Maintenance guides and plumbing advice from the Stollwerck team
Do you need a pressure-reducing valve, and what does it mean when one drips, bangs or lets the pressure drop? Our answers come from valves we have replaced in garages, crawl spaces, wall openings and yard boxes across Snohomish County and Whidbey Island, including one set to 50 psi at a Mukilteo homeowner's request.
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While installing a new water tank at a house in Boulevard Bluffs, Chase found it running at 120 psi, well above the 80 psi the plumbing code allows. The pressure-reducing valve was buried in an irrigation box behind the house. He dug it out, replaced it, read 62 psi at the front hose bib and showed the homeowner where the valve and the meter are.
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In a condo, a townhome association or a small apartment building, a repair starts with three questions: whose pipe it is, which valve controls it and who has to agree before a wall opens. Our answers come from a year of calls, from a Mukilteo condo whose failed shutoff meant draining the building to leaks traced to the unit above at a Lynnwood condominium.
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A second home on Whidbey Island needs more than a closed main before winter. Pumps under the house, a tankless heater that needs power to protect itself, a frost-free yard hydrant and a crawl space nobody checks all need a plan. Ours is drawn from a booster pump Willie and Logan installed between Freeland and Langley and a hydrant and crawl-space call north of Freeland.
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A homeowner south of Langley was finishing a kitchen remodel with the fixtures already bought: a matte-black bridge faucet, a matching instant-hot dispenser and an IKEA dishwasher. Willie and Chase installed all three in one island visit, tested the sink drain six times and ran the dishwasher through a full cycle, then reset a basement toilet that had started leaking at its base.
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Most of the commercial water heaters we replace around Everett are small tanks under office sinks, heaters tucked into attics and ceilings, and tankless units serving restaurants and breweries. Four of our own jobs show what fails and what to do about it: two point-of-use heaters in a downtown Everett office, a Navien pair at a Mukilteo brewery, a hidden Rinnai near Lynnwood and a tenant improvement on the Highway 99 corridor.
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Island homeowners usually ask us two things: whether a mainland plumber will really make the trip, and what to do about the wells, pressure tanks, septic lines and pumps a city house never has. Eight answers from our own calls in Clinton, Langley, Freeland and Coupeville, including a water heater Chase replaced near Clinton in October.
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A Freeland homeowner called about a downstairs toilet leaking around its base. It had been set by a handyman, and when Chase pulled it the bowl had barely touched the wax ring. He replaced every piece of mounting hardware, reset the toilet on a new seal, flushed it eight times with the base in plain view and only then sealed it to the floor.
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When a fire district or a school district hires a plumber in Washington, even a one-fixture repair can be public work, paid at prevailing wage with an intent and an affidavit filed with Labor & Industries. Three of our own jobs show how it plays out: a sewage chamber at a fire district's headquarters south of Everett, the drain behind a turnout-gear washer at a fire station in Lynnwood and a flushometer at a school in Langley.
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The first hard freeze around Puget Sound usually arrives in late November or December, and most of the winter plumbing calls we take could have been prevented in October. Seven jobs for the season, in the order the weather makes them matter, with the hose bib, water heater, pressure, crawl-space and sump calls from the past year that show why each one is on the list.
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A homeowner at the south end of Harbour Pointe called about a two-handle bathroom faucet that ran constantly no matter how the handles were set. Logan and Connor laid out a rebuild against a replacement, the homeowner chose a new Moen widespread, and two days later it went in with three dump tests, a five-minute standing fill and every supply connection checked.
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A property manager needs a plumber who can be handed a unit number and come back with the problem fixed, a photo of the work and an invoice the owner can read. A year of work orders from one Highway 99 business park, a 14-unit Everett apartment building with no cleanouts and three associations shows how we do it: paired hose bibs, back-to-back toilets, a planned building-wide shutdown and a sewer emergency told honestly.
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A kitchen faucet fails in a handful of predictable ways, and most of them are repairs, not replacements. Eight questions our crew hears in kitchens from Mukilteo to Whidbey Island: which part is dripping, why the sprayer will not switch back, what a puddle under the sink means, whether the warranty covers the cartridge, and whether the faucet you bought will fit.
