LESLIE: Alright. Saldana in Washington, you’ve got The Money Pit. What can we do for you today?
SALDANA: I bought my house about four years ago and about a year ago, I came home one night – and it’s a two-story house – and went to take a shower and there was no water. And I went through the whole house and there was no water out of any of the outlets, upstairs or downstairs.
TOM: OK.
SALDANA: There’s two bathrooms in the kitchen. And I went outside to see if the water had been turned off, because that’s what it appeared to be and it was totally on, where it comes in from the public municipality.
TOM: OK.
SALDANA: So, then I thought, well, I wasn’t going to mess with it that night. Next morning, everything was fine, just like it had magically never happened. Then, a few months later, it happened again and it’s happened four or five times now.
TOM: OK.
SALDANA: Sometimes, the water is completely off; sometimes, it’s just barely running through. And I’ve turned on all the faucets at once and there have been areas (inaudible at 0:04:46).
TOM: Right, OK. You have a – where the water comes into the house – you said it’s municipal water, so it’s not a well, correct?
SALDANA: Right.
TOM: And do you have a valve that’s a pressure-reducing valve, at the main water line where it comes in?
SALDANA: Ooh, that I don’t know. I don’t …
TOM: Because I – it sounds like a valve problem.
SALDANA: OK. And would that be the city’s valve problem or …?
TOM: And I think that if the valve is getting a little bit wacky on you here, you could have a situation where it’s, you know, trying to adjust pressure and just getting stuck in the closed position. And then when the pressure changes on the street side, it releases and the water starts to flow again.
LESLIE: And opens up wide.
SALDANA: Hmm. OK.
TOM: So I think it’s – a plumbing system is not that complicated; the valve’s either open or closed. But if you have one of these pressure-reduction valves, there’s some degree of automation to it and that might be exactly what’s happening.
SALDANA: OK.
TOM: Alright? So check that out. I think you may find your solution is right there.
SALDANA: That would be from – that would be my valve and not the city’s valve.
TOM: Yes, it would be usually on the house side of the main water line coming in.
LESLIE: Correct. Which, of course, makes it your financial responsibility.
TOM: That’s right.
SALDANA: Oh, of course. I’ve got to find it.
LESLIE: Lucky you.
TOM: Alright. Svetlana, thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
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