Newark Plumbing Guide: Things to Remember When Remodeling Your Bathroom

February 22nd, 2012

Remodeling your Newark home’s bathroom can be a great way to not only make it look better and more inviting, but also more hygienic, while giving the resale value of the whole house an upgrade.

As with any big home project, there are some caveats and tips to doing it right. Here are some of those tips to consider before diving right in:

  • Before starting on your bathroom or any remodeling project, work out a budget first. Establish what you want it to look like and how much you have to spend, then choose the options that fit into that framework. There are few things worse than having a bathroom left unfinished because you ran out of money halfway through the job.
  • Remodeling is a great opportunity to assess the ventilation in your bathroom and upgrade it if necessary. Proper ventilation improves air quality and prevents mold growth and water damage, so an upgrade in equipment can be an investment that is well worth the expense.
  • As tempting as it may be to make wholesale, sweeping changes to everything in your existing bathroom, try to avoid moving any plumbing around. It’s costly, messy and can really extend the time it takes for the job to be done. Is it really worth an extra week of work to have the tub against another wall?
  • Finally, to save your budget, consider refinishing certain fixture versus replacing them. Refinished tubs and tiles can look just as shiny as new, but without the extra cost and labor.

Keep those tips in mind as you consider that bathroom remodeling job, and if you have any questions, call Boulden Plumbing today!

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Happy President’s Day from Your Wilmington & Dover Area Plumbers!

February 20th, 2012

Happy President’s Day from everyone at Boulden Plumbing! Today we celebrate all of the great leaders that helped make our county what it is today. It is also a great time to think about ways you can help improve your community. Whatever town you live in, there are always ways you can help make it even better.  If everyone takes a little time to volunteer or help a neighbor, it can make a big difference!

It’s an old tradition to celebrate Washington’s Birthday with cherries, in honor of the cherry tree story, so here is a recipe for some delicious cherry pie!

“You ‘ll be able to tell that this is a prize-winning recipe. The crust is flaky and buttery, the cherry filling is thick and perfectly sweetened, and there’s a lovely hint of almond extract.”

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup shortening

1/2 cup cold water

1 pinch salt

2 cups pitted sour cherries

1 1/4 cups white sugar

10 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Cut the shortening into the flour and salt with the whisking blades of a stand mixer until the crumbs are pea sized. Mix in cold water. Refrigerate until chilled through. Roll out dough for a two crust pie. Line a 9 inch pie pan with pastry.
  2. Place the cherries, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium size non-aluminum saucepan. Allow the mixture to stand for 10 minutes, or until the cherries are moistened with the sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Lower the heat; simmer for 1 minute, or until the juices thicken and become translucent. Remove pan from heat, and stir in butter and almond extract. Pour the filling into the pie shell. Cover with top crust.
  3. Bake in a preheated 375 degree F (190 degree C) oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

This recipe is from allrecipes.com, visit their site for more details!

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Newark Plumbing Installation Special: $200 Off Tankless or Hybrid Water Heater!

February 17th, 2012

One of the surprising ways that you can save money on your water and energy bills is by upgrading your water heater. A new water heater, especially a hybrid or tankless one, will heat the water much more efficiently and therefore will use much less energy. You also will waste less water because it will heat the water faster and you won’t need to run the tap waiting for it to be the perfect temperature. Up to 25 percent of your home’s energy usage comes from hot water heating, so a water heater upgrade can make your home significantly more environmentally-friendly.

Since we know that a new water heater is a great upgrade for your home, we are offering a special deal: $200 Off a Tankless or Hybrid Water Heater! Get a new water heater that will provide for you family’s hot water needs and save you money every month!

Give us a call today for more details!

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Happy Valentine’s Day from Wilmington & Dover Area Plumbers!

February 14th, 2012

Everyone at Boulden Plumbing wishes you a very happy Valentine’s Day! We hope you have a day filled with lots of candy, flowers, and Valentines! Today is all about showing your appreciation for those you love, including your friends, your family, or your significant other. Take a moment today to think about everyone who makes a difference in your life and how you can let them know how special they are to you.

