Posts Tagged ‘Toughkenamon’

New London Plumbing Guide:What You Need to Know About Solar Hot Water Heaters

Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

Most people in New London, when they think about solar power, think of photovoltaic panels wired into a household electrical grid to provide power for your entire family. While these systems are growing in popularity and affordability, they are not the only way on the market to utilize solar power. You can actually use a much simpler system that is more affordable and can save you nearly as much money. It’s solar hot water and it can greatly reduce your annual water heating bill.

How Solar Hot Water Heaters Work

There are a few different types of solar hot water heater, but the idea is generally the same. You place solar collectors on the roof of your home, preferably facing south. Those collectors collect and amplify the energy of the sun and use it to heat water or coolant that is circulated through tubes or pipes in the collector. In a direct system, the water is then piped directly to your fixtures for use.

In the more common indirect system, coolant is piped back to a tank where water is heated through copper pipes and held for use later.

Advantages of Solar Hot Water Heating

The obvious advantage is cost. Because the system is almost entirely passive, you don’t pay for any electricity, and maintenance is minimal. The only real cost of a solar hot water system (after installation) is a once-every-two-years maintenance visit and a backup water heating supply for days when there is less sunlight.

Solar water heating is a very effective and affordable way to start using solar power immediately in your New London home. If you are considering installing this form of solar power, give Boulden Plumbing a call!

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Chatham Plumbing Tip: How to Stop a Toilet from Overflowing

Wednesday, December 28th, 2011

An overflowing toilet is a really unpleasant problem to have in your Chatham home, and one you will undoubtedly want to correct right away. Toilets are reliable in that they tend to last a long time and not act up much, but when yours does start to malfunction, you pay attention right away.

To start with, examine the root cause of the overflow problem. There are three major causes of overflow: a clogged or blocked drain that does not allow the toilet to flush properly, an improperly adjusted float that allows the tank to overfill and a blocked vent pipe that replaces the air in the pipe after each flush.

Each of these requires a different course of action, so let’s discuss each individually.

If the drain is blocked, you will probably know right away. For one, water will overflow from the toilet’s bowl rather than the tank. For another, there will probably be quite a mess. Treating this type of overflow problem is straightforward—remove the clog. For simple clogs, a plunger and some elbow grease will get it done. Another trick is to stick the open mouth of an empty two liter bottle into the drain and squeeze. The blast of air can knock the clog free.

If your toilet is clogging and overflowing frequently, however, the problem may not be with the drain or with anything you are doing. It may be that the vent pipe is clogged. A vent pipe moves external into the plumbing system to replace the air that is pumped out with each flush. When it is blocked, the toilet can’t flush properly, which can lead to overflowing. If you have trouble with frequent clogging, call a plumber to inspect the situation.

In both of those situations, the toilet bowl will overflow. Another possibility is that the tank overflows, which is a different kind of problem. This is often cause by the filler float being set too high, so the tank fills with too much water. You can fix this by simply adjusting the mechanism inside the tank that controls the level of the float.

Whether it’s one of these three, or something else entirely, when your toilet overflows, be sure to check it out and get it fixed right away.

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Shower Valves and Fittings: A Guide from West Grove

Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

Your West Grove home’s shower is the place you go to get clean. But it is also much more than that. You want to be able to enjoy a comfortable showering experience at all times, and for that you need to have the right shower valves and fittings. There are a lot of factors to consider when you are picking out your new shower setup, so it is a good idea to do some research ahead of time to find out what features are really important to you and which you can do without.

First of all, you will need to pick out the type of shower head that you want. There are wall-mounted, ceiling-mounted and hand-held varieties available, so you should think about where you like the water to be coming from and how much flexibility you want to have in that. Some people definitely prefer hand-held shower heads, but for others it is simply a wasted feature.

When you go to buy a shower head, it is also important to have a budget range firmly in your mind. There are so many features available on some of the top of the line models that it can be very tempting to go all out. Be sure that you really consider how likely you are to make use of all of those features before you go and spend the money on them.

