Here at Flat-Out Plumbing, LLC., we strive to keep our clients informed with their products and home appliances. Below are some helpful tips and information to keep you informed.
Here at Flat-Out Plumbing, we offer a water heater maintenance package that you can take advantage of at any time. This water heater package will include a routine maintenance inspection and water heater flushing as required by the manufacturer’s warranty. We recommend taking advantage of this offer to extend the life of the water heater even after your warranty is expired. At the time of the water heater inspection and flushing, we will also include a free visual plumbing inspection. This visual inspection will inform you of any problems that are present to your plumbing system that you should be aware of. It’s more of a “Honey Dew List,” and the best part is, “it’s FREE”. We all should be aware of the condition of our plumbing system so that we don’t have any unnecessary surprises and we do not want any of our customers having any surprises that could have been avoided.
Tip 1
If you’re experiencing a high-water bill, the most common cause is a leaking toilet. The easiest way to test to see if your toilet is leaking is to add food coloring into the tank and just watch it to see if the food coloring makes its way into the toilet boil without flushing. If it, does you may need to consider a minor or major toilet tank rebuild to correct the problem depending on the condition of your toilet.
Tip 2
Garbage disposals, a lot of people don’t know this but, in order to clean the blades on a garbage disposal you should allow your disposal to crush up a few cups of just ice a few times a month. It will clean the blades on the disposal and improve its performance. Also, citrus fruits will help improve the smell coming from your garbage disposal.
Tip 3
Your washer machine hoses are a serious flood hazard for your home and if your washer machine hoses are more than 5 years old, they should be replaced with new ones. They may look like they are in good shape, but rubber goes bad over the years and 5 years is a good ballpark figure to have them changed out.
The most important thing a homeowner should know how to do in a plumber’s eyes is to know how to shut-off the water to your home. Most plumbing emergencies can be solved by just cutting off the water. It might not fix the problem but at least you can stop the water from damaging anything else until a plumber can get to your home. So, the next time a plumber comes to your house ask him to show you how to cut the water off to your home. Most plumbers won’t mind showing you and they should do it at no cost to you.
Water Heaters
Your water heater maintenance should never be over looked and we know that in most cases it’s out of sight out of mind. But, if you are staying on top of things we just thought we would inform you of what your water heater inspection and maintenance should include. First, every water heater whether it is a tankless or a traditional unit should be flushed annually. This will help remove any sediment or build up inside the unit ruining its performance features and eventually ruining the tank.
Secondly, this is the most important safety feature on your water heater, your temperature and pressure relief valve. This should be inspected every time you have a plumber working on your water heater. Whenever water is heated, it increases pressure and if the pressure inside the tank gets over 150 PSI this should trip the T&P valve relieving the excess pressure. Also, if the temperature gets over 210 degrees it should also trip the T&P valve before water turns into a gas. There are known cases where a faulty T&P valve has caused water heaters to explode.
Third, the flame on a gas appliance should always be the color blue to make sure there isn’t a problem with the burner assembly,
Fourth, your anode rod should always be checked after two to three years to make sure it is still intact. All traditional water heaters are lined with some kind of enamel and this enamel is then baked into the body of the steel tank water heater. During this process the lining creates pinholes in the enamel. That is why your water heater comes with an anode rod, because there isn’t a tank style water heater out that doesn’t have some kind of pinhole in its enamel lining. This anode rod is designed to attract the elements in the water that will possibly corrode the steel tank. So when your anode rod goes bad in your water heater your tank has no protection from the elements in the water heater that will cause your water heater to rust and eventually leak.
Fifth, the connections at the top of the water heater should be checked for leaks or corrosion and if you have an electric water heater the wires should be inspected to make sure they’re not burnt anywhere, to avoid a potential problem later on.
Last But not least
White vinegar is a cheap way to remove hard water stains on your fixtures. Most Plumbers use white vinegar to clean shower heads, faucet aerators, and to flush out tankless water heaters. It’s safe, works great and it doesn’t break the bank. You can also add it to your dishwasher to get off stubborn water stains on your dishes. But, don’t take it from us, “we’re just Flat-Out Plumbing”
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Jack Titchener says:
“I never knew about enamel linings in water heaters. I usually try and do all the house maintenance on my own, but when it comes to some plumbing jobs I think I’ll just hire some professionals. Great job on giving more details on plumbing maintenance!”