While your plumbing system might not seem like the most romantic place to start your gift giving, a few simple upgrades can make your house more green, which is something your whole family will appreciate! A low-flow shower head will save a lot of water, and a new water heater can provide better your your family’s hot water needs and cut down on your energy usage. An upgrade to your  plumbing system is truly a gift that keeps on giving!

For more information about how a few plumbing upgrades can make your house more comfortable, give Boulden Plumbing a call. In addition to making your home more environmentally-friendly, you can also make your friends and family happy by making this delicious recipe for Fudge Truffle Cheesecake:

“When the chocolate addict in you begs for a sweet fix, bake this fluffy chocolate cheesecake over a chocolate cookie crust. Decorate it with even more cocoa delights, such as chocolate-dipped fruit or chocolate whipped cream.”

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup butter, softened

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed

milk

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
  2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together crushed vanilla wafers, confectioners’ sugar, cocoa, and butter or margarine by hand. Press ingredients into a 9 inch springform pan.
  3. In the top of a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips, making sure that they are very smooth.
  4. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy with an electric mixer. Gradually beat in condensed milk until smooth. Mix in melted chocolate, eggs, and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are thoroughly blended. Pour the filling into the prepared crust.
  5. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 55 minutes. The cake will seem underbaked in the center, but will continue to cook after you remove it from the oven.

For more details, visit allrecipes.com.

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Felton Plumbing Repair Guide: What to Do if a Pipe Bursts

February 13th, 2012

If you live in a cold climate, you are more likely to have experienced the disaster of a frozen pipe bursting. There are other causes of burst pipes, so rest assured you are not alone; plenty of Felton homeowners have had to face a burst pipe as well.

When this happens, there are three fronts on which to attack the problem: stopping the flooding, repairing the pipes and preventing future bursts.

Before doing anything else, you need to stop the flooding in your house. Start by turning off the water supply, either to that pipe or to the whole house. It doesn’t matter which, as long as it’s shut off. Turn on cold water taps around the house to drain remaining water from the pipes. Turn off the water heater. This will at least prevent the flood damage from being too extensive.

Get a sump pump and or some absorbent material to start sopping up the water that leaked into your home, then call a plumber. The pipe and fitting will need to be replaced, and some adjacent ones may need to be as well, so the best solution here is just to call in a professional rather than try to do it yourself. The last thing you need is another burst pipe.

Finally, prevent future breaks in pipes by implementing some of these strategies:

  • Insulate your pipes
  • On cold days, keep your pipes warmer by opening up doors to the attic or basement
  • When going away in the winter, shut off the water supply and drain the plumbing system

By keeping your pipes as warm and insulated as possible, you decrease the likelihood that the water within will freeze, potentially causing a leak or break in the pipe. Burst pipes are not necessarily completely preventable, so it is important that you now know what to do if and when a pipe bursts in your home.

Water damage, especially flooding, can cause serious trouble in your home, so everything you can do to prevent and mitigate the risk is a good step. And if you think one of your pipes has burst, give Boulden Plumbing a call as soon as possible!

 

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Rising Sun Plumbing Repair Question: What Can Cause a Higher Water Bill?

February 11th, 2012

No one wants to pay too much for utilities in Rising Sun. You have probably already done a ton of research on how to lower your heating and electric bills.

Now, the problem is that after getting those bills to a manageable level by wearing extra sweaters and installing compact fluorescent bulbs all over the house, your water bill has gotten out of control. What gives? How can a water bill suddenly spike so high?

There are two main causes of a high water bill: a leak or a change in water use.

Leaks

When there is a leak anywhere in your plumbing system, water escapes and more water rushes in to replace it. This means a higher water bill. Some common culprits in these circumstances include:

  • Leaky or running toilets
  • A leaky faucet, especially one on the outside of the house where it can go undetected
  • A broken or cracked pipe within the walls of the house
  • A broken, cracked or corroded water main

Some of these are more obvious than others. If your toilet is leaky or running, you have probably noticed by now and should call a plumber. Do a check on all your faucets, indoors and out, to see if they are dripping. A leaky pipe or water main is also usually accompanied by a drop in water pressure. If your shower head seems weaker than it used to, or your clothes aren’t rinsing clean in the laundry, these can be signs of decreased water pressure brought on by leaky pipes.

