Tag: plumbing

The Evil that is the Saddle Valve: Remove at Once

As I was putting away something in my freezer I heard a new sound of water running from my fridge. For 14 years this fridge has not made any ice and as far as I knew it could not make ice or cold water. A quick look inside showed me that the water was my ice maker, slowly filling up the bucket we had in the freezer. What to do?

A saddle valve is a clamp that pierces a copper pipe in order to provide water to fridges and humidifiers. They are prone to corrosion and leakage, which is what happened to mine.

A saddle valve is a clamp that pierces a copper pipe in order to provide water to fridges and humidifiers. They are prone to corrosion and leakage, which is what happened to mine.

Changing your main water shutoff valve: Toronto

The human body is composed of roughly 80% water. To say that fresh water is vital to our existence is quite true. Living in Toronto, Canada, we get our drinking water from our municipal water purification plant and water supply piping system. While those in condominiums and large apartments rely on property management companies to worry about these minute details, the rest of us that live in houses must fend for ourselves. Municipal water arrives from a pipe deep underground, protected from the frost. There is a water shutoff on your front lawn, as well as main water shutoff inside your house. If your main water shutoff has seized shut or open and you cannot turn it in either direction, you will need to replace it. Without a way to shut off the water in your house you risk flooding your house if a water pipe bursts, for whatever reason. Here is how to change your main water shutoff in Toronto, Canada.