4 Plumbing, Electricity, HVAC
This chapter covers the electro-mechanical systems of a house. Inherently, the questions overlap with those of other chapters. Heating and air conditioning are related to insulation, plumbing is related to the material in the chapter on kitchens and baths, etc. But the concentration here is focused on the direct workings of the systems.
Q. In planning our new home to be built, hopefully, next spring, we wondered what advice you could give us on where to place the water heater to be most efficient. What size should it be for two adults and two teen-age children and what fuel do you recommend?
A. Much depends on the layout of the house. For instance, if your house is to be two stories with two bathrooms upstairs as well as your laundry facilities, it is more efficient to have the main water heater upstairs close to the bathrooms. Lavatories are generally used in spurts and it is a waste of hot water to run the faucets until you get some. Tubs, showers and clothes washers are less wasteful that way because the hot water is run for longer periods. You may want to set the water heater’s thermostats at 120°F. This will be plenty for bathrooms, prevent the risk of scalding, and lengthen the life of the heater.
The ideal is also to have a small water heater under or next to the kitchen sink as hot water is used in spurts there as well, and the dishwasher needs very hot water. This heater should be set at 140°F for that reason. Most modern dishwashers have heating elements built-in for washing but some do not for rinse cycles, so the hotter the water getting in, the better. You will need a check valve on the cold-water feed to the heater or you will get heated water feedback on the cold side.
The initial cost of two water heaters is greater but the economy in fuel should help amortize it over time and the convenience is great. Electric water heaters are the most flexible for both these uses. Assuming you also will have a powder room on the first floor, try to locate it close to the kitchen, and pipe hot water to it from the kitchen heater.
Be sure that you have the heaters and all pipes insulated—both hot and cold. Copper pipes take a lot of heat out of the water before it gets to the faucets. Also, if your water supply is a deep well, insulating the cold water pipes will prevent summertime condensation, but it must be done thoroughly to avoid having condensation form on the uninsulated sections of pipes.
As far as the type of fuel to choose, if your house will be heated with oil, propane, or natural gas-fired warm air, you may want to consider the same fuel for the main water heater. In this case, it may be best to install it in the basement as it will need to be vented to a chimney or directly to the outside. The smaller kitchen heater should be electric to simplify installation and avoid the venting. If your heating system will be hydronic (hot water), a side-arm water storage tank is a good solution. It may be set so hot water circulates constantly through the pipes to give you immediate hot water at all faucets.
Q. When I turn on the hot water faucets in the second-floor bathroom of our 60- year-old home, it takes two or three minutes for warm water to arrive. Since we are contemplating gutting this bathroom to remodel it, what can the do-it-yourselfer do to remedy this situation, or does it require professional help?
A. The length of time it takes for hot water to be delivered depends on the length of the pipes that run between the water heater and the fixtures and the diameter of the pipes, the latter being, perhaps, affected by corrosion in the case of galvanized pipes in an old house. You would see rusty water come out first when you turn the faucet on if this condition exists.
If possible, it would help to insulate the pipes from the water heater to the fixtures. It won’t do much good just to insulate them in the second floor bath during remodeling. Another possible option, if you have room, would be to add a second water heater to the bathroom during your remodeling.
Hot water goes cold quickly
Q. I was so excited to find your blog. I am hoping you can help us. We just replaced our water heater as we were only getting about 10 minutes or less of hot water. The water starts out hot, then it starts dwindling and the water goes cold. Now we have a brand new 40-gallon water heater, and still only 10 minutes, sometimes five minutes of hot water. Both showers, washer, all plumbing goes cold. Do you have any idea what this could be?
A. There are two possibilities. If, when you turn on a hot water faucet, it takes quite a while to get hot water, it is likely that the hot and cold water pipes are reversed (and that they were that way on the old heater as well and have not been changed). In that case, cold water is fed at the top of the tank and sinks to the bottom.
When you open a hot water faucet, water is drawn from the bottom of the tank instead of from the top and you get an initial draw of cold water until it is exhausted and hot water is drawn. However, new cold water enters the tank and soon the hot water is exhausted and you get cold water again. Check the connections to see if they are reversed by opening a hot water faucet and putting your hand on the pipe that is connected to the hot water outlet. If the pipe is cold and stays cold, that’s your problem. Have a plumber reverse the pipes.
But if the pipes are properly connected and your water heater is electric, the problem may be due to the lower heating element not operating (a wiring problem or a defective element) so you only have hot water in the top 33 to 40 percent of the heater. A licensed plumber can verify this and replace the element if need be.
Q. Last year, we purchased a 3,000-square-foot ranch home that is a little over 70 feet long. The water heater is in the basement on one side of the house and our master bathroom is on the other side. We waste a lot of water getting hot water to the showers and sinks. The kitchen is in the middle of the house and, again, we have to run the water a long time just to get hot water.
I keep hearing about “on-demand water heaters” and was wondering what you could tell me about them. I really would need something just to get hot water to the kitchen sink and then to supply the master bathroom, which has two sinks and a shower. For the kitchen sink we would just need something small, since we usually use a dishwasher for large loads and the sink for washing our hands and small items. The master bathroom is used every day and wastes the most water.
A. On-demand water heaters offer savings in energy, as they use only the fuel that operates them when hot water is needed; they do not store hot water for future use. You didn’t mention the type of water heater you now have, so it is difficult for me to be very specific in my recommendations. However, in most cases it would be difficult for the water savings to offset the cost of an on-demand heater, which may cost $400 to $700 depending on model and size.
In your case, accomplishing what you want—instant hot water in the kitchen sink, dishwasher and master bedroom—will be a sizable investment, as you will need two heaters. As retrofits, on-demand electric water heaters require connections to the cold-water pipe under the kitchen sink and bathroom vanity, capping the hot water pipes, and heavy electric connections. One popular model (the type you would need for the master bathroom) requires 240 volts and three 40-amp breakers. The model needed for the kitchen would also require 240 volts, but with two 40-amp breakers. Gas-fired on-demand heaters are more energy-efficient, but require exterior venting through a wall or roof in addition to a gas line.
You might want to weigh other options, comparing costs and convenience. These include the following:
- Insulate the hot-water pipes in your basement if they are accessible; this will speed the arrival of hot water somewhat as it will reduce the heat loss through the copper pipes. It will also keep the water in the pipes hotter longer.
- Ask a licensed plumber if he or she can install a small circulator on your existing water heater pipes to circulate hot water constantly to all fixtures. This can be done only if there is access to the pipes and fixtures from an unfinished basement ceiling. The pipes should also be insulated.
- Install small electric water storage heaters under the kitchen and master bathroom sinks. You’ll also need 240 volts for this solution.
Water-heater options in a cold climate
Q. We have a 16-year old, 80-gallon water heater that still heats water, but not as much as it used to. Given its age and other factors, we’ve decided to replace it. Our household includes 3 people, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a clothes washer, and a dishwasher. Since we moved to Vermont several years ago, we often have anywhere from one to five guests. (Everyone wants to visit Vermont!) We want to have enough water so that we don’t need to worry about how many people are taking showers in the morning.
We are considering getting an 80-gallon electric heater with a 12-year warranty. A propane heater would not work because of access issues — it would be located on the far side of the house and impossible to reach, especially in winter. We like the idea of an instant hot water heater. I’ve heard, however, that these are impractical because of our cold winters. What I’ve been told is that, because the water coming in is so cold, the heater cannot make the water hot enough. Is this true?
A. Instant water heaters do work in Vermont; you just have to get the right size. Since there are access issues with a propane water heater, an electric water heater sounds the best although you should talk to a plumbing contractor to find out if there is a practical solution to the use of a propane water heater, which would recover faster.
If you decide to go with an electric water heater, consider the all-plastic Marathon water heaters; they are guaranteed against rust and leakage for as long as you own the house.
On-demand water heaters
Q. I recently was in Home Depot and saw a water heater that hangs on the wall and heats on demand—it is a propane unit. I wonder about the efficiency of such a unit and how it compares to our 80-gallon electric water heater that heats during the off-peak times.
We have never run out of hot water but don’t use a lot at a time anyway. There are two of us in the household and we are away at work for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Also, our water is very hard and it runs through a softener. Does it make sense to consider this alternative to heating our hot water?
A. On-demand water heaters are very efficient as water is only heated when you need it. They are very popular in Europe. What you need to consider is how long it would take you to recover its cost and its installation if your electric water heater is in good condition and operating on off-peak power. (I hope you also have your current water heater insulated.)
When your electric water heater is ready for replacement, it would be a very good time to consider installing an on-demand gas-fired water heater.
Tankless water heaters
Q. I have been considering installing a tankless water heater which creates hot water on-demand. The gas models require a pilot light. There is also an electric tankless water heater. I would appreciate your comments and advice on these devices.
A. There are gas-fired tankless water heaters that do not require that a pilot light be on all the time if that is your concern. They have an electronic ignition that lights the heater when hot water is drawn.
Gas-fired tankless heaters require venting to the outside whereas electric models do not. Some can be vented through the wall and require a power-vent, while others must be vented through the roof. Gas-fired models would be my choice; they are available for LP or natural gas. Some models may qualify for significant tax credits. Check it out with your dealer.
Q. Our water system is very hard on hot-water tanks. Somewhere we heard that there is such a thing as fiberglass hot-water tanks. If this is a reality, do you know where we could buy an oil-fired fiberglass hot-water tank?
A. Unfortunately, all oil- and gas-fired water heaters are glass lined. Apparently, the heat from oil or gas is too hot for any plastic. But, if you wish to convert to electricity, the Marathon plastic water heaters, manufactured by Rheem, are guaranteed for as long as you own your home. Ask your power company about these or check www.marathonheaters.com.
Q. Several months ago, I had a new 40-gallon gas-fired water heater installed. The temperature setting is at “normal.” Immediately after it was installed, when I was showering, the temperature of the water got colder and colder, requiring me to adjust the faucet to add more hot water. By the end of the shower, the water was still cool even though the faucet was all the way to the hot side. At the suggestions of two plumbers, I had a new cartridge installed in the shower faucet; the balancing device was also checked and found to be working satisfactorily. Is this problem caused by a faulty water heater, or improper installation of the water heater?
A. It sounds to me as if the cold water line was installed on the hot-water fitting of the heater, and the hot water line on the cold-water fitting. To check this out, look for the “hot” and “cold” markings on top of your water heater and turn a hot water faucet on anywhere in the house. Then put one hand on each of the pipes at the top of the heater. If you feel cold water coming through the pipe connected to the fitting marked “hot,” you have found the problem. What is happening is that cold water is fed at the top of the tank instead of to its bottom through the dip tube, also called the “cold water inlet.” The solution is to reverse the connections.
Ideal hot water temperature settings
Q. Here is a question that has puzzled me for a long time. If the water temperature control of a water heater is set too low, more hot water from the tank is required to, say, take a shower or draw a bath at a comfortable temperature. Conversely, if the water temperature control is set too high, the water can scald but less hot water is needed for any given purpose. What is the proper and the most effective setting for a gas water heater? How about electric water heaters?
A. The proper setting is what suits any family the best. The most efficient setting for energy conservation is generally considered to be 120°F. This is because more energy is lost through the jacket as the differential between the heater’s water temperature and the ambient temperature increases.
Q. I had my gas water heater replaced because the water coming out of the old one was milky. Now the same is happening with the new one and the plumber who installed it doesn’t know why. I can’t afford another one. What is the problem?
A. Fill a glass with water and watch it for about five minutes. If the water begins to clear up from the bottom, it will tell you that the milky condition is due to gases in the water being released into the atmosphere. This happens when water is heated and cannot hold as much gas as when cooler.
In your case, it may be due to too high a temperature setting. Try lowering it to 120°F. if it is at 140°F.—a setting often used for dishwashers. It may also be caused by the free hydrogen film on the sacrificial anode in a new heater, which protects the tank against cathodic corrosion, but this will disappear within a year.
Too-high pressure from the main water pipe may also contribute to this condition, as can solder fingers that solidified during the connection of the heater, but this is far-fetched and uncommon. The fact that you had this experience with the previous heater tells you that it has nothing to do with the old or new heater, and replacing it again will not solve the existing condition.
Q. I recently had a new gas water heater installed. It appears to be insulated with ordinary fiberglass. When I told the gas company serviceman I intended to put on it the insulating jacket just removed from the former electric heater, he said I should not do it because the additional insulation would cause the tank to sweat and rust through from the outside. How could this occur?
A. I have a hard time visualizing that happening, since the two insulating jackets would keep the outer metal jacket warm. What he may have meant is that an insulating jacket for an electric heater should not be installed “as is” around a gas heater. The top of gas-fired heaters should not be insulated so as not to interfere with the draft hood—and neither should the very bottom where the control and air ports are located.
Q. The joint of the pipe feeding solar heated water to the heat exchanger that heats domestic water in my house keeps coming apart at the exit tee from the gang of solar panels. I have to re-solder it every couple of months. The temperature of the return line reaches 220°F., but is it enough to melt solder?
And what about anti-freeze? I have used propylene glycol made for solar systems at $18 per gallon; I have also used the type used in RVs which costs about $3 per gallon and have noticed no difference.
A. The solder you have used should hold; perhaps the joint was not clean enough. At this point, it seems that you should call in a professional solar installer to investigate as there are a number of possibilities such as: 220°F. is too hot (glycol degrades and becomes acidic over 180°F.); inadequate circulation; sensor location; wrong location for the feeder pipe; etc.
As for the anti-freeze, the type used in solar systems contains inhibitors and can withstand higher temperatures.
Q. The hot water faucets in my 33-year-old house give off about one-third of the water they should, compared to the cold. Any idea what causes this?
A. First, check to see if the cold water feed to your water heater is fully open. Another possibility: If your water is heated in a coil in your boiler, the pipes may be encrusted with calcium that restricts the flow, like arteriosclerosis does in people. If that is the case, you’ll have to have a plumber run acid through the pipes to dissolve the deposits.
Shower turns too hot and cold
Q. Several months ago we had our powder room and upstairs bathroom remodeled. Ever since we have had a problem that the plumber cannot resolve.
When someone is showering and cold water is turned on elsewhere, the shower water becomes scalding and, if hot water is turned on, the shower water becomes very cold. Watering the lawn also changes the temperature of any water used in the house. The plumber told me there is nothing he can do about it.
A. Your plumber is not up to date with modern technology. First, he should have used a ¾-inch water line until he got to the point of teeing-off to each faucet with ½-inch lines.
It’s too late to do that now, but you can have the shower valve changed to a balanced-flow valve. All faucet manufacturers make them; they keep the water temperature even regardless of what other fixture is turned on. It will only help at the shower, but that’s where it’s most crucial.
Water drips from valve on water heater
Q. I have a gas water heater in my home that was installed six years ago. About four months ago it started dripping from the pressure relief valve. Thinking that the valve was faulty, I replaced it. However the new one is doing the same thing. Any idea what may be causing this?
A. You didn’t mention it, but are you also getting very hot, even steamy water at the faucets? If so, the thermostat on the heater may be set too high. Lower it and see if this solves the problem.
If the water temperature is not unusually high, the problem may be a change in the pressure of the water system. Assuming that you are on a city water system, something may have changed in the last few months; the city pressure may have been raised or a pressure reducer may have failed. You should have a licensed plumber check your water system out to determine what is causing the dripping at the p&t (pressure and temperature relief) valve. He or she may need to install a pressure reducer or a small expansion tank to take care of the problem.
Emergency shut-off for water heater
Q. Some time ago, I recall reading about a product that will shut off the water supply to a water heater if and when it leaks. I could kick myself for not paying more attention at the time. I hope you can give me the name of the product and the address of the manufacturer so I may contact them directly.
After suffering the damages caused by a heater run amok, your help would be greatly appreciated.
A. The product is called WAGS and is manufactured by Taco. WAGS stands for Water and Gas Safety Valve. It must be installed by a certified technician and you can find the nearest one by looking Taco up on their Web site: www.wagsvalve.com. Follow the prompts to find the nearest certified installer.
WAGS can be used for electric and oil-fired water heaters as well as gas. It is totally mechanical, with no electric connection. Your heater must be set in a drip pan at least ¾-inch deep, and wide enough to allow the device to sit next to the heater. When the heater starts leaking and the water level in the pan reaches the opening on the WAGS, it causes a fibrous element to dissolve to activate a spring-loaded piston that shuts off the water supply. For gas heaters, it also shuts off the gas valve. Therefore, the leakage is restricted to the contents of the water heater.
Q. We just put in a water softener because we have very hard water. How can the mineral stains in the bathtub be cleaned?
A. Try a product like Lime-Away or Zud. You should be able to find these in hardware stores and in the cleaning-supply aisle of supermarkets. Read and follow the directions on the container, as both of these products have caustic effects on some surfaces, and care is required in handling them. Wear rubber gloves.
Calcium deposits slow refill of toilet
Q. We have lived in our 35-year-old split-level home for 10 years. Our water is very hard. We’ve noticed a considerable change in how long the toilets take to refill after flushing, especially in the last six months—as long as three to four minutes. I thought it might be caused by mineral build-up in the pipes. Do you concur, and what do you recommend to correct the problem?
A. Your diagnosis is correct. Calcium deposits are restricting the diameter of the pipes, similar to plaque in arteries. A water softener should correct this condition but you will probably have to replace the inner workings of the toilets; it’s not worth the cost to try to clean them. As to the rest of the piping in the house, if you have no serious problem with flow restriction in them, just live with it. The only other choice would be replacement.
Water gets murky when it stays in plumbing pipes
Q. I recently installed a pedestal sink in my half bath off my kitchen. Due to the sink bowl being larger and the pedestal having to set out further to support the bowl, the water was shut off in the basement for a month while the floor was chopped up for relocation of the drain and supply lines.
Upon reconnecting of these lines, all seems fine except that both hot and cold water run colored for 10 seconds. Is this normal and when will it stop and run clear immediately?
A. I am sure that by now you have found that the water is running clear. It is normal for water standing in lines and not used for a long time to run murky for a while. Perhaps you have old galvanized pipes, which may be rusty inside.
Milky-colored cold water
Q. I have had some minor plumbing work done in the bathroom. Now the cold-water tap emits milky-colored water for the first minute or so. If the water is left to sit in the bowl, it will clear up in a minute. The water has excessive air in it. How does it get in the water and what can be done about it?
A. Did you have a new faucet installed? If so, the aerator may be the cause. Unscrew it and see if it solves the problem. If it does, you may want to try a different aerator, available at a hardware store.
Q. Whenever we shower, our bathtub gets brown. We have the same problem with our sinks. What is the problem and what can we do to get these stains off? I have tried all kinds of cleaners without success.
A. Either you have old galvanized pipes that are mixing rust with the water passing through them, or else you have water with a high content of iron or sediment. You can have the water tested by the health department.
If the problem is caused by the pipes, the solution is to replace them before they start leaking. However, if the problem is with the water itself, you should have an iron (rust and sediment) filter installed near the entrance service or just past the pressure tank.
There are two kinds of iron in water. Most iron comes out in oxidized form and is controlled by a water softening system. But ferrous iron or iron in unoxidized form cannot be treated by a water softener. You would need to add an aeration system followed by a dedicated backwashing iron filter. If you also need a water softener, the aeration system and the backwashing filter would have to be installed before the water gets to the water softener. Have a water treatment specialist analyze your water and propose a solution.
If you haven’t already, try using Lime-Away or Zud to remove the stains; one of them should work. Heed the cautionary statements on the containers; they are potent chemicals.
Acidic water erodes copper pipe
Q. My wife and I bought a 40-year-old house nearly three years ago. In the basement, above a finished ceiling we had to have a plumber fix a pinhole leak in a copper pipe. It was not at a joint or a bend.
We have just discovered a second occurrence of this problem (in a different pipe). Nothing is coming in contact with the pipe at the point of the leaks. There appears to be a small reddish stain around this most recent pin hole. I’ve never heard of problems with copper pipes leaking like this. Do you have any insight as to what could be causing these leaks?
A. It sounds very much as if your water has low pH (below the neutral reading of 7); in other words, your water is acidic and it has eaten the copper pipes over 40 years. This usually occurs on horizontal pipe runs. You are facing the replacement of all copper runs as this is not going to get better. You should have your water analyzed and an acid neutralizer installed to prevent further damage.
Blue shower floors caused by acidic water
Q. About ten years ago, I replaced the galvanized pipes in my house with copper. We are on city water, which is very soft and slightly acidic. The floors of the showers are blue from leaching copper. Is this a problem with the pipes themselves or with the water?
A. The bluish-green color you describe is generally an indication that the copper pipes are being eaten by acidic water. It can shorten the life of copper pipes considerably depending on the degree of acidity. You may want to have a water specialist test your water and make recommendations.
Red-orange stains in toilet, sinks, and shower
Q. I moved into a new home a couple of years ago. The home is linked up to township water and sewer. Shortly after I moved in, I found faint red-orange stains in my toilets, in my sinks around the drains, and in the base of my shower.
I clean my bathrooms weekly or even more often, so it is not dirt. I have tried everything — bleach, Lime-A-Way, you name it — to get the stains out, but nothing works. It is driving me nuts. I guess it might be some sort of mineral deposit? Please help and tell me how to get rid of the stains and prevent them from building up again.
A. The stains are caused by iron in the water. Not all minerals are removed from town water so iron is often found. Iron comes in two forms: unoxidized (or ferrous) and oxidized. Unoxidized iron can be removed with a water softener while oxidized iron can be removed with a backwater iron filter. Iron in town water is likely to be oxidized because of chlorination, which may be the case here.
Have a water specialist analyze your water and suggest the type of treatment needed. You can find a water specialist in your Yellow Pages under “Water Analysis”, “Water Filtration %26 Purification Equip.” or “Water Softening %26 Conditioning Equip., Svce %26 Supls” or equivalent. Or else go to www.kinetico.com, and type your Zip Code into the field at top where it says “Find your local water expert.”
Sand in the water
Q. Our 20-year-old artesian well is 300 feet deep. Recently we have had sand coming out of our faucets. Someone offered to install a sand divider down the well for $500. Is it a good idea? Our pump was replaced a year ago, 10 feet from the bottom of the well. The sand is plugging our faucets and ruining our clothes.
A. Well walls do collapse at times. Perhaps the pump should have been put farther from the bottom. What the person is proposing is to install a substrainer. It’s a plastic sleeve with slots that prevent sand from being sucked into the pump. Sand can ruin a pump, as well as other parts of your plumbing. The price quoted seems high as substrainers cost around $100, and the labor to pull the pump out and install it shouldn’t be that much; perhaps another $100. Get another price.
You may also want to have a rust and sediment filter installed just past the pressure tank to remove any sediment that might get through the substrainer. Use heavy-duty cartridges so they last longer.
Note: This section covers miscellaneous odor problems, but be sure to also check the section later in this chapter on plumbing vents, as inadequate venting is a major cause of bad smells.
Sewer smell may mean toilet needs tightening
Q. We noticed a pronounced sewer smell in our bathroom. Our landlord had changed the wax seal on the toilet about a year ago, but for the past month there has been a terrible smell, which seems to be coming from the toilet.
Also, the tile around the base of the toilet has suddenly been discolored. We also noticed that the overflow drain on the sink is clogged, but even if we block off that smell, there’s still a strong smell like sewage in the bathroom. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
A. The fact that the tiles around the toilet have become discolored would indicate that there is leakage at the joint between the toilet and the closet bend on which it rests. It may be that the toilet needs to be tightened to the floor.
You’ll notice that there are two bolts on its base. If the china caps have been put over the bolts and nuts, remove them and hand-tighten the nuts. Do not use a wrench to force them, as it could crack the base of the toilet.
But if the bolts and nuts are tight, you may need a new wax seal.
Slow leak may cause musty smell
Q. There is a musty smell in my stall shower. I poured Clorox bleach down the drain but the smell persists. There is a shower door and I noticed that the tiled step into the shower has a crack where there is an odor. However, there is no visible evidence of any leaking in the bathroom or ceiling below. Help!
A. There could be not enough wetness to show a leak but enough to cause the wood underneath the tiled step to be wet. You should not use the shower for a few days, and let the wood forming the curb dry by providing high heat in the bathroom during that time (with the door closed), and caulk the crack.
Urine smell in bathroom
Q. There a smell of urine in the bathroom of my ranch house. I was advised to have the vent pipe above the roof snaked out but that did not help, so the wax seal of the toilet was replaced and I caulked around the base of the toilet. The smell persists. Any suggestions?
A. A smell of urine is not generally indicative of a blocked vent pipe or deteriorating wax seal; you would experience a sewer smell instead. The problem may be due to urine that splashed onto a nearby wall or other surface, or under the rim of the toilet, or even under the toilet seat itself.
Odor comes from kitchen sink drain
Q. We hope you can help us with an odor problem that seems to come from our garbage disposal or drain in our double kitchen sink. The developer of this relatively new townhouse tried three different disposal units and also replaced a piece of the drain pipe under the sink but we still have the odor. We have tried baking soda with vinegar and Disposer Care, recommended by the disposer’s manufacturer. Nothing has helped.
A. It does not sound as if the disposer is the cause of the odor. You might try pouring a mixture of equal parts bleach and water in both drains. You may also want to undertake a regular cleaning schedule by pouring a solution of Super Washing Soda down both drains. You can buy it in the laundry cleaning supplies of your supermarket. The instructions for this procedure are on the side panel of the box.
Showering causes strong plastic smell
Q. Within the past two weeks, the fiberglass tub unit in our five-year-old house has been giving off a strong plastic odor when we use the shower. The odor is strongest when hot water is run. Is the plastic material decomposing so soon after its installation?
A. It sounds as though the resin did not fully cure and there must be cracks in the finish around the unit for the odor to come back into the bathroom. Blisters might develop in time if they haven’t already begun. Flash a strong light on the surfaces and check them out. Call a fiberglass repair specialist for an evaluation and possible remedy. Find him or her in your Yellow Pages under Bathtubs & Sinks—Repairing & Refinishing.
Q. Help! I have never come across this problem in your column before. About three weeks ago, I noticed a foul, sewer-like odor coming from the little overflow hole in my bathroom sink. It has gotten worse and become unbearable. I tried putting baking soda down the hole and the drain, but that only helped for one day. The sink is not clogged—the water goes down smoothly. Can you tell me what is causing this odor and how to get rid of it?