The number of controls that your shower has is another item that you will have to consider. The types of controls you need will depend to a certain extent on the water pressure situation in your house and the availability of hot and cold water. For instance, if your shower is susceptible to losing cold or hot water when someone turns it on elsewhere, you will want a shower head that can compensate for that. If that is not an issue for you, however, there is no reason to spend the money for that particular feature.

While you certainly have many feature-based decisions to make when it comes to picking out your new shower valves and fixtures, do not forget to consider aesthetics as well. The look of your new shower matters too and there are so many different fixture styles and finishes that you should have no problem finding one that suits your sense of style.

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Water and Energy Saving Tips from Landenberg

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

The cost of the heat, air conditioning and water supply to your Landenberg home continues to rise – it’s no wonder you want to cut your bills so much. But, how can you do that without cutting into the creature comforts and conveniences you’ve gotten used to over the course of the last few decades? Here are a few simple energy and water saving tips to make your life easier.

  • Patching Leaks – Two of the biggest wasters of water are dripping faucets and leaky pipes. The amount of water wasted by a single drip every second could provide for multiple baths per year – it adds up fast. Not only are leaky faucets and pipes easy to fix; they tend to develop into bigger problems as time passes.
  • Drains and Flushing – If you put a piece of toilet paper in the toilet used to clean an eye or wipe the counter, don’t flush. It’s a waste of water. If you notice some extra toothpaste in the sink, don’t rinse yet. You can always use the water from brushing your teeth or washing your face to clean it out. Multi-task and minimize how much water goes down the drain to save water.
  • Fully Loaded – A partially filled washing machine or dish washer is a huge waster of water. Fill it up and wait to run the device until it’s at the brim – the same amount of water is used no matter how much is in the device.
  • Compost vs. Disposal – A garbage disposal wastes a tremendous amount of water (if you want it to run properly). So, instead of churning the disposal up, create a compost pile and save a great deal of water/energy. If you have a septic tank, a garbage disposal is especially bad for your home as it can fill the tank up quickly with solids.
  • Insulate Pipes – Hot water pipes without insulation waste a tremendous volume of energy every year. The cost of running a hot water tank continuously every day can be anywhere from $200 to $300 per year, and that’s with insulation. Consider the cost without it to keep the water warm as it passes to your fixtures.
  • Lower Water Flow – Don’t crank your faucets up to the max just to get a glass of water or to check for hot water. It’s a waste of energy and it’s often unnecessary, especially when waiting for water to hit the right temperature.

If you’re interested in getting the most out of your home’s water supply, there are hundreds of little ways to save water that will add up over time. These are just some of the easiest ways to get started.

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Value of a Plumbing Maintenance Agreement: A Guide From Oxford

Saturday, October 1st, 2011

Consider for a moment the cost of fixing a leaky pipe or a burst water main in your Oxford home. Imagine how much money goes down the drain (so to speak) if you don’t have someone on call to come and fix the problem whenever you notice a drippy faucet or see a wet patch on your ceiling. This stuff will add up fast.

That’s why so many plumbers offer extended maintenance agreements to keep your fixtures and pipes on track. In most cases, these maintenance agreements are assigned to specific pieces of equipment such as your water heater, your toilet, your sinks and showers, or your pipes. However, there are many plumbers who offer full coverage of your home for a set annual fee. Let’s take a closer look at what that would do for you.

Full Annual Coverage

If you pay for a full annual maintenance plan for your home, it would cover yearly checkups of the following:

  • Water heaters
  • Incoming water mains
  • Pipe conditions
  • Fixture and drain health
  • Sewer and drain lines

Now, imagine how many years go between checkups of these things normally. When was the last time you had someone visit your home and check your drains for clogs or inspect your water main for stress and wear? Have you ever had it inspected?

Most homeowners forget about their plumbing for years until it needs a repair or replacement. Replacing a toilet costs $400 or more. Replacing a water line in your house costs upwards of $3500. And if you need pipes replaced, it can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000 depending on the size of your home.

