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How do you feel about placing a Service company basically on "retainer" (my phrase). There is a company nearby who I have used before, have been happy with their work, response, and price. They are offering, for a $30 monthly charge, expedited service when needed, discounts on said services, along with free services such as pre-maintenance for AC units, furnace, and drain cleaning to name a few. I have used them to replace my furnace about 6 years ago, main water supply gate valve/pipe replacement, along with wall hydrant and frost-free gate valve 3 years ago; PM on the furnace yearly ($60-80, has varied). Simply, if PM all I use, I would be spending $270 unnecessarily. By the way, this group is full service, AC, electrical, along with plumbing. What are your thoughts?

Hey Grumpy Plumber - thanks for sharing your expertise! I have a few questions about being on a home with a well. 1) if you're on a well and let the filter go too long before changing, how can you get it back to normal once you've changed the filter but the the water's still turbid and discolored? 2) the Groundwater Association says you should get your well inspected annually. Do you recommend this frequency as well, and do you have any red flags or suggestions for finding someone to do this sort of check-up? More detail on our situation just in case I'm actually asking the wrong question (I tried to make the questions more general so other folks could find it if you decide to answer): My housemate and I are in a house with a Big Blue water filter system and started notifying the landlord at 3 months to change the filter, but he didn't until about 6 months when the water was already coming out turbid and light yellow-brown. After changing the filter, though, we're only occasionally getting clear water out of the faucets (particularly after the tap has been running a while), and the hot water tends to be murkier than the cold. We've asked a plumber friend and he thought that "flushing the system" is the way to do it. He suggested 1) start furthest from the pump, run hot and cold together until clear, and then move your way towards the pump location as the water clears. We thought we did that? But the next time we opened the faucet it was only marginally improved. So we googled and found advice to: 2) flush all taps at the same time, 15 mins hot then 5 mins cold. We're thinking about trying that but worried that if we're demanding that much of a well, all taps running simultaneously, if that will cause strain on the system. The other concern is it's been dry here (Connecticut) and we had a garden well fail last year, so we don't want to use up so much water if this isn't the right way to go about it. We have no idea when the well was last inspected, it's been at least the two years we've lived here.

First off, an inspection will not solve your problem. You might ask your neighbors if they have rusty water. You could have a bad well screen at the bottom of the well. That could be changed if it’s a shallow well. If it’s a four inch diameter deep well, then you can’t really do anything about that. I suggest you remove your filter cartridge, drain and flush your water heater. Then remove the canister from the filter, run the water and see if it clears up. If it doesn’t clear up, then it’s a well problem. Put the canister back on without the filter, make sure the water is off to the water heater, turn the cold water on until all the faucets run clear, reinstall a new filter cartridge. Fill the water heater back up with water. If you don’t have clear water, the problem is in the well. The solution is, move because the landlord will probably not spend money on a new well. Sorry you have this problem but life is too short to put up with a bad well.

On the question about a plumbing service company charging a monthly fee: I’m not a fan. Just like I’m not a fan of flat rate companies. I don’t think it’s worth your while. If you’re a good customer, they will come when you call.

@@TheGrumpyPlumber Thank you for your knowledge and your time.

Trying to find a reliable customer is a nightmare. Pay your bills

@@Red_Twizzler I pay my bills. The problem is other people either don’t or live from paycheck to paycheck in low income areas with nothing left over for emergencies. This is a problem for everyone. The problem is complex

We have talked about plumbing fixtures in previous videos. Check them out. I recommend good quality faucet manufacturers like Grohe, Newport Brass and Kohler solid brass faucets. If you want something to last, I don’t recommend big box stores.

If you can, turn the water main off when going on vacation. Or, buy a leak defense system that automatically shuts off the water if there is a leak.

You can email me at jimfromholz@gmail.com and leave me your phone number and best time to call. I’m on pacific time.