A. Is the sink vitreous china, or is it made of a plastic material like cultured marble? If it is new and made of the plastic material, the odor may come from the outgassing (the release of gases or vapors by a material over time) of the plasticizer—a rare occurrence. In an older sink, the odor may be due to the accumulation of bacteria at the end of the overflow.
Try this first: Put some fresh Clorox bleach in a spray bottle and spray it copiously into the overflow hole. If that does not do the trick, remove the pop-up stopper, seal the end of the overflow by stuffing a rag tightly down the drain a few inches (be careful to have enough of the rag sticking out to be able to remove it), and pour bleach down the overflow.
If the pop-up stopper is captive (tied to the control rod that operates the stopper), you can free it by unscrewing the knurled nut that ties the control rod to the waste pipe under the sink and pulling it out enough to free the stopper. You will see that the stopper has an offset ring on the bottom. Put the control rod back and hand-tighten the knurled nut. When you are done, put the stopper back, turning it until the offset ring is clear of the control rod.
Q. I have an unusual problem that is causing me grief. Ever since I moved into my house, my hot water smells like rotten eggs. A friend who also has a well said that she has the same problem, and advised me to open the well and pour 10 gallons of bleach into it, run water from the hose into it and let it sit for 12 hours, then run the water for 30 to 45 minutes. I have done this and it seemed to work for a week or so. But then the smell came back. Is it coming from the water heater or the well? What can I do to get rid of the smell once and for all? Please help!
A. Your friend’s suggestion is used to disinfect a water supply that has bacterial contamination. Your problem, however, is in the hot-water tank, so there are two possibilities:
- The magnesium sacrificial anode may have corroded (it is designed for the purpose of protecting any exposed metal parts inside the tank). You can replace the anode, or have a plumber do it.
- A sulfur bacterial growth may have developed in the hot-water tank. It is harmless to humans, but does cause an odor of rotten eggs. Chlorination is the solution for that, but instead of having to go through the effort of pouring chlorine in your well every week, you may want to have a water specialist test for this possibility and recommend a solution.
Dry traps
Q. I recently moved into a seven-year-old house that has a roughed-in three-piece bathroom in the basement. Quite often, when I open the bathroom door, I notice a foul sewer odor. I intend on having a plumber connect the toilet and basin and plug up the shower drain. Will this take care of the problem?
A. The odor is coming from the dry traps of any or all of the three fixtures. All you need to do to stop it is to keep water in the traps. Pour some in regularly. Having the plumber do what you suggest should take care of it, but don’t plug the shower permanently; you or the next occupants may want to have it installed later. The plumber can plug it with an inflatable bulb, or with a rag and a thin concrete cap.
Q. Our gas-fired water heater gurgles loudly when it is heating water. Why is this and how can we correct it?
A. Rumbling noises are usually caused by scale that has built up inside the tank or sediment that has accumulated in its bottom. Attach a garden hose to the drain spigot at the base of the tank and drain it while it is refilling, until the water runs clear. If this does not solve the problem, call a licensed plumber.
Clattering noise in exhaust outlet
Q. Our bathroom ceiling fan probably exhausts through the roof. It produces a constant clattering noise as the wind hits a metal shield that we can’t locate. A roofer told us that he can’t do anything about it because we have a sloping roof. I can’t believe this and the clattering is driving us nuts.
A. The clattering you hear is indeed made by the wind flap that is found either at the aluminum roof or wall jack or on the outlet sleeve of the fan housing. It is caused by a combination of positive pressure exercised by the warm air inside the house and negative pressure from wind coming from certain directions.
I don’t understand why you’re not sure whether or not the fan exhausts through the roof; it’s easy to find out. If there is a roof jack and air comes out of it when you turn the fan on, that’s it. If there is an attic, it’s also easy to locate the duct, if there is one. The answer to your problem may be to replace the jack with a spring-loaded one or, if that’s not possible, to screw the exterior flap shut and discontinue using the fan, if your sanity is at stake.
Bathroom fan sounds like air hammer
Q. My bathroom fan sounds as if someone is working with an air hammer. I’ve taken it apart, cleaned it, and re-installed it with no success. The fit between the fan housing and the duct is so tight that there is no room for padding. What can I do to make it more quiet?
A. Replace it with a quiet fan; they are not that expensive. The blades on your fan may be out of balance or the axle or bearings wearing out.
Pipes make snapping sound
Q. In order to remodel my bathroom, the outside wall of the house was opened up to allow removal of the old tub and insertion of a new, all-in-one glass fiber tub/shower unit. Since then a loud snap occurs approximately ten minutes after taking a shower, then five to ten minutes later, and again twenty to thirty minutes later.
The contractor re-opened the outside wall but he and the plumber found nothing unusual. Can you suggest a cause for this bizarre noise?
A. The waste piping was probably replaced with plastic pipe, which is rubbing against framing or restrained by it. The water pipes may also have been changed to plastic and suffer from the same problems. You don’t hear them snap when you use the shower because of its noise, but they probably snap as they expand. When the pipes cool off, they snap again as they contract.
If my diagnosis is correct, there really is nothing to be concerned about and you should try to learn to live with this sound, which is common to plastic pipes.
Too much pressure causes noises
Q. I recently replaced my corroded, restricted supply water line to the house. Since then, when my tenant upstairs takes her 5 a.m. shower, the initial water flow noise is very loud. Also, my downstairs faucets pound when I first open them. Is there any way to cut down on the noise?
A. It sounds as if the new water line provides much more water to the house than the old corroded one, and the added volume—along with the city pressure—is causing the noise. Try reducing the pressure or the flow of the water entering the house by turning down the entrance valve. You may also need to have a plumber install a small pressure tank to absorb the shock when first opening a faucet.
Water Hammer
Q. I have an ongoing problem with water hammer. Every six months or so, I have to turn off the water main and drain the system to get rid of this hammering. It recurs within six months or so and is isolated to the upstairs bathroom and the dishwasher. My children tend to turn the bathroom faucets on and off very quickly. Could that abrupt action be a contributing factor? I’ve installed an arrester at the dishwasher, but the problem persists. Any suggestions?
A. You didn’t say whether you have a well or are on a city water system. The fact that draining the system eliminates the water hammer for a while suggests that you are on a private well. If so, do you notice the water pulsating as it comes out of your faucets? If you have an old-fashioned pressure tank that gets waterlogged, you may need a new pressure tank.
If you are on city water, have a plumber check the city pressure. You might need a pressure reducer or a Mini-Trol tank to absorb the shock from faucets that are being turned off very quickly as well as the sudden stops of the solenoid on your dishwasher.
Pipes thump when taps turned off
Q. Recently, the water pipes in my house have developed a very annoying “thump” when the taps are turned off. The main water line is in the crawl space under the house. What is causing this and what can be done about it?
A. If you are on a municipal water system, your plumbing fixtures should have water-hammer arresters. These are small tanks with a bladder filled with air, which provides a cushion against the vibrations caused by the sudden shutting off of a solenoid valve or cartridge faucet. If you don’t have any, they should be installed.
If you do have water-hammer arresters of the diaphragm type, they may need replacement. Or, you may have water-hammer arresters that have filled with water. If this is the case, turn the main water supply off at the entrance to the house, open all the faucets, and let the plumbing system drain out. Shut them off and turn the water back on.
If you are on a private well, the pressure switch may be set too high. Normal settings are 20/40 or 30/50 for turning the pump on and off.
Q. The plastic waste pipes in our new home, built last year, are very noisy when a toilet is flushed or someone takes a shower. This is particularly annoying in our master bedroom which is directly below our daughter’s bathroom.
Is there a cure for this other than open the walls and replace the pipes? A contractor suggested blowing in foam insulation in the walls.
A. Replacing the pipes with cast iron seems pretty drastic. Blowing in foam or other insulation may be effective, but that will depend on the space available between the pipes and the wall finish. Toilet waste lines are 3 or 4 inches in diameter in walls that are either 3½ or 5½ inches thick and, if the pipes are close to the finish of the wall, it may not do a bit of good.
This may be the case in the ceiling of your master bedroom, since a closet bend drops down about 8 inches and the ceiling joists may not be very much deeper. You could try it and, if it does not work, you could add sound deadening board to the ceiling and apply new 5/8-inch drywall over it.
Q. What could be causing our 10- to 12-year-old gas water heater to make banging noises when heating water? It’s got progressively worse in the last six months in spite of the fact that I drain several gallons out every month or so.
A. A build-up of lime on the bottom of the tank. Lime precipitates and calcification occurs when water is heated at or above 140°F. The deposits expand and pop when the heat comes on. When you replace your tank with a new one, think of lowering the temperature to 120 or 130°F. This will reduce calcification and prolong the life of your heater (authorities have said it can double it) as well as save energy.
Too-hot water causes pipes to bang
Q. Ever since I replaced my gas-fired water heater both hot and cold pipes bang when I turn off a faucet. I’ve tried draining the system to force all air out of the pipes but the problem still exists. The banging even occurs when the toilet stops filling up after flushing.
A. Today’s gas- and oil-fired water heaters have very fast recovery and may, in many instances, heat the water so fast and high that it causes the temperature and pressure relief valve to open up.
Your new heater may also have its thermostatic control set too high. Lower it and see if it solves the problem. Your old heater was not as efficient and was probably coated with mineral deposits that tended to insulate it to some extent and reduce its efficient recovery. If lowering the thermostat does not solve your problem, or the thermostat is set at the minimum acceptable range to you, the solution is to have a plumber install a small expansion tank.
Learning to live with water-saving toilets
Q. We are having a problem with our Kohler water-saving toilet. It does not flush waste down completely; consequently, we have to flush several times, which ends up by wasting water. Sometimes, it helps to hold the handle down until the flushing is complete. What can we do, short of replacing the toilet?
A. The tank on this particular toilet holds 3½ gallons of water but is designed to use only 1½ gallons per flush. The other 2 are there to provide weight to push the first 1½ gallons down. Holding the handle down helps, as you have noticed, as it allows the remainder of the water to follow. You need to use this procedure only when flushing solids.
Flushing upstairs toilet causes bubbles in downstairs toilet
Q. I replaced my upstairs toilet with an American Standard gravity flush. It flushes very quickly but this causes the downstairs toilet to bubble up to relieve the pressure. Will putting a vent outside just before the septic tank correct this problem?
A. The sketch you sent me shows that your plumbing system is not properly vented. The downstairs toilet is not tied to the roof vent. If this did not occur before you installed the new toilet, it is probably because the older toilet flushed much more slowly. The American Standard 1.6 gallon toilets use a different flushing system and, as you have experienced, it is very fast and powerful.
Installing a vent outside just before the septic tank would allow septic gases to escape and stink up your yard. That’s not what you want. You should have a licensed plumber correct the venting system’s deficiency. There are several ways to do it; perhaps the plumber can install a Studor vent, an interior vent that equalizes the pressure in an unvented fixture and can only be used where there is a roof vent for the rest of the plumbing.
Flushing stopped
Q. One of my toilets has suddenly stopped flushing properly. The water just swirls in the bowl and often solids do not get flushed even after two or three flushes. What is causing this sudden problem, and what can I do about it short of having the toilet replaced? My other two toilets do not have this problem.
A. There could be several things going on. Is the drain plugged in any way? Kids have a way of dropping things in that don’t belong in a toilet. To test the draining power, take a 5-gallon bucket and fill it ¾ of the way with water. Then see if the toilet will flush with a quick dump of water. If the water doesn’t go right down, try a plumbing snake to see if there is an impediment in the toilet’s “S” trap that can be dislodged. Or the toilet may have to be pulled up and the drain checked.
Improper flushing also can be caused by an obstruction in the jet hole at the bottom of the bowl that starts the flushing. Less frequently, it is caused by encrustations in the rim holes of the bowl that start the swirling of the water. Or it can be caused by too low a water level in the tank.
To clear the jet hole of any obstruction, shut off the water supply to the tank or hold up the float in the tank with a piece of wire. Flush the toilet and very gently pour about a cup of muriatic acid into the bowl. Be very careful handling muriatic acid, as it is extremely toxic; wear rubber gloves and pour from the container the acid is sold in. Never pour muriatic acid into a metal container and never use metal tools with it. You will find muriatic acid in hardware stores. Close the lid and wait a few hours; doing this overnight is best. Then, let the tank fill up again and flush the toilet after shutting off the water supply or using the wire trick again. Take a short-handled screwdriver or similar tool and ream out the jet hole.
If this does not solve the problem, pour about a quart of fresh Clorox bleach into the tank and flush the toilet. Then use an Allen wrench of the appropriate size to ream out every one of the rim holes (you’ll need a mirror to find them).
If these steps do not fix the problem, raise the water level in the tank to the top of the overflow tube, even if the water is at the waterline mark inside the tank.
Q. The other day, we were sitting in the living room when, suddenly, we were startled by the toilet, which started filling as if it had been flushed. Later, it did the same thing, and it has ever since. This is quite disconcerting, specially in the night, and an awful waste of water. What is causing this and how can we cure it?
A. The most likely cause of these inadvertent flushes is a tank ball or flap not sealing properly on the flush valve seat. As a result, the water in the tank leaks slowly until the level reaches the point where the filling mechanism is triggered.
This may be due to a small piece of foreign material that has become lodged preventing a tight fit. Lift the tank ball or flap and run your hand around it to check it out and clean it. If this does not correct the problem, you may find that the rubber has become soft or pitted; the mechanism may then need to be replaced.
Low water refill
Q. After our toilet is flushed, it takes a very long time for the water to refill the tank again, and there is never more than a couple of inches of water in the bowl. Can you help?
A. The slow refill problem may be due to the supply valve being partially shut, an obstruction in the water supply to the tank, or the ball-cock assembly needing replacement. The very low water level in the bowl may indicate that the plastic refill tube has been dislodged and no longer provides water to the bowl through the down tube (sometimes called the overflow pipe).
Phantom flushing the toilet
Q. I hope you can help me. I had new parts installed in the tank of my toilet. About every two to three hours, water is released into the bowl; it lasts about two seconds. Our plumber blew out the line and cleaned the float thinking that there was some debris. It didn’t stop the phantom flushing.
A. I assume that the parts you had replaced are the tank ball or flapper and perhaps the ballcock valve – the parts most frequently in need of replacement. It sounds as if there is a small leak occurring at the joint of the tank ball or flapper and the valve seat (where the ball or flapper drops back down onto the valve seat after the flushing has taken place). Mineral deposits can accumulate on the valve seat and prevent a tight seal. You can determine if this is the case by putting a small amount of red food dye in the tank; if it leaks into the bowl, you have found the problem.
To fix such a leak, either shut the water feed to the tank or hold the float up with a piece of wire. Flush the toilet. Hold the flapper or ball up while you gently scour the valve seat with fine steel wool to remove any deposits.
I assume that your plumber made sure that the float and ballcock assembly are functioning properly.
Urinals
Q. As a matter of curiosity, please comment on why home builders do not install urinals in bathrooms. Seems to me they would be more sanitary and less frustrating for the clean-up crew. An ancillary benefit would be the death knell of the on-going debate: seat up or seat down!
A. Your very original letter was my comic relief for the day; thank you.
Unfortunately, urinals are very expensive; the cost of the unit, including the flushing mechanism, is around $500, to which must be added the cost of the water and waste pipes. There is also the question of room in most bathrooms.
I don’t see how a urinal would simplify the job of the clean-up crew; it’s another fixture to deal with. Better to train the male users to wipe the bowl rim after use. And, as to the age-old debate about toilet seats, it’s a hard one to win. Try bargaining.
Faucet is difficult to operate
Q. The faucet of my bathroom sink is pulled forward to turn water on. It has become very difficult to operate. I have squirted oil into the part to no avail. What else can I do?
A. The problem is in the inner workings of the faucet, be they cartridge, ball, ceramic disc or tipping valve. There may be a need for lubrication with a special grease rather than just oil, or some part is worn and needs replacement.
Unless you are handy, it is a job best left to a plumber but, if you want to attempt the repair yourself, get Reader’s Digest New Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual.
Faucets spraying hard jets
Q. My bathroom sink faucets are spraying water in hard jets instead of the normal flow they used to have.
A. Remove the aerators and soak them in white vinegar or replace them.
Faucet reassembled backward
Q. One of my faucets was taken apart to put in new washers. When it was reassembled, the faucet operated in reverse; instead of pushing the handle back to turn the water on, it now has to be pulled forward. How can the problem be corrected?
A. The spindles were reversed when the faucet was reassembled—the left spindle was put on the right side and the right on the left. Or if there is a plastic cuff over the spindle, it may be in upside down. Either way, it should be easy to reassemble correctly to get back to normal.
Water flows slowly after replacement of washer
Q. After I replaced the washer on my hot-water faucet, it no longer functions as before. When turned on, the water will flow for a few seconds then practically shut off. This occurs several times before I can get a normal flow. What’s causing this and how can I correct it?
A. The new washer is thicker and more resilient than the old one which, in time, became compressed and developed a recessed ring where the faucet seat embedded itself when tightly shut. The new faucet has not had time to adjust to these conditions and hot water causes all parts to expand, reducing the passage of water.
It is also possible that you did not tighten the screw that holds the washer in place securely enough and that it has loosened up from the temperature changes. This causes the water to get behind the washer and shut off the water flow. Check that first, but if it’s tight, be patient, it will work itself out in time.
Q. My bathroom wash bowl is in good condition except for the metal stopper and the ring around it, which are pitted. How can this be repaired?
A. The simplest thing to do is to replace the pop-up piece and the flange that screws into the tail pipe. A plumber can do that in a few minutes. If you have other plumbing problems, make a list and have them all taken care of at the same time to amortize the cost of the call.
If you prefer to tackle the job yourself, buy the parts from a hardware store or a willing plumber and ask for instructions; it’s not difficult to do.
Water restricted in kitchen faucet
Q. I am having a problem with my kitchen faucet. I can’t get the water to run fast in either the hot or cold sides of my single-lever faucet. I just get a little coming out. The water runs fast in all other fixtures. I have a well. I live alone and don’t have much of an income but I am a handy person. What can I do about it?
A. Is this a recent phenomenon or has it always been like that? If it has been a problem since the house was built, there may be an obstruction from a piece of solder stuck in the kitchen faucet cartridge. That would require taking the faucet apart. But first check under the kitchen sink to make sure the shut-off valves to the hot and cold water are fully open. If they haven’t been operated in a long time, they may be frozen and you may risk breaking them if they are the usual flimsy oval metal valve handles, so be careful in working them. The best way to avoid breaking them is to buy a Gordon Wrench (see Resources).
If it is relatively recent, and the valves are fully open, I would check the aerator on the spout of the faucet. Since you have a well, it is possible and likely that there is sediment blocking the aerator; it’s a fairly common occurrence. If this is the case, one permanent solution is to have a rust and sediment filter installed on the water line just past the pressure tank. It should have a by-pass so that you can still have water in case the cartridge gets clogged and you can’t get it replaced immediately. Use heavy-duty cartridges so you won’t have to replace them as often; they cost the same as standard cartridges but last much longer.
Flow restrictors for shower heads
Q. Where can I buy flow restrictors for shower heads?
A. If your local hardware store doesn’t carry them, a plumbing supply house does. Or ask a plumber to sell them to you.
New parts for old plumbing fixtures
Q. I have an old cast-iron free-standing tub and a sink that is bolted to the wall. I want to keep them in my remodeled bathroom. Are there replacement plumbing parts such as drains and faucets for these old tubs and sinks? Also, the outside of the tub has been painted. Is there anything I can do with that?
A. You should be able to get replacement parts from Dinapoli Plumbing Parts, 137 Herricks Rd., Garden City Park, NJ 11040. Their telephone number is 516-746-1570, or go to the Web at http://www.dinapoli.com.
You haven’t said whether or not you want to remove the paint from the tub or paint it a different color. To remove the paint successfully, you would have to know what kind of paint was used. If it is epoxy, it will be difficult to remove. You canpaint it with epoxy if all you want is a different color.
Water Supply, Pipes, Connections
Q. My water storage tank and controls are in a closet on the first floor as there is only a crawl space under it. The tank and water lines sweat. This keeps the floor of the closet wet all the time. What can I do to prevent it?
A. If you insulate the tank and water lines, you’ll only move the problem farther down the lines into the walls or floor system. In my experience, the best way to handle this common problem, particularly with deep wells that have cold water, is to place the storage tank on two 4-inch-thick concrete blocks set in a 24×24-inch metal pan, 2 inches deep with all seams soldered. This collects moisture safely and lets it evaporate into the surrounding air.
Stop valves leak after water line turned off
Q. I have two related problems.
The stop valve for hot water under the kitchen sink leaks and it does not stop even if I turn off the main line that brings water to the house! I found this out when I tried to replace the stop valve earlier today (and was not able to do so!). What is going on? And what do I need to do so that I can replace the stop valve?
The water line to our refrigerator is taken from the cold water line under the kitchen sink and goes to the back of the fridge. When I shut off that stop valve under the sink the water flow to the refrigerator does not stop completely — it drips at a very low rate instead of flowing in full force — even if I shut off the main water line to the house! Again, what is going on and what should I do to put a full stop to water flow into the refrigerator?
A. Shutting off the main water valve to the house does not completely stop the water flow because there is water in the pipes above the valves you are working on. To replace any stop valve, you have to drain the system at least to a level below the valve you plan to work on.
The simplest way to do this is to shut off the main water entrance valve and flush a toilet on the same or lower floor as the one you are working on — any water in the lines above the one you are working on will drain back into the toilet.
Q. Water is coming out of the pressure relief valve of my boiler at the rate of a full bucket a day whenever the boiler is fired. It does not leak when the burner is not on. What can be the problem?
A. It sounds as though the expansion tank is waterlogged. Try this: With a nail, push on the pin in the center of the valve used to pump air in the tank; it looks just like the valve on a car or bicycle tire.
If a little air, and only air, comes out, the bladder can be pumped up again. Try using a bicycle tire pump or call your service technician. However, if water comes out, it means that the bladder has a pinhole and became filled with water. The expansion tank will have to be replaced. It’s not too expensive.
Air in the well water
Q. I have a problem with my well-water supply. I get sporadic bursts of air when I turn on any faucet in the house. I have a captive air tank for storing the water supply. The vinyl bladder bag was replaced as a precaution. The well was checked out. The pump was removed and checked for leaks. A faulty check valve was replaced. But I still have air coming out of the faucets.
A. I assume the entire pressure tank was replaced as I am not aware that it is possible to just replace the bladder. The old tank probably had a snifter valve, which worked in concert with a back bleed valve in a “T” in the water line about 10 feet or so down from the pitless adapter in the well casing. New tanks do not have snifter valves and do not need back bleed valves. If the back bleed valve was not removed as part of the recent repairs, the pump should be pulled out until the valve is accessible and it should be replaced with a coupling. This should solve your problem.
Durability of different copper pipes
Q. I understand that type M copper water pipes have thinner walls and don’t last as long as type L. Someone told me if I have type M I can anticipate having the pipes in the house replaced in a few years. Obviously that’s of great concern. What’s the scoop on it and how can I tell what I have?
A. You can tell as follows: the writing on K type copper is black; on L type it’s blue and on M type it’s red. However, although its true that M type copper pipes have thinner walls, don’t panic. The worst enemy of metal water pipes is acidity of the water—a low pH (neutral is 7). Have the pH of your water supply tested and if it’s in the mid to low 6 range or lower, talk to a water specialist about installing a system to raise the pH to neutral. Your pipes should then last a long time.
Q. I went to turn off the main valve to my water supply the other day and found that I could not turn it off. The valve is stuck in the open position and I realize that, sooner or later, I may have an emergency when I need to turn it off. I sprayed it with WD-40 and let it soak for a while, but it still won’t budge.
Short of calling in a plumber, is there any way that you can think of that will help me? I thought of replacing the circular handle with a ratchet to get more leverage, but I don’t want to damage or strip the spindle.
A. Try gently loosening the valve with a pair of channel locks (a type of pliers with many adjustable positions; all homes should have this tool). This should free the valve. Then, work it back and forth several times. When the valve moves freely, open it fully and back it up slightly. Try to remember to turn it a little every month. If you cannot move with the channel locks, you probably should call a plumber.
Special tool will open valves for toilets and sinks
Q. I recently moved into a new-to-me house. I just discovered a slight leak in a joint of the feed pipe to one of the toilets. I tried to shut the water off at the little oval valve that supplies water to the toilet tank but it is frozen so tightly that I could not budge it and I am afraid I will break it if I use a pair of pliers. I remember your mentioning some time ago that there is a special wrench for these valves but I didn’t save the information as I didn’t need it at the time. Could you please respond quickly as I do want to change the feed tube as soon as possible.
A. For those who may have missed the description of the Gordon Wrench, it is an ingenious plastic tool used to operate the often frozen oval, chrome-plated pot metal valves found under toilets and bathroom lavatories. These valves are only used when the water supply needs to be shut off for repairs or in an emergency. As a result, they become stuck and any attempt to operate them can lead to breakage and injury, as these valves are very fragile and often in hard to reach places.
Robert Gordon, a retired engineer, invented it. You can order it through the Web at www.gordonwrench.com. The site shows what it looks like, how it works, the price list, and other information. You can also order it through the mail by writing The Gordon Tool Co., Inc., 5919 W. Hedgehog Pl, Phoenix, AZ, 85085 or by calling 541-942-8049, or email contact@gordonwrench.com. Please call only between the hours of 9 and 5 Pacific time. The price for one wrench is $12.99 including shipping and handling in the U.S.
Laundry flooding: a word of caution
Having witnessed the unfortunate experiences of three people I know whose homes were badly damaged by flooding caused by the break of a clothes-washer hose, I urge all of you to shut off the two valves to the water supply of your clothes washer when it is not in use.
Consider having a plumber install a single-lever valve in lieu of the too-often-found regular valves. The advantage of a single-lever valve is that it is easy to operate and visually tells you if it is closed or open. It is well worth it. You may also want to change the hoses to the kind with mesh reinforcement.
Cast iron replacement parts
Q. I cannot find replacement drain covers for my basement sewer line. These two covers are made of cast iron, to which is attached a bell. They have corroded and no plumber, plumbing supply house or hardware store can tell me where to get replacements. Can you tell me where I can obtain these hard-to-find items?
A. I hope you have saved the corroded parts as you will need to send them to JHL Foundry. Their mailing address is P.O. Box 1084, Mt Pleasant, PA 15666-1084 but their UPS address is RR4 in the same town. Their phone number is 724-547-8210. They make cast iron replacement parts but they need a sample to make sure they can duplicate yours.
