I had an inspection done at my house today. The inspector ran my water through my bathtubs for an hour. Is this a standard practice?
HI Julie we fill up all the tubs and sinks during a typical inspection. I wouldn’t want to leave water running unattended for any extended period of time.
4 Likes
I can’t speak for the inspector however I was never taught to leave water running at the tubs for an hour. Does the home have a well and septic?
3 Likes
The only thing I could think of. But an hour seems way too long.
2 Likes
An odd thing as we have family that were buying and selling some homes in SE Michigan and they said the different inspectors did the same type of thing…running the water for a very long time.
I couldn’t think of a reason for the practice though. One was well, one not and the other I don’t know.
3 Likes
Yes, it has a well and septic. Thanks fir answering me. I really appreciate your thoughts.
1 Like
Were they checking well flow rate and qualified to do the test?
If a multi level house has been vacant for a while or flipped and there are ceiling stains below bathrooms, I’ve run extra water to see if they show up wet with a moisture meter. Not sure about an hour of use though.
3 Likes
I’m guessing so. I was not allowed to be here nor do I have the report yet. I can’t help but wonder how long the tub actually ran for. If he was paying attention he would have turned it off the minute the water color changed, or at least one would think he would have. All I know is my realtir was told the water was on gor an hour.
The house has not been vacant. Goid thought though.
i always made it a practice to never leave a room while water was running in that room, bad things can happen when You walk away from running water…
1 Like
Just out of curiosity, why did water run length time come up with your Realtor? I’m assuming it wasn’t just out of the blue.
Was it because of this? 
Was there orange stains in the fixtures or something?
Yes, the water discolored. He filled my jetted tub half way up with the discolored water, which is why I question where he was. I have not had any issues with my well prior to today. It just feels off, but I wasn’t here so I can’t be sure.
I understand. Sucks to get the discolored water stains. He likely filled the jetted tub so that he could test the pump and also look for leaks in the piping system under the tub. I’m guessing that because of the amount of water ran during the inspection, the water softener (if you have one) ran out of capacity during the inspection to actually remove minerals from the water. The water should return to normal after your water softener regenerates.
Note: If you do not have a water softener, then I would be at a loss as to why the water turned colors during the inspection.
As an example of why it is important for the inspector to fill and run the jetted tub, I found this leak about a week ago under a jetted tub. Had I not filled and ran the jets, this may have gone unnoticed. Many people never actually use their jetted tubs!
3 Likes
Long enough to find any problems 
Not sure about the well but discolored water often comes up at inspections due to “maxing out” the system and churning debris off the bottom of the water heater. Occupants are unlikely to run so many things in such a short time.
The only other time I might run water for a long time is if the house has been vacant or lightly occupied. A clogged or partially clogged main sewer can take a while to back up. Granted, that is beyond our scope to find but would be nice to if at all possible.
I definitely make a mental note of how occupied the house is and how much usage things seem to have been getting and might adjust my routine a bit. For example, if I see a family of six leave with wet hair I might not feel the need to run everything for too long.
2 Likes
Septic systems are rarely properly maintained, and loading the system will often cause defects to expose themselves, such as walking around the drainfield and water puddling on the surface and/or sinking into soggy ground! Curious if the inspector flushed a dye-pack to check for a saturated field?
2 Likes
Hi, Julie.
Welcome to the InterNACHI form community.
I run the water just long enough to feel hot water. No more. No less.
Water temp was 124.9 F.
If the home ran on a well or septic system the inspector could have damaged the system. Putting that much water into a septic field at once can disrupt decomp process by shocking the system or flooding/shaking it and moving the bacteria away from where it needs to be.
So tell us Mr. Copy & Paste, where exactly does the bacteria “need to be”??
1 Like
Julie, I’m guilty. I run a lot of water during a home inspection, too. As others have stated, we are looking for leaks, clogs, slow drainage, loss of water pressure/flow, and more. We are using the plumbing like it might be used when you have holiday guests and a house full of people that are bathing, doing laundry, washing dishes and flushing toilets. Some of these problems won’t be apparent unless the system is used heavily.
I want to find problems before my clients buy the home.
Just a few months ago I had a home that only backed up if two or more of the four toilets were flushed at the same time because there was damage on the main sewer line. It would be fine with only one person using plumbing but with a house full, there were bound to be problems at times. The plumbing repair was several thousand dollars because the clog was 3 ft below the ground in the front yard and had to be dug up to be repaired.
Worst case, a couple faucets and a tub running full blast is about 5 gallons a minute. That is 300 gallons in a full hour, full blast. In the USA the average cost of 1000 gallons is $1.50.
Julie, your best move right now is to forgive the 45 cents of water used at your home inspection and get that home inspector’s phone number and hire him to inspect your next house because you want an inspector that finds the condition of the home so you don’t have to worry about the hidden problems. You want peace of mind.
7 Likes
OOO. Copy and paste. OOOOO.
Ass.