The Annual Savings

For a small investment, you prolong the life of your plumbing by years and the cost of replacement will be negated by having small repairs completed on an annual basis. Simply having a leak patched or a clog cleared costs $100-$300 versus the thousands of dollars it will cost to replace something – all fantastic reasons to consider an annual maintenance plan.

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How to Prevent Bathroom Water Damage: A Guide From Toughkenamon

Monday, September 5th, 2011

Water damage. Even the mere mention of potential damage from excess water in your Toughkenamon house is enough to send a chill down your spine. However, there are a number of things you can do to avoid such damage, especially in the bathroom.

The Bathtub

The biggest single contributors to water damage are the shower and bathtub, where gallons upon gallons of water are distributed every day. You can minimize damage by doing the following:

  • Tiles – Check for missing or cracked tiles and replace them immediately. Supplement the tiles with grout that is properly sealed and check for any potential leaks.
  • Keep it Dry – There is a lot of water in your bathroom. Keep it off the floor by drying it up after a shower, hair washing or any other moisture producing activity in the bathroom. Make sure you minimize the risk of excess water by placing bathmats on the floor outside your shower.
  • Exhaust Fan – Water builds up in a bathroom because there is no moving air. Humidity can be just as damaging as actual wetness, especially if it settles in cooler temperatures. To avoid this happening, install an exhaust fan attached to the light switch to draw out any moisture after a shower.

Sinks and Fixtures

  • Check Under the Sink – Look under the sink and make sure there are no drips from the faucet and no leaks from the trap. You may simply need to check and clean the trap once every month or so.
  • Seals – Check sink seals on a regular basis for cracks or leaks and replace them when necessary.
  • Speed of Drainage – If the sink drains slowly, the drain may be clogged. Check the trap and if that doesn’t help, pour a mixture of vinegar and baking soda down weekly.
  • Upgrades – Upgrade your fixtures to save water. Toilets eat water to the tune of 40% of your annual consumption and your shower head can be made almost twice as efficient without cutting into your comfort level. If you notice a drip, crack or leak from any of these devices, simply upgrade them and you’ll save a lot of water (and reduce how much of it could leak if a problem occurs in the future).

There are a lot of ways to avoid water leaks in your bathroom. Keep a close eye on things and it will be much easier than if you waited for a full blown problem to develop.

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What Causes Low Water Pressure? A Question From Kemblesville

Monday, August 15th, 2011

Low water pressure in your Kemblesville home can make just about everything from showering to cleaning more difficult. It is frustrating, but it often seems like there is very little you can do about it. In fact, you may be able to improve your water pressure in a variety of ways, but the appropriate technique will depend on the root cause of your problem.

There are several different possible causes for low water pressure. If the problem is limited to certain areas or fixtures in the house, it may very well be because the pipes feeding that area or fixture are too small. Smaller pipes will only allow a smaller amount of water to pass through at once, making it impossible for you to get the force you are after.

Fixing this, of course, means putting in larger pipes, and that may be easier said than done. However, if the problem is on a small scale, you should not have too much trouble or need to pay too much to have a professional complete the job. A problem in a particular fixture can also result from small clogs or backups in the fixture itself, and this is a relatively easy situation to remedy as well.

A low water pressure problem that affects your whole house can result if the main pipes feeding into your house are too small. This could be the case if your house has been added onto since it was built or if you have more people living there now and using more water.

Replacing those incoming pipes is a big job, but it is often the only way to increase your water pressure and make it possible for the system to satisfy the water needs of the house. This is definitely something you will want to have a professional work on, and while it can be costly, it will be well worth it in the end.

Another possible reason that you might have low house-wide water pressure is that you live at the end of the area water system or that you use an improperly located well. If your well is downhill from your home, for instance, you should consider installing a booster pump that can help move the water into your house more efficiently. The same remedy can work if you live on the outskirts of town and at the limit of your town’s water system.

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