Posts Tagged ‘Sloan’

Value of a Plumbing Maintenance Agreement in Summerlin

Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

Consider for a moment the cost of fixing a leaky pipe or a burst water main in your Summerlin 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, which can cost a lot of money in the long run.

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 little compared to the thousands of dollars it will cost to replace something – all fantastic reasons to consider an annual maintenance plan.

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Taking Good Care of Your Garbage Disposal: A Tip From Las Vegas

Friday, September 9th, 2011

The garbage disposal is one of those innovations that we generally take for granted now in Las Vegas, but was probably absolutely amazing to the guy who first saw one in action. The convenience of having a whirring blade just below your sink to pulverize food into pipe-friendly paste is pretty incredible.

However, because we sometimes take disposals for granted, we forget to take care of them properly. Disposals don’t ask for much, just a little attention now and then to keep them performing at their peak. There are some pretty simple tasks you can do periodically to keep your disposal happy:

  • When using the disposal, be sure to run water down the drain and leave it running for 15 to 20 seconds after you turn the disposal off.
  • The smaller the pieces going down the disposal, the better. Those blades may be powerful, but they can still sputter and stall against a formidable foe.
  • Every so often, dump a tray of ice cubes down the drain and turn the disposal on while running cold water. This sharpens the blades and helps keep them clean. The noise is a little intense, but it’s perfectly safe.
  • Grease, corn husks, potatoes and anything made of paper or plastic are not suitable for the disposal or plumbing in your home. Throw them away instead.
  • To subdue unpleasant odors, throw some lemon peels down the disposal.
  • To clean your disposal and remove mineral deposits, pour in a cup of vinegar and let it sit for about an hour, then flush with hot water.
  • Never use bleach or other chemicals to clean your garbage disposal, as it can damage the machinery.

These small steps, simple as they may seem, can go a long way toward keeping your system running strong and continuing to make your life easier for a long time. You can see some of these tips in action, as well as learn how to fix some common disposal problems from this video at GMC Trade Secrets.

It’s a dirty job, so help your disposal do it right. And if your garbage disposal breaks, you can always your local plumber.

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Advanced Green Plumbing From Sloan: Recycled/Reclaimed Water Systems

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

Let’s face it, sewage is not a fun topic to talk about (in Sloan or anywhere), even if it is classified as “former” sewage. The topic of human waste has long been the butt of jokes (no pun intended). But there is something to talk about that makes this a thought-provoking topic. That topic is recycled or reclaimed water.

By definition, recycled water is former sewage water (often referred to as black or grey water) that has been treated to “remove solids and certain impurities.” While treated water is not recommended for any type of human consumption, it has been used for landscape irrigation, dust control, and fire suppression. Reclaimed water contains valuable nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous. When used properly, these nutrients can promote good plant growth.

The idea of reusing a natural resource has been around for decades – and so has the debate. While treated recycled water eliminates the discharge of sewage water to lakes, rivers, and oceans, there is still the argument that recycled water still poses health and environmental risks. In 1997, the U.S. EPA stated that “bacteria from reclaimed water in sprinklers can travel more than 1000 feet in the air.”

Setting fears aside, the idea of using recycled water in the home has been supported by “dual pipe” installations. Basically, this is when a home is outfitted with two incoming water supplies: potable (drinking) and non-potable (for use in irrigation). The idea behind reusing water is that it reduces the demand for freshwater and thus the need for expensive filtration – saving earth’s most precious natural resource.

One example of a neighborhood that is utilizing the dual pipe system is the Vintage Greens subdivision in Windsor, California. The developers made dual piping an option for new home buyers and by the time all of the homes were sold in 2008, 52% of the homeowners opted for the dual pipe system. Using recycled water to irrigate their landscape, residents have saved 25 millions gallons of potable water each year.

Recycled water is an important part of the “greening of America” – even if it is gray. While this may not be the option for your home right now, there are plenty of other ways you can help the planet with your plumbing choices. If you have any questions about environmentally friendly plumbing, contact your local plumber.

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How To Read a Water Meter: A Guide From Henderson

Friday, August 19th, 2011

It doesn’t take rocket science to read a water meter in Henderson. Or does it?

