Water Heater Making A Popping Sound

One of the things that our home inspectors check at Bloodhound Home Inspection check during a home inspection is the water heater. Of course we're always looking for the common items like water leakage from the tank, valves, etc. We also look at, if gas, venting, gas lines and the hookup of water and other lines. Sometimes we come across units that make a popping sound. This is not water boiling inside the tank but usually a sediment issue. Depending on your water source and the use of filters, you may get large deposits of sediment inside the bottom of the tank. As the sediment can stick over time, the heat from the unit can cause the sediment to come loose making a popping sound. Depending on how bad the amount of sediment is in the tank, fixes can range from flushing out the unit to having to replace the unit entirely, Check out the video below! 

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Thermostat placement is key to having balanced comfort in your home

If you've ever wondered why one side of your house is cooler then the other? It could be the location of your thermostat. Generally you want to keep your thermostat away from any areas near exterior doors and windows. When those windows or doors are open, they will effect the thermostat. Keeping it close to an exterior door in the winter can kick your furnace on more frequently and making the house warmer in other areas. The same effect will occur in the summer with your air conditioning. In this video, the thermostat is in the kitchen. If you're baking around the holidays that will keep the furnace off and make the rest of the home much cooler. Ideal placement is typically the hallway where the bedrooms are. This is where you'll get more balance throughout the home. In some larger homes you may want to have zones which will have multiple thermostats that will regulate different areas of the home.

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Electrical Issues During A Home Inspection

One of the items inspected during a home inspection in the Youngstown area is electrical systems. Part of this is checking outlets, appliances, light switches, etc. During one of Bloodhound's Home Inspection lights flickered when testing the garbage disposal. Every time the switch from the garbage disposal was turned on, lights flickered in the hallway and basement. Likely this line has too many items on it or a faulty breaker. Home inspectors will find issues like this during a home inspection which gives the professional electrician a guide on what to look for and needs repaired. Without home inspections, buyers could be stuck repairing these items after the sale taking more money out of their pockets while the cost of housing is currently high.

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Got Mold? Better check the attic

One of the areas we check during a home inspection is the attic. We're looking for the basics, like insulation, damage to the framing, water leaks, etc, but we're also looking for mold issues. A combination of things can cause mold in the attic. Lack of insulation, humidity, water leaks, condensation to name a few. In this video we encounter painted surfaces in the attic. No one paints the attic for the heck of it. Usually it's a treatment or cover up for fire damage or mold. Here we see mold spots bleeding through the paint. Obviously not professionally cleaned and treated. If you're buying a home, make sure you get a professional home inspection to help detect issues like these.

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Got GFCI Protection? This is a must have in your home

During a home inspection in the Youngstown area, we test for GFCI protection (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter). These are designed to be a safety measure for outlets in water or moisture exposed areas such as around kitchen or bath sinks, exterior locations, laundry, garages, etc. These will shut off in the event a ground fault is detected. As home inspectors, we'll check not only to make sure they are in the correct areas but also that they are functioning.    

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The number one cause of lung cancer in non-smokers

The number one cause of lung cancer in non-smokers is radon. Radon gas is a colorless/odorless gas that is in everyone's' home. The EPA recommends every home be tested. The standard for measurement for radon mitigation is recommended at 4.0pCi/L or above. Testing typically take a minimum of 48 hours. Test kits are available at local hardware stores, however, they don't give you an hour by hour reading like professional radon monitors do. So what do you do if you have high radon in your home? Below is a video of what a radon mitigation system will look like. After this home was tested during a home inspection, it was discovered that the level was at 30pCi/L! That is way high radon levels! After Bloodhound Environmental installed the radon mitigation system, these levels dropped from 30pCi/L all the way down under 1 at a 0.4pCi/L. This family can now breathe easy! 

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You Don't Want To See Mutant Green in the Water

One of the services we provide in addition to our normal home inspections is septic dye testing. In running these tests, we dump about a gallon of dye into the toilet, sometimes green, sometimes red. Then we run a lot of water to fill the system. Depending on the size of the home we may run water 45 minutes to an hour and a half. Then we check the field to see if any dye leaked out or in this case a small stream running on the property. You can see in the video the bright green in the water. That is not good.

 

One of the worst decks I've ever inspected

As a home inspector of 18 years, I've done quite a few home inspections around the Youngstown area. There's always something new I'll find every day and the video of the deck below was the most defects I've found on one deck. Safety is always a key factor during these inspections and this deck was definitely not safe. So many things were wrong that I had to put it in video as it would be a long read. Enjoy! 

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