How To Install A Whole-House Water Filter

Does your water have a funky taste and smell to it?

Have you put a water filter on your kitchen faucet to address your funky water taste and smell issues. If you have, and this has not fixed the problem, then you need to install a whole house water filter.

“I need 24 hour plumbers near me.” Someone who is an expert, who is certified, and who knows what he’s doing. I need a neighborhood plumber.

Things you must know

• Locate the main water feed that comes into your house
• Locate the ball shut-off valve (every homeowner should know this just in case)
• Locate your water meter.

Pre-Installation

The water comes in through this pipe, and out through to the whole house.

Now, what you want to do is cut into this pipe in two parts.

Start with the pre-filter. The water comes into the filter to the spun-woven cylinder where all particles are picked up. Example… If they work on the water main in the street, or if there is any dirt and rust, it will actually come through to the spun-woven fiber and get trapped here.

At this point we have not done anything for the taste or odor, we have only protected the large cylinder filter.

The large cylinder filter is actually filled with granulated activated carbon, which is actually no different than the filter on your kitchen faucet. This whole house water filter also uses granulated carbon. As the water passes through it, it will clean up the taste and odor and really sweeten up the water, so now all I have to do is pipe it all in.

Installation

• Turn the main water valve off.
• Attach a piece of plywood to the wall using a masonry bit and concrete screws, this will serve as a nice base to mount the bracket for the pre-filter.
• It is important to clean the pipes before making any connections. If the pipes are not cleaned before making any connections, the metal solder may not fill the joint properly.
• If there is not a draw out, you can do it the old fashion way by cutting into the pipe and draining the excess water out into a bucket.
• Use adapter fittings to transition the piping from the plastic filter’s housing to the copper.
• Solder away from the filter to avoid melting the plastic.

Extra Precaution

I put in a shut-off valve (ball valve) as a precautionary measure. Now, there are shut-off valves which should always be in the open position, and there is one bypass valve that should always be in the closed position. The reason for this is because someday the filters will be clogged. If it is collecting impurities, sooner or later it will clog and need service. This bypass shut-off valve has been installed so as to allow you, or another plumber, to shut the other two shut-off valves and to open the bypass shut-off valve so water can continue to flow into the home. This is to be used when the water filtration system is being serviced.

Say “Hello” to your new water filtering system. Time to turn the water on.

Alright, your new whole house water filter is in, the water is back on. I have taken off the filter off the kitchen spout. You now have not only filtered water here, but at every faucet in this house.

You may taste your water now. It tastes really good!

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5 Important Tips For Buying Your First Home

If you’ve lived in a rented home, or if you’ve lived with your parents until now, buying your first home can be an overwhelming or a great experience, depending on how you approach the entire project. There are some important issues that you need to keep in mind in order to make buying a first home a success.
The first thing you need to check is your available budget. While we’d like to have many beautiful homes, sadly we can’t afford them all. This is why going in a realistic way about it is most of the times the best ways to actually get the perfect home. For example if your budget is about $100,000, search for homes a bit below that budget to avoid overspending. Once you bought that home, there are many things that you will need to pay in addition, and unless you have some extra money set aside, you will have a tough time with your first home.
Next, you should choose your location wisely based on your family requirements. You might have kids that go to school, so finding a place near the school or at least near easy access to transportation is a must. On the other hand, you might be tired of living in the big city, so a suburban area might be more attractive to you. Usually the suburbs are cheaper than the middle of the city so you might be able to find some good deals there.
Then you need to consider what amenities you need your home to have. For example, your might want to invest in a bathtub, whereas for other people this is a secondary requirement. Or you might want to have that gorgeous fireplace that you want to use for sitting and relaxing in front of it during the nights. Or you might want to house with a basement which you can use as a laundry room.
When it comes to the space inside the house, you have to decide how many rooms you actually need. If you’ve lived in a condo or apartment, moving to a house might be what you actually need. However if you’ve lived with your parents and all you need now is to find a small place of your own where you can start your independent life, a small 2 bedroom apartment might be just the perfect way to get started.
And lastly, you might have to think about compromise. If your expectations are way too high, you might never find your dream house. So make sure that you have plenty of homes to choose from and even if the place you like most might need some repairs, if it’s cheap enough and it fulfills most of your criteria, go for it. You might just be able to turn it into the home where you will live for the rest of your life.…

7 Electrical Wiring Issues Solved

Your safety when it comes to matters concerning household electrical is very vital to you and your property. Electrical problems always give you signs and symptoms before they cause damages. In case you find your lights keep on flickering or high energy bills from nowhere and if your appliances keep getting damaged are some of the sure signs that your electric circuit needs to get checked. To your surprise, you may find that your problem is simply a wiring issue. Below are some of the seven common wiring issues that when spotted, needs to be solved.

1. Overlamping

Overlamping in simple terms refers to a situation where a fixture has a light bulb that has a higher wattage rather than what the fixture get designed for. It is usually a classic case of an electrical code violation.

The violation leads to high-level danger classification, as the bulb produces intense heat that may scorch or even in some instances melt the socket and wire insulation. There is a grave danger in this kind of situation as chances of causing electrical fire are very high.

The solution to this kind of problem is limiting your electrical appliances to the wattage recommended 60-watt bulbs or below.

2. Junction Boxes left uncovered

The junction box is the place where splices get held, and electrical wires are connected. Damages to cables may cause a shock or other electrical injuries. Similarly, by any electrical terms, this is a clear code violation.

The danger level posed by this problem is relatively minimal only if the wires are not within reach.

The solution to uncovered junction boxes is straightforward as you are only required to buy a new cover and make sure it gets installed with the screws provided.

3. Lights flickering and it’s not windy

Flickering lights when it’s not windy is not an electrical code violation. Flickering lights are a sign that cables are causing shorts when they move. According to electrical safety standards, light flickering gets classified as a high danger alert. Apart from the annoyance associated with flickering, chances of electrical fire starting are relatively high.

It’s advisable upon noticing this problem you contact your all day electrician or your utility provider and have your weather head replaced.

4. Few power Outlets

When you have few power outlets for your heavy electrical consumption causes cases of high dependency on power strips and extension cords. Few power outlets get not classified as electrical code violation but its standard practice to have receptacles around 4 feet to 12 feet of the doorway.

This kind of violation poses minimal danger level only if your wiring gets done with a heavy-duty extension cord above gauge 14. Electrical fire may erupt in situations where undersized extension cords get used on heavy load.

The solution to this problem is simple as you only need to add more power outlets.

5. No GFCIs

No GFCIs increases chances of electrocution if you are in wet areas like the kitchen and bathroom. GFCI refers to ground fault circuit interrupters. They are quite essential as they are responsible for shutting down the circuit in a record 4 seconds. The solution to this problem is contacting your all day electrician to assist in replacing your old receptacles.

6. Over wired panel

It means that your panel has more circuits than it is required or rated to handle. Each panel board comes with a label that specifies the circuit it’s supposed to accommodate. The danger level is minimal.

7. Aluminum wiring

This problem is usually encountered in old houses built in the ’60s, and 70’s when aluminum wiring got used. Today this kind of wiring is no longer considered safe for any wiring use. Such type of wiring poses a high danger risk even though it is not an electrical code violation.

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