Age Putting the Pressue on Water Heater Pipes

Question: Our 3-year-old water heater began to develop some problems recently, and while fixing it, the plumber said that the inlet and outlet pipes were corroded and needed to be replaced. How can this be if the unit is only a few years old?

W.P.

Santa Ana

Answer: “I think it depends on the age of the house, rather than the age of the water heater,” says Ted Blanke of Central Plumbing and Heating in La Habra. “If you’ve had problem of low water pressure from the hot water system, you probably have galvanized pipes and the sediment or mineral deposits built up in the lines to the point where there may have been water pressure but the volume wasn’t coming through. This often happens more on the hot water plumbing than it does with the cold.”

Q: I’ve got a large patch of ivy on the side of my house that has grown up the wall and is now attached to part of the roof. I don’t mind it on the wall, but how do I get it off the roof?

S.J.

Buena Park

A: “Ordinarily, when getting rid of ivy, I cut it up and let it die before removing it,” says landscaper Alex Moreno of Anaheim. “However, that’s not a good idea when it’s stuck to the roof, primarily because it creates a fire hazard. Your best bet is to get up on a ladder and carefully cut and pry the vines off of the shingles. You need a lot of patience to do it, primarily because you don’t want to damage the shingles or the integrity of the roof. And be careful on that ladder.”

Q: In setting up some low-voltage lights around my front yard, do I have to feed the wiring through some sort of conduit?

H.W.

Cypress

A: “Under normal applications, you shouldn’t have to,” says Neal Here of Ferrell’s Electrical Home Center in Anaheim. “However, it’s probably best to check with your city building department to see if it’s OK. It may have a regulation requiring that you use a conduit.”