Changes in Use

You may think that you would notice if you all of a sudden started using much more water than usual, but it is not always that obvious. Sometimes we use water in sneaky ways that we don’t even notice, which can build up over time if done habitually. Some of these covert causes of increased water usage include:

  • A new shower head with a higher flow rate
  • Overwatering the lawn
  • Doing laundry more frequently than usual (such as after a child is born, for example) or getting a new washing machine that uses more water

Chances are, your astronomical water bill is caused by one of these two main categories of causes. Look over the list and see if any of them might be contributing to your water bill spike. If you are having problems with your system, give Boulden Plumbing a call!

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West Grove Plumber’s Guide: Troubleshooting Plumbing Problems

February 9th, 2012

Plumbing may seem like a complex mystery, but some common plumbing problems you can investigate yourself before calling in a West Grove plumber.

Drainage Difficulties

Whether it’s a slow drain, a backed up drain, strange gurgling sounds emanating from a drain or unexplained wet spots on the lawn along the path of a drainage pipe, no one wants to deal with a messy drainage debacle.

However, if you are experiencing one of those problems, here are some steps to try in order to get to the bottom of it:

  1. Explore the extent of the problem. If it is just your kitchen sink that runs slowly or backs up, then you know it is localized, but if  all your toilets are backing up, then that is probably a different kind of problem.
  2. If there is just one offending drain — as in the kitchen sink example — flush it with boiling water and/or white vinegar. If necessary, you can also try a commercial drain clearing product.
  3. With a more general plumbing problem, it helps to determine the route along which the water is draining. See if you can figure out where the drain pipes run through your home, which can help you determine if the problem is somewhere along the drainage line.

Wasted Water

Has your water bill gone through the roof lately? This could be due to wasted water that you don’t even know about. Below are some  causes of wasted water and how to determine them.

  1. Dripping faucet or running toilet. This can be pretty obvious because they make noise, so listen up! Especially pay attention if the toilet runs sporadically at unexpected times.
  2. A leaky pipe. This culprit is trickier, so look for signs of water along your base boards, on the floor near plumbing fixtures and underneath sinks.
  3. If you still can’t find the culprit, check your water meter and note the reading. Then check it again in an hour to see how much was used. This piece of information can at lease clue you in to the extent of the problem.

These techniques aren’t foolproof and won’t help you determine 100% of problems, so don’t be afraid to call Boulden Plumbing!

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Middletown Plumbing Question: What Causes Discolored Water?

February 7th, 2012

Water discoloration can be troubling, because it makes it seem like your Middletown home’s water is unclean. While sometimes discolored water can be cause for concern, other times it has pretty mundane origins.

Check out these common causes of discolored water:

  • Yellow/brown/reddish water is usually caused by rust, either in the water mains that run from the waiter supply or the pipes in your home. If the water is only discolored momentarily when you first turn the water on, it is probably rust in your pipes that gets flushed out quickly. If it persists longer, it may be rust that was stirred up in the water mains. Turn a few of your cold taps on for several minutes, or just turn the tap off and wait about thirty minutes.
  • Water that appears white or cloudy often does so because of trapped air bubbles. Air that is under pressure in your pipes gets released when you turn the tap on, which causes tiny bubbles, just like in a bottle of soda. This has no effect on your water’s quality. The discoloration should dissipate after standing for a few minutes.
  • Sometimes water appears to have a greenish hue, especially when standing under fluorescent light. This is sometimes due to tiny copper traces from the piping in your home, or — depending on the climate — seasonal algae blooms in the local water supply. Either way, this green color is usually harmless.
  • Blue water can occur for a few reasons. One is severe copper corrosion in the plumbing system, which leeches into the pipes. A second cause can be toilet cleaner. If you use a cleaning product in your toilet tank, sometimes that can cause your tap water to turn blue. If you suspect this is the case, do  not drink that water and immediately call a local professional. The chemicals in such cleaners can be toxic and hazardous to your health.

