Check with well contractor on water safety

Q. Mary asks: I recently had someone test my water. I learned that my water at this point is unsafe to consume. I am told that I have methane gas in my water and that some kind of release valve could be mounted on my tank to release this gas. Is this possible and, if so, how do I find the equipment or tools needed for the job?

A. We don't think that methane gas should be anywhere near one's home -- it's explosive. There are sleeves that can be added to your well that can remove air and other gasses from your water -- before it gets to your home. Check with a well contractor for more details. This might not qualify as a do-it-yourself project. If you want to drink your well water, simply run it through a reverse-osmosis filtration system. A small one that will supply drinking water to a family of four will run about $1,000 installed.

Q. Robbie asks: Hot water is running from both the hot and cold sides of my faucet. What's wrong?

A. First, we assume from your question that you have a two-handle faucet. When your hot water is running from both the hot and cold sides of your faucet it means that the rubber gaskets within the valves are leaking. It could be that only the hot side is bad, but we would recommend that you change both. The gaskets cost less than 50 cents, but can take quite a while to install. There is a diagram on our Web site at www.onthehouse.com that will help you through the process. Once you get to the site, type "faucet repair" into the search engine. Select the first choice that comes up.