Clogged softener causes low water pressure
Q. The water pressure at the tub and sinks of our 30-year-old house is getting very low. We have a well and a water softener. What are the cause and solution?
A. Check the salts in your water softener. They may have gotten clogged and need replacement as they do periodically. If, in addition to the water softener, you have a dirt and sediment filter, the cartridge may need replacement.
Filtering tap water
Q. I am interested in installing a whole-house water filtration system due to my health. I am connected to the city water distribution system and the water quality is good. However, I do not have the specifics on the amount of iron, chlorine or other chemicals in the water.
I have seen some filtration systems with in-line filters that need to be changed and another that is guaranteed for life without the need to change filters.
Can you make any recommendations for a manufacturer and model for a permanent home filtration system?
A. Before you select a filtration system, you should find out what is really needed (some chemicals are essential to our well-being and give water its taste.) A water analysis is the best way to go. You can find an independent specialist under “Water Analysis” in your Yellow Pages or on line. He or she can also recommend the type of system best for your conditions.
Septic maintenance
Q. I have just had a new septic system installed and would appreciate your suggesting some reading material pertaining to operation and maintenance of septic tanks, drain fields and sewer lines.
A. The rules are very simple: do not flush anything you haven’t eaten first, use only white toilet paper, and have the tank pumped every three to five years to prevent too great a build-up of scum and sludge that could be flushed into the field and eventually clog it. The operator of the pumper (also referred to as the “honey wagon”), if experienced, can tell you at the time of the first pumping whether three, four or five or more years between pumping is adequate. If you want a good understanding of rural plumbing systems and at the same time to be entertained, the best book is Country Plumbing; Living with a Septic System by Gerry Hartigan—published in 1984 but still widely available on-line or at used bookstores.
Q. I have a question about the use of products like Ridex, etc., in septic systems. I see it advertised on television by a presumed septic system contractor who states you should use it regularly. An employee of a local septic company told me not to use it, because it breaks down the solids into very fine particles that then flow with the water into the leach field, increasing the potential for failure. Based on your experience, what is the correct scoop?
A. The employee from your local septic company is absolutely correct. He or she obviously knows a lot more about septic system health than the purported septic system contractor I also see pitching an enzyme product on television.
From all the research I have done over the decades, there is no need for any additive to a septic system; all the bacteria needed for proper functioning of the system are already in the human intestinal tract. However, to ensure continued good health, septic systems should be pumped every three to five years. The person who gave you the good advice can also tell you how frequently you should have your system pumped by looking at the condition of the contents when he or she comes to pump it next time.
Pumping a part-time septic tank
Q. Our septic tank, installed in 1969, is used only 3 months a year. So far it has never needed pumping out.
A. A system used only three months of the year has a great recovery time during which the leach field has a chance to dry up and oxygen and bugs a chance to clean it up. It’s like having a dual system you can alternate every year.
But you make a mistake in not pumping the tank out on a reasonably regular basis. Solids, in the form of sludge at the bottom and scum at the top, build up over time, reducing the amount of liquid being stored and treated. When the solids represent a large part of the mass, there’s a risk of particles being washed into the leach field thus contributing to its early clogging.
The general recommendation is to have the tank pumped out every three to five years—depending on its size and the number of occupants in the house. But since yours is used only for 25% of the time, you can safely wait 10 to 15 years to have it pumped out if the use is fairly light during the three months of occupancy.
Antifreeze in the septic system?
Q. We have used automotive antifreeze in the drain pipes of our summer cottage. Does it harm the septic system? If it does, what will it do?
A. Harsh chemicals do septic tanks no good. They kill the bacteria needed to digest and treat human wastes dumped into the system. Buy non-toxic antifreeze from an RV or camping goods store.
Q. When I bought my house a few years ago, the previous owner wasn’t able to tell me the precise location of the septic tank and leach field. The old idea of watching where the grass first greens up in the spring or where the snow melts most quickly didn’t work for me. Is there an easy, foolproof way to pinpoint them short of digging up the yard? I don’t have an immediate problem, and only two of us live in the house, but I am contemplating having the tank pumped out. The previous owner claimed that it had been done within the seven years prior to my purchase.
A. Hire a septic pumping contractor who has a detector that can locate the tank when you are ready to have it pumped, which should be done every three to five years on average.
Q. I have had a problem with a toilet overflowing. A plumber worked on it and it seemed to work for a while but it began to overflow again. Each time the plumber was called but the problem recurred. Finally we decided to replace the toilet, unfortunately with one of the new 1.6 gallons type. To this day, I never know when it is going to overflow and must keep a plunger handy. I have had several different plumbers try to correct this problem but it is only temporary. I would appreciate your input before I go bankrupt.
A. It sounds as if the problem is more in the sewer line. Could there be something partially blocking it? Another possibility, if you have a septic system, is that it may be overdue for pumping. If you haven’t had the tank pumped in many years, it may be full of solids which cause a back-up if too much water is discharged into it at one time—say, if you flush the toilet during or shortly after someone took a bath or a shower or the clothes or dishwasher washer were used.
And if the leach field is failing, it may take a while for the effluent to be absorbed, causing a back-up in the system. It may be a good idea to have a septic specialist investigate.
Is muriatic acid safe for septic system?
Q. I read your advice regarding the calcium ring in the commode problem. Is muriatic acid alright to use in a home that has a septic system? We have 8 toilets and before I empty 16 cups of the acid into our system I just wanted to check.
A. Muriatic acid is very strong and, of course, not the best thing to put in a septic system, but it is greatly diluted and weakened after sitting in the bowl overnight.
One cup of muriatic acid is enough per toilet and you don’t have to do them all at once. Stagger the treatment over a few weeks.
Q. Since we put an apartment in the basement of our double-wide mobile home, the waste water from our washer backs up in the bathtub before draining away. What did we do wrong?
A. I assume your washer backs up into the basement bathtub. Your washer may drain into a 1½-inch line. It is too small for the powerful drainage of the washer. It should drain into a 2-inch line.
Shower drain freezes
Q. The drain in our upstairs bathroom shower freezes in the winter. The pipes are located inside my son’s closet and the former owners had installed an access panel. Upon further investigation, a cold breeze can be felt along the wall in my son’s room to the left of a heating vent and to the drain area at floor level.
We have tried putting a heater in the closet on very cold nights. We had someone put extra insulation in the attic. The last two winters, we’ve had plumbers come out and defrost or replace the drain. It even froze and broke on us. No one seems to know how to stop the breeze or find out where it’s coming from. Should we call a roofer? I hope you can help because this is getting costly.
A. From the sketch in your letter, and from your description of cold air along the wall near the heating vent, it is clear that there is no insulation in the stud space in which the heat vent is located. In homes built before the mid 1970s, it was fairly common to install heat ducts in outside walls in lieu of insulation.
Open the access panel and see if there is room behind the drainpipe to inject foam insulation between the drain and the wall sheathing; do not put foam in front of the pipe, as you want some heat to get to it. Foam can also be blown into the rest of the cavity to seal the area next to the heat duct and behind the duct, even if there is only a very narrow space in which to do it. Foam as deep down as you can reach.
You can buy cans of foam in hardware and building supply stores. Since you are probably not practiced in the art of foaming, buy the type that does not expand too much to avoid having a mess on your hands. When done, this should improve the situation immeasurably.
Water drains slowly in sink with disposal
Q. I have a new double-bowl sink and disposal. Water drains fine from the bowl that doesn’t have the disposal but drains very slowly from the bowl to which the disposal is connected and the bowl fills.
When I turn the disposal on, the sink drains fine. We have snaked the pipes and used every drain cleaner imaginable to no avail. What could be the problem?
A. The new disposals have very small openings to allow more grinding time within the unit so that garbage will be ground much finer. As a result, water will fill them and the sink when the disposal is not running. This is a normal condition.
Q. Our bathroom sinks have become quite sluggish and I can’t remove the gizmo that keeps water in, in order to clean the drain. I don’t want to use any of the harsh chemicals available because I am sure it would not be good for our septic system. Is there a gentler alternative?
A. There is. Buy washing soda in the laundry section of your local supermarket and follow directions on the box. It works very well. The most common is Arm & Hammer’s Super Washing Soda. Do not confuse it with baking soda.
Use washing soda to clear drains
Q. My question relates to plumbing and drains that are beginning to show signs of clogging in our upstairs bathrooms. I seem to recall reading at some point in time that using Liquid Plumr or Drano was not advisable. Could you please let me know how to best resolve this situation.
A. Use Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda monthly, making sure you follow the directions on the side panel of the box carefully as misuse can lead to worse clogging. Note that it must not be used for completely clogged drains; it is only to be used for sluggish drains. You can find Super Washing Soda in the laundry section of your supermarket.
Keeping drains clear
Q. Some time ago I read in your column about a solution to keep drains clear. I have used Drano, but that may not be the best. I am sorry I didn’t cut out the information in your column. Would it be possible for you to repeat the information here?
A. The product I mentioned is Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda. You will find it in the detergent section of your supermarket. There are instructions on one of the side panels for use in plumbing drains. Follow them carefully as I have seen improper use resulting in drains being clogged by the Washing Soda when it turned into a cement-like plug.
Super Washing Soda is for use in sluggish drains or as regular maintenance. It is not to be used in completely clogged drains. Regular use of Super Washing Soda should prevent drains from clogging.
Cement-clogged drain
Q. When the plumbing fixtures were installed in our new basement bathroom, we tried the shower and found that the floor drain was plugged. I removed the drain cover plate and found that the obstruction is 10 inches down from the floor. It appears that cement used to install the floor tiles fell into the drain and hardened. What can I use to soften up or dissolve this cement? Or is there another way to get rid of it without having to chip it out?
A. Who did the tile job? The tile contractor should be made to correct the problem he or she caused. However, if you did it yourself, here is a way to attempt to remove the plug, which is probably in the trap.
If the drain pipes are plastic, carefully pour muriatic acid in a plastic funnel placed in the drain, avoiding all contacts with any metal parts. Pour enough acid so that you can see it in the tail pipe. Watch if it drains and at what level it stabilizes; you want the cement obstruction to be bathed in the acid. Give it time to work; keep an eye on it with a flashlight. When the acid has drained, turn the shower on and see if it works fine. If it drains slowly, use a plunger, but only if you have water and not acid in the trap. If this does not do it, repeat the operation.
You may want to get a pressurized can made for flushing sinks from a hardware store, or buy an attachment to your garden hose made for this purpose to power-flush the drain. If everything else fails or the drain pipes are metal, the pipes may have to be replaced.
Basement plumbing
Q. We are moving to a country home and would like to have a toilet and a shower in the basement. However, the sewer line to the septic system is 3 feet above the basement floor. Can this be done?
A. Yes, but it will be expensive. A sewer ejector pump can be installed in a sump. The waste water will be pumped up when the level in the sump activates the float.
How long does a sump pump last?
Q. I am concerned about the longevity of my sump pump which has worked hard during our very wet spring. Should I install a second pump as a back-up in the same crock with a higher float level in the event the original pump fails, or should I install another crock and pump to share the load?
A. A good-quality sump pump should last for years even with frequent usage. You should not be overly concerned about its giving up the ghost unless you know it’s a cheap model. In that case, you can buy insurance in the form of a good-quality submersible sump pump (cost about $100), install it in the present sump, and save the older and cheap model for an emergency. My bet is you’ll never need it.
Leak may be at vent stack
Q. Our bathroom has what appears to be a leak in the ceiling from the attic. Exploration reveals no leak in the roof but the ceiling itself is spongy in places, and damp. Could condensation be the cause? There is no exhaust fan.
A. It could be, but another possibility is a leak around the collar of the plumbing vent stack that goes through the roof in that area. Tie a towel around it in the attic to check it. If it gets wet after a series of rains, you have found the culprit. The neoprene gasket may have cracked and may need to be repaired in the form of polyurethane caulking.
Vent clogs during cold weather
Q. I have a problem with my atmospheric vent stack on my roof. When it is cold, the top of the vent gets clogged with snow, causing a back-up sewer odor inside the house. Any suggestions?
A. The vent gets clogged from ice. Snow would melt from the heat the vent generates, but ice forms because of the high moisture content in the stack. Your vent stack is probably too small in diameter. If there is access to the attic, it should be changed to a 4-inch size where it comes out of the insulated space.
Another way to keep vents from freezing
A Wisconsin reader solved the common occurrence of plumbing vent stacks that exit through roofs sometimes freezing shut in winter causing plumbing problems (including sewer smell in the house). She painted them black under the assumption that they would absorb solar heat since the sun is generally shining when the temperature is very cold. She has not had the problem since, so we can assume that her theory was correct. But, that would only work if the plumbing stacks are exposed to considerable solar time during the day, i.e., they are not on the north side of a steep roof.
Roof vent odor
Q. In spite of the fact that we have our septic tank pumped out every three years, there is a sewage odor coming out of the roof vent. Is there something wrong with the septic system or is this a venting problem?
A. The odor is caused by the wind creating a negative pressure over the vent and sucking the gases out. Install a 90-degree elbow over the vent facing the prevailing winds, and adjust it as needed until you find the right angle. Do not cement the elbow. It needs to remain adjustable.
Condensation from bathroom vents
Q. We have been frustrated with water leaks that have stained our ceiling for about two years. The house is 20 years old, 2-story with finished basement. The roof was replaced about three years ago. At that same time we decided to create additional usable attic space with access from the second floor and plywood on top of the blown insulation. We vented the two upstairs bathrooms and dryer to the outside rather than into the attic as was present when we purchased the house 10 years ago.
We believe that we had initial problems with flashing but the handyman who helps us has corrected that problem. Additional leaks this winter have been traced to excessive condensation in the vent pipe rather than from the roof. A note: Several members of the family love long showers (as long as 20 to 30 minutes) and so the amount of steam from these showers is substantial.
The exhaust fans for the two bathrooms were tied together into one roof vent. Our only solution this winter has been to disconnect the vents and put them into a bucket in the attic that we empty every four to six weeks (with two to three gallons of water). With this temporary solution for the winter we have stopped additional ceiling stains.
How do we prevent this problem short of limiting shower duration? We have considered the possibility that a horizontal vent may lead to less condensation but don’t want to spend the time and effort on that solution if this will not correct our problem.
A. From your description, the bathroom vents were terminating through the roof. So condensation would run right back into the ceiling, usually where the fan is. Tying two bath vents into one is a mistake. What often happens is that the moisture generated in one bathroom returns into the other one, especially with a near vertical installation. You have temporarily solved the problem by disconnecting the vents.
The best solution is to replace the vents with schedule 20 drain pipes (one for each bathroom and with the bell ends toward the fans). Keep the pipes as close to the attic insulation or floor as you can but give them a slight slope to the outside by using small wood blocks of decreasing thickness.
Terminate them through individual hooded aluminum or plastic wall jacks, preferably on the south side of the house if it is the shortest run. Avoid louvered plastic jacks, as they are prone to breakage. Snug fiberglass batts on each side of the pipes and place another set of batts on top. Properly insulated, condensation will be reduced and drain to the outside.
Vents too short
Q. We would like to ask you about a problem that we are having at our log cabin. When the plumber hooked up our toilet, sink, bathtub and kitchen sink on the main floor, he used two “cheater vents” instead of running a vent up through the roof. Everything seemed to work fine, except that we would get a gurgling sound in the bathtub when you let the water out of the kitchen sink and vice versa—but everything seemed to drain all right and nothing was backed up.
We’ve heard from different people about the pros and cons of using “cheater vents.” Meanwhile, we’ve had a different plumber install another bathroom in the basement and he ran a 2-inch vent pipe out through the wall and up 3 feet from the kitchen drainpipe. This seems to eliminate the gurgling sound from the tub or sink, and the toilets seem to flush better.
The problem we’re having now is the odor coming from the new outside vent pipe—it smells like sewage. It’s not constant, but comes and goes and is very unpleasant. The vent pipe is located on a back wall of the cabin and is near a window that’s level with the first floor, but the cabin is one and a half stories and no matter how high we go up with the pipe, it will still be near the upstairs windows. Is there a filter system that we can put on the vent pipe, or should we cap it off and live with the gurgling and use the cheater vents? Can you help with this situation?
A. The second plumber didn’t do you any favors. A vent pipe must go through the roof or, in the case of an installation like the one he did, should be higher than the eaves of the roof and should not be installed near a window.
Now, you’ll need to have the pipe relocated away from both the upstairs and downstairs windows and extended to 1½ feet above the roof eaves. This may still cause you to get a sewer smell when the atmospheric conditions are propitious, so you may need to install a 90-degree ell on top of the pipe (do not glue it on. Just push it in place). Turn the ell facing the roof ridge to start with and, if you still smell sewage, turn it toward the prevailing winds until you have it just right.
Q. I live in a 40-year-old ranch house. In the last two years, I have had a strange problem with the plumbing. The drains in the bathtub and kitchen gurgle when I flush the toilet. I have not had this problem before. Have you any explanation as to why this is happening, and if so, how can I rectify this problem?
A. It sounds as if you have a venting problem. When a toilet is flushed it displaces air into the vent system, which is there to equalize the pressure created by the flushing and prevent the very problem you’re having. The fact that this problem developed only in the last two years indicates that your vent stack is partially or fully blocked by some foreign matter, perhaps a bird or squirrel nest. You should have a plumber or Roto-Rooter snake out the vent system.
Q. For a long time there has been a prolonged glug, glug sound emanating from the kitchen sink when the water drains out. What causes it, and how can this noise be stopped?
A. The kitchen sink waste does not appear to be connected to the house vent stack or to be vented on its own through the roof of the house. Thus, as water is drained out of the sink, it causes air ingestion through the waste pipe to even out the negative pressure created by the water flowing down the drain.
The glug, glug sound is air passing through the sink trap creating fluctuation of the water in it that acts as a seal to keep sewer gases out of the house. There is a risk that enough water may be sucked out of the trap to allow gases to enter the house. Since the gurgling sound is harmless in itself, you have the choice of ignoring it and just letting water flow in the kitchen drain for a few seconds after the sink is drained to refill the trap, or to have the kitchen sink properly vented.
Toilet drains when another is flushed
Q. We have lived in our house for 50 years and have recently developed a new problem. Our second-floor bathroom is directly over the one on the first floor and, when the upstairs toilet is flushed, the water in the other toilet is drained. This necessitates flushing it to put water back in the bowl. Any suggestions?
A. It probably means that something has recently happened to plug the atmospheric vent stack that should protrude from your roof. When this vent is plugged, draining or flushing one fixture may cause another fixture’s trap to empty as make-up air—to replace the air displaced by the rushing water—is drawn in through another fixture. You may need to have a licensed plumber check this out.
Q. A year ago we installed an exhaust fan/light combination in our bathroom. The fan is vented through the attic by an elbow attached to the sewer vent. Now it’s leaking around the unit, the result, we presume, of condensation. What do we do?
A. First, you must disconnect the fan duct from the sewer vent. You have created what can be a serious problem. Sewer gases can, under certain conditions, be sucked back into the house, i.e. when your furnace is working or you use your fireplace or wood stove, or when you turn on the kitchen fan, for example.
Instead, run the duct across the attic’s floor joists with a slight pitch to the outside, making sure insulation fills the joists’ spaces so the duct is lying on top of them. Vent the duct to a gable wall by means of an aluminum jack equipped with a spring-activated flap, if you can find one.
Cut 3½-inch-thick glass fiber batts in half lengthwise and place one set snugly on each side of the duct. Then lay a full-width set of batts directly on top of the duct and the side insulation. The duct must be snugly surrounded by insulation for it to work. This should eliminate condensation.
Q. Your recommendation is to vent the fans through a gable wall. My house is a ranch house with a 5-foot-high attic and, if I understand what a gable is, we don’t have any. What do I do?
A. A “gable” wall is any end wall with a peak in it, even if it is a shallow peak as on a ranch house. The reason a gable wall is best for venting is because the outlet to the vent can be high enough to avoid any bathroom odors blowing back into nearby windows. If your roof is sloping on all sides or you are constrained in other ways from using your gable end, the vent can exit on any outside wall, preferably away from any opening windows.
Best way to vent a bathroom fan
Q. I am installing a bathroom fan. Can I take the exhaust vent (the 4-inch diameter hose) and run it up to my ridge vent which runs the length of my ranch house? My wife does not want me to cut a hole in the side of my house. What do you think of a light in the fan?
A. You should never vent a bathroom, kitchen or dryer vent into a ridge, gable or soffit vent — and in all but the hottest climates, never vent through the roof either.
These vents should exhaust through a gable wall. Venting these appliances through a ridge vent causes two problems: Condensation in the surrounding area that will stain and damage the roof sheathing, and wet the insulation as it drips on it; and cause the condensate inside the vent to run down the vent and damage the ceiling, the fan and its housing (also the case when venting through the roof).
In the case of a kitchen vent, grease can also present a fire hazard. Venting through a soffit — an intake — simply takes the moisture back into the attic where you don’t want it.
It is best to vent bathroom fans by means of a bell-end, solid, schedule 20 plastic drain pipe. The bell-end should face toward the fan. Lay it with a slight pitch to the outside on top of the attic floor joists and snuggle 4-inch thick fiberglass batts against its sides and top. Dryer and kitchen vents should be metal and dealt with in the same way. A light/fan combination is your choice.
Best pipe for venting bathroom fan
Q. You have mentioned using a plastic pipe schedule 20 to vent a bathroom fan. I have never seen or heard of this type of pipe. Where can I buy this funnel and what size pipe do I use?
A. The pipe in question is a “schedule 20” (indicating the thickness of the plastic) PVC drain pipe with a “bell” end. It is 4 inches in diameter, and you should use the solid type (as opposed to the perforated type used to collect or discharge water). Make sure the bell end is facing toward the fan. This kind of pipe is not as heavy as drain pipe but is perfectly adequate for venting, and will cost less.
Ice forms on ceiling-fan exhaust
Q. Our bathroom ceiling fan has created quite a problem. In winter, ice forms in the vent pipe, which goes straight up through the roof. When it melts, water drips or runs down on top of the toilet. Now the paint on the ceiling around the fan is peeling off. Any suggestions?
A. Yes. Keep the toilet lid open so water drips into the bowl, and keep an umbrella handy. All kidding aside, this is a common problem because those who install these fans do not pay attention to the laws of physics. The only way a bathroom fan should be vented in temperate and cold regions is through a gable wall; never through the roof or into an attic or a soffit.
The duct should be laid on top of the joists with a slight pitch to the outside and surrounded by insulation on all sides. This is easily done by snugging fiberglass batts on each side of it and placing others on top, making sure cold air cannot sneak in. This keeps the warm, moist air from cooling off too fast and condensing too soon and certainly from running back into the bathroom.
Bath and dryer vents must be separated
Q. When we modernized an old two-story duplex earlier this year, I asked the contractor to follow your instructions in one of your columns recommending installing bathroom fans on interior walls and venting them down through the basement and outside. It wasn’t practical in our case, so he vented two showers and two clothes dryers, that are back-to-back on the second floor, up through the attic and horizontally along the attic floor to a vent hole in the eaves. There are 20 vent holes in the eaves and a cupola on the rooftop.
We now have one apartment rented, and are finding lots of lint coming out of the dryer vent in the unoccupied apartment as well as condensation in the shower compartment. It appears that the exhaust from the occupied apartment is emptying into the other instead of going out of the eaves vent. What do you advise?
A. Too bad you didn’t show the contractor another one of my columns mentioning the fact that a bath or kitchen fan, or dryer, should never be vented into the eaves of a building. If you have two separate ducts discharging out of the same vent hole in the eaves, the discharge from either apartment is going to turn right around and go through the other duct, as all air movement through your attic is from the eaves up through the cupola.
And, if you separate the ducts so that they vent through different holes some distance apart but still through the eaves, the lint and moisture will then be directed up into the attic where you certainly want neither. But, if you have combined the two showers and two dryers into common vents, the air movement from outside will cause the discharge from either apartment to short-circuit back into the other where they are tied together.
The solution is separate ducts for each of the showers and each of the dryers (four in all) going out through a gable wall and terminating in a good-quality jack equipped with a spring-loaded flap. Be sure all ducts are surrounded with insulation to retard the formation of condensation.
Dryer should vents outdoors
Q. We recently put an attached garage on our house, and the dryer vent, which used to be on an outside wall, is now venting into the garage. I plan to insulate the garage, but only heat it occasionally with a wood stove if I have car work to do.
I have heard that venting your dryer into the house during the winter is okay, as it adds moisture to the dry winter air. Do you think I should add pipe and vent the dryer outside? If I do, does this pipe have to run uphill all the way? Are there any guidelines as to how flat or steep the pipe has to be?
A. The main problem with venting a dryer inside is lint accumulation. It should not be vented in the garage for the same reason. You can run the pipe flat or at a downward slope; it does not have to slope upwards. If you can, extend it from its present outlet to the nearest outside wall even if it requires a bend. But keep the duct with as few bends as possible and with no “droops,” as these can collect condensation that may eventually block the exhaust.
Q. The bathroom fans in my two-story home are vented into the two-foot-wide aluminum soffit. Can you describe the most practical way to remedy this situation? I want to avoid creating new problems such as a leak in the roof by venting them through it.
A. You’re right! Bath and kitchen fans should never be vented into soffits, attics, gable or ridge vents, basements, or crawl spaces. In cold climates, they should not be vented through the roof either, as condensation runs down the vent, stains ceilings, drips on the floor, and rusts the fan and its housing.
The proper way to vent bath and kitchen fans is through a gable wall. In cold climates, the vents should also be insulated. This is easily done by placing fiberglass batts on each side and on top.
Venting exhaust from middle of house
Q. How can I install a fan in a first-floor half bath that is in the middle of the house? I am stumped, as there is a second floor and I’d rather not cut too many walls and ceilings to do it.
A. If the basement ceiling is open, install the fan in a wall and duct it down to the basement and outside through a band joist.
Be aware of the fact that the chosen wall may have blocking at midpoint or plumbing within the stud spaces. Place the fan below any blocking and check for pipes from the basement.
Q. Several years ago, I replaced my windowless bathroom’s fan with a larger one to handle the humidity. However, mold grows on the ceiling and in the glass dome of the light fixture, and the ceiling paint is cracked.
