I'm from Europe and I do not know if you in the US have the same system concerning washing basin plumbing.
Today the water of our washing basin did not go away.
So I took my pipe wrench and opened the syphon in order to clean it.
Inside my syphon there is a plastic tube, I pulled it out and pulled all the mud out of the syphon with a tooth brush.
This was not the first time I did this. But this time I suddenly had a seal ring in my hand and I did not know where to put it.
Because I did not know (and still don't know) where to put the seal ring in the syphon I left it away and put all things together. But now the syphon leaks.
This is the only seal ring I recognized, it is a plastic, non-flat ring with a diameter of 4.5 centimeters.
Does anybody has an idea where to put this seal ring?
Plumbing – Where should this seal ring from a syphon go
plumbing
Related Solutions
I'm wondering if the problem isn't mineral buildup, but rather sediment in the lines. Not sure if this would cause a failure in your softener, or if it could be caused by the softener failing.
The sediment in the pipes would go to various fixtures and get stuck in the filters and aerators. You'd have to remove each one and clean it out. On sinks, this is usually part of the aerator and may unscrew without major tools. On shower heads, this may be where it screws into the elbow pipe. And on toilets, newer ones have a cap at the top of the supply pipe that you push down and give it a quarter turn (turn the water off first, with the cap off and a cup over the top to keep water from going everywhere, run some water to clean it out, and then reassemble).
For the hot water heater, you would need to simply flush it out (which should be done periodically due to natural buildup). Attach a hose to the drain on the bottom, either run it outside or into one of your drains, turn the heater off so you aren't trying to heat water that's being discarded, and open the drain for a bit. If you're observing the outflow, keep going until it runs clear. Otherwise, I'd guess 5 minutes of draining every year should be good, but that's a guess.
With brass connected to galvanised pipe you can get some galvanic corrosion. There is something called a dielectic union which I've never needed to use. That may help. You'll need to clean up the rust. That may require cutting out the rusted part or at least scraping it off.
Here's a picture that describes the dielectric union joint.
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Best Answer
I'm not sure due to different terminology but I think you're referring what we call where I live a p-trap. If so, the washer is most likely the slip-joint washer as seen in this photo:
There is one where the tailpiece connects the trap as well as one where the elbow connects to the trap's outlet. This second joint will always have to hold water as the trap remains filled past this point.
If this is not what you are referring to, a picture would help.