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We have lived in our current home for 11 months. In the last 3 weeks we have experienced air in our water lines...anytime we turn on a faucet it sputters, flushing toilets makes loud noises as the tanks fill, washing clothes or dishes results in the same noises, and taking a shower is no fun.
We had a plumber come out and he said the problem is not with our lines, but stems from our community water company and suspected that they had done some routine maintenance and may have a leak somewhere causing the air in our lines.
So, we contacted our community water company and notified them of our issue and let them know that we had a plumber visit our home and shared his observations. They dispatched a technician who left a note that the air in our lines is due to "normal high use of the wells in our area this time of year."
I am preparing to contact the water company again because living like this is unacceptable. I can only imagine that the sounds all of our appliances make when using water is not good for them, maybe it has no effect but it is a concern.
My question for you knowledgable folks is, is this really normal? I haven't found any neighbors who have the same issue we do. I plan to politely request they fix this one more time before becoming less polite, but hate to do that if this really is a normal problem.
If there's a systemic leak, or a leak anywhere, it would be showing somewhere on the surface. Water systems are typically positively pressured so there is usually no air in the lines. If your neighbors aren't having the issue it just may be in your house service. When you say there's air in the lines what do you mean? You get a shot of water then nothing then water? Or something else?
Anytime water pipes are worked on, be it in your own house or on the city side of the meter, there can get air in the lines.
The best way to get rid of it is to go to the highest fixture in the house and let it run until the air quits coming out. Open up a bunch of faucets and it will likely work its way out quickly.
Driller has a point. If the tank temp is set high it can be a problem. There is a T&P relief valve on the tank with a little lift lever. Use a potholder and lift the lever for a minute to see if you get steam or air out of the end of the overflow tube instead of water. If you do, you might have a bad thermostat or other problem.
Dissolved air in the water might come from a well that has been sucked dry and is still being pumped. I've never heard of a regulated water supplier having that as an ongoing issue. Air in pipes is not good for their pipes and equipment either.
If all else fails, you could install a small 5' tall standpipe in your system near the connection with the community water, with a relief valve at the top. When your system started to bump, opening the valve would release the column of trapped air, allowing it to take another charge of it.
We do have a lot of buildup in the hot water tank and I wondered if that was the issue...but when the toilets refill you can see air bubbles in the fill tank. It looks like someone dropped an alka seltzer tab in there!
The plumber didn't think running water to get the air out would work since the issue has been going on for so long now - he felt it would have worked out of the system by now. I've never had this problem so I don't know - can't hurt to try! I will do this an post if that resolves the issue.
To answer the question of what I mean by air in the lines...if you tun on a faucet it sputters, water comes out, sputters some more. When we flush a toilet it groans (best description I can come up with) and if you lift the lid you can see tiny bubbles & a lot of cloudy water filling the tank, then it settles and looks normal. In the shower, water will flow and then spit at random times so you get shot in the eye.
I really do appreciate the advice. I think my next course of action will be to let the highest most faucet run then test with cold water only and flush a toilet or two. If all looks well, I'll try hot and see if the problem comes back. Thanks again.
If the toilet is acting up then the only way it could be the hot water lines is if someone made a mistake and piped HOT water to a toilet.
Testing the TPR valve on a water heater isa good way to start a leak that you won't be able to shut off, especially if the water heater has some age to it, and there is sediment in the tank.
The sediment in the tank can get into the TPR valve and not allow it to fully seal when it is shut off.
Turn off all the water in the house, then go look at the water meter. If the meter is moving at all, then you have a leak somewhere in your system.
Sorry, I missed the part about you being on a well system. IF you have a water meter, then do the test, and look for movement when everything is OFF in the house. While 3 weeks is a very long time for air to be in the lines, it can hang in there for quite a while. I have had it in mine of a couple days, and I try to bleed my lines fully after I have done some plumbing work.
I'm not a big well expert, but it sounds like the well pump, etc might be getting air int he lines (if you can't get it bled out).
We ran cold water in the showers and facets upstairs until the sputtering stopped. Then, my husband tried the hot water in the sink and it sputtered...turned off hot, then turned on cold and no more sputtering. Next we flushed the toilet and my 3 year old immediatly covered his ears anticipating the horrible noise to follow and...nothing! The toilet just flushed with no loud sounds!
Rune the hot water faucets now until the air stops.
You may also want to install an air tank on the pipes above the water heater. This may help after you get the air out.
We do have a lot of buildup in the hot water tank and I wondered if that was the issue...but when the toilets refill you can see air bubbles in the fill tank. It looks like someone dropped an alka seltzer tab in there!
The plumber didn't think running water to get the air out would work since the issue has been going on for so long now - he felt it would have worked out of the system by now. I've never had this problem so I don't know - can't hurt to try! I will do this an post if that resolves the issue.
To answer the question of what I mean by air in the lines...if you tun on a faucet it sputters, water comes out, sputters some more. When we flush a toilet it groans (best description I can come up with) and if you lift the lid you can see tiny bubbles & a lot of cloudy water filling the tank, then it settles and looks normal. In the shower, water will flow and then spit at random times so you get shot in the eye.
I really do appreciate the advice. I think my next course of action will be to let the highest most faucet run then test with cold water only and flush a toilet or two. If all looks well, I'll try hot and see if the problem comes back. Thanks again.
If you are on a well and the hot water tank is full of gunk, consider a water softener. Protects the hot water tank and clothes get cleaner with less detergent.
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