Wednesday, June 19, 2013

It is a good idea to learn how to plumbing.

Now is the time to finally learn more about plumbing. Likely, you have thought about it prior to now, but just didn't get around to doing it. In any case, the article below will teach you a few different plumbing tips and tactics you can implement to solve everyday issues around your home.

It's easy to fix noisy pipes which squeak or sound like hammering. Exposed pipes need to be anchored. If these pipes are located in the floors, ceiling or walls, you are probably best calling a professional plumbing company to take over the project.

If you need to winterize your house, turn off the water main usually located where the main enters into the building. This is not always the case and you may have to call plumber to turn off the water meter located in the ground outside. When you have successfully shut off the water, open up all the houses faucets. This includes the outside hose bibs to allow all the water to drain out of your system. This will relieve any pressure in your pipes to prevent them from freezing and bursting, which may prevent major damage to your home. Additionally you will want to either use a shop vacuum to suck out any water remaining in your toilet bowl and tank to prevent the porcelain from cracking. A special type of antifreeze can be used as well to put into all of your sinks and tub/shower p-traps to prevent any damage to the waste pipes as well.

Only pay the plumber once the job is done. Sometimes it is required to put a little money down before the job starts, but don't ever pay the whole amount before you know the task is done correctly. If you pay everything up front, you have no recourse if the plumber doesn't finish the job or doesn't do it correctly.

You need to avoid using any kind of tablet or odor remover in your toilet if at all possible. While they may be effective deodorizers, they can damage rubber parts in your toilet and rot the bolts out. If they do become corroded, your toilet will leak, not operate properly, and require you to pay a plumber to either rebuild or even replace it.

If your toilet has plugged and the water in your toilet is low along with the toilet being clogged, do not pour extra water in the bowl to make the plunger effective again. This could over flow the toilet and flood your bathroom. Instead temporarily turn off the supply shut off located behind the toilet immediately to prevent flooding. At that point you should either call a plumber or go to your local hardware store and buy a 6’ toilet auger. Stick it into the toilet pushing the auger head and rotating clock wise attempting to punch the block through or snag the obstruction for retrieval. If this all fails call a plumber because you have a more serious issue down the waste line.

Iron will cause orange or pink stains in and on your fixtures if you have a well. To get rid of this problem, you can either use a commercial product to soften the water, or have a plumbing contractor come to your home and do a water test to see what you need to filter. In fact any plumber that sells you water treatment without a test first does not know what he is doing. You can only filter a system once you know what you are filtering out. Many different water filters only filter specific chemicals and minerals. Plain and simple, no single filter does it all and each filter type is specific for what it is to filter.

You can save lots of money and energy with efficient shower heads. Hot water usage is mostly in the shower. You can save up to a few hundred dollars a year by simply installing shower heads that are energy efficient and rated at 1 GPM (gallon per minuet). Most all new shower heads come with flow restrictors inside to maintain this GPM regardless of your homes pressure. Older shower heads either did not come with these features or have been taken apart to remove this feature to increase flow from a clogged head. If you do have a clogged head that is not spraying very well or evenly, unthread it from the elbow and soak it in hot water and a cleaner called CLR. This product is found at all hardware stores and will eat the calcium, lime, and or rust built up in the ports. After soaking for at least 30-60 minutes, replace it and you will see an increase of pressure and flow out of the shower head.

For clogged waste pipes, unblock them with a cleaner that is enzyme based. This type of cleaner uses natural bacteria to transform sludge into liquids that makes it disappear from the pipes. Enzyme cleaners are preferred by many plumbers to clear clogged drains. Please be cautious though and as a plumber we highly recommend calling a plumbing contractor to perform such cleanings because of the risk of damage to piping and also bodily harm. Some chemicals are extremely toxic and can burn or destroy your skin if contact is made.

Always remember to keep your dryer's lint trap clean. This can prevent various problems, including a fire. Look over the lint trap to make sure there aren't any rips or holes. This can cause problems like clogs.

The secret to low or even no repair bills from plumbing issues is preventative maintenance. One of the major repairs is always clogs and leaks. Practically anything can get stuck in those drains can cause them to lock up, including hair, grease, foreign objects, and sediment. Use a drain screen cover to keep hair and other elements from going down your pipes. Taking the hair off of the screen and disposing of it is always cheaper and easier than removing it from the pipes.

If you have solids, a collapsed pipe, or root intrusion in the line, you probably won't be successful cleaning it all by yourself. Having plastic pipes rather metal pipes will work a lot better because they do not corrode and they maintain a smooth passage way for wastes going down the drain. It's up to a professional to fix this problem as most states require a fully licensed plumbing professional to correct these issues by law.

Learning a bit about plumbing can be an invaluable tool to have in your possession. You can now offer your plumbing knowledge as a resource for your friends and family, while also saving yourself a good chunk of money on plumbing repairs. You hopefully understand some plumbing basics now and had fun learning them.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

How to install a new compression angle stop on to copper pipe.

Replacing an old angle stop. First shut the water off to the building. Drain the system down the best you can by opening up lower fixtures. If this isn't possible, then keep a small bucket to catch the water. Pull the lav riser, aka supply line off the angle stop, then use 2 pairs of channel locks to untighten the compression nut. The nut and ferrule will not come off. Get your bucket ready to catch that water that might flow out. Now use a nut and ferrule puller to remove the nut and ferrule. Once you have it off, verify that the copper pipe is clean and not damaged. It's a good idea to use some sand cloth to clean it up. I always recommend to wipe a light amount of pipe thread sealant like megalock on the threads that the compression nut will thread on to. This isn't necessarily for sealing the threads because the brass ferrule should do that job, but this will help you get a nice tight crank and prevent the nut from ceasing up in the future. Once you have replaced the stop reinstall the lav riser, turn the water back on and test it for leaks. If none, life is good and you did the job right. If you see a drip, try to crank the nut a little more. If no luck then you may have to repeat this process to get a water tight seal. This has been a plumbing how to tip provided by  A Plumbing Company in Everett and Seattle Washington.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Hot water tank standard gas and electric construction and operation.


A gas heater looks like an electric unit, except that it doesn't contain the two heating elements. It has a gas burner at the bottom, with the chimney running up through the middle of the tank.
HSW 2000

The water coming into your home makes a journey through a system of pipes, and it's usually cold or cool, depending on the time of year. To have water warm enough to take a hot shower or bath, or use your dishwasher or washing machine, you need a water heater.

Hotwater tanks are familiar fixtures in most homes. They typically look like big metal cylinders, tall drums that are often consigned to a laundry room or basement. Newer styles have some interesting features, like losing the tank completely in favor of water-on-demand, but the old, reliable water heater design that's most widely used in the U.S. today is really a pretty simple appliance; it's basically a drum filled with water and equipped with a heating mechanism on the bottom or inside. Even though they lack drama and complexity, water heaters are still pretty amazing. What makes them interesting is that they exploit the heat rising principle to deliver hot water right to your faucet with a minimum of fuss. Don't let the simple shape shrouded in its wooly insulating blanket fool you. Water heaters have an ingenious design on the inside for something that looks so ordinary on the outside.