By David Heffner on 7/4/2010 7:56 AM

The recent June storms in Indianapolis produced over 9 inches of rain which is not a record amount, but still a lot of rain. Needless to say, many basements in the greater Indianapolis area flooded which prompted several people to call about sump pump back-up systems and specifically about water powered systems.Water powered back-up systems work on a Venturi effect and essentially suck water out of the sump pit using a 3/4 inch water line to feed it. There are several problems with these systems however:They don't pump the volume of a water of a conventional sump pump or back-up pump and could be overwhelmed in a heavy rain.There is no way for the system to test itself to make sure that it is working properly.On the Home Guard brand, I have actually been called out on 2 different occasions when the plastic housing had failed and was pouring water into the sump pit. These basements would have flooded had it not been for the primary sump pump working.With back-up systems for sump pumps, I always tell people that...

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By David Heffner on 4/14/2010 7:56 PM

An old friend from school messaged me today on Facebook about his leaking water heater. He lives in northern Virginia with his family, so a service call for me isn't an option. I did give him the following advice until a plumber can get to his house in the morning: Turn the cold water valve off at the top of the water heater. Turn the gas off to the heater (if electric, turn the breaker off at the breaker panel). Drain the water heater if you can by attaching a garden hose to the drain valve at the bottom of the water heater and running this to the sump pit, floor drain or outside.  If the drain valve doesn't work, use towels to direct the leaking water to a floor drain or sump pit. When the new water heater is installed, ask that it be placed in an aluminum drain pan if at all possible. Install a thermal expansion tank for the water heater if you don't already have one. Install a 3/4 inch full port iron pipe ball valve at the bottom of the water heater with a brass pipe screwing into the tank and...

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By David Heffner on 4/13/2010 9:08 PM

I got a call today for a sewer gas odor coming from a floor drain in a dentist's office. The call came to me through the  property manager, so I didn't have the opportunity to speak to anyone in the dentist's office directly. I thought to myself, "Slam dunk." Pour some water into the floor drain and this should take care of the problem. Floor drains are notorious for having their traps dry out which then allows sewer gas back into the house/building. After getting to the office however, the office manager told me that she had poured 4 1/2 gallons of water into the floor drain yesterday. So much for that idea. Looking around the area of the floor drain, I couldn't see where else the problem could be coming from, so was going to tape off the floor drain with duct tape and see what that did. Just then, the office manager told me that they had removed an instrument washer (similar to a dishwasher, but for dental instruments) about a month ago. Bingo! I found the drain for the instrument washer in the wall behind the...

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By David Heffner on 4/12/2010 6:05 PM

We all make mistakes. Is admitting a misdiagnosis in a blog penance enough? I'll have to ask Father Mike what he thinks.

The water heater that I thought I had fixed on Friday went back to acting sporadically over the weekend. The homeowner called me this morning with the bad news and I was able to get back to the house this afternoon. After installing a new burner assembly for the water heater, it fired up fine. I ran it through 2 heating cycles before leaving. The one point of concern was the cat litter box right next to the heater. The manufacturer said that the ammonia from the cat urine shouldn't affect the heater.

If admitting the misdiagnosis in a blog isn't good enough, maybe leaving your tool bag on the customer's front sidewalk is. I just got a phone call asking me if I was missing my tools! I'm too young to be having senior moments...

By David Heffner on 3/20/2010 7:09 AM

Having a functioning sump pump and battery back-up system isn't necessarily enough to guarantee that your basement won't flood from water coming into the sump pit. I have seen basements flood with both items in place because the sump pump discharge line was either frozen up or obstructed going out to the storm drain. The job pictured below had the discharge line almost completely frozen over close to where it goes into the ground. I heard the alarm for the battery back-up system going off while in the basement working on the water heater. I looked into the sump pit and saw the water swirling around, but not going down. I have seen this many times over the years and this was an indication that the pump(s) were running, but the water couldn't get out. I quickly ran outside and cut the discharge line. I got soaked in the process, but got the was able to allow the water to get out of the house. I found the problem with the discharge line over the winter and asked the customer to contact me when the weather got warmer...

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By David Heffner on 3/16/2010 6:16 PM

I received a call on a Tuesday morning from the wife of a deployed Colonel in the Indiana National Guard to tell me that she had a leaking water heater that had flooded the basement. She had been told by her heating and air company who had looked at the water heater that it needed to be replaced. The husband typically makes all of these types of decisions regarding home repairs, but he is presently in Afghanistan and won't be home until November. It was up to the wife to get the water heater taken care of. The catch to all of this was that the husband had his heart set on a tankless water heater. I arrived at the Greenwood home at 7:30 PM after running all of my scheduled calls. 

The challenge to installing a tankless water heater in this house was that the mechanical room was located right in the middle of a finished basement. With the help of one of the family's sons that works in construction, we were able to determine how to run the flue pipe for the tankless heater through the...

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By David Heffner on 3/15/2010 7:33 PM

Spring is not here yet officially, but the rainy season for the year has started. I received a call from a neighbor at 7:15 this morning telling me that his sump pump would not shut off. When I got to the house, I determined that the pump switch was bad and that the pump needed to be replaced. What caught me off guard was the fact that I found tree roots in the sump pit coming from the perimeter tile. I found a White Birch located right on the corner of the house, close to where the sump pit is inside. I'm not sure how the roots will be removed, but the tree definitely has to go. Along with the tree will be the stump and the entire root system to make sure that the perimeter tile is never compromised by roots again. The complicating factor with the tree removal is the gas meter. Given the close proximity of the tree, the gas company will have to be contacted first before anything else is done. The average life of a sump pump is 3-5 years on average. The same is true of batteries for battery back-up sump pump systems....

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By David Heffner on 12/27/2009 9:32 PM

Some people know where the main water shut-off valve is for their home, but many do not. It's one of those out of sight, out of mind items that doesn't become an issue until shutting the water off is necessary. If people wait until an emergency, the water damage done can result in not just hundreds, but thousands of dollars. That being said, now is the time to find out where that valve is and make sure that it is working properly. If you're not sure where or how to do this, spend the money to have a licensed plumber do this for you.

For more information, please click on this link:  Winter Plumbing Tips

By David Heffner on 10/7/2009 10:20 AM

I had a customer call after she had discovered that a rubber washing machine had blown apart. Fortunately she was able to shut the water off to the house immediately and the water damage was minimal.

Lesson learned:

1. Replace rubber hoses with stainless steel braided hoses that won't burst.
2. Know where the main water shut-off valve is to the house.

Questions or comments? Please contact us at: Heffner and Associates Blog Post

By David Heffner on 9/23/2009 8:41 AM

I had a customer call me on Monday morning to tell me that he had flooded his house because of what he thought would be a simple plumbing repair. While attempting to fix a leaking faucet for his Jacuzzi tub, the customer realized that he needed to shut the water off to the house first before attempting to make the needed repair. Unfortunately, he found this out after taking the faucet apart. By the time that he got the water shut off to the house, the 2nd floor and part of the 1st floor of the house had flooded.

Lesson learned:  Always turn the water off to a plumbing fixture before attempting any type of repair.

Questions or comments? Please contact us at: Heffner and Associates Blog Post