Keep in mind that those are some of the most common causes of discolored water. There can be others, and if you are unsure, you should have the situation checked out by the professionals at Boulden Plumbing.

 

 

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Wilmington Plumbing Guide: Common Kitchen Plumbing Problems

February 3rd, 2012

Considering how often we use our Wilmington home’s kitchen sink – i.e., many times per day, every day – and all the grimy business that it usually has to put up with, it’s kind of amazing that we don’t all experience headaches with our kitchen plumbing once a week. Chalk that up to the marvels of modern engineering and design.

That does not mean that kitchen plumbing is perfect, though, and all homeowners face problems with their kitchen plumbing from time to time. Fortunately, many such problems are fairly common and routine and therefore are easily remedied.

Below are 3 common kitchen plumbing problems and some possible solutions for each:

  1. Clogged drain
    Probably the most commonly aggravating of all kitchen sink problems is the clogged drain. If you have never had to deal with one, first thank your lucky stars and then brace for impact, because you’ll probably have to soon. This is usually caused by some piece of food or other deposit obstructing the sink. Try plunging it out, or breaking it up by pouring boiling water or white vinegar down the drain. This may take several attempts. If none of that works, you can resort to a commercial drain opening product.
  2. Leaky faucet
    Got a dripping sound keeping you up at night? Often, leaky faucets are caused by an obstructed aerator, which is that little screen thing on the end of your faucet. Unscrew that, clean it with water and put it back on. If the faucet still leaks, there may be a loose fitting somewhere further down the line, in which case you may need to call in a plumber. (Bonus tip: To quiet the dripping noise until the leak is fixed, tie a length of string to the end of the faucet. The water will run down the string silently instead of clanging into the basin all night.)
  3. Garbage disposal won’t run
    The quickest and most common solution to this problem is the reset the garbage disposal by pressing the button on the unit under the sink.

If these tips don’t work to solve your kitchen plumbing conundrum, then it is probably best to call in a professional. Plumbing is a tricky thing – and garbage disposals can be dangerous – so sometimes it is best to leave it to the pros.

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Oxford Water Heater Tip: Sizing a Tankless Water Heater

February 1st, 2012

Tankless water heaters are gaining popularity among Oxford homeowners because of their on demand hot water supply and space-saving design. Although they are more expensive than traditional tank water heaters, on demand water heaters are more efficient, reliable, and easier to install and maintain. Before choosing to install a tankless water heater, however, you will have to decide which size will meet your hot water needs.

Rather than storing hot water in a tank, the tankless models heat the water with individual units located near the application where hot water is needed, such as a shower or washing machine. For larger homes, some of these smaller units cannot heat enough water for several applications running at the same time. You can also install a single tankless water heater for the entire house, or separate ones for appliances that use more hot water.

Finding the proper size and type will depend on the flow rate—measured  by a GPM (gallons per minute) number—that each fixture needs. Every application has a standard flow rate that must be added up in order to calculate the hot water demands for your entire home. For instance, if someone is using a sink with a 1.5 GPM at the same time another person is running a shower with a 2.0 GPM, the flow rate for the tankless unit would need to be at least 3.5 gallons per minute. You will have to add up the flow rate for all the applications in the house to get the minimum GPM figure for your tankless water heater.

In addition to flow rates, tankless hot water heaters are also measured by how much the water temperature needs to rise as it moves through the heating unit. You can determine the temperature rise for each application by subtracting the temperature of water coming in from the desired temperature going out. Once you add those together with the overall flow rates, you will know which tankless water heater can handle your overall hot water needs.

Before you buy an on demand hot water heater, it is best to talk to a professional plumber. While the flow rates and temperature rise for most household appliances are fairly standard, these numbers can vary because of several factors that plumbers are trained to calculate. Size is not the only factor to consider when shopping for a tankless water heater. Fuel type and efficiency should also be factored in to your purchase, which is another reason to talk to a licensed plumber.

If you aren’t sure what type or size of tankless water heater is right for your Oxford home, call Boulden Plumbing to speak with one of our professional plumbers. We are always glad to offer our expert advice so that you can meet all of your hot water needs in the most efficient way possible.

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