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A homeowner on Lynnwood's west side called about a sewer smell nobody could trace, a tired hose bib and a hall-bath toilet due for replacement. Logan and Willie ran two smoke tests that found nothing wrong with the venting, replaced the hose bib from the crawl space, and set a new one-piece toilet, flushing it from above while Logan watched the drain from below.
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Galvanized steel pipe fails at its threads, and in north Everett's early-1900s houses the short nipples between cast fittings and the stubs behind faucets go first. Four jobs from Northwest Everett, Bayside, Riverside and Boulevard Bluffs show what fails, why Everett's soft water does not help, where we cut back to sound metal, and when a spot repair stops making sense.
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A hall-bath shower in Cascade View, Everett, had been dripping day and night, and the master-bath tub spout had been cut into by someone trying to remove it. Connor and Logan pulled the worn Moen 1225 cartridge, fitted a new one, replaced the spout like for like, and left with both bathrooms tested and dry in one visit.
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Most disposal calls in Mukilteo and Everett are a jam, a tripped reset or a problem that belongs to the drain or the faucet beside it. A humming unit, the reset button, a metal spoon, backups into the other basin, smells, tripped breakers and what should never go down one, answered the way we would at your sink.
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An Old Town Mukilteo toilet left water on the floor after every flush, and the tank moved under a hand. Connor and Logan confirmed the leak was the tank-to-bowl joint, not the wax ring, fitted a new gasket and bolts, and flushed it five times to prove it. Sound porcelain, kept.
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Toilet rebuilds are one of the most common jobs in our books, which means we answer the same good questions in Everett, Mukilteo and Edmonds bathrooms every week. Ghost flushing, rocking bases, sewer smells, tank tablets and more — answered the way we would standing next to your toilet.
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A condo remodel in the Edmonds Bowl reached the day every remodel waits for, and Logan took the trim-out solo — every fixture connected and tested in a day, including the defective dishwasher drain hose he caught on its test cycle instead of a month later.
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Most of the leaking hose bibs we repair in Mukilteo each summer did not fail in summer — they failed over winter or wore out over years, and the first hose of the season tells the truth. The five failures those calls actually turn out to be, from real June and July jobs.
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A whole bathroom group backing up at once points past the fixtures to the main. With no cleanout on the house, Logan pulled the toilet, ran the machine, sent the camera — and then crawled under the house to find a failed drain line cast into the concrete itself.
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We put a gauge on a hose bib on almost every service call, so we have a lot of real readings from houses in Everett, Mukilteo, Edmonds, and Lynnwood. Eight questions about water pressure, answered with those numbers instead of national averages.
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Sewer line problems start quietly — a slow drain here, an odd smell there — and get worse until you have a full backup. Here are the eight warning signs worth acting on, what causes sewer failures in Snohomish County, and how often you should have your line inspected.
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When a pipe bursts, knowing where your main water shut-off valve is — and that it still works — is the difference between a minor cleanup and thousands of dollars in damage. Here is where to look in Snohomish County homes, how to operate each valve type, and when to use it.
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A Harbour Pointe homeowner had a water bill climbing for no obvious reason and nothing visibly leaking. Chase started at the meter, worked outward, and found a front hose bib that was dripping and would not shut off. What a proper leak diagnostic actually looks like.
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A Mountlake Terrace homeowner had a sewer issue diagnosed and fixed quickly at a fair price. Here are the sewer problems we see most often, the warning signs worth acting on, and how we approach a repair.
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A repeat Mukilteo customer needed a faucet and leak repair scheduled fast and quoted accurately. Here are the faucet and leak jobs we fix most often, how we price a repair, and when it makes more sense to replace than repair.
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An Everett homeowner’s water heater failed without warning and we replaced it the same day. Here’s what to do the moment yours dies, and why a same-day replacement is usually within reach.
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A Marysville homeowner spotted rust and a puddle before their 14-year-old water heater failed. Here’s how we weigh repair against replacement, the warning signs to watch for, and why catching it early beats the alternative.
