Each year thousands of Arizona residents email or call Rosie Romero’s radio show with questions about everything from preventing fires in their chimneys to getting rid of tree roots invading their sewer system. His goal is to provide answers that suit the specific lifestyle wherever someone lives in Arizona.
QUESTION: My newly installed tankless hot water heater started making a lot of noise every time it turns on, beginning about six months after I got it. Now the manufacturer tells me that I’d going to have to get a special kit to decalcify the burn elements and do this process every six to nine months if I don’t get a water softener. Is this true and what can I do about it? Why is this happening to me?
A: It’s happening because Arizona water is hard water and Tucson has some of the hardest water in the state. Every time you heat up your water with this tankless system, the process leaves a residue of calcium in the heater; that’s what’s causing the noise to occur.
This kind of calcium residue is produced in conventional water heaters as well, but it’s even worse when you flash-heat your water. Putting in a soft water system could resolve your problem and make your tankless heater run more smoothly.
Q: We used to have an evaporative cooler in our house, but now we have a new air conditioning system. But we’re worried that we didn’t re-install pipes for an evaporative cooling system as well. Can we still do that and how costly would it be? We have a home that has cement block construction and was built in the 1970s?
A: Until the 1980s, many of us in Arizona ran our evaporative coolers only in the spring and fall to keep down the cost of our air conditioning bills. But now that’s really not necessary to do any more. The new air conditioners, like yours, are so efficient that the cost of your power bill will drop anyway. Using an evap cooler at certain times of the year is not going to save you money. Your new AC is all that you need to reduce your utility bill.
Q: We have water damage on our almost new wood laminate flooring. It’s the result of a leak that came from our air conditioning. The leak was fixed but now we have to do something about the floor. The damage is only on the edge of the floor near a wall. Can we take out the old wood and dry it and reuse it? We’d like to do the work ourselves.
A: This would be a difficult job to do on your own; you probably need to hire a flooring contractor. Workers will be able to pull up the quarter-round on the edges of the floor and remove and replace the damaged wood.
You won’t be able to reuse those old bumpy pieces of flooring. You also need to check to see if any mold has developed under the flooring. Depending on how the leak occurred, your home insurance should cover this job.
Q: We want to regrout the flooring in our shower because it’s looking very dirty? Can I cut out the grout and then replace it?
A: You won’t be able to take out all the grout and replace it. But you can use a cleaner on the grout and then use a colored sealant to protect it. You don’t want to seal in moisture, however. After the cleaning, let the grout dry thoroughly for a couple of days. Then you do the sealing. Be sure to follow directions for letting the sealing dry completely as well.
