Washington Jerry

Washington Jerry A place to come if you're having problems with your plumbing.

Leaking Sink with garbage DisposalHi I'm asking to check on an estimate and prognosis if that's okay. I sent these pictu...
09/25/2026

Leaking Sink with garbage Disposal

Hi I'm asking to check on an estimate and prognosis if that's okay. I sent these pictures to a plumber, there is a leak coming out of the drain with the garbage disposal but not the other side. They said both sides would need to be replaced fully and it would cost around $700 including removing the disposal or about $1000 with a replacement of the disposal. Would you consider this prognosis as accurate? Would you consider this a fair estimate?

Thank you all in advance .

Is this a regular p trap I should be able to open by hand?I’m a renter in an old home with a less than great landlord so...
09/25/2026

Is this a regular p trap I should be able to open by hand?
I’m a renter in an old home with a less than great landlord so trying to do stuff myself. My bathroom sink is not draining so I wanted to open the trap to see if there’s a blockage. (I already tried the plastic clog pulling out tools from Amazon) In all the videos I watched they look different than mine and have two obvious parts that easily turn to open. The two wider sections on mine do not budge. Should I try to use force with tools to open it or is that risky for breaking the whole thing?

Tankless water heater drippingPlease help understand what this little black thing is on my tankless water heater and why...
09/25/2026

Tankless water heater dripping
Please help understand what this little black thing is on my tankless water heater and why is it dripping water. It's a slow drip but gets faster when hot water is being used.

Pre-meter leakI found a small leak on the water main pipe coming into my house right before the water meter. According t...
09/25/2026

Pre-meter leak
I found a small leak on the water main pipe coming into my house right before the water meter. According to the city (I live in Minneapolis) , I am responsible for the piping all the way to the connection at the boulevard, meaning this falls on me to fix. There is a wire wrapped around the meter and this section of pipe, which looks to be put there by the city. It makes sense to deter people from tapping their main before the meter to get free water, but how do I legitimately go about getting this fixed? How do I communicate to a plumber what my issue is? Do I need to use the city's water department and not a private plumber? I'm cross-posting this in the Minneapolis subreddit as well.

How to cut this old fl**ge on an old construction building?Helping a family member fix some flooring (water?) damage by ...
09/25/2026

How to cut this old fl**ge on an old construction building?

Helping a family member fix some flooring (water?) damage by one of their steam radiators, specifically on the riser. It’s rotted under the fl**ge and we’re likely going to have to replace the subfloor in that area.

This fl**ge seems to have been original to the installation of the riser as it does not have a disconnect to open it and remove it - it’s a complete and solid disk.

I took a shot with tin snips, but didn’t push it as it wasn’t showing any signs of breaking or cutting.

Anyone have an idea?

Is this a shutoff valve?A plumber took a look and said that this doesn't look like a washer shutoff valve but could be a...
09/25/2026

Is this a shutoff valve?
A plumber took a look and said that this doesn't look like a washer shutoff valve but could be an old version? I'm not able to test it as my washer won't run, but need to know before installers bring the new washer.

Just found this inside our heating pipes after a new boiler install a few months ago - normal or not?So we're mid bathro...
09/25/2026

Just found this inside our heating pipes after a new boiler install a few months ago - normal or not?
So we're mid bathroom refurb and the plumbers had to cut into some old central heating pipework to move things around. When they opened it up, the inside of the copper pipe was coated in this really thick black gunk/scale.

We had a brand new combi boiler installed a few months back, and I was told they did a chemical flush as part of that. So I wasn't expecting the pipes to look like this but also I know nothing about the subject.

I mentioned it to the plumber doing the bathroom work and he seemed pretty concerned, said it looks like the flush didn't really do its job and that running a new boiler with that much crud still in the system isn't great for the pump/heat exchanger long term.

But then I mentioned it to the company that installed the thing and they were like like 'yeah that's pretty normal for an older system, especially if it's never been power flushed before, nothing to stress about'

I have no idea who's right lol.

Anyone who knows heating systems able to weigh in? Is black sludge/scale like this actually a real problem for a new boiler or is it just normal gunk from years of the system running and not worth panicking over? Trying to figure out if I actually need to chase the installer to come back and do a proper flush, or if I'm worrying over nothing?? Thank you for all your help.

How do I drain this water heater?This is the water heater in my RV. I am trying to drain to winterize. There is no hose ...
09/25/2026

How do I drain this water heater?
This is the water heater in my RV. I am trying to drain to winterize. There is no hose bib at the bottom of the tank. Only the set up pictured. How do I drain?

Woke up to water in crawl spaceWe have a well and it appears to be a small leak coming from the black tube, somewhere in...
09/25/2026

Woke up to water in crawl space
We have a well and it appears to be a small leak coming from the black tube, somewhere in the housing. Calling a plumber this morning. Would appreciate any thoughts while I wait for the plumber to come.

Is this Legit?Background: I have a pool contractor that replaced the heater and electric panel. The electric work had ma...
09/25/2026

Is this Legit?
Background: I have a pool contractor that replaced the heater and electric panel. The electric work had many issues. The gas line work doesn't look legitimate but I may be just to critical.

Originally the gas line was installed with an over 7' long unsupported horizontal run with no dirt leg. I asked if this was ok and was told it was fine.

After some pushback they made two changes 1) a dirt leg was installed after the shutoff valve in the horizontal run. This made no sense to me (see photo), I always though the dirt leg is supposed to be at the "bottom" of a t with the gas needing to take the turn so the particulate would "fall out via gravity and momentum" and not make the corner.

2) They also came back and installed two 2x4 pressure treated blocks of wood that have a pipe strap on the top and nothing securing them to the pavers under the 2x4. Is this legit?

This work has been done in California.

I am only looking for answers/guidance from actual licensed plumbers that can help me understand if these are code compliant installations and if not what code sections I need to dig into. I respect the effort it takes to get a license and chose licensed workers, but as was my experience with the electrical work (which I know) they are "making it work" but not necessarily doing it properly.

In case you ask, yes this is permitted work... however, the inspector is --'how do I say this politely-- umm getting by.

Thank you for taking to time to assist me with your expertise.

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