The vent holes in the ceiling fan seem very narrow and, when I hold a flame to the fan, it hardly flickers. My husband thinks condensation in the hose in the attic may be responsible. Your suggestions would be helpful.
A. Your husband may have put his finger on the problem if, when the fan was installed, the vent pipe used is of the flexible plastic type and there is a dip in it. I have seen this problem a number of times: the dip fills with condensation, and no exhaust takes place. Eventually, the plastic rots, and the water is dumped onto the insulation and the ceiling below.
In my experience, in most climates with cold days in winter, condensation will occur and run back down into the fan housing, causing rusting, water stains, paint peeling, and worse. This is why I recommend running the vent in rigid plastic pipe to a gable wall—and not to a soffit, ridge vent or through the roof, and certainly never discharging into the attic—pitching slightly toward the outside and surrounding it with fiberglass insulation.
Moisture and smells from neighbors’ fan duct
Q. We live in a small apartment building. It used to be a large private house that was remodeled into a four-unit apartment house on two floors. Our problem is that our bathroom is constantly plagued with mold or mildew and, yet, we are only two of us living in the apartment and we use the fan whenever we shower in the morning before going to work.
Our neighbors do not have this problem but, when they use their bathroom, we seem to get some odors and can hear their fan running. What do you think is the problem?
A. I bet that when the remodeling was done, both your bathroom’s fan duct and your neighbors’ were tied into one outlet. It may be that all four apartments have their fans’ ducts tied together. If your apartment is the last one in the ducting, you get everybody’s moisture and other unpleasant aspects of this error.
This can be verified by asking the landlord to check the attic, if accessible, or with the contractor who did the job or by using a smoke candle in each of the apartments. Put the candle close to the fan and let it be drawn up into the duct one at a time to see which is the culprit or if all are. If, during this test, the smoke comes out of your fan, it tells you that the ducts are tied together.
Correcting this problem may entail some tearing up if the attic is not accessible. Or you can seal the fan with plastic and use a window for ventilation, if you have one.
Bathroom fan sometimes optional
Q. The seven-year-old house I just bought has a window but no fan in the bathroom. I am concerned about the steam generated when I take a shower; high levels of humidity and mildew that could, in the long run, cause damage to the walls.
I don’t want to open the window in the winter since it would make the room cold, nor in the summer as I have central air conditioning. Am I concerned for no reason? Should I install a ceiling fan and should I let it vent the humidity into the attic? Wouldn’t that create another problem?
A. Whether the humidity generated by your showering will eventually cause a problem or not depends on the size of the house, the number of occupants and their own bathing habits, other sources of moisture created by your lifestyle, etc.
Go ahead and see what happens without installing a fan. Opening the window for a few minutes after you have finished in the bathroom, and with the bathroom door closed, is not going to cause a great deal loss for heating or AC, and may save you the headache of having to deal with mildew later.
On the other hand, leaving the window closed and the bathroom door open will allow the moisture to dissipate throughout the house, which may not be bad at all, depending on how much additional moisture is generated in the house.
If you decide that you need a fan, it certainly must not be vented into the attic. As you sense, that would create other problems. It should be vented outside through a gable wall.
Finding the right electrician to rewire a house
Q. My house is over 100 years old. It has no insulation. Before I insulate it, I need to have it rewired. I still have the old porcelain knob-and-tube wiring. How do you find a good electrician, and what would be considered an average estimate? Is there anything I should look for? I have a four-bedroom house. The basement is unfinished, and there is an unfinished area over all but two rooms.
A. You should definitely have the knob-and-tube wiring replaced before insulating the house walls. The danger is that once these old wires are buried in the insulation, their own insulation—which is often brittle from age—may overheat and cause a fire.
You didn’t say where you live, but you should be able to find a licensed master electrician qualified to replace your wiring; just be sure that he or she is licensed by the state authority in charge of licensing electricians, plumbers, gas technicians, etc. There is no way I can tell you what this conversion will cost. Since so much of your house is accessible from below, it makes the job that much easier and less costly. To ensure a fair comparison, ask two or three licensed electricians to give you a price, but remember that the lowest price is not always the best. The way you relate to the electricians is more important. And don’t forget to ask for references.
Safely installing a generator for back-up power
Q. I live in the country and have suffered a number of power outages during storms, some lasting several hours. I am planning to install a generator in my garage to keep it dry and easily accessible. Do you have any recommendations on its installation?
A. Do not install the generator in your garage or any enclosed structure! The combustion of any fuel-fired appliance generates deadly carbon monoxide. Install it outside and build a cover over it to protect it but leave at least two sides open.
Have a licensed electrician make the connection to your house wiring as it is absolutely essential that the generator be isolated from your power company lines with a transfer switch. Failure to do so can inadvertently send electric current back through the power company’s lines and that could kill a lineman working to restore the power who is under the impression that the line is dead.
Q. The 22-year-old house we are considering buying has aluminum wiring. Should we be wary of it? We understand that some, not all, junction boxes were rewired using copper connectors. If all were similarly rewired, would that eliminate the problem? What about the service box? And, how well does aluminum wiring age? Will we have to rewire the house? One electrician said rewiring the remaining junction boxes will do the trick; another says steer clear of the whole thing. The eager sellers have reduced the price considerably. We love the house but we are concerned.
A. It is common to find multi-conductor—or stranded—aluminum wiring for entrance cables and appliances such as ranges, but that type of wiring is not usually a problem. Single-conductor aluminum wiring can be a problem as it expands and contracts at a different rate from the brass binding screws and plates of the switches, receptacles and breakers to which it is connected.
A competent licensed electrician can easily detect a problem. You should be concerned if you notice certain bad signs such as warm cover plates, a strange odor, any indications of arcing, static sounds on an AM radio, or flickering lights. However, it is possible there may be no problem, in which case you should leave everything alone.
Problems can be minimized or prevented by the proper amount of torque on the terminal screws and the application of anti-corrosion paste, as should be done on multi-conductor main and branch terminals.
There are a number of relatively simple strategies to correct problems. For example, the breakers, switches, and receptacles can be changed to the “CO/ALR” type that is compatible with aluminum branch wiring. Or copper pigtails can be connected to the aluminum wiring and then to the existing terminals—if the boxes are large enough to accommodate the additional connections.
Lights flicker
Q. A few weeks ago the lights throughout our house began flickering. We have aluminum wiring. This occurred only on occasion. The power company came out twice, checked the line coming into the house, replaced the meter, and assured us the problem was internal.
The electrician is continuing to look for loose connections but believes that a loose wire would not cause flickering throughout the house. Any suggestions?
A. I hope that by now your electrician has located the appropriate loose wires as that has to be the problem. Lights could be flickering throughout the house if they are randomly placed on the same circuit. Tell the electrician which lights flicker at the same time; he or she should be able to trace it back to the proper breaker.
Other possibilities that would cause widespread flickering are a loose connection at the neutral entrance wire or at either of the hot legs. The power company would probably not check that as it is inside the panel. They’re concerned with the outside stuff only.
Backward wiring can damage appliances
Q. Somebody told me that one should be careful in plugging in any appliance that has a wide-prong plug because it could be damaged if the wiring is not correct. He could not explain more. What is he talking about?
A. What your friend is referring to is the proper polarization of the receptacle. If the receptacle has reverse polarity, that is to say that the hot wire (the black one) is attached to the neutral terminal (the silver colored one) instead of the hot terminal (the gold colored one), the integrity of the appliance plugged in is in jeopardy.
The correct connections of any three-prong plugs can be easily checked with a small tool available in electrical supply houses, hardware and building supply stores. It is a simple matter to reverse the wires so the black one is connected to the gold colored terminal and the other to the silver colored one, but make sure the current to that receptacle is off before working on it.
“Exercising” circuit breakers and GFCIs
Q. I read in a government publication titled “Home Electrical Safety Audit” that circuit breakers should be exercised once a year by flipping them on and off at least a dozen times. Is this a good practice?
A. Who would argue with a government publication! However, some other publications mention that it should be done every six months; take your pick. (Relatively few people actually do this, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea.) Needless to say, make sure that any computers or major appliances that may be on the circuit are turned off and/or unplugged.
Ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) should definitely be tested frequently—like once a month; there is a test button on them for the purpose. Reset them after testing, or the plug(s) will not work. You will find GFCIs in bathrooms, laundry rooms, near the kitchen sink, outdoors, and everywhere there is water nearby, or inside the electrical panel as special breakers. The exercising keeps the connections solid and firm.
Grounding prong can be at top or bottom
Q. I am about to do some serious electrical work on my house—a handyman’s special now turned into a handyman’s nightmare. I had given up hope of getting an answer to a perplexing question, but then I thought of you.
The electrician who put in my service told me that my state requires wiring for multiple family units be done according to the National Electrical Code which, in turn, requires that the grounding prong be up on all outlets. This seems backward to me. Can you provide some insight on if and why this is so?
A. There is no such requirement in the NEC, or any code that I know of. Your electrician is mistaken on this score. There may an argument for what he told you, though. If a plug is not fully inserted into the receptacle and some metal object falls on it, the ground leg would prevent the object from making contact across the hot and neutral, thereby causing a short-circuit. But receptacles are installed both ways; it’s up to you or your electrician.
Lights dim when neighbor’s AC starts
Q. Our next-door neighbors recently completed a renovation and installed a larger compressor for their air conditioner. Every time their air conditioner compressor starts, our lights dim briefly. Should I be concerned about this?
A. It sounds as if your house and your neighbors’ house share the same transformer. That transformer may not have the capacity to handle the additional load of your neighbors’ new compressor, which could cause a surge that makes your lights dim. Call your power company and tell them about the problem. They may need to replace the transformer with one of greater capacity.
Recessed bathroom lights turn off and on
Q. The recessed lights which the electrician installed in our new bathroom turn themselves off when they get too hot and then back on when they’ve cooled. This is very annoying but the electrician tells us that this type of light is now required. We need all the light we can get in this bathroom. What can we do?
A. Recessed lights, for a number of years, have been equipped with a thermal cut-off to prevent them from overheating—which can be a serious problem now that we use higher levels of insulation in ceilings. This is to avoid the danger of fire. They are known as IC fixtures.
But your problem is probably caused by a bulb with too high a wattage; recessed fixtures have the maximum wattage that should be used embossed inside the housing, and it is usually 60 watts. Check this out and change the bulbs if necessary; that should take care of it. If this doesn’t give you enough light, you may have to add additional fixtures. Another solution is to get rid of the recessed fixtures and replace them with surface-mounted ones.
Recessed lights in a cathedral ceiling
Q. A few years ago, I added a one-story family room to my house. The room has a peaked ceiling with recessed incandescent ceiling lights. The ceiling is insulated with fiberglass. There is a roof vent and vents in the soffits. The problem is that a lot of cold air comes out of the recessed lights in the winter. Is there anything I can do about this?
A. It is always a mistake to have recessed ceiling lights (also called can lights) in a cathedral ceiling. There is not enough depth in the rafters to accommodate as much insulation as can be put in and still allow for a venting space. Unless a can light is UL-listed as IC (for “insulated ceiling”), no insulation should be closer than three inches from it; this leaves very cold spots. Your problem is that there is little or no insulation above the recessed lights. Why don’t you have them removed, have insulation put in the spaces and a plastic vapor retarder taped over the holes, and then replace the can lights with surface-mounted fixtures.
Cold air comes in through recessed lights
Q. My house is only nine years old and well insulated with one exception. The recessed lights that are in many areas throughout the house allow a significant amount of cold air into the house in the winter time; in fact, probably as much draft as one would find in a very old house.
I have asked for advice, and all I hear is that you can’t put insulation around these lights, and the only solution, an expensive one, is to replace them with the newer recessed lights that don’t permit air to go into the house. Do you have an inexpensive solution for this?
A. Those who recommended changing to lights that “don’t permit air to go into the house” are referring to IC fixtures (IC stands for insulated ceilings). These fixtures can be covered with insulation and would be the best solution to your problem.
You didn’t say but assuming that you have flat ceilings and access to the attic, I’ll pass onto you a system a mechanical engineer friend and I devised years ago to solve this very problem. You can build a collar with 24-inch wide stock aluminum coil roll. Make the collar 24 inches in diameter and fasten its ends with sheet metal screws or pop rivets. Place this collar on top of the existing attic floor insulation Put a sheet of aluminum on top of the collar. Wrap R-13 fiberglass insulation around the collar and place the same type of insulation over the aluminum sheet.
This leaves enough air space around the fixture for the heat generated by the bulb to dissipate while blocking cold air from getting through and providing an insulated jacket. Be aware that this is not a procedure recommended by building codes.
However, if you have cathedral ceilings, there are only four solutions: Replace the fixtures with IC fixtures; replace them with surface mounted fixtures after insulating around the new electrical boxes and repairing the drywall; remove them entirely and patch the ceiling; or live with the problem.
Are heat lamps a health danger?
Q. I recently read an article in a health magazine about the potential long-term harmful effects of sun lamps in tanning salons. How does this relate to combination fan-light-heater ceiling fixtures in bathrooms?
A. First, it’s worth noting that heat lamps are different from sun lamps. A red or white heat lamp would have no tanning or burning effect, while a sun lamp could burn a bald head under it. None of these bulbs provide room heat; only radiant heat to someone in direct line with the bulb.
That said, you would get more ultraviolet rays walking or gardening in the sun than from standing under a sun lamp while drying after a bath.
Clean fluorescent lights work better
Suggestion from a reader: “In your column you talked about a person having problems with the fluorescent lights in their kitchen. I had a similar problem. I tried replacing the switch, ballast and bulb, but the problem persisted. Like you, I discovered that if you flip the switch several times, it would finally go on. This usually worked, but I thought that there might be a better solution. While doing a search on the problem on the Web, I came across a technical bulletin that indicated that this problem would occur during humid weather if the bulb is dirty or dusty. I tried cleaning the bulb, and it finally worked properly. You might want to pass this suggestion on to your readers. I hope that this is helpful.”
Thank you; it’s a great suggestion that I will promptly try it on my recalcitrant fluorescent lights!
Miscellaneous Electrical Questions
Run generator from outside only
Q. We moved into an 18-year-old house last year. During the inspection, the inspector showed me a generator sitting in the basement. He said that it was a very nice unit that probably cost a few thousand dollars. But he said that we needed to hire an electrician to make it run again. Later, I found out from the previous owner that the generator hadn’t been used since her ex-husband moved out 17 years ago.
Recently, a handyman who did some jobs for us saw the generator. He said it runs on natural gas so, once it is plugged in, it will run again. Sounds simple, but not to someone (me) who is scared of everything running with gas and electricity. Is it safe to have a generator in the basement? I did some research on the Internet and found out the unit is supposed to be installed outside. What can I expect from a machine not running for 17 years? All I want is an emergency power supply for the sump pump. Is it easier to just buy the battery-operated set?
A. It is never safe to run any unvented fuel-burning appliances inside. Combustion results in a number of gases, one of which is carbon monoxide, “the silent killer.” Your generator should be moved outside before being serviced and used again. Even after 17 years, it may still work fine.
Generators are used to provide electrical power when power is not available on-site or when there is a power interruption, so it does not run on electricity—it makes it. If your generator is powered by natural gas, contact the supplier of the natural gas and ask them if they service the type of unit you have and to connect it to the gas supply. You will still need an electrician to make sure the generator is operational and to connect it to the house’s electrical system. If the generator is powered by gasoline or diesel, an electrician can handle the entire job.
Electrical outlet makes clock run fast
Q. One of our electrical outlets makes our clocks run fast. At first, I thought the clock I plugged into it was malfunctioning so I bought a new clock. The same thing happened. Then, I plugged them both into a different outlet in the same room, and they were fine. What’s going on?
A. According to a master electrician friend who also has taught vocational school for many years, the only possibility that comes to mind is that high frequency is being induced into the circuit into which you first plugged the clocks; this would cause them to accelerate.
This may be caused by ham radio or other electronic equipment using high frequency. But this should apply to all outlets on the same circuit. So, to verify this hypothesis, you should determine if the other receptacle into which you plugged the clocks in the same room is on a different circuit. You can do that by having someone turn off the breaker that controls the speedy receptacle while you watch a lamp plugged into it. When that lamp goes off, plug it into the other receptacle and see if it lights up. If it does not, both receptacles are on the same circuit and we continue to have a mystery.
Replacements for old-fashioned light switches
Q. Several of the light switches in my 1920s house are of the two-button type, and two are broken. Where can I find replacements?
A. These will not be easy to find in most hardware stores, but push-button switches are obtainable from several sources on the Internet. One such source is the House of Antique Hardware at www.houseofantiquehardware.com.
Over the years, you have read my recommendation to buy and install carbon monoxide (CO) detectors on each level of your house. A recent event that could have had tragic consequences prompts me not just to remind you, but to exhort you to do it now if you haven’t done so already.
Good friends of mine live in an old house in the country. They have been heating with coal for years because they prefer its even heat to the auxiliary oil-fired capability of their furnace. They haven’t had a CO detector in the house all these years, but finally bought and installed a plug-in type detector just before the heating season started. During the holidays, at about 2 a.m. one morning, they were awakened by the screeching of the detector. Its digital readout registered 200—a lethal dose over time. Not being able to put the coal fire out, they opened all the windows in the house in spite of the cold night and went back to bed to stay warm.
After a while, the house was so cold that they closed the windows; shortly after that, the detector screeched again so they re-opened the windows. This went on for the rest of the night. They had a technician come to examine the furnace, and he found a crack in the heat exchanger. Had they not installed the CO detector, they would no longer be with us and would have left two young adult daughters without their parents.
Unfortunately, putting off installing CO and smoke detectors can have catastrophic results. In fact, such procrastination or negligence was responsible for the deaths of two young men after a day of skiing several years ago in my home state of Vermont. The investigators found a CO detector in its package on a shelf next to their boiler room, and a smoke detector that had been disabled. Had the CO detector been installed, these young men would still be alive today.
Please, if you haven’t already done so, go out and buy a good-quality plug-in (with battery backup) CO detector for each floor of your house, and install it according to the instructions in the package.
Schedule testing of smoke detectors
All smoke detectors need to be tested regularly, including the fall, as we approach the heating season. Test them by pushing on the test button. If they are solely battery-operated (as opposed to hardwired to the electric system), you should change the batteries as you turn your clocks back. It is not worth the risk to rely on a battery that is one year old. If they have any life left, use the old batteries on something less important or recycle them properly.
Appliances should be vented
Q. You have recently written that all fossil fuel appliances should be vented outside. In the ’40s, we replaced our vented gas range with a new range that is not vented to the outside and I haven’t seen a single vented gas range for sale anywhere.
We just installed a brand new ventless fireplace in our living room. It is true that, when first installed, it set off both smoke detectors and the carbon monoxide detector half a house away. The gas company sent someone to adjust it and we have had no problem since. We do keep a window cracked as recommended in the fireplace literature when it is in use.
But when we cook with the oven and four burners all at once, they use more gas than the fireplace. For well over 40 years I have vented my gas dryer into the basement in the winter and have had no problems. I believe you may have needlessly scared some readers with your comments in this case.
A. You may have a very leaky house and if you wish to have a window open during the winter to provide fresh air for the fireplace, you are also wasting energy. People living in the tighter houses of today should use vented appliances or provide fresh air to the boiler by other means. Having investigated fatal accidents caused by carbon monoxide, I am very conscious of the problems this gas can cause when it becomes concentrated for whatever reason. It’s a warning all should heed.
Replacing asbestos pipe insulation
Q. We recently had the asbestos wrap insulation professionally removed from our heating pipes in the basement although we were told, when we bought the house four years ago, there was no need to remove it. I feel better that it’s not there anymore. Our home is heated by steam heat.
We did not re-insulate the pipes and are not sure if it is necessary. After all, when the furnace is running, the basement is warm and I would think that the warm air would rise up through the floor into the first floor area. Should we insulate the pipes? My husband and I have been debating this for months.
A. If the asbestos was in good condition it needn’t be removed, according to the EPA and the CPSC (Consumer Protection Safety Commission). However, for anyone who has young children who play in the basement, it is a good idea to have the asbestos encapsulated to avoid damage in case of rough play. The important thing is that you feel better having had it removed.
I would recommend re-insulating the steam pipes with special fiberglass pipe insulation to keep the steam hot all the way through the system. Unless you insulate the pipes, the steam may cool and condense before it has a chance to heat the farthest radiator. The steam boiler’s radiated and convected heat is sufficient to keep your basement warm.
Duct coated with asbestos
Q. I am preparing to sell my house, which was built in 1952. A heating duct for the bedrooms passes through my unheated attached garage. This duct has an asbestos covering. The duct is fastened to the gypsum board or plastered ceiling, leaving three asbestos-covered sides exposed.
I am told that because of the asbestos the house will not pass inspection, but that if I cover the asbestos it will pass inspection. I thought I would cover it with fiberglass insulation batts. None of the insulation comes in a width that would wrap around the heating duct. I believe it would need to be a minimum of 35 (preferably 40) inches wide and anything up to 70 feet in length. I don’t suppose that it would have to be insulation material. Can you suggest a material that I can use to cover the heating duct, and, if so where I can purchase it?
A. If you are referring to a pre-purchase building inspection for a prospective buyer, be aware that the Standards of Practice of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) do not direct inspectors to pass or fail a house inspection. If the passing or failing grade is meted out by your local authorities, that’s something else entirely. But the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) and the EPA do not mandate the removal of asbestos that is in good condition. They recommend encapsulating it if it is in need of repairs, and otherwise just leaving it alone.
The simplest thing to do in your case, to ensure that there won’t be any hitch with a concerned buyer, is to have a carpenter build a box around the duct. Although not needed, fiberglass insulation can be stapled in sections in the framework of the box to increase the existing insulation provided by the asbestos that was put there for that purpose.
Using the wrong chimney caps is dangerous
In the course of my consulting work, I often see dangerous situations on chimney tops. Many chimneys have multiple flues—sometimes as many as three. For a number of good reasons, the flue liners that protrude from the brickwork are topped with either masonry or metal weather caps. These come in different shapes.
Most of the ones I see are flat metal caps with slightly downturned edges to shed water. There is no problem with these caps when there is only one flue in the chimney, but there is a potentially deadly situation when there are two or more flues capped with these types of caps. The flues are usually only a few inches apart and the caps are wider than the flues. In many cases, these caps almost touch each other and, in most cases, their legs are only a few inches high—another problem (there should be a clear space of a minimum of 10 inches between the top of the flue liners and the weather cap).
As one appliance is fired—be it a boiler, furnace or fireplace—the gases from the combustion hit the weather cap and are forced sideways. Unfortunately, the fired appliance creates a negative air pressure in the house that must be made up by outside air drawn into the house to equalize the pressure. In houses built in the pre-energy crisis of the early ’70s, there are a lot of air entry points in the house and this is helpful. But in the tight houses built since then, the easiest and often only point of entry for this make-up air is another flue. So the combustion gases, constrained by the caps, are drawn back down into the house, creating an extremely dangerous buildup of carbon monoxide gases in the house.
Another type of weather cap is shaped like a tunnel. The same dangerous situation can occur if one of these caps is installed so it faces an adjacent uncovered flue or if two or more of these caps are facing each other. I recently saw a chimney that had three of these caps lined up to form a long tunnel with very little space between each of the caps. These caps are fine and safe, but only if they are installed so that their sides are parallel to each other.
In chimneys built by experienced masons and capped by a slate or concrete cap, the flues are separated by what is called wythes—walls of bricks or stones built between each flue preventing the gases from one flue from being sucked down into another. The same should be done—in this case with metal dividers—if flat weather caps are used.
I urge you to check your chimney tops and take appropriate corrective measures if you find the conditions described above. They may save your lives or prevent the ill effects caused by the inhalation of carbon monoxide (CO). And be sure that you have functioning CO monitors in all areas of your house as recommended by health officials.
Product improves wood-stove safety
A very effective way to reduce creosote formation—and staining—is to use ACS (Anti-Creo-Soot) daily following directions on the spray bottle. Used daily, ACS converts creosote to an inert powder instead of the corrosive and smelly liquid it is. I recommend it highly, having used it every wood-heating day in my wood stove for close to 30 years.
For the readers who are not acquainted with ACS, it is a catalytic water-borne formula that changes the chemistry of the gases generated by wood-burning and prevents the formation of the very dangerous type III, glaze creosote on the walls of chimneys that can lead to chimney fires and is very hard to get rid of.
The deposits from these gases, with regular use of ACS, will be in the form of a very light brown ash similar to that found in oil burning. It is very easy to sweep it off the chimney walls at the end of the season. And ACS, if used daily, will also change existing type III creosote into the same harmless brown ash. Chimney sweeps love it because it makes their work a lot easier.
ACS can be purchased from many chimney sweeps or stove shops, or ordered from any number of Internet stores, including www.northlineexpress.com .
Smelly oil spill
Q. The oil company providing us with fuel overfilled the underground tank. The oil went over my river rocks and got on the side of my foundation. The pipe is close to a cellar window, so every time I open it I can smell the oil. What can I do to eliminate the smell? I have already used cat litter.
A. It sounds as if your underground oil tank is not equipped with a whistle fill-vent alarm. Some oil companies will not supply fuel oil to such tanks, as it’s a guessing game with potential results like those you have experienced. You should ask your fuel supplier to install such a device so you won’t have a spill happen again.
As to cleaning the river rocks; how big are they? Can you move them to some safe area where they can be cleaned without penetrating into the soil? You can try to clean them and the affected area of the foundation by rubbing Speedy Dry (buy in automotive stores) on them or using Spray 9 (buy in hardware or janitorial supply stores). Then, lay them on a plastic sheet after cleaning them and place them in a sunny spot and let the sun do the job over time. To eliminate the odor, use Odor Kill spray (buy in plumbing supply houses).
Have you dealt with the contaminated soil around the spill? If not, and there isn’t too much of a spill, you should dig up the contaminated soil and place it on a plastic sheet in an area out of the way as the treatment will take a long time (a year or more). Mix cow manure with the soil and cover it with another plastic sheet to keep water out of it; turn the mixture over every once in a while. Once all smell is gone out of the pile, you can use it as compost in your garden.
Q. The heating system of the house I recently bought was changed from oil to natural gas prior to my purchasing it. After moving in, I discovered that the oil tank, left in the basement, is full of oil to the top (270 gallons). I would like to have the tank removed from the basement and, therefore, need to have the oil pumped out or drained out. How should I go about it?
