First post here, looking for a little help finishing my first significant DIY homeowner 'mystery':New home owner here, house is 30ish years old and has more issues than what our inspector had time or experience to notice. House has a radon system connected with the sealed sump pump, so inspector couldn't evaluate the pump or the pit, but did note signs of previous water damage in the area and cautioned us to 'keep an eye on it'.Then I started noticing last month an ice patch was forming along the curb as temperatures dropped. After investigating, I realized there was a steady trickle of water coming out the circular drain in front of the house, which is connected to our sump pump.Consulted with a DIY-savvy home owning coworker, who suggested the drain pipe under the sidewalk may be broken, causing runoff to continuously seep back into the sump. He suggested that could be an easy fix, but also suggested calling the city to check the water pressure on our supply line and rule out bigger issues.Later that day, I happened to catch an Angie's List coupon for a yard drainage inspection. Perfect. Plumber comes out and I explain the problem to him, he takes a look and tells me right away that (1) he thinks there's mold in the corner of the basement where the sump sits (what the home inspector said to just 'keep an eye on'), (2) our Culligan softener & water filter that came with the house but we haven't paid much attention to are draining into the sump pump but probably shouldn't be, and (3) the sump pump itself is original and as old as the house, and he's amazed it's still working.Well, crap. That's more than I anticipated.We followed up with a restoration company to treat the 'mold', and while at the house, they realized there's also subtle water damage under the floor in one of our bathrooms from a busted wax seal on the toilet (didn't know that was a thing). Great. But, good news is the 'mold' was barely anything, and had apparently been growing very slowly for years -- probably because the previous owners had done a poor job of drying things out after an apparent sump backup (maybe due to power outage? Pump still works...). So, they cleaned everything up fast and easy and that's that as far as the 'mold' goes. Then they spent the next week drying out the bathroom before pulling up the floor, which will need drywall repair, new flooring, and a new vanity, but that's a different project for a different day...Back to the sump. Plumber seconds suggestion to have city supply pressure checked, so I scheduled that and was relieved to find we have a normal ~62 psi supply with no leaks. Fantastic. But still not clear what's leaking into the sump.Now I turned my attention to this Culligan system, for which the original owners were gracious enough to save the installation paperwork. Checked the dates... 2007 install, no indication of maintenance performed on it since. Softener has been in bypass mode for who knows how long, so that's not sending water anywhere, but the reverse osmosis water filter output is connected to the fridge and drains to the sump. Called Culligan to arrange a service visit to check that everything is connected correctly and see what servicing it needs after potentially many years of sitting dormant.Culligan guy comes out and says there is no record anywhere of service being provided at our house after the initial installation nearly 11 years ago. He takes a look at everything and notes some corrosion around the top of that softener, indicating it needs new seals (probably a proprietary part...?) and probably a good sanitizing of the tank/lines, which he explained can be done by running bleach through the whole system, or on the fly by adding a just cap of bleach to the tank and running it normally. Ok, sounds legit. Not being familiar with these water filter systems, I ask him about the RO system and why it has to drain water, how much does it drain, etc, and he gives the kind of answer that lets me know he's not 100% confident about what he's saying: yes, the RO system will send 'brackish' water to the sump, but it shouldn't be enough to keep the pump running as much as it is, maybe 1 gallon of waste per 2 gallons used by the fridge. Ok, fine. I would have preferred something more efficient if it was me installing the water filter, but we inherited the system, so whatever. I mention in passing that the wife thinks the fridge dispenser has low pressure, but he attributes that to the fact our fridge is one floor above the filter. Ok, that also seems reasonable -- after all, he's the water expert. We make a plan to replace the seals, sanitize the softener, and change the filters on the RO system (which I will buy myself online). He suggests also looking at the sump pump's check valve, since that might be causing the same water to trickle back into the pit after being pumped out. Sure, maybe, except the perpetual trickle produces a net flow of water to the curb, so it's not just that the pump is running, there's