Q: This question has to do with venting of the dishwasher. We are getting slab granite countertops installed, and the question of the hole for the vent came up. I asked our contractor about alternatives to having it on the counter, since I thought it was not attractive.
I was told that there were three other options: 1. Have it vent outside. 2. Have it vent under the countertop, inside the cabinet. 3. Have no vent at all.
The contractor told me that having it on top of the counter or outside would be "up to code," while options 2 and 3 would not. He felt that the potential for problems with the vent under the counter was small, and that if there were problems, that they would be manageable, i.e., only a minimal drip of water.
We are concerned about function, and potential resale problems if we don't vent to code, but don't want an extra thing sticking up if it really would have no effect on either.
A: I agree that the vent (more commonly referred to as an "air gap") mounted on the top of the counter would be the least physically attractive, although legal. There is a downside: Think of all the apartments you may have seen that have failed counter-mounted air gaps or partially plugged drain lines. The dishwasher drains, water leaks out the air gap and onto the counter or into the sink. Yuck.
Option 2: I would avoid this for reasons beyond the code issue. When, not if, the drain backs up, you won't see the leakage if it is tucked under the counter. And that leak will more resemble a gusher than a drip when the drain plugs. Wastewater propelled by the dishwasher pump is not a pretty sight, especially inside your cabinets.
Option 3: This is the method employed in at least half of all installations, usually directly into a disposal. This has its own set of problems, as well as not being legal — eliminating it as a possibility.
So, Option 1 would make the most sense, although being slightly more expensive. A "Johnson Tee" performs the same duty as the sink mounted air gap, but allows the backup to run down the siding rather than inside your cabinet or all over your countertop. Biggest problem here is when the plumber neglects to drill a hole in the external cap, eliminating the functionality.
I doubt any style of dishwasher air gap would have much effect on resale value, aside from the visual negative of having an extra hole in your countertop, or the damage inside your cabinet from a flood.
Q: The dielectric fittings on my 4-year-old water heater don't seem to be working. The connecting pipes (galvanized steel) are rusting. The plumbing on the main portion of the house is copper, the flexible water-heater pipe is copper with brass fittings. I need to change my connection fittings. Do you have a suggestion?
A: A 4-year-old tank rarely shows visible signs of corrosion, so something is amiss. Corrosion occurs when electrons flow from an anodic to a more cathodic metal, causing corrosion in the more anodic material.
Replace your galvanized steel connection nipples with copper (or brass) and you have lessened the future corrosion potential, as you have reduced the dissimilarity in the metals. Unfortunately, steel connection nipples are installed new on most tanks. Steel will corrode easily when installed in close proximity to copper or brass. And dielectric fittings don't always work as well as we would like.
Put in new dielectrics, and check to see that the tank electrical bonding is secure (the jumper wire across the hot and cold pipes).
This would be a good time to also replace the sacrificial anode rod in the tank, as it is undoubtedly in poor condition. The rod is made of magnesium or aluminum and will be the most heavily corroded of any component in the system (on purpose).
A final note:
I have written about problems with Zinsco and Federal Pacific Electric brand electrical panels in the past and reported on cases in which breakers in these 1960s- and '70s-era panels tripped only at thermal overload, not at short circuits.
There is now a national movement to document these issues to better educate consumers.
If you have pictures or descriptions of burned wiring, fires or failed circuits on these panels, share them with me so I can pass them on to the folks compiling this information.
Darrell Hay answers readers' questions. Call 206-464-8514 to record your question |