A. Call heating oil dealers and ask if they will pump the oil out and remove the tank for you at no charge, the oil being their compensation.
Underground oil tank endangers water supply
Q. Our 40-year-old underground fuel tank is near our well. I worry about it leaking. Is it true that water would seep in before oil would leak out? It has been nicked twice by backhoes.
A. Water may seep in if the holes are above the oil level but, if the holes are below, oil will seep out. You can have a pressure test run by a fuel oil dealer equipped to do it, but it’s expensive. It may make more sense to just have the 40-year-old tank replaced; it’s probably time. Oil leaks can contaminate the aquifer for miles around, not just your well.
Safely retiring an underground oil tank
In an earlier column, I advised a reader, if he decided not to remove a no-longer-used underground oil tank, to fill it with sand—a very tedious project and one difficult to accomplish thoroughly.
Upon researching the subject further, I have become aware of a faster and more thorough system, but one which is not a do-it-yourself project. Your fuel oil dealer can direct you to a contractor who can pour a cement-sand slurry through the filler pipe. The advantage of this system is that the slurry completely fills the tank and will harden in time, whereas sand alone cannot. Therefore, when the tank eventually rusts away, settlement will be kept to a minimum.
But removal is still the best method, and may be the only one permitted in your area. Your fuel oil dealer can advise you of your options.
Oil smell can signal danger
Q. There is an oil smell coming from my 20-year-old furnace after the burner has shut off but while the fan is still running. The smell seems to be coming from the registers. The serviceman installed an outside air intake near the furnace because he said that this was caused by the flue gases being drawn down the chimney because air escaping at the top of the house was being replaced that way.
This has not cured the problem. Do you have another thought?
A. There may be cracks in the heat exchanger and this should be checked immediately, as it is dangerous. When the burner comes on, the metal heat exchanger expands and any small cracks close up. But after the burner shuts off and the fan begins to cool the exchanger down, the cracks open up again and that is when you begin to smell the fumes. Heating contractors have devices to check this out.
Bringing in fresh air for heating system
Q. I am thinking of installing a duct from the return plenum on my forced air furnace to the outside, to bring in fresh air which will be warmed and distributed through the house. It will have a damper, which can be closed on rainy or humid days—or should it have an automatic damper, if that is not too expensive?
A. It is a good idea to install a duct from the outside to the return air duct of warm air furnace in houses that have excessive humidity because they are too tight, or the occupants generate a lot of moisture, or a new high-efficiency furnace has reduced the number of air changes in the house. But it should only be a small duct—no larger than 4 inches—to avoid condensation on the inside of the furnace that would lead to rust and premature destruction.
Use a round duct; install a manual damper which should seldom, if ever, need to be closed but which will allow you to regulate the amount of fresh air and install a dryer-type wall jack outside with the flap removed or blocked open.
Install a piece of ¼-inch mesh hardware cloth over the opening outside to keep out rodents, birds, and large insects such as bumble-bees. Smaller insects will be captured by the furnace filter. Insulate the portion of this duct that is inside the building to prevent condensation and dripping on the floor.
Avoiding allergens from old ducts
Q. We are planning to have central air conditioning installed in our 40-year-old house. Our three-year-old oil-fired furnace has a humidifier system. The ducts are metal except for one plastic section. Should we be concerned about health problems, i.e.: bacteria, fungi, etc., since the cold air will flow through those old ducts?
A. There is no reason that I am aware of why you should have any trouble as long as you make sure that the humidifier is emptied, disinfected with household bleach, and thoroughly dried before the cooling season starts. That should be done at the end of the heating season in any case, whether there is air conditioning or not.
You may also want to have the ducts cleaned professionally to remove accumulated dirt and dust in them that could be a breeding ground for bacteria and a source of allergens.
Filtering forced-air heat
Q. I read your column with great interest. I have a very important question about heating systems. Most newer homes have forced warm air heating because of the lower cost of installation. I intend to move into a newer condo with this type of heating. I know of the downside of these systems (dryness, allergies, etc.). I read in Consumer Reports magazine about a whole-house filter that is very efficient but costing around $600. Any comments on this filter made by Aprilaire?
A. The electronic filter you are referring to will not take care of the dryness of the air but it will certainly go a long way toward assuring your comfort by removing 94 percent of the allergens passing through it. Aprilaire also makes top-of-the-line humidifiers that are installed in the furnace’s plenum. You may want to have both the humidifier and the electronic filter installed for complete comfort.
But be aware that, in the last few decades, newer construction is generally tighter than it used to be, and that many areas have energy codes regulating or encouraging more energy-efficient buildings. These newer buildings can have undesirably high relative humidity from the occupants’ normal activities, and not need any added moisture.
Ductwork sweats and drips
Q. The warm-air furnace with air conditioning is in our basement. In the summer, there is a severe and intolerable damp mildew smell in the basement. The ductwork closest to the unit sweats and drips onto the floor and we believe that this is the origin of the odor. Is there a way to remedy this smelly problem? We have bought a top-of-the line dehumidifier but it has not taken care of the problem.
A. A dehumidifier would be the solution I would suggest but since you have one and it does not take care of the problem, you should have the plenum on top of the furnace and all accessible supply ducts in the basement insulated.
Obviously, your condenser is fully-charged and operating efficiently, thus sending very cold air through the plenum and the supply ducts. Insulating these ducts would push the problem further down the line but the inaccessible supply ducts to the first floor registers are very short.
Those to the second floor (if your house has one) have such a small cross section that the cold air going through them would cool the surrounding area enough to prevent the dew point and condensation.
Q. Is there a natural product that can be sprayed into the ducts of our forced-air heating system to clear any mold or mildew that might have accumulated in them? We had the system professionally cleaned about five years ago.
A. Do you have any evidence that there is mold or mildew in the ducts? If you are not using an in-furnace humidifier, there is probably little chance there is a problem. You probably have air-conditioning as well; this dehumidifies the summer’s warm, moist air and should help keep the ducts dry.
I am assuming that your ducts are made of metal. The lining of fiberglass ducts is more prone to the growth of molds.
There is a product used by certified EPA applicators called Oxine that is used to disinfect ducts but its use is recommended only when there is definite evidence of a problem. It is not a do-it-yourself job. In any event, the industry recommends vacuum cleaning warm air systems’ ducts every three to five years, so you may want to have that done again soon and, if you have a mold problem, that would be the time to treat the ducts.
Covering an AC compressor
Q. I missed your article on covering whole-house air-conditioning compressors located outside the home. I have been partially covering mine with a plastic tarp across the top, leaving about 12 inches of the sides towards the bottom open so moisture is not trapped. Please advise if this is correct. Thank you.
A. What you are doing is fine. An exterior compressor should not be completely sealed up for winter as it would trap moisture; it needs some ventilation.
Reducing noise from return vent
Q. My townhouse has a large return duct for the air conditioning and heat in the living room. It is so noisy that it’s hard to converse, and I must turn the television up to hear it. Can something be done to reduce the noise?
A. The noise can be due to equipment noise or to air noise. A qualified heating and air conditioning contractor can determine which it is and make the repairs. To correct either will probably require opening the wall that conceals the duct.
If it is equipment noise, there may not be a flex joint isolating the duct from the furnace; if it is an air noise, the duct will probably have to be changed to a larger one lined with fiberglass, and it may even need to contain some insulated baffles and elbows to bounce the sound around.
Noises from new furnace boiler
Q. We replaced our boiler three years ago. In the first year, we put up with assorted thumps, bangs and gurgles because the installer said it would take time to settle in. The same thing happened during the next heating season and a repairman performed various maintenance checks to no avail. And we’ve had the noises again this past heating season. The baseboards were bled, so that is not the problem. What do you suggest?
A. New boilers have very little water in them and they heat very fast, which can account for the noises that have plagued you. My expert has solved similar problems by adding a T in the feed and another one in the return, and installing another circulator between the two and wired to the burner to give more flow through the boiler. He told me that this problem is more prevalent with boilers that have an output of over 100,000 BTUs. Discuss this with your heating contractor; it may be what you need.
Steam boiler makes banging noise
Q. My house is heated with a Peerless steam boiler two-pipe system. When the boiler is cold and pushing steam, there is a bang-bang-bang noise in the pipes. What is causing this? The boiler is 12 years old.
A. There are several possibilities that come to mind if the banging occurs when the boiler starts generating steam. Here are a couple:
- The pipes may not have the right pitch. This can cause water to pool in a section of pipe. Then, when steam is generated, it pushes this water to the nearest fitting, causing the banging. Water puddles in any section of pipe will also cause steam to condense over them, which will result in a vacuum and cause the water to bang.
- The steam supply pipes may not be insulated. This will cause steam to condense and result in water hammer—the banging you hear.
There are other possibilities, so your best bet is to have an experienced steam technician inspect your system and correct the problem. Don’t put it off, as water hammer can cause damage to some parts of the system.
Booming sound when gas furnace turns on
Q. I purchased a used mobile home a few years ago. During the heating season, whenever the propane gas furnace comes on, there is a loud boom. The former owner told me it was caused by a cold chimney. Is this a dangerous condition? It causes vibrations in that part of the trailer every time the gas ignites.
A. It is not a normal condition and it can be caused by the wrong orifice in the furnace, wrong gas pressure, maladjustment of the air supply to the burner, or wrong-size chimney. The latter is not likely in a manufactured home, so your heating contractor should look into the other possibilities.
Q. When the fan on our furnace goes on, both for heat or air conditioning, there is a slight hissing sound coming from the vents. Is this normal?
A. There are several possibilities. Was the air conditioning installed at the same time as the furnace, or is it an add-on? If an add-on, is the hissing sound dating back from that time only? It is possible that the hissing sound is caused by the slight restriction of the air flow as it goes through the air conditioning A-coil that is in the plenum above the furnace. It may be perfectly normal but, if you want to be sure, have an air-conditioning contractor check it out.
Q. When the forced-air furnace comes on, it is accompanied by a sound from the ducts similar to the sounds heard when a house settles. It is causing me to lose sleep. The house is 40 years old and this is the original furnace. Do you have any idea why the system makes such a racket and how it can be fixed?
A. The ducts may be popping while expanding. If much of the ductwork is accessible from the basement or crawl space, your heating contractor may be able to identify the culprits and take measures to control the movement.
Air in hot-water heating system
Q. We live in a condo and have a boiler with baseboard heating units. This has been going on for a couple months. A gurgling sound occurs every time the heat comes on, then continues for several minutes. Is it something that will take care of itself or does it require having a heating person check it out?
A. You should have a heating contractor come and bleed the system.
Q. I need information about heating pipe turbulence problem, night and day, in our 19-unit condo. Two new boilers were installed last fall and the expansion tank adjusted. I also understand that most of the units’ owners had their zone valves replaced. The blasting continued until the end of the heating season in May.
Should the pipes be drained again? It helped one year but not the previous year. Can you further guide us?
A. If the sound of the water is a loud bang, the problem is with the zone valves. If the sound is of water swishing through the pipes, either the circulator is oversized or you need an air separator. If the sound of water through the pipes is similar to a waterfall, there is air in the system.
If your heating contractor is not able to solve this problem for you, you may want to call in a mechanical engineer. You should be able to find one in the Yellow Pages under “Engineers-Mechanical.”
Finding a quiet boiler
Q. I plan to replace my 28-year-old oil-fired boiler with a new 80%-plus efficiency model. I want a quiet model because the room adjacent to the boiler could be used as a bedroom. Do you know of any boiler designed to be quiet running?
A. The Energy Kinetics System 2000 boiler is state-of-the-art and very efficient, but quietness is, after all, very personal. You could also, when finishing the bedroom, take some measures to reduce the sound transmission.
Q. Your recent discussion of soundproofing a furnace room was of special interest to me. I am remodeling my basement and would like to soundproof the injection pump, which is located in the closet of an adjoining room.
I would like more information on several terms you used. What is dense insulation made to deaden sound? What is sound-deadening board? And what are resilient channels? I would also like to put sound-deadening material in the ceiling of the basement before I enclose it with wallboard. Your suggestions, please.
A. Fiberglass manufacturers make a special type of insulation used as acoustical material that is denser than the type used for heat retention. Sound-deadening board is a fiberboard also made to absorb some sound. Resilient channels are metal channels that are fastened directly to the wall framing or through resilient board or wall finish and onto which drywall is attached.
When airborne sounds hit the wall finish, the resilient channels cause it to vibrate and thus reduce the transfer of sound to the framing and the other side of the wall. In other words, resilient channels act as shock absorbers. They should be installed in the room in which the noise is generated.
Use the same system for the ceiling as you would for the walls. You should be able to buy all these items in well-stocked building supply stores. If they are not carried in stock, they should be able to order them for you. Smaller retail building supply stores have more flexibility in special ordering than the larger stores.
Loud noise from neighbor’s AC
Q. Our new neighbors have installed an air conditioning and heat pump unit. It stands on a concrete slab outside, between their home and ours. The noise is overwhelming and, when the unit is running on high, our concrete floor vibrates. Is there a buffer that can be installed to eliminate this noise? We appreciate any help you can give.
A. There is something you can do to reduce both the noise and the vibration of your slab, but you need your neighbor’s cooperation, as it has to be done from their side—and, hopefully, at their expense if they are good neighbors.
I once successfully solved this problem for someone by building a two-faced brick wall with each brick set at an angle (instead of the bricks laid in a running bond, as is usually done). This made for a sawtooth pattern that is very effective in deadening sound. Because of the configuration of the bricks there is also a space between the two faces, and the sound bounces on the staggered bricks of the outer wall.
The wall should be built on the edges of the concrete pad that the air conditioning unit is on, facing your house and with side wings around the unit, but should still allow access for servicing. The wall should be about 1 foot higher than the unit. To reduce the vibrations, the unit should be set on heavy-duty rubber blocks.
Problems Caused by Modern Upgrades
Modern houses are made comfortable with far less fuel than older houses need. But ironically, modernizing sometimes brings problems. For example, old chimneys may drip condensation because modern appliances don’t keep them warm, and tight houses may not provide the combustion air needed for burning fossil fuels or wood. Over the years, many readers have expressed surprise at the new problems they face, and have asked how to deal with them.
Dangers in venting new furnace through a chimney
Q. I had a new high-efficiency gas furnace installed and it is causing a problem. A great amount of moisture accumulates in the chimney flue, flows down to the bottom of the chimney and spills over onto the basement floor.
The only way I have found to eliminate this problem is to open the clean-out door at the bottom of the chimney and leave it open during the heating season. How can these two things be connected?
A. Although you were very clever in opening the clean-out door, thus introducing a lot of additional air into the chimney that helps absorb the high level of moisture contained in the fumes generated by the high-efficiency furnace, this is neither safe nor the solution to the problem.
Condensation occurs on the walls of the chimney when the highly humid and cool gases from the combustion process of high-efficiency furnaces come in contact with the cold walls of the flue liner. Less efficient furnaces had much hotter flue gases, which prevented condensation from occurring.
The best way to solve your problem is to have the furnace vented through the wall, as most of them are designed to be, instead of through a regular chimney. The instructions that came with the new furnace undoubtedly state so, and it is surprising that the installer did not know that.
The present installation is dangerous. The condensation contains corrosive chemicals that can cause deterioration of the liner and its mortar, leading to openings in the walls of the chimney through which the gases can leak into the house, spalling of bricks and mortar that can clog the very small opening of the new furnace’s flue. This causes gases to flow back into the house or back flow, for whatever reason, through the open clean-out door, with the same results.
The only safe way to use an existing chimney to vent today’s high-efficiency furnaces is to run the same diameter flue all the way to the top of the chimney. So why do that when it is simpler to run the vent through a wall as intended in the first place? The installer created a potentially dangerous and life-threatening condition and he should be responsible for correcting it. Once the correction is made, you may want to consider having the now unused chimney sealed with a slate or equivalent at its top to keep the elements and cold out.
Humidity increases with high-efficiency furnace
Q. Our 20-year-old house is heated with a high-efficiency gas furnace and we are beset with a high humidity problem, in the 70% range, in spite of our running a dehumidifier constantly. What can we do about it?
A. You may have noticed a considerable increase in relative humidity in the house when you switched from a standard gas furnace to the new high-efficiency type. That’s because the old one created artificial infiltration by sucking in cold outside air through whatever cracks the air could find in order to replace the air the furnace sent up the chimney. This dried up your house by changing the air often.
Conversely, the new high-efficiency furnaces draw air from outside through a pipe going through the wall of the house and exhaust the same air through another pipe generally inside the first one. As a result, they do not create artificial infiltration and the air in the house is not changed every time the furnace comes on.
You should examine your home and your habits, and make changes as needed. Vent the dryer outside, don’t dry clothes on indoor lines, use bathroom and kitchen fans, cover the crawl-space dirt with 6-mil plastic, grade the land away from the house, reduce the number of water-loving indoor plants, open windows on milder days to air the house, etc.
A dehumidifier is not very efficient at winter indoor temperatures, and over time uses a lot of electricity.
Dirty condensation from chimney
Q. We recently changed from oil heat to gas heat and have noticed a brownish liquid coming out of the connection of the chimney and the flue pipe and through the chimney blocks. It is now running on the concrete floor. What is happening?
A. While you were burning oil as your heating fuel, soot deposits formed on the inner walls of the chimney. Since you changed to gas and installed what is probably a high-efficiency furnace, cooler gases are sent up the chimney and are condensing on its walls. This causes the oil soot to become soggy and run down the chimney.
The contractor installing the gas furnace should have recommended that you get the chimney cleaned before using the new furnace. Have it done promptly.
You will still see condensation, although it will be cleaner. One way to eliminate the condensation problem is to have a stainless-steel liner of the proper size for the furnace installed in the chimney and special insulation poured between the original flue and the liner. This will keep the gases warmer.
Heat costs rise after AC is installed
Q. I had an air conditioning unit installed two years ago and I am very satisfied with its performance but the cost of heating in winter has risen considerably.
The compressor is in the attic where the floor is insulated with 8-inch batts. I asked the installer about closing all eight room supply vents and the large central return in winter. He said to leave them open. If I close those nine openings to prevent warm air from going into the ductwork in the attic, will this damage the compressor because the attic becomes so cold in winter?
A. Since you have noticed a considerable increase in heat costs now that the air-conditioning has been installed, it’s a fair bet your diagnosis is correct; warm air rises through all the registers, gets into the air-conditioning ducts in the attic, and causes a considerable amount of heat loss, even though the ducts may be insulated, as they aren’t insulated for winter conditions.
Go ahead and seal the ducts by sticking tight-fitting pieces of 2-inch rigid foam insulation into the ducts, after removing the registers. Poke some cotton or other loose material around to seal any cracks between the foam and the sheet metal.
But before you insert the insulation into the ducts, make a handle so you can remove it in the spring. Cut long strips of duct tape and stick it over the top of the insulation and down the sides, with several inches to spare, then fold the excess over itself, leaving a tab about 2-to-3 inches long for that purpose.
Don’t worry about the compressor getting cold; many of them spend the winter outside. You should be a lot more comfortable and reduce your heating bills.
Keeping Temperatures Even Throughout the House
Keeping a house comfortable throughout is partly a function of the mechanical systems, so it is worth discussing here, but be sure to also check the chapter on insulation.
Ventilating attic to reduce summer heat
Q. The upstairs level of our two-story home gets very hot during the summer. I’m thinking about putting a power roof vent to remove the hot air. Would it help if I also put in a vent in the ceiling of the upper level to draw air from the living area into the attic and out the vent? I would plan to cover the hole in the ceiling with insulation during the heating season. The house has a 4-in-12-inch pitch roof and the attic has 12 inches of insulation. There are six 12×4-inch vents in the eaves.
A. Instead of installing a roof ventilator, why don’t you increase the attic ventilation by means of a baffled ridge vent? You should also increase the eaves’ vents and make sure that air can circulate freely between the insulation and the roof sheathing. This should cool the attic enough that you should not need the attic fan nor the hole in the ceiling. Twelve inches of insulation should be enough to keep you cool if you lower the attic’s temperature. You can also use a window fan.
Whole-house fan instead of AC?
Q. Last summer I bought a craftsman-style house. The third floor has living space including a bedroom and full bath, plus attic space with two windows. There is no air-conditioning in the house. In my previous home (a 1922 side entrance colonial) I installed central AC and I was quite happy with it for 17 years. I thought of doing this here as well.
However, I have second thoughts about it. I am thinking that an attic fan (whole house fan) might be a solution to circulate air throughout the house. And maybe a couple of ceiling fans in the bedrooms. I don’t like the idea of window units. I am looking for an opinion on this and pros and cons for installing the attic fan versus installing central AC.
A. I hesitate to recommend a fixed whole-house fan in a ceiling because there is seldom enough exhaust outlet out of the roof and gables for such a fan’s capacity. It also needs to be insulated for winter to prevent heat loss into the attic and cold air shooting down through it, unless you choose the Tamarack Technologies’s HV1600-GDR Whole House Ventilator, which has double motorized R-38 doors: www.tamtech.com.
If the fan is installed in a gable wall, the louvered ceiling panel through which the house air is drawn into the attic will also need to be insulated in winter for the same reason. But a large window fan installed in one of the storage attic windows, or one in each window, would do a good job of keeping you cool as long as you opened one or two selected windows on opposite sides of the house. These fans are light enough to handle so they are easy to put up and take down seasonally and the window can still be operated as needed.
But this will only help cool the house when the outdoor temperature is cooler than the indoor one.
Heating and cooling upstairs of cape-style house
Q. I’d like to improve the cooling and heating in the upstairs bedroom of our Cape Cod house. Would a duct fan be a good solution? I’d like to wire the duct fan off the furnace/AC fan. Can the connecting wire be run inside the duct?
A. Running the wire, or anything else, through the duct represents a code violation. Cape-type houses often have the problem yours has because the heating and air conditioning system is not generally designed to handle the half story under the roof, which would have been considered to be an attic at the time of original construction. Ducts of the right size to handle delivery and return of air are not always easy to install later, when the upstairs is being finished.
Before going to the trouble of installing a new duct fan, why don’t you try “constant air circulation”; turn on the furnace fan and let it run constantly during the heating and cooling seasons. These fans are designed to run all the time.
If this does not do it, consult a heating and air conditioning contractor; it may be possible to run another supply or a return duct through a closet. This is a better solution than installing a duct fan and trying to wire it to the main fan.
Better heat circulation needed upstairs
Q. The upstairs rooms of our cottage are too warm in the summer and too cold in the winter, in spite of the fact that there are ducts carrying heat and air conditioning to these rooms. Would putting small fans over the registers in these rooms move more air and make a difference? Would that affect the other rooms? Are there fans for that purpose? Where can they be purchased?
A. There are fans made to be installed inside ducts, under the registers, to increase the amount of heat delivered in rooms suffering from poor distribution of air. But it would be better to have the present system balanced, presuming, of course, that the ducts to the upstairs rooms are sized properly.
You should have a heating contractor survey the system and advise you.
Heat lost in complex network of ducts
Q. We purchased our home 16 months ago and realized last winter that the heat in the master bedroom is insufficient. The room was added to the dwelling by the previous owner three years ago and was heated/cooled via a flexy ductwork tube, which began in the basement, snaked up the side of the house then branched into four separate flexy ducts in the attic, entering our room through four vents in the ceiling (whew!).
I have been told by my HVAC technician that this is too far for the air to travel efficiently (by the time the air came through the vents, it was cold). We have since disconnected this contraption and have boosted circulation to other rooms in our home (air was being leeched-off the main duct for the master bedroom). But we are now left with a very chilly bedroom.
My question: Do we abandon all of the ductwork above the ceiling and install baseboard heat? Or do we look into a heat-pump system, which I understand is a bit expensive? The room stays comfortable in the summer, so we have gotten by without a window unit. Heat appears to be the biggest obstacle.
A. You are right! Whew! Who ever thought this system up? The air running through a duct or ducts from the basement to the bedroom on the outside is bound to become cold by the time it reaches its destination.
Ask your HVAC contractor for his or her advice on the most practical way to increase the heat in the bedroom. A separate through-the-wall unit or even electric baseboard may turn out to be the best solution if the present system cannot be satisfactorily extended within the conditioned envelope of the house.
If you have gas, you may want to consider having your HVAC people install a through-the-wall Rinnai heater. These heaters are very efficient and can easily be sized to fit the need of your master bedroom.
Bedroom too cold in winter
Q. We are unable to use one bedroom in winter because it is too cold. Not much heat is coming out of the duct and the room feels damp. The house was built in 1962; it is built of solid masonry and it is semi-detached.
There is a chimney against the wall of this bedroom, but the fireplace in the living room below is not used. We have had the roof inspected, the furnace replaced, thermal windows installed, and attic insulation added. I don’t know what to do next. Someone has suggested that it may be a ventilation problem, caused by a damp roof. Who should I call to help me with this problem?
A. I assume the bedroom is on the second floor. If the duct to this bedroom is set in the solid masonry wall, it is separated from the cold outdoors by only 4 inches of masonry. And if it is coming from the basement, by the time the air gets to the bedroom, it has cooled so much it isn’t doing you much good.
Attic dampness may also be a contributing factor. Your utility company may have a service under which an expert could check the attic. If not, call in a home inspector. Then have a heating contractor check the system to see if it can be improved by adjusting dampers to direct more heat to the bedroom or, more likely, by running a new duct to it through interior spaces.
No heat from second-story baseboard
Q. My hot water heating system is 35 years old. It heats my basement and one-and-a-half story house. But there is no heat coming out of the second-floor bathroom baseboard. When I bleed it, water comes out but it won’t heat.
My concern is that the feed pipes looping around the house are 1¼-inch black pipes feeding ¾-inch copper pipes to the baseboards. Is there any way I can clean and flush the system without tearing out any piping?
A. Since water comes out when you bleed the bathroom radiator, there may be blockage in the return pipe in the form of rust, perhaps, from the iron pipes. You could try to reverse-flush the system if it is so set up. Otherwise, have a plumbing and heating contractor look into the problem.
Spreading heat to a cold room
Q. We cannot get comfortable in our large living-family room. We have to have the thermostat at 74°F. to be able to sit and watch TV or read without wearing a blanket, while the rest of the house is too hot. This room has a cathedral ceiling and the house is heated with warm air. How can we correct this situation?
