Pro tip: a plumber at Ace Hardware saved me $300 on my water heater fix

Last month my water heater started making this loud popping noise and I was about to call a repair guy. I went to Ace Hardware on Georgia Street to grab a part and this older plumber named Frank was in the aisle. He asked what I was working on and I told him about the noise. He said it's usually just sediment buildup and I could drain and flush it myself with a garden hose. I followed his steps and it took me about 2 hours on a Saturday morning. No more noise and I saved what would have been a $300 service call. Has anyone else had luck asking randoms at hardware stores for advice?

4 comments

4 Comments

reese_lee92mo ago

Man, that's a great tip. I've had a guy at Lowe's walk me through fixing a leaky toilet flapper and it saved me a service call too.

the_christopher2mo ago

Notice how the people working at these places are usually way more helpful when you talk to them like actual humans instead of just asking where something is, it's like they get to show off their knowledge and actually enjoy their work that way.

ivanbell1mo ago

Laughing cause I had the opposite happen - I asked a guy at Lowe's about my water pressure and he spent 20 minutes convincing me I needed a whole new main line. Turned out it was just a clogged aerator. Frank sounds like a legend though, wish I had one of those instead of the guy who tried to upsell me on a $2,000 pipe replacement.

laura_chen412mo ago

wait wait wait, Frank just came up to YOU in the aisle? like a total stranger? that's wild lol. around here the Ace guys barely make eye contact unless you're literally waving a broken pipe at them. I did have a guy at Home Depot once though who basically rebuilt my garbage disposal for me while explaining it step by step. he was just standing there looking at the parts and started talking to me about how the old ones are built better. ended up saving me like $150 and I learned how to not break it again.