkler system or are an avid gardener, then higher water bills in the summer time are just a way of life. These higher bills can mask other problems however with leaky toilets, faucets or malfunctioning water softeners. Leaky faucets are obvious, but leaking toilets can be harder to diagnose. A quick test is to put food dye in the toilet tank. If the dye shows up in the bowl within the next few minutes, then there is a leak with either the flapper or flush valve.

Water softeners can malfunction in different ways, but being stuck in one of the cycles can waste a lot of water. Softeners do require maintenance and if yours hasn't been serviced recently, doing so would be a good idea.

For years I have been telling customers to turn the water off to the house before they leave for vacation. Tis the season once again. As part of your checklist before leaving for vacation, be sure to add turning off the main water valve to the house. This simple step can spare you a ton of aggravation by preventing a burst hose or water line from flooding the house.

Sincerely,