Check Your Water Pressure Regulator

By Paul Renard

You may not know what a regulator valve is . . . but it’s important. All Lakeport houses have a pressure regulator valve somewhere near the main water cutoff valve inside your house. This steps down pressure from the outside water supply to a better level for home use. Recently, I discovered that ours was steadily leaking into a storage closet that we rarely visit, and we were fortunate to have the drip falling by chance into an open ice chest; so the damage was not too bad. However, the original metal valve body had cracked and was on the edge of rupturing when the plumber arrived, and we would have had serious flooding if it had been undetected for a little longer.

The normal lifetime for these valves is 15-20 years. If you haven’t checked yours for leakage, you may want to do so. The cost of replacement was $450 and took about an hour, which seems like a bargain compared to the cost of repairing flooded flooring and rugs. I’m going to order a few internet-enabled water alarms, too.




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