Do you know much about water meters and their main function? The answer is probably too obvious, the main function of a water meter is to meter the amount of water usage in a home or building. Not rocket science, unless…

Unless you don’t know where your water meter is, that is. In most cases, the water meter is located at the front of your property near the street – located there for easy reading by water department utility “meter readers.” The meter could also be located in a home’s basement, too.

To take a reading of your meter, locate the white numbers on the right side of the meter dial with the black background. These numbers count the number of gallons of water that have passed through your meter since it was installed or reset. Don’t be surprised to find a lot of numbers, particularly in an older home. The American Water Works Association estimates that the daily use of water per capita is 69.3 gallons. Multiply that by several years and the numbers become very big.

If you want to take a sampling of your daily usage, do the following:

  • Select a day to take the initial reading.
  • Write down the numbers on the meter odometer.
  • The next day (or week or month) at the exact same time on the 24-hour clock you took the initial reading, write down the new odometer reading.
  • Subtract the initial reading from the new reading and you get the consumption for that sampling time period. When you water bill comes from the city, you may want to “compare notes” to see if your billing is accurate.
  • Remember that events like overnight guests, filling a pool or hot tub, or excessive showering will impact the readings.

If you take the time to understand the numbers, it may also help you decide on ways to conserve water. It may also provide a hint to any possible water leaks in your home from sources like a toilet valve or garden hose. A meter reading can lead to a plumbing repair job.

Reading a water meter may not require rocket science mentality but understanding the numbers could be very beneficial to your wallet and your well-being.

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Pipe Inspection Camera: When to Use One in Sloan

Wednesday, August 10th, 2011

For plumbers today, pipe inspection cameras are a huge aide, including Sloan. In the past, it was often very difficult to determine the location of a blockage or a leak, or indeed if one even existed at all. But now with this great modern equipment, it is much easier to get a thorough picture of the exact state of a pipe system and the nature of a potential problem.

These types of inspection cameras are especially useful when a clog is located underground or when an underground leak is suspected. Many types of plumbing problems can have multiple possible causes. But with pipeline inspection cameras, you can know for sure quickly exactly what type of problem you are dealing with.

For instance, even if you know that an underground pipe is leaking, it can be next to impossible to figure out exactly where the leak is. But to fix the leak you will have to unearth the damaged section of pipe and repair it. If you cannot pinpoint the leak precisely, you will be forced to unearth a large section of pipe. This takes a long time and causes unnecessary, although hopefully temporary damage to your yard as well.

However, if you can determine exactly where the leak is, you can dig up only the affected portion of pipe. This saves a lot of time and labor and it also means that you can limit the disruption the work causes in your yard. And the best way to find a leak like this is to use a pipe inspection camera to get a look at the inside of the pipe before you ever begin digging.

You do not need to wait for an emergency situation to develop to make use of a pipe inspection camera either. This technology is also extremely useful during annual drainage and sewer maintenance visits to help ensure that there are no unnoticed problems lurking below the surface. It is perfectly possible that one of your pipes is getting close to cracking but has not done so yet. The repairs can be a lot simpler if you catch this type of problem early, and that is exactly what a pipe inspection camera makes possible.

Pipe inspection cameras are also useful during maintenance visits because they allow technicians to determine which parts of your system need the most work. They can see where the larger buildups are and get the job done quicker overall than they could if they were operating blind.

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The Benefits of a Well-Insulated Home

Wednesday, July 20th, 2011

Insulation is a vitally important part of your home. While it is not something you look at or probably even think about much, the amount and quality of the insulation in your home can have a dramatic impact on many aspects of your quality of life while you are living there.

The most basic reason that insulation is important is that it keeps the cold air out in the winter and the heat out in the summer. Without proper insulation at these times of year, your house will be much less comfortable than it would if you had high quality insulation in the right places.

Going hand in hand with this, of course, is the fact that proper insulation will help you get more out of your home heating and cooling system. By preventing outdoor conditions from affecting the temperature indoors, insulation makes it easier for your HVAC system to keep your home comfortable all year round. That means that the HVAC system uses less energy and is subjected to less wear and tear.