A. You may be able to adjust the line dampers in the ducts serving the various rooms. If you have dampers, they are controlled with a lever or wing nut either under or on the side of each duct and the direction of the levers or wing nuts should indicate the direction of the damper inside. Adjust the dampers to the ducts serving the rooms that are too hot so they are at an angle to the direction of flow of the air and open fully the damper controlling the air flow to the living room.
Another thing that would probably help a lot is the installation of a ceiling fan in the cold room. Be sure you get one that is reversible so that in winter you make the blades blow air upward, while in summer you blow air downward.
By blowing air upward, the hot air that has stratified at the ceiling level is forced downward along the walls and toward the center of the room where it is sucked back up. In short order, the room air is mixed more evenly and you will feel more comfortable. In summer, whether you have air conditioning or not, the fan should blow the air downward so that you feel the coolness of the air moving over you.
Buy a good-quality fan and install it at least 12 inches down from the ceiling but no less than 7 feet from the floor. Fans that are too close to the ceiling do not move air efficiently. You can get ceiling fans with timers to turn lights on and adjust the fan speed as room temperatures change.
Heating room over garage
Q. We have been living in a duplex townhouse (with one common wall with the neighbors and three open sides) for 13 years. In the wintertime, the room above the garage becomes so cold that we cannot use it for about six to seven months.
Recently, I changed the garage door to one with thick insulation, put a new ceiling (which is the floor of the cold room) with thick insulation in the garage, and put new windows in the cold room. This has had little effect. The garage and the room are facing the backyard. The wall facing the backyard is insulated.
A. I hope you filled the entire depth of the garage ceiling joists with insulation. If you didn’t, cold may be getting between the insulation and the floor of the room above from the sides exposed to the outside. I assume that all other exterior walls are insulated, as you say the one facing the backyard is. If your repair work is well done, you may need more heat in this room. Remember, this room has more exposure to cold than the others since it has an exposed floor.
How is your house heated now? Assuming that this room has heat from the main house system, it may need to be balanced or more heat may need to be drawn from the main source. If you have warm-air heat, you should make sure that the damper to this room is fully open and that there is a cold-air return in the room. If there is not, make sure the door stays open or that there is at least 1½ inches clearance under the door for air to be drawn back to the nearest return air duct.
You may also need to have a fan installed in the ductwork to draw more heat from the main. If your heat is forced-water (a hydronic system), you may need to add more radiation. As a last resort, and if the house uses gas, you could consider a separate heater such as a Rinnai, vented outside.
Circulating fan shouldn’t result in heat loss
Q. Our split-level home is heated by gas-fired hot water baseboards. Our central air conditioning system, which includes an electric air purifier, is on a separate duct system in the ceiling.
Do we experience an appreciable heat loss in the winter months when both the heat and air circulation fan are operating at the same time? My wife has allergies which are aided by the air purifier.
A. You shouldn’t experience any heat loss using the fan. If all windows and doors are closed, your house in a closed vessel. Using the fan to purify the air simply recirculates the heated air and equalizes temperature throughout the house.
The only possible negative effect (for lack of a better word) is that it may defeat the different temperatures you may want in separate areas of the house if your hydronic heating system has several zones and you set them at different temperatures.
Constant air circulation aids cooling
Q. When using central air conditioning, is it more economical and/or beneficial to run the fan continuously while waiting for the compressor to kick in? As cold air descends, I think it would be better to circulate the cold air, thereby not causing so much demand on the compressor. Am I thinking right?
A. It is best to run the fan constantly to keep the air in the rooms more even. As you stated, cold air drops to the floor and warm air rises to the ceiling. Constant Air Circulation (CAC), as it is known, is best for comfort.
Furnace ducts in cold crawl space
Q. My father just bought a brand-new ranch house built over a crawl space. The furnace is in the kitchen and that side of the house is perfectly toasty. But, by the time the hot air goes through the ducts in the cold crawl space, the air is cooled considerably and the bedrooms are always chilly, no matter how high he turns the thermostat up. What’s the best solution to this problem?
A. Have a heating contractor insulate the ducts in the crawl space with insulation designed for the purpose.
Since the house is new, the builder and his or her heating sub-contractor should get this deficiency corrected at no cost to your father. This problem should not exist in a new house; they should have used insulated ducts, in the first place. Fortunately, insulation can be retrofitted to the exterior of the ducts. But if they used insulated ducts, then the system needs balancing.
Metal sheeting can improve heat from radiator
Q. On one of the local home improvement channels, a contractor states that to get maximum heating into a room, one should place a sheet of galvanized steel between the radiator and the adjacent wall to reflect the heat back into the room. Is there a better alternative to use than steel? I tend to think that the steel would absorb the heat rather than a solid insulation piece which would not.
A. Galvanized steel, copper (much better looking) or heavy-gauge aluminum sheets placed behind radiators — but not in contact with the wall finish or the radiators — do prevent the heat from being absorbed by the wall and reflect it back out toward the room. The sheets must be clean and must preferably be installed one inch away from the wall finish. This can be done by fastening metal clips to the sheet with pop rivets.
You’ll need some way to steady the sheets. This can be done again with a few small “legs” to brace the sheets against the radiators. Keep in mind that any “legs” in contact with the wall or the radiators will result in conduction losses so keep them as few as possible.
Options for Upgrading Heating Systems
Comparing oil- and gas-fired systems
Over the years, many readers have asked for advice on upgrading to various boilers and furnaces. They have usually narrowed their searches to three or four brands or models. For the purpose of this book, it seems more appropriate to generalize a bit, listing some of the considerations in making the choice.
- At the risk of stating the obvious, the more efficient the system, the less you’ll spend on fuel and the less negative impact you’ll have on the planet. Most new furnaces and boilers have efficiency ratings of between 80 and 95%, while many older systems are in the 50% range. Therefore, upgrading to a new system will almost inherently lead to significant fuel savings.
- The efficiency ratings (officially called Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency, or AFUE) should be in the product literature or the manufacturer’s Web site. Other useful information is provided by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), at www.aceee.org.
- As a practical matter, most people must balance energy efficiency with cost. If a more efficient model is significantly more expensive, will the fuel savings be enough to pay back the difference over time? If so, how many years will it take to recover the extra investment? Be sure to take all costs into consideration, including purchase price, cost of installation, additional equipment that may be needed (Will the new system require a new expansion tank?), projected maintenance costs, and any tax benefits for energy efficiency. If you are discussing this with a qualified and honest heating contractor, he or she will help in making these comparisons.
- In computing savings, keep in mind that as efficiency increases, the amount of savings between the higher and lower efficiency models diminishes. An easy comparison would be with miles per gallon of various automobiles. You would use 5 gallons of gas to travel 100 miles in a car that gets 20 MPG, but only 3⅓ gallons in a car that gets 30 MPG—a saving of 1⅔ gallons. But you would only save an additional 83% of one gallon if you drove a car that gets 40 miles per gallon, which would only burn 2½ gallons per 100 miles, and only half a gallon more if your car got 50 miles per gallon. It’s the law of diminishing returns, which applies equally to furnaces and boilers. The difference between 50% and 80% efficiency is very significant, but boosting efficiency to 90% may yield smaller savings than you would expect.
- Also keep in mind that improving the energy efficiency of the house may have a greater effect on fuel savings than replacement of the furnace or boiler. If you have an inefficient old house, then improving insulation and reducing drafts may be the most important steps to take. This will also allow you to get by with a smaller (and less expensive) heating plant.
Fuel choices when updating a heating system
Q. Our house is two stories and 60-something years old. It is not well insulated. Our only source of heat comes from two wood stoves—one is airtight and the other not—and a couple of oil-filled space heaters. We are tired of being pioneers and want to get a good furnace.
Since there is no natural gas line on our road, we are limited to oil, propane gas, or electricity. We are going to keep our two wood stoves but do not want to rely on them for our main source of heat. What is the best and most efficient type of heat, and can we add air conditioning to it later?
A. Join the crowd of the tired pioneers! There nothing like heat coming on at the turn of a thermostat. Although electricity is very flexible and convenient, it should be dismissed as too expensive. Besides, we should all try to reduce our demand on this source of energy to put off as long as possible the need for new plants.
The choice between oil or propane depends largely on what is the most available in your area. Oil furnaces require yearly maintenance for efficiency, while gas furnaces should receive yearly safety checks. Air conditioning can be added to a furnace anytime.
However, the single best thing you could do is to increase the level of insulation. This would allow you to get by with a smaller and less expensive heating plant, and also insulate you to some extent from the fluctuation in oil or gas prices.
Best ways to cut heating costs of 1960s house
Q. I hope you can respond quickly. We are very excited about a house we would love to buy but we have some concern about the way it is heated. The house was built in the 1960s. It is electrically heated with baseboards and thermostats in every room.
The siding is made of wide boards that do not look like wood and seem to flake a bit at the bottom of the boards where paint is peeling. The windows are double-hung but look somewhat flimsy: they rattled a bit when we operated them. It has a beautiful fireplace on the main floor and also one in the finished basement.
What scares us is the cost of heating this lovely house. Is it possible to convert it to gas or oil heat with baseboards at a reasonable price? Do you have other suggestions for us?
A. It is certainly feasible to change the heating system to an oil- or gas-fired hydronic system but the only way you can find out how much it would cost is by getting some estimates from two or three heating contractors. This may not be practical in the short span of time you indicate you want to make an offer on this dream house.
It’s also important to know if gas is available in the house or at the property line as limited gas access may result in an additional expense.
Also note, a house built in the 1960s does not meet today’s energy efficiency needs. Considering that the cost of oil and gas will certainly keep rising over the years, I believe a better strategy is to improve the energy efficiency of the envelope of the house. This will help you save money on heating costs regardless of the fuel used, making the house much more comfortable and easier to resell.
From your description of the siding, I would say it is hardboard – a very popular siding in the 1960s. It is made of pressed wood chips and it has been quite serviceable but it does require regular maintenance in the form of painting or it will begin to deteriorate around the nails and at the bottom edges of the boards.
Consider having 1-inch-thick extruded polystyrene rigid insulation applied directly over the siding and having one of the new, attractive patterns of vinyl siding applied over the insulation. Cedar Impressions by CertainTeed offers several choices of siding that are quite appealing.
New energy-efficient windows should also be installed at the same time. Next, check out and, if need be, improve the insulation of the attic floor. The attic’s ventilation should also be considered. As you add insulation in an attic, you make it cooler and this, in turn, increases its relative humidity. So check it out in the dead of winter. If frost builds up on the roof sheathing, ventilation may need to be increased but the first and most important thing to do is to make sure there are no convective paths from the heated space into the cold attic. These can be around the scuttle-hole access panel to the attic, recessed light fixtures, separations in drywall-tape joints, electrical switches and receptacles, etc.
These improvements may not cost any more than installing a hydronic-heating system and once they have been carried out, they will reduce your heating bill more than you would save by changing the heating system.
Electric heating costs
Q. Please answer quickly. We are in love with a beautiful house that’s for sale by owner. However there is one hitch! The house is electrically heated and we are scared of the bills. What are our options so we can decide how to proceed?
A. Consider the fact that electric heat is very versatile, allowing you to control the temperature in each room individually. It also always comes back on without having to reset anything after a power outage. If the house you are considering is well insulated and has quality windows, I would not worry about the form of heat. But if the house is not well insulated, you should consider improving the insulation and, if need be, replacing the windows. This is a much better long-term solution than replacing the heat source.
There are other options worth considering, such as warm air or hydronic (hot water) central systems or room units. The choice depends on the size and layout of the house but some of these are costly, require considerable disturbance to the interior of the house, and will not improve the comfort of the house.
Heating the second floor of an older house
Q. I need help with deciding how to heat the second floor of the 50-year-old cape cod which I recently purchased. The current system is a forced- air system, which consists of a central air unit and a furnace powered by gas. However, the duct work only supplies the first floor. The second floor basically has three rooms: an office, the master bedroom, and a small, full bathroom. The ceilings are about 7 feet. My preliminary review indicates that installing baseboard electric heat is my best bet because, although expensive to operate, it seems to be the easiest to install. My questions are as follows:
Are there better options to explore than electric baseboard? I believe supplying the duct work to the second floor will be expensive and require a bit of construction I want to avoid.
If I go with electric baseboard, how do I know if I have enough power to do this? I have 100-amp service and a sub-panel on the second floor which contains several 15- and 20-amp breakers.
A. Baseboard electric heat may be your best because of the three rooms involved, unless you can have a gas-fired Rinnai through-the-wall heater installed in a central location and leave the doors to the rooms open. If your house is well insulated — doubtful in a 50-year-old house unless it has been retrofitted — it should work well. You could also install smaller ones in each room or consider increasing the insulation of the exterior walls and ceilings if no such improvements have already been made.
As to electric baseboard heaters, a 100-amp panel is not enough. You will undoubtedly need a heavy-up, and that can prove to be pretty expensive. Check with a licensed electrician.
Moving up to radiant and baseboard heat
Q. I have been looking for information on getting off of wood heat. I have an old farmhouse built between 1840 and 1900. I have done a lot of insulating and window replacement, removing the old plaster and replacing it with fiberglass, plastic sheet and wallboard. Many of the windows are double-glazed and have inside storms of Plexiglas sealed to the frames, as well as outside aluminum storms.
The basement has walking room and a crawl space, and separate areas that need special attention. I have a Sears forced-air gas furnace that hasn’t been used in almost 15 years. I use about five cords of wood a year. I have been considering a combination of underfloor radiant heat in the kitchen, where most activity takes place, and baseboard for the rest of the downstairs, letting the upstairs get warm as it does now, from downstairs heat rising.
A California company offers a radiant heat package for $4,600 with complete instructions for the capable do-it-yourselfer. Are there options in the Eastern part of the country, where I live?
The next question is fuel. I hear that oil and propane are from the same source and that their prices fluctuate in unison, and that oil is less desirable due to noise and smell. I need to vent from the side since there is no good place for a chimney. Is it good to stick to propane?
A. There are a number of heating contractors who install radiant floor heating systems. Check your Yellow Pages under Heating Contractors; you should find block ads within that category. Call around to get two or three estimates. You may be all right getting a complete package from some faraway company and installing it yourself, but what happens if you need service and adjustments?
Keep in mind that radiant floors must have a much lower temperature than baseboards, so proper zoning of various heating areas of the house is critical. You may also want to consider having baseboard heat installed upstairs. It might be okay for you not to have upstairs heat and rely on warm air rising, but this may be a serious drawback if and when you sell the house. Propane gas (or LP, for “liquid propane”) is made from petroleum, so oil and propane prices have a tendency to follow each other. Oil is more efficient, giving off more BTUHs than LP gas, but it does require more frequent servicing and is somewhat dirtier.
Heating and ventilating a finished basement
Q. We have done some renovation in our basement. We have installed a washroom, created two work stations, and left an open space for other recreational purposes. We have also enclosed an area that has the water tank (we have well water and septic system) that is used for the storage of pots, pans and other miscellaneous items. We are faced with two major concerns and seek your advice on the following:
How do we provide ventilation as well as heat to the basement area? (No vents were installed at construction.)
The walls of the storage area that was Sheetrocked and painted has begun to mildew and it is spreading over most of the base of the walls. What corrective action is recommended to cure this problem?
We should add that although this storage area had no vents, prior to the installation of Sheetrock and painting, there was no seeping or visible water marks on the walls in the area.
If you could provide your expert advice on how we could handle the concerns mentioned we would be very appreciative.
A. You do not need ventilation in a basement; opening windows in summer would create a bad moisture problem.
Heat should be provided with an extension of your present heating system. If you have a hydronic (hot water) system, a separate zone for the basement is the best solution. If you have a warm-air system, heat ducts should be installed properly (not simply cut out of a main in the basement). Ducts should be run down to the floor with multi-directional grilles. An experienced HVAC contractor will know how to do this.
Mildew that has developed at the base of the walls tells you that you have a very high relative humidity and you need to operate a dehumidifier in the warm months of the year. Select one with a large enough capacity to handle the cubic footage of the basement and keep all doors to the various spaces open, but if this is not possible and you need to keep doors closed to some of the spaces, you may need more than one dehumidifier.
Wood and pellet stoves
Q. With home heating oil prices going through the roof, we’re considering a wood stove or a pellet stove, which we would run in addition to our forced-air system. Is this a reasonable idea? How much work and maintenance do these stoves require? Will they make a dent in our fuel bills?
A. Air-tight wood stoves and pellet stoves are very efficient ways of heating large open spaces. Many people enjoy the comfort of radiant heat from a burning fire, as well as the aesthetics.
There are drawbacks to heating with firewood, depending on your situation. Handling firewood can be tedious and messy, and dry wood can be quite expensive unless you cut your own. A wood stove requires timely feeding several times a day to maintain an even temperature, although that may not be a problem if it is used to supplement another heating system. Unless the wood is dry and the fire is handled by an experienced person, it can generate a lot of corrosive and foul-smelling creosote. The chimney should be swept professionally at least once a season. You should use the catalytic spray ACS on a daily basis to prevent creosote build-up in the chimney, which could lead to a dangerous chimney fire.
Pellet stoves are much easier to use; you just buy the pellets, assuming they are readily available in your area, and feed them into the mechanism that feeds the stove. Pellet stoves do not need a chimney (as wood stoves do) although they can use an existing one. They can be vented through a wall, like modern boilers and furnaces. They do not create creosote or generate water vapor. They do need to be plugged into an electric outlet but can also be equipped with a back-up marine battery in case of power failure. They have thermostatic controls and operate much like a regular heating system, with no need to fill them several times a day. They are clean and easy to feed.
But anyone considering wood or pellet stoves should work out the cost. A good quality stove costs $1,000 and up (some sell for less). Installation adds to this; wood stoves need a properly-sized lined chimney. Dry wood sells for $200 a cord and up, depending on your location. Pellets, bought in summer when they are cheapest, sell for $200 to $275 a ton (50 bags, 40 lbs each) plus delivery. Consumption will depend on the energy efficiency of the house and the climate. On average, one ton of pellets will last 50 days (one bag per day).
Compare this with the cost of oil for the season and figure out how many years it will take to come out even and begin to save on fuel. And there is also the convenience factor to consider.
Connecting a pellet stove to existing ductwork
Q. Our house has an older model forced-air oil furnace and a new hot-water boiler oil furnace. With the rising cost of oil we would like to have a pellet stove installed using the duct work from the old forced air furnace. Is it possible? We don’t want to purchase a pellet stove and not be able to use it. We are mainly wanting the pellet stove as backup.
A. I see no reason why you can’t install a pellet stove in lieu of your old furnace, but I suggest that you contact a stove dealer who handles pellet stoves and have him or her come to your house to make sure it can be connected to the existing ductwork.
Don’t convert wood stove to gas
Q. I’d like to install a liquid propane gas log system in a Vermont Castings wood stove I own. Upon inquiring in a fireplace shop, I was told that I shouldn’t, because cast-iron stoves have inadequate flue capabilities for gas logs, creating a carbon monoxide hazard.
However, my house is heated with a large LPG heater that has a smaller vent than the stove, so I can’t help but wonder whether I have been properly informed.
A. Vermont Castings says no gas equipment is approved for its older wood stoves. The burning and venting systems are radically different. Guaranteed adequate air intake and a non-convoluted flue gas path are essential.
Adding coal to wood in stove
Q. I’ve enjoyed your column for years. Last fall I picked up (at a road side give-away) a couple of 40 lb. bags of anthracite coal. As our wood pile went down this winter, I began feeding a little of the coal — a handful at a time — to my glass-faced inset wood stove.
This fuel source worked wonderfully, basically helped to even out the heat and keep it going longer without getting too hot — I never had more than a single layer of the coals burning at a time. I checked outside a few times and never noticed any industrial type smell, so I assume burning the coal in with the wood didn’t bother the neighbors. Assuming I continue using the coal as carefully as I have, can you see any down side?
Finally, I’m wondering about the ashes. I typically store up wood ashes over the winter and gradually work them into the garden soil over the summer. Any problems you can see here?
A. Although what you are doing is OK, wood stoves are not designed for burning coal. Coal needs to be shaken a couple of times a day and burns from the bottom. So don’t change the proportions you have been using since they didn’t cause any problems.
But do not spread or work the coal ashes into the garden as they are toxic to vegetation.
Gas fireplaces as heat source
Q. We have received advertisements for gas fireplaces/stoves with our gas bill. What can you tell us about them? Are they a reasonable replacement for wood stoves cost-wise? Can we install one ourselves?
A. Gas-fired fireplaces with ceramic logs do have high BTU outputs that rival some wood stoves, and they are much cleaner. Their cost is high but so is the cost of good-quality wood stoves. (Choose one that is designed for efficient heating, rather than one that is designed mainly for aesthetics.)
There are models for either propane or natural gas. You can install one yourself but the gas line must be checked by the gas company prior to operation.
Q. I recently bought a condominium with central heat and air-conditioning. Our winters are very dry and I would like to connect a humidifier to my furnace, which is hanging under the ceiling of the storage room. Can this be done?
A. If there is access to the plenum, it should be possible to install a humidifier, but be sure that it is of the evaporative type and not one spraying mist.
Heating and AC-Related Repairs
Welding a crack in a cast-iron stove
Q. My beautiful old cast iron parlor stove has a crack in it and I have been told that I should not use it as carbon monoxide could exude from the crack. Is there any way this can be fixed at a reasonable cost?
A. Cast iron can be welded but a new crack can develop next to the weld. The cost depends on the accessibility of the area to be repaired and its size and shape. The cost would range from $50 to over $100.
You may be able to fix it temporarily with Rutland Stove Cement or a black silicate stove and fireplace repair caulking. Either one should be available at your hardware store.
Hot baseboards crack plaster
Q. Our house is heated with hot water baseboards that are built into the plaster walls. After patching and painting a room, the heat from the baseboards causes severe cracking around them, where they meet the plaster. I have tried a variety of fillers but nothing has worked. Can you suggest a solution?
A. The best solution would be to cut the plaster back and to install a metal bead that would stand about ⅛ to ¼ inch away from the plaster, leaving a shadow line around the baseboards. This would entail repairs to the plaster, but you would be done once and for all.
Radiant heat causes slab to crack and shift
Q. Our 30-year-old house has copper heat pipes in the concrete slab of the first floor. About 15 years ago, a crack appeared in the floor, and several years ago, branch cracks started to appear. A white, gritty material comes up through the tile floor. I removed the tiles, chiseled out the cracks, and used various hardware-store materials to repair the cracks, but the tiles still heave and white stuff still comes to the surface. How can I fill these cracks to prevent recurrence?
A. Your problem may be caused by water that is too hot. The boiler should be set at a maximum of 140°F. Otherwise the concrete expands too much and cracks. Another possibility is a chemical reaction between the copper pipes and the concrete; this is more serious. The gritty stuff is probably powdering cement.
Once the cause has been determined and addressed, you might be able to patch the cracks with Thorocrete or a similar product.
Constant buildup of air in baseboards
Q. I am having trouble with my gas-fired boiler but as a widow on Social Security I can’t afford to hire an expert. When I turn the thermostat up in the morning, two of the convectors don’t heat until I bleed them of air. Some days I have to do this two or three times. What would cause this problem?
A. Your system suffers from one or more problems that are not for the do-it-yourselfer to fix. Air is getting in somewhere, and the place must be found and corrective action taken. Your boiler may not have enough pressure to run properly. It should be 12 to 15 pounds when cold and 20 to 24 pounds when running. The fast-fill valve may be clogged. There may be a problem with the expansion tank.
You should have a competent heating contractor check the system out unless you want to continue bleeding the baseboards every day. Check with your utility providers (gas and electric) for any assistance that may be available to you either through them or your county or state.
Gas furnace smells awful when first turned on for season
Q. Our warm-air furnace was converted from oil to gas. When we first turn it on in the fall, after being off all summer, there is a really bad smell. We put in a new filter and clean the registers and cold-air returns, but it still smells awful. The smell disappears or is very minimal after a couple of days. What can we do about it?
A. All heating appliances exude an unpleasant smell after being idle for an extended time; the dust that has accumulated in or on them is being burned off.
However, you should have the gas company check the heat exchanger; it may be cracked and be responsible for the remaining minimal smell you mention. A cracked heat exchanger can allow exhaust gases to be sucked out of the combustion chamber into the furnace casing, to be mixed with the circulating air from the house. This can be a dangerous situation.
The gas company’s serviceman should also check the entire system for safety, including checking to see that there is no return in the furnace area without a supply duct. If there is, the possibility exists for back drafting—in other words, the combustion gases are sucked out of the furnace and mixed with the house air instead of going up the flue.
I presume that at the time of the conversion, you were advised to have the chimney cleaned professionally. Oil deposits on the chimney walls can be desiccated or become soggy, depending on the moisture contents of the gases of the new system. Either way, these deposits may block the thimble into which the furnace flue is connected to the chimney and cause a back-up of combustion gases into the house through the atmospheric damper. This can be deadly. If it hasn’t been done, have it done right away.
In any case, it is always advisable to have a heating appliance checked yearly, before the new heating season, by qualified service personnel.
Pipes leak when boiler is turned off
Q. My house is heated by an oil-fired boiler. Although it can also supply domestic hot water, I am not using this feature and have an electric water heater.
During warm weather, I would like to shut off the boiler to save fuel. However, shutting it off causes contraction of pipes and joints and eventually the latter start leaking. Repairs are costly. What is the solution?
A. The pipe joints should not leak regardless of the temperature of the water in the boiler; if they do, this is a fault that needs to be repaired once and for all.
However, the gasket around the tankless coil can, and frequently does, leak because the bolts are not often tightened by service personnel at the time of yearly tune-ups, as they should be. After a while, they are so corroded that they can break if attempts are made to tighten them, so the owner faces an expensive job.
Rust precipitates from water in furnace coil
Q. Our home is heated by an oil-fired hot water system and our domestic water is generated through a coil in the furnace. Frequently, after the hot water hasn’t been used for several hours, we get some discoloration in the hot water only.
It seems to come from water that has been sitting in the coil. When hot water is first turned on, it is fine, but when the water gets hot, it is a rusty color for a short period of time. As soon as it is flushed from the system, it’s fine again. This happens at all the sinks in the house.
I have been assured by the company that maintains our furnace that there is no black iron anywhere in the furnace and that all water lines in the house are copper. We are on a municipal water system. Do you know of any place where I might get the water tested to find out what this discoloration is?