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A Langley property owner needed a new water heater for a vacation rental. Here’s why rental properties place different demands on a water heater, how we schedule around bookings, and when tankless is worth it on Whidbey Island.
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A Mukilteo homeowner brought us in to handle the plumbing side of a full kitchen remodel — garbage disposal, faucet, and outdoor work, on time and on budget. Here is what remodel plumbing actually involves, and the surprises we budget for.
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A Mukilteo homeowner needed a sink and faucet repair. Here are the common faucet and drain problems we fix, when to repair vs. replace, and why preventive drain maintenance pays off.
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A Lynnwood homeowner had a toilet problem after a bathroom tile job. The toilet issues we fix, what goes wrong when tile work disturbs a toilet, and how we serve Lynnwood same-day.
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Summer in the Pacific Northwest stresses your plumbing differently than winter — frost-damaged hose bibs, BBQ-season drain clogs, guest-bathroom toilet failures, and water heaters on borrowed time. Here are the seven summer problems we fix most across Snohomish County, with real examples from recent jobs.
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Not every clog gives up easy. When an Everett homeowner had a drain that just wouldn’t clear, Chase and Willy stuck with it until the line ran free. Here’s what causes stubborn clogs — and how the pros clear them.
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A Langley homeowner needed a toilet repair. Here are the most common toilet problems we fix, when to repair vs. replace, and how we serve Whidbey Island.
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A Mukilteo homeowner needed a thermal expansion tank to protect their water heater. Here’s what these tanks do, the warning signs you need one, and why we install Therm-X-Trol.
Read MoreA Mukilteo homeowner needed a new outdoor faucet. Here’s when to replace a hose bib, why frost-free models are worth the upgrade in the Pacific Northwest, and how Stollwerck got it done the same day.
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Copper pipes are built to last decades — but they don’t last forever. We recently completed copper pipe work for South Snohomish County Fire & Rescue. Here’s what every Snohomish County homeowner should know about copper pipe problems and how professionals solve them.
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Stollwerck Plumbing is expanding! We're bringing our team to Granite Falls, Arlington, Monroe, Camano Island, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, Woodinville, Seattle, Shoreline, Kirkland, and more.
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New Washington state law requires electric water heaters sold after January 2023 to include a communications port. Here’s what it does, and what it doesn’t do.
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A tankless water heater shouldn’t sound like a freight train. If yours is humming, popping, or whining, here are the most common causes and what to do about them.
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A short guide for parents — the essentials about toilets, sinks, and hot water that every kid should learn before they accidentally turn the bathroom into a swimming pool.
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Why a tankless water heater might be the right call for your Mukilteo home: rebates and tax credits up to $550, why we install Navien, and why electric tankless units aren't yet practical in the Pacific Northwest.
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Some of the most expensive plumbing repairs we see started as well-intentioned DIY projects. Here are the ten classic plumbing pitfalls — and how to avoid them.
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The most common signs your water heater is failing — from age and odd odors to slow recovery, banging noises, and rusty leaks — and when to call a plumber before you end up with water damage.
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A walkthrough of the plumbing-side decisions for an aging-in-place or ADA-compliant kitchen or bath remodel — from in-wall bracing and thermostatic valves to lever faucets, touchless fixtures, smart showers, ADA-height toilets, bidets, and curbless shower pans.
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Owning a home or commercial space comes with the responsibility to understand your plumbing. Here are 40 practical tips from the Stollwerck team — covering daily habits, maintenance, repairs, and outdoor systems.
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A list of the things that should never go down your toilet, no matter what the package says. Save yourself a sewage backup and an emergency plumber call.
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A plain-English explainer on sewer scope inspections — what the camera does, why you'd want one before buying a home or for an older property, how the process works, and the difference between wastewater and stormwater.
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Pacific Northwest winters can do real damage to homes that aren’t properly winterized. Here’s how to protect your plumbing and sewer system before the cold sets in.
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Plumbing is one of the easier trades to get scammed in. Here are the seven warning signs that the plumber you’re about to hire isn’t the one you want.
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