DIY or call a plumber?

Tiuilip

Hi all,

Pretty clueless about plumbing etc so was wondering if anyone can please help. Like a lot of people our water supply has been turned on and off over the past few days and we’re not sure if the problems we’re having at the moment are due to poor pressure, airlocks or something else. At the moment, there is cold water in all taps and at decent pressure but no water from the hot taps.

Also the water was cut off when the electric shower (Triton T90si) was being used on Sunday and now when it is turned on it makes a horrible roaring sound and no water comes out.

Finally, the dishwasher isn’t working even when the tank should be full-it’s turning on but no water.

We already had an expensive week as we had to call an emergency plumber out twice last week when the boiler broke and started leaking. Now that is fixed but everything else seems to be breaking! Our dilemma is whether we should call someone out if they are only going to tell us that the problems are due to poor water pressure and can't be fixed until that improves or is there something we can try first? We don’t really have any clear idea what is the story with our water supply (Dublin 12) but think they are fixing a burst pipe nearby. Would really appreciate any suggestions or advice!

Thanks!

coup1917

Am not an expert or even close but from what you describe, it sounds like your shower might be airlocked.....especially if you used up what was in the tank when the water was switched off...

My two showers were airlocked recently after the pipes in the attic from the tank froze. There is a little valve you can release the air from in the triton to get the water running through it again.
If you're not comfortable doing it, might be safer to get someone in though..

yoshytoshy

The easiest way to get rid of an airlock ,get a water hoover or a vax and suck the air out of the pipes.

I'm a plumber myself and I find it the easiest way to clear airlocks.

Your shower is different ,the pipe feeding it is more than likely rising in the attic.
Try putting something on top of the pipe where it's rising ,turn the shower to cold and try it.

astrofool

Your dishwasher in the kitchen might be fed off the water main, and not have enough pressure to operate (our one did the same thing last saturday when the mains pressure dropped, worked fine the next morning when pressure returned).

items

Plenty of ways to remove plumbing airlocks here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055748768 if you scroll through pages you'll find different solution's for different pipe, hot, cold, showers etc.

Tiuilip

Hi,
Thanks for the replies-really appreciate it! Can live without the dishwasher but the shower thing is driving us crazy! Do you think it's worth calling someone out to fix it or wait til the water pressure improves before we try?

Any suggestions about the lack of hot water? Or is that due to poor pressure also?

Apologies for all the questions and thanks again for the responses!

bryaner

Turn on the hot tap at the kitchen sink (this is assuming it's a mono tap if not try the bath one) now block the tap with your thumb and turn on the cold tap this should force the cold water around the hot water system and drive all air out with it

Tiuilip

Thanks Bryaner,

Tried that yesterday (it is a mixer tap) and wasn't very successful but will try again when I get home. Thanks!