A. Any iron in solution in the water that sits in the boiler’s coil for several hours at the very high temperature the boiler requires to heat the house will precipitate. That is what you see as soon as the water in the coil reaches the various sinks.
Water in a separate water heater is only heated to 120°F to 140°F. The water standing in the coil for an extended period of time is heated to 180°F.
There isn’t much you can do except install a filter to remove the iron from the water supply. Is it worth it? This small amount of precipitated iron is not considered a health hazard. You actually ingest it every time you drink the water.
If you want to get the water analyzed, call your state health department or look in your Yellow Pages under “Water Analysis,” “Laboratories-Testing” or “Water Softening & Conditioning Equip., Svce. & Supls..”
Q. The furnace in my townhouse is seven years old. Two years ago, I had the thermocouple replaced because the pilot kept going out. Everything was fine until this past October, when the pilot went out again but, this time, I could not relight it. I had to replace the gas valve, after which I was able to relight the pilot, but I still have a problem with it going out. Every couple of weeks, I either wake up or come home to a cold house and I have to relight the pilot. This is a nuisance.
There does not appear to be a down-draft in my furnace, so what could be the cause? Is it possible that the thermocouple is defective?
A. It is always possible that a brand new part proves to be defective, but it is more likely, from your lengthy experience, that the problem is with the pilot orifice. A pilot light needs to be strong and actually give out a “shhhhh” sound. Perhaps your pilot light is too weak and the orifice needs to be cleaned or reamed out.
However, when the service person comes to clean out the orifice, you should ask him or her to test the thermocouple as well. A specific reading should be between 8 and 25 millivolts. If the reading is lower than 8 and the orifice clean, the thermocouple should be replaced. If the reading starts out okay but fades, there could be too much heat on the cold juncture, drawing down the millivoltage.
Other things to check out include restrictions in the venting, not enough make-up air for proper combustion, and a cold external chimney without a metal liner, causing the flue blockage switch to activate.
Repairing or replacing oil tank
Q. I have been told that oil tanks should be replaced after 15 years due to possible leakage. Mine is 22 years old and in my basement. Please advise.
A. Who told you? There are many oil tanks that are twice as old as yours and doing fine. Moreover, a leak would develop slowly and you would notice oil dripping on the floor. Oil tanks that develop leaks can also be repaired; pin-hole leaks can be fixed with a magnetic device that holds a rubber-like gasket under compression over the hole. Multiple leaks or larger ones can be fixed by putting a stainless steel bottom on the exterior of the tank.
Your oil dealer should be able to perform these repairs if and when they become necessary—unless he or she is the one trying to sell you a new tank.
Frequency of furnace cleaning
Q. Please settle a dispute between us. One of us thinks the furnace should be cleaned every year at the end of the season, while the other thinks that every other year is frequent enough for cleaning.
A. The important question is what is the source of heat? If you have a furnace or boiler that is oil-fired, it should be cleaned and serviced every year as the build-up of soot in the system can reduce its efficiency considerably.
If the furnace or boiler is gas-fired (whether natural gas or propane), there should be no loss of efficiency from year to year and no need for servicing except that the American Gas Association (AGA) recommends a yearly safety check.
Oil furnaces and boilers need yearly cleaning
Q. Please give us your opinion on furnace cleaning. We have a1,500 square foot, two story house, which we heat by oil. We also heat our water by the same furnace. We are a two-person household. One of the people thinks every other year furnace-cleaning is adequate. The other person thinks the furnace should be cleaned every spring. Which one of us is right?
A. Oil-fired furnaces and boilers should be cleaned yearly to ensure proper and efficient operation. Oil deposits coat the various parts of the heating appliance and can reduce its efficiency by 10 percent or more.
You have a boiler rather than a furnace since you get your domestic hot water through a coil in the boiler (a furnace heats air). So it operates year-round—more reasons for a yearly cleaning and tune-up.
The best time to have this done is in the summer when the dealers performing the cleaning and tune-up are the least busy.
Furnace warranty requires yearly servicing
Q. I bought a top-of-the line furnace, which was quoted as including an extended ten-year parts-and-labor warranty provided by the local dealer. What I wasn’t told until December was that the warranty is contingent on maintaining a “Clean and Check” contract ($70 - $90) on the furnace in years two through ten.
I’m not typically a believer in service contracts on appliances but would appreciate your guidance on whether or not I should rely on the five year manufacturer parts warranty or invest in the annual “Clean and Check” so I have the ten-year parts-and-labor warranty? I enjoy reading your column and have followed your advice on many suggestions for our house.
A. I agree with you on most appliance service contracts but, in the case of a furnace, boiler, or air conditioner, I would make an exception. These units should be serviced and checked yearly to ensure safety, proper operation, and efficiency.
Do heating ducts need cleaning?
Q. Our house was built in June 1999. It has forced hot air heating using natural gas. We do not have air conditioning.
We have 2 cats, no smokers in the house. I use Filtrete maximum allergen filters. They are supposed to be good for 3 months but this year they do not last as long. After 1 month they are dark and dirty.
I have Vermont Gas come out every year to inspect our system and it always passes with flying colors but this year with the filters getting dirty sooner, the technician suggested getting our ducts cleaned. Does that sound like the thing to do? How often should duct work be cleaned? Anything we should consider as we look for someone to do the job?
Thank you for your time and help.
A. There is no standard rule about when to have ducts cleaned, and yours may or may not need it. It really depends on the effectiveness of the filters you use and how often you replace them.
It certainly would not hurt to have your ducts cleaned by specialists, but it may be an expense you do not have to undertake.
Try this to see if the filters are as effective as they are touted to be: Cut pieces of gauze material and place them under the register covers. If they come out dirty, the filters are not that effective and your ducts may benefit from a professional cleaning. If the gauze remains relatively clean after several days, the filters seem to be catching most of the dust and dander floating in the air, and you may not need to go to the expense of having your ducts cleaned.
You may also be able to look inside some of the ducts with a mirror and a flashlight to see if there is a significant amount of dirt at the last joint of the duct run to which the final elbow is attached.
You may also want to consider an electronic filter, which you will need to wash as often as needed. These filters are touted to remove from 95 to 99 percent of particles that pass through them by electrically charging them. They are less restrictive than replaceable filters and, thus, do not adversely affect the functioning or efficiency of the furnace.
Townhouse attracts excessive dust
Q. We live in a townhouse that is four and a half years old in a far suburb of Chicago. We are experiencing a tremendous amount of dust in our home. Basically, I need to dust every day.
I was considering having my ducts cleaned but my furnace person told me that was a waste of money. He said that it wasn’t necessary, nor would it do any good in such a new home. He said that for a home 25 years old, it might be beneficial but not for ours. Most other people in my area are experiencing the same thing. The construction work is completed in my immediate area so I don’t feel that it’s construction work.
Also, I have this problem even in winter with all the windows and doors closed. The floors in my main areas are tile or linoleum so it’s not a carpet dust problem. I’ve tried higher efficiency filters on my furnace (as high as my furnace man recommends for my type of unit) and it hasn’t helped at all. What are your suggestions? Do you feel that the duct cleaning would be the way to go?
A. The construction process of your townhouse and adjacent buildings has generated a lot of dust and dirt as all construction does. So I am not so sure that your furnace man is accurate in telling you that a townhouse that’s only 41/2 years old should not need duct cleaning, but that doesn’t mean that it does.
The fact that most other people in your area are experiencing the same problem can mean that they also suffer from the remnants of construction dust or that you live in an area prone to dust. Even in winter, average windows, though closed, can let a lot of outside dust in and I doubt that the builders of your townhouse development used the type of high quality windows that are much more airtight.
Consider having an electronic filter installed on the cold-air return of your furnace; it is expensive but it might solve your problem, as these filters stop over 90 percent of the dust and other particles that go through them.
House dust causes family arguments
Q. Hope you can settle a disagreement between my husband and me. Our home is 21 years old. We live directly across the street from the bay. This house is the dustiest house we have ever, ever lived in. I can dust one day, and the very next, it looks like I haven’t dusted in a month. I see advertisements to have your duct work cleaned, but my husband insists it has nothing to do with any duct work and the dust is entirely due to the fact that we live on the beach.
I have come to hate this house. I see particles floating in the air despite vacuuming, dusting, cleaning on a daily basis. I have grown weary and do not want to spend every waking hour cleaning. I do not find this normal; he is constantly complaining about the dust and pet dander (one dog could not possibly create such dust, right?). I just do not know what to do.
Could it be the AC ducts or the heating system? I believe we have hot water radiant heating; another factor I believe could be the culprit. We have most of the baseboard heating blocked off by heavy furniture and TV surround system so I am unable to vacuum those areas by my lonesome. We had to have extensive repairs on our mega screen TV because — and this is what the TV repair man stated: “It needs to breathe and be vacuumed every 3 months” — something I cannot do.
I believe if we rearranged some of these rooms and I had access to baseboards so I could vacuum, it would help tremendously. The great room in particular where the big TV is. My husband is unwilling to budge on rearranging furniture and thinks I should vacuum 2 to 3 times a day. I am getting too old to vacuum that many times a day. Hope you can help ME (us).
A. Not being Dr. Phil, I can only respond to the dust problem. It sounds to me as if you have a very drafty house with poor windows.
Since you have baseboard heaters, you do not have radiant heat as radiant is used to describe heating systems in floors or ceilings; you have convection heating. The air-conditioning ducts may need to be cleaned yearly; it might help — it’s worth a try. If your air-conditioning system does not have an electronic air filter, you may want to have one installed; they pick up a lot of microscopic particles.
Other choices are (and I am sure you have thought about them) to move to a less windy and cleaner area; hire a cleaning service to come and move the furniture and do a thorough job once a month, or more often if necessary, to keep peace, or simply get used to having a house less clean that you would like it to be.
Q. We recently installed a new cast-iron steam boiler. What is the proper maintenance during the summer shut-down for prevention of rust and scale buildup?
A. In a properly designed and installed system, the only maintenance that needs to be performed by the homeowner is to flush the water feeder valve once a month or so, to keep the float from getting stuck by the deposits of the minerals in the water inside the boiler. Do so by opening the valve so a little water is flushed through the blow-off.
If your boiler is oil-fired, it should be serviced yearly by competent personnel to assure efficient combustion and remove any soot build-up on the heat exchanger. Gas-fired systems do not need servicing, but yearly safety checks are recommended.
Removal of filter from air conditioner
Q. My husband removed our air conditioner’s filter. Is this a health hazard?
A. Not really. The same air still flows through the filter. It just means your house will get dirty faster. Filters must be kept clean, if of the reusable type, or they should be replaced when dirty, if of the disposable type. Failure to do so makes the fan work harder with poorer results.
Q. We have a gas fireplace in our family room, and wasps have taken up residence in it. When the weather warms up, they start coming into the house via the fireplace. Do you have any advice on how to get rid of them?
A. You have a potentially dangerous situation. Have a service technician clear the vent of any nests. Even though the wasps are gone by winter, their nest may cause an obstruction that could create a backup of gases and even cause an explosion.
As long as you use the fireplace in the spring when wasps become active again, they won’t try to build a nest in the vent. But as soon as you stop using the fireplace you should cover the vent outside with whatever will work: a plastic bag, a metal or wood box, etc. Just don’t forget to remove it in the fall before using the fireplace.
Q. Several months ago we read an article warning against piling cut logs on one’s property. A neighbor just did this very thing and I am concerned about what it will do as it is close to my lot. Is it because rats or other animals congregate in them?
A. I can’t imagine why it would be considered unsafe to stack firewood on one’s property. I do not recommend stacking wood against the house unless you stack the logs on wood runners that rest on concrete blocks directly under an eave wide enough to protect them from water, and you plan to use them that winter.
For longer-term storage, they should be set away from buildings, off the ground, as described above, and a piece of plastic or other covering placed over the top of the pile only—not over the sides, as it is important to let air circulate through the wood to dry it. Termites, carpenter ants, and other bugs are a potential problem, but not if the wood doesn’t stay there too long.
Changing the type of coal used
Q. Will I create a problem by substituting stove-size coal for the recommended chestnut coal in a Gold Magic Monticello coal-burner? The stove has a deep, cylindrical, fire-brick-lined chamber that holds about 60 pounds of coal. It has a round shaker grate. A large bottom draft controls air for primary combustion, and a secondary air control on the loading door introduces air above the burning coal.
A. Since you have a shaker grate, there is no harm in switching to stove coal; if you had a rocker grate, it would definitely not be recommended, as pieces of unburned coal can get trapped in the rocker grate and damage or even break it.
That said, why would you want to use stove coal instead of the recommended nut coal? They cost the same and, given the proper combustion conditions, give out the same amount of heat—except that stove coal has more impurities (such as pieces of rock) since it hasn’t been fractured as much. Because of stove coal’s much larger size, it requires a very hot fire to ignite it and a lot of air to maintain its combustion. Lacking this, it does not provide the same amount of heat output per weight. Is someone offering to give you some stove coal for free?
Closing Down a House for the Winter
Precautions for being away in the winter
Q. I plan to be away this winter and need to know the best way to winterize the house. I do have someone who will check the house frequently, and I can shut off the water at the main valve. I can also leave some heat on but what if it fails? What temperature would be best? How do I drain water from the pipes without calling a plumber, which is costly?
A. The cost of having a plumber winterize your house is only a fraction of the cost of repairs if you forget anything. Shutting off the main valve does not protect the pipe on the street side of the valve. Water must be shut off at the street.
There are a number of places where water may not drain out of concealed pipes that do not slant toward the lowest point. The washer and dishwasher also need to be cleared of water that remains in certain sections of their inner workings. A qualified plumber will drain water out of the pipes and blow them out. If you have a boiler, it also needs to be winterized. The plumber will put anti-freeze in it.
Your safest bet is to keep a minimum of heat—the lowest setting on your thermostat. That would probably be 55°F. on an older thermostats or 45°F. on a newer one. Your house checker should make a point of going to the house immediately after any power interruption to make sure the furnace or boiler does come on without the need to push a reset button. Have all of this figured out and written down as instructions before leaving.
Closing down a house in winter
Q. We have a home on the Delaware river near Port Jervis, NY. We have vacationed for a month or two in Florida for the last 10 years and are planning on purchasing a Florida home to escape the winters here in the north. The plan would be to head for Florida in October/November and return sometime in March or April.
We are wondering if there would be any problems to winterizing the house and turning the heat off. Seems crazy to heat the house if it is not being used.
A. There are many homes that are winterized and left without heat throughout the cold winters of New England; your climate is much gentler. However, winterizing is best entrusted to a licensed plumber so that no water is left to freeze and break pipes or appliances. For instance, dishwashers and washing machines need to be blown-out; the water heater needs to be drained after the power to it is shut off; plumbing traps need to be filled with RV-type nontoxic antifreeze; and so on.
What is the wall finish in your house? Paneling and drywall do fairly well in freezing temperatures but you may have a problem with old plaster walls as the plaster is so rigid that it cannot accommodate the shrinking of the framing holding it which may occur as the temperature drops below freezing.
Also to be considered is the well-being of your furniture. Glue joints may dry up and become loose in freezing weather.
If you decide that all this is too much of a risk, you may decide to keep your thermostat at 50 degrees F and ask a neighbor to check on your house on a weekly basis. For added safety, you can also invest in alarm devices that warn of a drop in temperature.
Many different models are available, ranging from simple devices that flash through the window for your vigilant neighbor to see, to more complex alarms that can automatically call multiple phone numbers. Check your hardware or home store for a model that seems most appropriate for your situation.
Safety tips while away from home
Q. We’ll be away traveling in January and February and would like to close the house down. Can you advise us on thermostat setting, light timers and whether we should leave the draperies open or close them up. Any other suggestions?
A. Leave the thermostat at 45–55°F, and open doors to vanities and the kitchen sink so heat can get to the pipes. Install timers on a couple of lights and a radio and set them on the random setting so they come on at different times every day. Notify your local police department; leave a key with a trusted neighbor or friend and ask them to check on the house every other day or so. Stop newspaper deliveries. Don’t keep garbage cans out where someone can see that they are not being used. If your mail is delivered, have someone pick it up daily, or rent a box at the post office and file a temporary change of address. Ask your local police for additional suggestions and whether it’s a good practice in your neighborhood to leave the shades open or closed, or, better yet, have someone change them frequently.
Alarm systems for a cold house
Q. You mentioned a warning light that flashes when the temperature goes below a certain level and also a phone-activated one. Where can I purchase such devices?
A. The Freez-Warn is a light that flashes red if the temperature drops below 45°F (7º Celsius). A similar device, priced at only $13 to $20, is the Honeywell Winter Watchman. Another type of alarm, called Freeze Alarm, rings a selected telephone number when the temperature drops below 45°F. This is more costly—with models ranging from $110 to $375—but helpful if you don’t have anyone you can rely on to watch for a light as they drive by.
Utilities in a temporarily empty house
Q. My home has been on the market for several months and I am getting a little anxious as I would like to get settled in my new apartment before the bad weather arrives. I may have to move before the home is sold so I need advice on the safe way to handle all utilities. I will leave the gas and electricity on and use a timer for the electric. The water is what worries me as to what to do about the hot water tank which uses gas to heat the water.
The home is located in a very nice neighborhood and I have neighbors who will check things from outside. I also have a real estate broker who will be checking the home inside and outside.
A. The safest thing you can do is to leave the gas and electricity on so that the water in your house will not freeze (it’s also better for any furniture left in the house as the cold can cause the joints to become loose). You can turn the gas off at the water heater or simply turn its thermostat as far back as it goes so the gas will only fire up when the tank’s temperature gets to this lowest point. Set the house thermostat at 50 degrees F.
I am not sure what you mean by using “a timer for the electric”; the only reason for using a timer is to put some lights on so the house looks lived-in at nightfall.
You can also buy a warning device that you place in a window for your neighbors to easily see, in case there is a power interruption that shuts off the furnace and it does not reset itself automatically when the power comes back on. When the temperature in the house gets below 45 degrees F (7 degrees C), a red light warning flashes to alert someone of the problem. Your neighbors (if they have a key) can call in a service person to activate the furnace again unless your real estate broker is willing to do so.
Q. The outside faucet in my old farm house freezes when the temperature gets below 20°F. Not only can’t I get water from time to time as I need it to clean a compost pail but I am concerned that, when the temperature gets much lower, the pipe will burst. Do you have any suggestion on how to solve this problem?
A. You can buy a foam faucet cover from some hardware stores or big box stores. Manco, Inc.’s Duck brand Foam Faucet Covers are available at Wal-Mart for about $6.00. They look like a bell with a long metal stem going through the top of the bell and terminating with a hook inside the bell. The hook is put around the spout of the faucet and the bell is brought tight to the siding by screwing the wing nut on the outside of the bell. Don’t tighten too much or you’ll damage the bell.
You may also want to insulate parts of any exposed pipes if they are accessible in your cellar. You will find Duck Brand self-adhesive aluminum foil-covered pipe wrap that is easy to install in the same stores. It’s easier to use than foam sleeves if there are short sections of pipe with several bends as often found in old houses.
Or consider replacing the faucet with a deep-wall spout. This shuts off the water inside the wall before it can reach the outside wall. You may have to make some minor plumbing adjustments to mount the faucet or call a plumber to do it.
Frozen AC causes furnace room to flood
Q. We have been living in a townhouse for the last 20 years. Recently, once a week, we have had a flood in the laundry room. Our furnace and air conditioning unit are in this room. The flood is not caused by the washer or the water tank.
A. Based on the sketch you sent me, and considering that the dampening sleeve between the plenum and the duct work is always wet, and that the leak occurs at the base of the furnace, I suggest you call your air conditioning service people. It sounds as if the A-coil of the air conditioner is frozen with ice.
Protecting central AC units in winter
Q. Should the outside unit of a central air-conditioner be covered or not in winter?
A. These units are designed to take the weather and should not be covered. They need to be properly ventilated in order to prevent corrosion. In snow country, if they are exposed to snow fall, you may want to put a piece of plywood over the top, but the sides need to be left open.
Note: Energy issues are also covered earlier in this chapter, in the section on upgrading of heating systems, and in the separate chapter on insulation.
Turning air conditioner on and off
Q. My question is in regard to establishing a setting for the air conditioner. I don’t prefer to use AC unless it is very uncomfortable. I always just shut it off, but was recently informed that it is not a good idea and it should be set higher. It makes sense to me because during the winter, one doesn’t shut the heat off and on, but just utilizes the thermostat. I understand it has something to do with the compressor.
A. The simplest thing to do is set the AC thermostat high enough that it only comes on when the outside temperature is so uncomfortable that you would turn it on anyway. However, I see no problem at having it off until you need it. It remains idle during most of the year anyway.
Turning water heater on and off to save money
Q. My oil-fired boiler is very old and it provides me with domestic hot water by means of coils inside it. As I now live alone on a very limited income, I would like to know if it harms the boiler to turn it off and just turn it on once a day to heat water to shower and do the dishes.
A. Technically it should not harm the boiler. (I presume you plan to shut it off by means of the red emergency switch and only during the non-heating season.)
However, practically, you may not save much, if anything. Old boilers contain a lot of water. Heating water once a day to warm the domestic water coil and then letting the boiler cool down may use as much energy, in the long run, as letting the boiler maintain the desired water temperature around the clock.
You may also find it very inconvenient to wait the length of time necessary to have the water hot enough to use for showering and washing dishes. One way to save energy, though, is to reduce the setting on the aquastat that controls the temperature of the domestic hot water.
Q. I have electric baseboard heat in my well-insulated house. I find it inconvenient to have to reset the thermostats in every room at night and to have to get up to a cool house in the morning. Is there a solution?
A. Have an electrician install the Sunne Electronic Time/Temperature Programmer. It will allow you to set your thermostats at one temperature and select the times you want the heat on or off. And if you are on a peak/off peak rate have the programmer turn on the heat one hour before morning peak period and off just before peak comes on. You can program it to do that several times a day.
Dark radiators give more heat
Q. Will painting metal radiators black increase their heat output? Will there be such benefits if the radiators are already covered with white or pink latex wall paint and subsequently painted over with black paint?
A. The darker the color, the more heat radiators will give out, but the difference is slight between black and other dark colors. You can paint radiators already painted a light color with a dark paint and get the benefits of the greater heat output.
The only type of paint that has a negative effect on the heat output of radiators is a metallic paint. So stay away from aluminum or any other paint with metallic properties. These actually reduce the efficiency of radiators radically; they should be avoided. But you may paint the radiators with a dark green, brown, blue, red or whatever color strikes your fancy or fit the room decor with very good results; the radiators do not have to be painted black to be efficient.
Reflecting heat from back of radiators
Q. Would it make sense and be safe to put aluminum foil against the walls in back of my radiators to reflect the heat into the rooms instead of heating the walls?
A. Yes to both questions but consider using rigid aluminum sheets instead. Not only would they be a lot easier to insert but you could also easily remove them periodically to clean them—a necessity for them to remain efficient.
Turning heat down and running ceiling fans
Q. We keep the thermostat at 68°F. in the daytime and 62°F. at night in our well-insulated home. There is a 20-foot high peaked ceiling in the great room with a ceiling fan. Our house is heated with forced air.
I read somewhere recently that too great a differential in temperature settings is self-defeating because of the energy required to achieve the daytime temperature. Is this correct and, also, should the fan be running day and night?
A. All the information I have is that lowering the thermostat for a consecutive period of eight hours will reduce your heating costs by 2% per degree F. The fan should be run all the time in a room with such a high ceiling to prevent stratification of the heated air where it does no good. The fan blades should move the air upward in winter to circulate the air against the walls and downward in summer to make you feel cooler.
Saving on utilities in unoccupied apartment
Q. We own a two-family house, and because we are seniors and want peace and quiet, we are thinking of no longer renting the upper floor. Should we leave the electricity and the gas furnace on? We don’t want to spend too much money on the utilities since we won’t be collecting rent, but don’t want to ruin the flat either.
A. The electric meter doesn’t run unless you use electricity, but may have a monthly meter charge if there is a separate meter for the apartment.
If there is a separate gas furnace for the upstairs apartment, you should leave it running and set the thermostat to 40° or so. If the thermostat doesn’t go that low, (many old ones don’t), ask your gas company to tell you whether it’s worth changing it. (Would you recoup its costs in gas saved over a short period of time?)
Since there is probably no insulation in the ceiling between the first and second floor, heat from below will keep the apartment warm enough on most days so that the upstairs furnace won’t need to come on except on very cold nights to keep pipes from freezing.
Have you thought of renting the apartment for a reasonable price to a working couple or a nurse who is out all day? You may be able to receive income and not have the burden of utility costs with a very quiet tenant who is seldom there.
Q. With the increase in the price of heating oil, I am looking for ways to reduce costs. I have turned the thermostat down and installed a programmable thermostat. Next, I would like to insulate the metal heating ducts in my basement and attic to reduce the loss of heat from the hot air that travels through them. Some of the ducts are round and others are rectangular and all are easily accessed. What is the best way to insulate them?
A. The best way to insulate the ducts in the basement is to buy duct insulation from a heating contractor or supplier or to have a contractor do the job. Keep in mind that in doing so, you will reduce the temperature in the basement, and the first floor may feel a little cooler. Also, consider what activities are frequently carried out in the basement; will you need additional heat at these times?
To insulate the ducts in the attic (a bad place for them), regular duct insulation is not going to be enough. If they are lying directly on the floor joists, and if there are many, it may be best to have cellulose insulation blown over the existing insulation (to improve the R-factor of the ceiling), making sure that at least a foot of insulation covers the ducts. But if there are few, you may want to snuggle fiberglass batts of the same thickness as the thickness or diameter of the ducts on each side of them and cover them with R-38 (12 inches thick) batts. Just be sure that there are no empty spaces around the ducts for air movement.
Refinishing radiant-heat slab with wood flooring
Q. Our Levittown ranch is heated by means of a radiant floor. The concrete slab is covered with ugly brown asphalt tiles, over which there is carpeting.
The carpeting has discolored from the radiant heat and we would like to replace it with wooden tiles as a sister-in-law has successfully done. We have been warned that the tiles may crack. Can you recommend it and can you give us the name of a manufacturer that would guarantee the tiles would hold up?
A. A technician for Bruce Hardwood Floors, the country’s largest hardwood floor manufacturer, tells me that it can be done successfully, and faxed me their installation instructions. They only recommend the use of laminated parquet or plank products, and never solid hardwood flooring. The instructions are not difficult to follow but there is a kicker: the asphalt tiles must be removed and so must a good part of the adhesive used to install them.