an actual stream of water in and out... Still, I made a note to revisit that in my troubleshooting plans.Not fully satisfied with his explanation for the trickle, I kept digging and learned that these RO systems have several filters and membranes that require regular maintenance and replacing, as well as their own check valves that can fail for various reasons. If any of these parts are problematic, they can cause significant drops in recovery efficiency (leading to more waste water in the sump pit), or, if the check valves are shot, cause a perpetual stream of water to pour out the drain line. Ah, this sounds promising!So, last night, I set out to get to the bottom of this RO system. The AC-30 storage tank connected to my filters is big enough to hold about 4 gallons of filtered water in reserve. To investigate how much it actually drains, I turned off the water supply to the RO and disconnected the drain line from the tank, so any water draining from the tank would drop into a bucket. Nothing happened. Turned back on the water supply, and a steady stream started pouring out the drain line. The plug that normally connects to the drain port has a tortuous narrow path, so the flow rate is probably much slower when it's attached, but none the less, I finally had evidence that there was a perpetual flow of water out the drain line. Here we go!Didn't matter if the tank line was open or closed, the drain stream continued either way as long as the water supply was open. I emptied about 3 gallons of water into a bucket, thinking this might empty the reserve tank. Wrong -- picked up the tank, still heavy. How heavy, you ask? Grabbed my scale and checked -- right about 34 or so pounds, which is much heavier than it sounds like these tanks are supposed to be, even when full (The tanks themselves aren't that heavy). That weight corresponds with about 4 gallons of water, but there's supposed to be a pressurized bladder in these tanks, so there shouldn't be room for a full 4 gallons. Ah ha! Maybe the bladder on this 11 year old tank is leaky/busted?I grabbed a pressure gauge to check the valve, and when the tank is full it barely moved and read about 12 psi, maybe. Fully loaded, these tanks are supposed to be at 35-40 psi, and that pressure is what triggers an automatic shutoff valve to close the drain line. These bladders often go bad after several years, which could very well be what happened to my tank. Great -- everything seems to be lining up to explain both the sump pump trickle and the low output pressure. I think we've found the main problem.Now where do I go from here? Should I just replace the reserve tank, or try to reinflate the bladder? Since the Culligan guy somehow completely missed this issue, I don't have a lot of faith in him, and I'm sure they would charge much more for a new tank plus installation than the $40 hardware store price.I've read that busted tank bladders can be diagnosed when water comes out the pressure valve, but mine still spits out air, so I don't think the bladder is completely shot, just really low on pressure. But even if I could salvage the tank by re-inflating the bladder, is it worth trying to save an 11 year old RO tank?Either way, I'm fairly confident that fixing the RO tank issue will resolve the sump pump trickle issue, but it still leaves the fact that the pump itself is 30 years old! The plumber who came out quoted us lots of options for buying a new pump and having it installed -- what kind of bells and whistles do you actually need? Is this something a new home owner can tackle, or is it worth it to have the pump professionally installed? Is it worth replacing now, or should I save the money and let it burn itself out? 30 years is a very respectable run, I'm inclined to help it retire on good terms rather than burn out and fail. But those are not cheap to replace, and if it ain't broke...I called the company who installed the radon system, and they confirmed with me after some checks over the phone that the system is still working and the radon pressure gauge is reading what it's supposed to -- all good. They said it's ok to open the sump and work on the pump, as long as I turn off the radon fan first, and then reseal the sump lid with silicone caulk. Then, if everything is done right, the pressure should be back to the same value again when the fan is turned on.Has anybody else ever dealt with this combo of projects? Any tips?TLDR: 11 year old reverse osmosis tank has a leaky bladder that prevents its internal automatic shutoff valve from closing, causing drain water to constantly drip into the sump pit where the original 30 year old pump is pushing it to the curb and creating an ice rink in the cold weather. (1) Should I try to salvage the RO tank by reinflating the bladder, or just replace it with one from the hardware store? (2) Should I replace the sump pump now proactively (do it myself or hire it out?), or wait until it burns out?Thanks! via /r/DIY http://ift.tt/2qOypbE