And because proper insulation aids in temperature control, it also helps to keep moisture problems from developing. When there is too much or too little moisture in your indoor air, it can have serious consequences, both for you and for your wood furniture and fixtures. Too little moisture will quickly dry out your skin and can make cold and allergy symptoms worse.

Dry air also can make it harder for your heating system to keep your house warm enough to be comfortable and it can take away from the ability of your indoor air cleaner to remove contaminants from your indoor air. Air that is too moist, on the other hand, will make it more likely that mold will develop in various areas of your house.

Mold needs moisture to grow, and it also often prefers dark, warm areas. For that reason, you can have a significant mold problem and not even realize is if the mold is growing in the walls or in crawlspaces beneath the floor.

Proper insulation, however, can keep excessive humidity from becoming a problem and make it easier to create a comfortable indoor environment all around. Some types of insulation can even keep many potential indoor air contaminants and allergens from getting into your home in the first place.

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Scald Free Showers and Bathtubs: Scald Prevention Methods

Friday, June 24th, 2011

One of the worst things that can happen to you in a shower is when a sudden blast of scalding hot water strikes you unexpectedly. This is a problem for many people and usually happens when someone turns on the cold water at another tap in the house. When that occurs, the cold water that you were using to regulate the temperature in your shower becomes temporarily unavailable and the hot water takes over.

This usually does not last long, and even if it does, you will likely jump out of the way quickly. But for the moment you are underneath that scalding hot water, some serious damage can be done, particularly to older people or young children whose skin is not as thick as that of an average adult. Also, in trying to get out of the way of the hot water in a slippery bathtub, many people have accidentally fallen and injured themselves more seriously.

So what can be done about these sudden and unexpected blasts of hot water? Well, recent developments in shower and bathtub technology have made it possible for scald free shower and bathtub fixtures to reach the market. These products are designed to maintain a consistent temperature in your shower no matter what type of water or how much is being used elsewhere in the house.

These scald free showers can compensate for the dip in cold water pressure that occurs when someone flushes a toilet in another bathroom or turns on the water in the kitchen. This is accomplished by the addition of a diaphragm that can immediately adjust to any variations in either hot or cold water pressure. With this technology in place, you will never need to worry about being scalded in the shower again.

Of course, these scald free shower heads and bathtub fixtures can cost a bit more than their conventional counterparts. But they are well worth it, especially if scalding water is a problem in your shower on a regular basis. You need to be able to keep yourself and your family safe in the shower and scald free showers are the best way to do that.

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Signs of a Broken Water Line outside the House

Monday, May 30th, 2011

If you have a leaky pipe inside the house, chances are you will notice it pretty quickly. Water seeping through the walls or the ceiling is a good indication that something is wrong and it is a hard thing to ignore. However, if there is a leak in your pipes outside of your home, it can be a bit harder to detect. Fortunately, there are some things you can keep an eye out for that will alert you if this does become a problem.

One of the first places to look for signs of a leak outside your home is your water bill. While your bill may not be exactly the same every month, chances are that it generally stays within a certain range. And if you use a ton of water one month for some reason, you will probably be aware of it. But if your water bill suddenly goes up for no reason that you can discern, there is reason to suspect that a leaky pipe somewhere is the culprit.

Keep in mind that unexplained puddles in your yard can also be an indication that a pipe underground is leaking. If you notice something like this, it is a good idea to call a professional plumber right away. Fixing underground pipe leaks is a challenging chore and requires special equipment that you most likely do not have lying around your home.

There are several reasons that leaks in your outdoor pipes can develop. For one thing, the pipes may be old or they may have been defective to begin with. Improper installation or shoddy workmanship can all lead to problems later on. As frustrating as it is, there is very little you can do except have the leaky pipes fixed.

Another possibility is that extreme temperatures have been damaging the pipes over time. Particularly if you live in an area with harsh winters, it is very possible that your pipes have frozen or come close to it from time to time. This constant exposure to freezing temperatures will take its toll even on the highest-quality pipes and eventually they will need to be replaced.

No matter what caused the problem, though, or how you realize that it exists, it is important to get leaky outdoor pipes fixed right away. The problem will only continue to get worse if you do not act.

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Net-Zero Homes: An Exciting New Green Trend

Friday, April 15th, 2011

A net-zero home produces renewable energy equal to or greater than the energy the home consumes from public utilities.