Considering that you must assume that the existing tiles and the adhesive contain asbestos, their removal and disposal must be done by trained professionals.
Q. I have made a 4×8-foot mural-relief out of stoneware clay to cover an indoor cement-block chimney. Is there a product that would successfully bond the tiles to the chimney which may get up to 150°F?
A. The best adhesive I could think of is Sikaflex-1a. Their technical services assured me it is good up to 167°F. Apply a bead from all sides and in an X in the center. Press heavily in place. Leave ¼-inch space around each tile to allow for expansion. Get it from masonry and waterproofing supply houses.
Radiator covers
Q. Do you know where I can get radiator covers?
A. One source is ARSCO Manufacturing Co. 3330 East Kemper Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45241, telephone 1-800-543-7040, www.arscomfg.com.
Replacing registers
Q. I have just bought an old house with a lot of charm but there is one thing that is out of character: the heat registers are cheap looking, flimsy and too modern.
Where can I get the handsome old fashioned cast-iron registers that would really fit in this house?
A. Reggio Register Co. offers registers in cast iron, porcelain enamel finishes, wood, aluminum and brass. Check www.reggioregister.com.
Removing rust from cast-iron stove
Q. How can I clean the rust off the top of our cast iron stove?
A. If the top is smooth, use fine steel wool. If it has an orange-peel texture, use one of the liquid rust removers available in hardware stores.
See Chapter 2—Roofs and Siding—for information on proper flashing around chimneys and related outdoor maintenance issues. Also, see the warnings about the dangers of improper chimney caps earlier in this chapter, under the heading Health and Safety.
Oil furnace filling chimney with soot
Q. Our chimney has not been cleaned for several years. It vents our oil-fired furnace. Soot blows out of the damper and is also found on top of the gas water heater. Would vacuuming or brushing be best? The clean-out at the bottom of the chimney is filled. Is it all soot or is some of it sand?
A. The only way to tell if sand is mixed with the soot is to look at it closely and feel it between your fingers. The presence of sand is possible only if the chimney is not lined.
It is very dangerous to let deposits of any kind accumulate in the bottom of a chimney as it could build up to partially or completely clog the vent pipe, forcing exhaust gases back into the house through the barometric damper of the furnace and the draft hood of the water heater.
The fact that you have soot blowing out of the barometric damper now and that it collects on top of the water heater is a good indication that there is some occlusion of the flue, either where the furnace pipe connects to the chimney or higher up within the chimney because of an accumulation of soot on its walls.
Have the chimney professionally cleaned immediately by a competent chimney sweep, preferably a member of the National or State Chimney Sweep Guild.
Fireplace smoke is sucked down furnace flue
Q. On certain days, depending on the wind direction, I smell smoke from my living-room fireplace in the basement, most noticeably around the furnace and water heater flue. This leads me to believe that the smoke from the fireplace flue is being sucked down the furnace flue. The chimneys do not have caps and they are both cleaned every year. Any suggestions?
A. Your diagnosis is correct. The easiest way for air going up one chimney to be replaced is through another chimney.
Have a directional cap installed over the fireplace flue, with the through-opening at right angle to the axis of the two flues. Or have a full cap with dividers, called a wythes, separating all flues. The clearance between the top of the flues and the bottom of the cap must be a minimum of 8 inches.
Capping chimney to prevent smoke re-circulation
Q. We have two fireplaces—one in our first-floor family room and the other in the basement. Both flues are in the same chimney and capped to keep wildlife out. When we use the first-floor fireplace, a strong smoky smell is noticed in the basement stairwell even though the basement fireplace has never been used and its damper is kept closed.
Both fireplaces have fresh-air inlets in their backs. The man who cleaned our chimney said that smoke from the first floor chimney is being drawn down the other flue. Is this likely and how do we prevent it?
A. He is right, but why hasn’t he told you how to prevent it? When you say that both flues are capped, you probably mean that wire mesh has been put over them. What should be done now to stop recirculation of the smoke is to build a weather cap over the chimney, consisting of two exterior wythes, and one wythe between the two flues. They must be built of solid masonry and should be capped with two separate bluestones so one can be lifted and put over the other when the flues are being swept. Or use individual metal tunnel caps installed parallel to each other (not facing each other), to accomplish the same thing.
Chimney liner improves wood-stove efficiency
Q. I’m having a wood-burning stove inserted in my fireplace. My dilemma is whether to have the flue relined. The contractor that is installing it says relining will make the stove more efficient. Is this true or are they trying to get another $700 from me? My house was built in 1940. The fireplace and chimney were built with the house at the same time. I’m only suspicious because the first place I went to gave the reline story with a different take, saying that since the house was old the lining is probably cracked, making it possible for carbon monoxide to leak into the house. The stove does include a 5-foot liner going into the flue. Should I go with the 5 feet or go the extra 25 feet?
A. The stove will be more efficient with a stainless steel liner of the proper diameter all the way to the top of the chimney because the gases will remain warmer as long as the installers pour compatible insulation between the new liner and the existing flue.
When combustion gases rise in an existing chimney with a larger cross section than needed, they get “lazy” and cool fast, depositing creosote on the flue walls. That can lead to serious problems including potential chimney fires. There is also a problem with back-drafting – cold air running down the chimney walls affecting the draft negatively.
The other firm that mentioned the possibility of cracked flue liners is also correct.
You should also make it a practice to use ACS (Anti-Creo-Soot — a catalytic spray formula that changes creosote into a fine brown ash). Use it every day following instructions on the bottle. You can spray it on your firewood while it is stacked outside; the water vehicle will evaporate but the active ingredients are still there. To activate the catalytic action, you will need to start the day with a small but hot fire for about 45 minutes. You should be able to buy ACS from the stove dealer or any chimney sweep.
Chimney liner must connect to boiler vent
Q. We had a new chimney liner installed for our furnace (gas boiler). The bottom could not be secured due to 90-degree bend at the bottom and the distance from the opening in the basement (approximately 6 feet).
The installer said it would not be a problem because the liner is sealed at the chimney top and capped; all exhaust would be drawn out. A chimney mason indicated the exhaust would still collect around the liner and cause problems.
Does the bottom of the liner have to be connected and/or sealed? If so, what is the preferred method? Remove stones from outside the chimney, secure the liner, and replace the stones? Expand the horizontal opening from inside (brick lining), secure, and re-brick the hole? The chimney is solid stone with brick going from furnace flue to vertical shaft.
A. The mason is correct; the liner must be connected to the boiler vent. The way to accomplish this is best left to the mason you select to do the job. From here, I can’t possibly tell you what is the best way although I would lean toward working from inside.
Converting fireplace back to burning wood
Q. I have a fireplace that was re-lined by the first owner (over ten years ago) with new terra cotta brick. The second owner converted to gas with no changes to the flue, just a gas burner log insert. What changes, if any, would need to be done to return to wood burning?
A. Do you really mean terra cotta brick or flue liners? It is more likely to be the latter. There should be no need for any changes since it was relined to be used for wood burning. But it is best for you to have a certified chimneysweep check the flue before you use it for burning wood to be sure that the liner is in good condition.
Learning how to sweep a chimney
Q. I am a do-it-yourselfer with a two-year-old zero-clearance fireplace with a triple-walled flue. I would like to clean it myself in the spring. Can you start a future chimney sweep in the right direction?
A. If you are interested only in your own chimney, the best resource I know of is the out-of-print book Be Your Own Chimney Sweep by Don Post and Chris Curtis (1979, Garden Way Publishing). It should be available from libraries, or major used booksellers. The equipment you’ll need is available at hardware or home stores.
If you hope to become a professional sweep, check out the National Chimney Sweep Guild at www.ncsg.org to learn about the requirements, training, etc.
Keeping chimney clean when burning wood
Q. I always find your articles so easy to understand. I have a weekend house in Davenport, NY, and have a wood-burning stove inserted in the fireplace. I try to burn only hardwood but I am sure some softwood slips in. My neighbor mentioned that he throws some rock salt in the fire that helps keep the chimney clean. Is this true?
A. Careful! Rock salt is corrosive to metal. A far better way to prevent creosote formation, and even eliminate existing creosote, is to use ACS (Anti-Creo-Soot) regularly in your stove. Everyone burning wood should use ACS regularly. It is a catalytic solution that should be sprayed on the logs to be burned and on the inside of the stove. It changes the nature of the combustion gases to a fine ash and actually attacks the creosote deposits inside the stove and chimney. You can spray it on firewood that’s stacked outside or inside, or you can spray it on the logs inside the stove before lighting the fire.
Once applied, build a small fire with enough kindling to get it going strongly with a lot of air. Add more fuel as needed to keep the fire hot but under control. The goal is to get the temperature inside the stove to above 300 degrees F for 30 to 45 minutes to give ACS a chance to do its work. If you use it once daily, you should notice a considerable difference after a few weeks.
I have used it daily for decades with great success; it makes cleaning a chimney a breeze in the spring after the heating season is over.
You can buy ACS from stove shops and chimney sweeps or you can order it directly through ACS’ Web site at www.homesafetyproducts.biz. Click on the “Creosote %26 Soot Remover” link, then click on the Order Now button under the picture of the bottle. The Web site gives you a very comprehensive description of ACS and its benefits. I hope this helps answer your concerns, but be aware that even burning hardwood can generate creosote.
Cleaning chimney and ducts connected to oil furnace
Q. Must chimney venting an oil-fired furnace, warm-air ducts, be cleaned regularly, and, if so, how often must it be done?
A. There is no need, usually, to clean a chimney into which an oil burner is vented. The ducts that carry the warm air of a furnace to the various rooms should not need frequent professional vacuuming if you change the furnace filters regularly—every three to five years—only if there are indications of a problem. It’s a good idea to occasionally remove the register covers and vacuum inside as far in as you can.
Flue liner is cracked
Q. The chimney sweep who cleaned our chimney told us that there is a crack in one of tiles. I called the fire department and a few other places and got different opinions on how correct this situation. I heat with wood and want to be sure that it is safe to use our stove. Last season, when using the stove for the first time, there was a smoky smell in the garage, which the chimney sweep said was caused by the cracked tile. How can I have this repaired, how much will it cost?
A. Cracked flue liners are indeed dangerous under any circumstances, but particularly so when venting a wood-burning stove.
There are several strategies to repair them. Some chimney sweeps are experienced in repairing certain types of cracks with refractory cement, but this may not be possible in your case. The chimney can be relined with stainless steel or concrete, and this gives you the opportunity to size the diameter of the new lining to that of the flue pipe of the stove and, at the same time, to insulate the new chimney if the size of the present flue liner permits it. This would help reduce creosote formation when burning wood in an air-tight stove.
The cost of relining is in the $700 to $1,000 range, depending on the height of the chimney and the difficulty involved.
Creosote forms in outside chimney
Q. There is a considerable amount of creosote formation in my brick chimney that is eating the mortar joints between the bricks. The chimney is outside the house at one end and is used to vent a wood stove. How can this be stopped before further damage is done?
A. An outside chimney is cold and can never be warmed enough by the gases of an air-tight stove to prevent condensation. Moreover, most stoves require a smaller flue than fireplaces. Discharging gases from a stove into a flue that it too large reduces the buoyancy of the gases, causes turbulence, and cools them even more.
You should have the flue lined with a stainless steel liner of the proper diameter for your stove and insulation packed in between the metal chimney and the existing flue liners. Or have insulated concrete poured in around special forms.
Check in your Yellow Pages for the names of people who do this type of work under Chimney Builders & Repairers and Chimney Lining material.
Chimney cleaning in house with steep roof
Q. Our cabin in northern Wisconsin is heated entirely with wood. Its steep roof makes it very hard to get to the peak to run brushes to clean the chimney of creosote that builds up in the metal pipe. Do you have any suggestions? Are there products that allow climbing up a steep pitch roof less dangerous?
A. Chimney-sweep supply stores sell lightweight ladders that hook onto the ridge of the roof and allow for safer climbing. Another way is to disconnect the flue from inside and run the brush up, using the same flexible fiberglass rods that you would use from the roof. Be sure to run the rods through a small hole in a large plastic trash bag, fastened to the flue with a heavy-duty rubber band, so the loose creosote falls into it and not in the house.
Although most fireplaces are more for aesthetics than heating, they are discussed in this chapter because the issues overlap with related subjects, such as chimneys and wood-burning stoves.
Large fireplace needs large flue
Q. The 48×24-inch fireplace in our camp is connected to a flue that is 20×14 inches almost all the way up, except that it is capped with a 10-inch round section a few feet tall. Our space heater is also connected to this flue.
Whenever the fire doors are open, the fireplace smokes so badly that we can’t stay in the camp. When one door is closed it is not so bad. The space heater draws well, but is it causing the problem—or is the fire box too big?
A. The correct ratio between a fireplace opening and its chimney is generally ten to one. There are variations depending on the height of the chimney, etc.
The main flue section is a 20×14-inch rectangle with a cross section of 280 square inches, which is plenty to handle the fireplace and the space heater, although the National Fire Protection Association Guidelines no longer permit the connection of two heating appliances to the same flue for safety reasons. But the 10-inch diameter pipe extension is only 78.54 square inches (if the 10 inches are an inside measurement, less if not).
The large fireplace opening would require at least a flue of one tenth its own area or 115 square inches (48 times 24 equals 1152 divided by 10). If the space heater comes on while the fireplace is being used, the situation is even worse. Try having the 10-inch round flue section replaced with a 20×14-inch continuation of the main part of the flue, and see if that solves the problem.
Providing outside air for fireplace combustion
Q. Whenever we use the large fireplace in our relatively small, well-insulated house, we have to open a window in the basement. If we don’t, the atmospheric pressure drops in the house and the gas furnace safety switch shuts it off.
When the fireplace was built, a fresh-air intake of approximately 1/5 the size of the fireplace flue was provided in the basement.
I believe it will be necessary to bring in air to the fireplace from the outdoors via a duct and a small blower. Does this make sense?
A. It makes sense but the blower is not necessary. The right ratio of combustion air for a fireplace is more difficult to provide in a tight house than in a house with many cracks and crevices in its exterior envelope.
The fresh-air intake provided in your basement is quite inadequate for both the furnace and the fireplace; it’s only enough for the furnace. The fireplace alone needs an outside-air intake of half the area of the cross section of its flue, and it is best to supply it next to the fireplace.
You can accomplish that by installing an insulated duct in the basement, with a screened and weatherproof inlet in the band joist, terminating with a floor grille just in front of the fireplace. To eliminate cold air infiltration through the grille when the fireplace is not used, close the grille flap and place a throw rug over it.
Fireplace smells when windows are closed
Q. I need your help. We use our fireplace very often in the fall and winter months. The problem that we have is the smell during the months we don’t use it. Often we get a smell of burnt wood when it is not in use, especially when we have our exhaust fan in the attic or bathroom on. The smell only goes away when we open a window.
Sometimes the smell is so powerful we must turn the fans off. We have had the liner in the chimney replaced, and have it cleaned every year before we use it. Also the brick on the outside of the fireplace is very black, leading us to believe that a chimney fire may have occurred. What can we do to get rid of this smell?
A. Warm, moist air is drawn out of the house through the fans — and exfiltrating through cracks and crevices around windows and any other vulnerable components on the upper floor. It all creates a negative pressure inside the house. Nature abhors unbalance so the equilibrium is corrected by outside air racing down the chimney — the easiest make-up channel.
When you open a window, it makes it easier for the make-up air to be supplied, and air either no longer comes down the chimney or is so diminished as to no longer be a problem. You can reduce the smell by closing the fireplace damper when you are not using the fireplace (and you know that the fire is absolutely dead) and by installing tight glass fire doors. And since it appears as if your house is tight, open a window whenever you use one of the fans.
You may also want to try spraying all your firewood with ACS, a catalytic solution that prevents the build-up of creosote on chimney walls and cleans it off if it is present. This should help a lot. You should be able to buy ACS in stove shops or through chimney sweeps. You can also buy it on the internet at: www.homesafetyproducts.biz.
Fireplace fills home with smoky odor
Q. Whenever I use my fireplace, the whole house gets a smoky odor which lasts for days. An inspection of the fireplace revealed nothing wrong, but the inspector suggested that my five-year-old house is too airtight, creating a negative pressure which causes a back-up of smoke into the house when I open the fireplace doors. He suggested either hooking an air-to-air heat exchanger into my high efficiency furnace or just simply running a 6-inch flexible pipe from outside to the cold air return of the furnace. What would you recommend?
A. High-efficiency furnaces have their own fresh air intake. The smoky odor question and what to do about it comes up every once in a while but the solution suggested by the inspector is rather original. The puzzle to me is to understand why install a 6-inch pipe from outside to the furnace in order to provide an intake of air for the fireplace, when it would be so much more effective and energy efficient to install a fresh-air intake in front of the fireplace itself.
Locating the intake into the furnace means that cold outside air will be drawn throughout the house all the time and also cool the warm return air when the furnace fan comes on. At the same time, it diminishes the effectiveness of the pull of stale air from each of the rooms in which there is a return.
There are two very effective solutions:
1.Open a window very slightly nearest the fireplace when using it or whenever the fire doors and damper are open, or;
2.Have a fresh-air intake of the appropriate size installed in front of the hearth, with a closing feature so it will not admit air when not needed.
Odor in room when fireplace not in use
Q. We have a problem with odor coming into our family room from the fireplace/chimney. Last fall we had the chimney swept and the damper replaced. Previously, the damper had been very difficult to operate for most individuals. It kept sliding off track and consequently, we frequently left it open more than we should have, losing precious heat. It was replaced by a damper fixed on top of the chimney outside. It is connected to a chain coming down the chimney on the inside. This chain easily slides into a slot which holds it in place and securely closes the flue. Any 4-year old can operate it, we were told by the installer.
Sounded great to us until we began to notice that whenever we were not having a fire, the whole room smelled so strongly of damp ashes that you could not sit in there unless you opened the damper or a window. When we called the chimney person who recommended and installed this, he said he had installed many of this style and never heard of this issue from anyone before. He was certain he had installed a proper seal on the flue outside.
He suggested we use scented candles in the room or scented chimney sticks. This is not a solution for us. I am allergic to most fragrances and do not care to have my home dependent upon artificial scents in order to sit in my own family room. We have glass doors on the fireplace and keep them closed when not burning a fire. We have tried emptying the ashes after each fire. These remedies have not worked. Do you have any suggestions?
A. The problem with top dampers is that they trap air in the chimney. This air gets cooled — particularly if the chimney is an exterior one — and sinks down as all cold air does, carrying with it the odor of damp ashes and smoke deposits found on the chimney flue. Burning scented candles is not the solution for you or in general.
The best solution is to have a competent mason replace the damper flap that sits below the smoke shelf and keep the chimney top damper open. He or she should be able to find a replacement flap in a masonry and building supply store.
As an added precaution, spray all your firewood with ACS (a catalytic solution that helps deodorize flues) so that when you light a fire, the gases will work on the soot deposits coating the flue. You should be able to buy ACS from stove shops and some chimney sweeps or from www.homesafetyproducts.biz.
Smoky fireplace
Q. My home, which I purchased 50 years ago, has a fireplace that we seldom use because too much smoke enters our living room when we fire it up. Contractors have told me that the draft is too strong, not strong enough, or that the fireplace opening is too high (30 inches) and that it should be lowered so it would trap the smoke. The fireplace has a damper which is supposed to control the draft. I keep it shut and don’t use the fireplace.
Someone also told me to use only seasoned oak as other logs give off too much smoke. I have done so but the results have been the same. Perhaps you may have suggestions.
A. If the draft were too strong you would not have smoke in the livingroom. If the fireplace opening height is greater than 10 times the cross-section of the flue there is the potential for smoking. Other possibilities are the height of the chimney (the higher it is, the better the draft), obstructions from tall trees too close to the chimney and lack of make-up air from too tight a house — probably not the case in a house that’s over 50 years old, unless much has been done to tighten it up.
Finally, oak creates denser smoke than many other tree species.
Make-up air for a fireplace
Q. I read your column every week and appreciate your knowledge of many issues. I have a two-story home built in the sixties with an exterior wall fireplace. It has a large flue and 28” x 28” firebox opening. I had to put a seven inch metal plate across the top to prevent smoke from rolling into the room. It did have doors, but they were so cheap that I tore them off one day.
My wife does not like inserts and we enjoy the fires, but not how cold the rest of the house gets. My solution is to drill a 2.5” hole through the inner and outer brick walls and insert a metal pipe with blower on the outside to keep the noise down to accomplish two things. It would create positive pressure into the house and, by running it through a tubular wood holder, push warm air into the house.
Am I crazy for attempting this? I realize that I should just put better doors on, but the outside air positive pressurization seems very attractive. I can’t imagine it would weaken the chimney to any extent, and I would build a box around the blower so no animals could enter.
A. I am not clear how you will be able to install a fan in a 2-1/2-inch pipe and a tubular wood holder (and how this will push warm air into the house). The concept of bringing in outside make-up air is sound. In fact, most masons provide outside make-up air for fireplaces nowadays. But I suggest that you have a competent mason look the situation over and provide you with an estimate on doing the work. A professional job done with available systems will add much to the sale appeal of the house whereas a so-so D-I-Y job may do the opposite.
Fireplace downdraft
Q. I have a chronic problem with my chimney and fireplace that has defied solution. There is a significant downdraft whenever the damper is open. This results in fires that are hard to keep going and the necessity to leave my glass doors closed at all times or else the room fills with smoke. A chimney sweep installed a chimney cap with baffles that use the wind to create an updraft; this made the situation much worse and I had to remove it.
The chimney is at one end of the house; there are large trees nearby; and the ground slopes up behind the house. I surmise that either the trees or the slope are causing the downdrafts, but can’t find anyone who can solve the problem.
A. If the downdraft problem occurs at all times, wind is not the cause. If it occurs only when the wind blows, it is. The chimney sweep’s solution is the first that would come to mind if wind is responsible, but not otherwise. Here are some other possibilities:
- The chimney is outside the envelope of the house and cold.
- It is too short or too low in relation to the ridge of the roof. Accepted standards are that its top should be 2 feet above the ridge or above a horizontal line at least 10 feet from any other parts of the building.
- The fireplace opening is too large or too small in relation to the cross section of the flue. The correct ratio is 1 in 10.
- The house may be too tight and lighting the fireplace creates negative pressure that is equalized by downdrafts. Negative pressure can also be induced by the use of kitchen and bath fans and a dryer vented outside. Check it by cracking a window open nearest the fireplace and on the windward side of the house if the wind is blowing; if this is the problem, have a fresh air inlet installed on the prevailing wind side of the house.
- Or, if the house is two stories, exfiltration through cracks around the second story windows, the access to the attic, a bathroom fan, or recessed light fixtures and any other cracks in the construction, including openings around plumbing pipes and electric wires inside walls, can create a chimney effect that leads to negative pressure and to downdrafts.
Circulating heat from fireplace
Q. When we use the fireplace in our family room, it gets very warm in that room but the heat does not travel elsewhere. We are thinking of cutting a vent in the ceiling and floor above so the heat would go upstairs. Is that a good idea?
A. It should help heat the room immediately above the new vent and would be most efficient if the vent is cut just above the fireplace, but you would lose privacy, if that is a consideration. Installing small computer-type fans in one of the upper corners of doorways also helps a lot in transferring heat to adjacent rooms.
Most fireplaces lose energy
Q. My son-in-law took the glass doors off the fireplace because they were black with soot. I am concerned about losing heat up the chimney. Is a fireplace practical?
A. I assume, by practical, you mean is it a positive producer of heat in winter. The answer to that depends on the location of the chimney. If the chimney is outside the house, as most of them are, a fireplace is generally a loser of energy.
A wood-burning fireplace creates a considerable updraft, and the air that goes up the chimney must be replaced. This is done through cracks and crevices in all rooms of the house, thus bringing in cold air and cooling these rooms. The only benefit is felt by those close to the operating fireplace. But, of course, a wood fire is lovely to watch on a cold winter’s night.
If the chimney is inside the insulated house envelope, and it is operated for many hours, the heated masonry radiates heat, making up for the forcibly infiltrated cold air. Glass fire doors are very helpful in controlling the heat loss, as they reduce the amount of air sucked up the chimney. One way to keep them clean is to use ACS (Anti-Creo-Soot) catalytic spray on the logs before lighting the fire. It can be bought in most stove shops and through chimney sweeps.
A much more efficient way to heat a house with wood is to use a wood stove or insert, set in the fireplace by experienced stove shops or chimney sweeps who will balance their exhaust to reduce creosote formation. Another option is the use of a pellet stove that is thermostatically operated, cleaner burning, and does not require constant feeding. It also eliminates the mess of handling firewood.
Reducing soot in gas fireplaces
Q. The gas logs in my gas-log fireplace are covered with soot. Do you know of a way to remove these unsightly deposits?
A. ACS, the acronym for Anti-Creo-Soot, a product developed to reduce and even eliminate creosote formation in the flues of wood stoves, has been found to be very effective and fast-acting in the removal of carbon and soot from gas logs.
Much less is needed than with wood stoves, so rather than the usual quart size, the same product comes in pint sizes labeled “ACS Carbon & Soot Remover.” However, the soot may also indicate that the gas is not burning efficiently. If the flame is too yellow, have your gas company send a service person to adjust the air-gas mixture.
Cleaning stains from fireplace hearth
Q. Last year we removed a wood-burning stove from our fireplace insert, and now have the original attractive fireplace wall again. However, the raised hearth is stained with black marks that are quite ugly on the terra cotta-colored tile that surfaces the hearth and the fireplace floor.
I have called a wood-stove store and asked at hardware stores and Home Depot, and have tried the recommended Comet powder and Goo Gone, which did lighten a few of the less-dense marks, but took a long time and much pressure for a tiny dime-sized spot. I think the marks are creosote or charcoal that baked on there when the wood stove was hot, or perhaps it was the burning logs years ago.
Since the fireplace is the center of the house, the black streaks at the knee-level hearth are very visible. Is there a product I can use that will help?
A. Whether the black marks are from smoke or creosote, try one of the following products that are recommended for the removal of both types of stains: Speedy White Hearth and Stove Cleaner, Rutland Hearth %26 Grill Conditioning Glass Cleaner, or Sweep’s Secret Home and Hearth Cleaner. You should be able to get these products from chimney sweeps. Good luck.