Net-zero homes are part of the broader category of “green homes”(though non net-zero homes may still be considered “green” if they incorporate recycled building materials or other green technologies).

Net-zero homes are not the same as “carbon neutral” homes. Carbon neutrality can be attained for any home by purchasing carbon credits (often from geographically distant renewable energy sources) to offset the carbon emissions the home produces. Net-zero homes actually generate renewable energy on-site.

In regions of the world where homes must be heated or cooled for parts of the year, the design of a net-zero home is crucial. Net-zero homes minimize energy consumption by:

  • · Taking advantage of natural elements such as sunlight, prevailing breezes, topography (for earth-sheltered building and geothermal systems), and vegetation.
  • · Incorporating appropriate weatherization, insulation, and ventilation
  • · Using “daylighting” such as skylights and solar tubes, high-efficiency light fixtures and bulbs, high-efficiency appliances
  • · Reducing “phantom loads” of electrical power caused by electrical equipment on standby
  • · Reclaiming and reusing energy whenever possible instead of venting it outside as in conventional homes; for example, in some net-zero homes refrigerator exhaust is used to heat water.

Net-zero homes also produce their own renewable power using solar, wind, hydro, and/or geothermal “microgeneration” systems. The type of power generated will depend on climate and topography. Some net-zero homes are autonomous or “energy-autarkic” (i.e. “off-the-grid”) while others are connected to the grid and feed power back to the grid when it is not being used in the home.

While true net-zero homes generally must be specifically designed as such, it is possible to move toward net-zero energy usage for a conventional or existing home.

  • · Make the “envelope” of your home as efficient as possible with appropriate insulation, weatherization, energy-efficient windows, passive solar, and ventilation.
  • · Reduce energy demand by upgrading to high-efficiency furnaces (or heat pumps), air conditioning, lighting, and plumbing. Also, reduce “ghost load” from appliances on standby.
  • · Add micro-generation capacity. For most North American homes, solar is the most appropriate choice, though residential wind turbines are also gaining in popularity. Some local utilities even offer assistance and rebates for installing solar.
  • · If you are building a home, keep it as small as you can while still meeting your space needs.

And, the most important part of making your home as close to net-zero as possible: be disciplined about your daily energy use habits!

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How Do I Stop My Pipes from Knocking?

Monday, April 11th, 2011

Tell me if this sounds familiar – you are sleeping comfortably and in the middle of the night a soft but persistent knock sounds through the pipes in your home. At first it is easy to ignore, but inevitably the sound will grow with each passing night and eventually start keeping you awake. Luckily, there are simply solutions for knocking pipes that do not require a plumber or expensive parts.
First, it is good to know why your pipes are knocking in the first place. In most cases, knocking pipes are caused by variable water pressure in the main supply pipes coming into your home. That pressure is important because it keeps the water moving freely between pipes and into you faucets. However, when the air used in pressurizing those pipes leaks or is depleted, water moves suddenly and violently, creating the knocking sound as it traverses the length of the supply lines.
The easiest fix for this kind of knocking is to first turn off your main supply valve. Make sure you communicate to anyone in your home that you are shutting of the valve as it will stop ALL water coming in. Now, flush the lines by opening all of the faucets and flushing your toilets. Water can still leave your home through drainage pipes and this will ensure all of the supply lines are fully empty.
Once the lines are cleared, feel free to turn your main valve back on. It is important to do this slowly so that the air chambers between and around your pipes have time to refill before the water courses back into them. However, now that the pipes were fully emptied, the knocking sound should be completely gone.
It is as simple as that. In most cases, you should not need to call a plumber to help, but if you have any problems finding your main valve or shutting it off, a plumber can be helpful with the proper tools and the knowhow for various kinds of shutoff valves. Additionally, if you live in an apartment building or a shared space, you may not be able to perform this fix. Rather, you should contact your superintendent or landlord and make sure they know exactly what is happening – with any experience, they should recognize the problem and be able to make similar fixes to your pipes.
Knocking pipes can be incredibly frustrating if not dealt with as soon as they start. Now that you know how simple it is to make the fix, make a habit of regularly flushing your lines and the knocking likely will not start up again.

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