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What Is the Diamond Club, and What Are Its Benefits?

Diamond Club

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The Diamond Club is a very special program we have within Wisler Plumbing. We’re extremely proud of the great service we provide to members on an annual basis. Diamond Club members can get a total of 3 free visits every year, including one annual visit for plumbing and two visits for HVAC. These visits are significant when it comes to keeping your home in good working order.

 

For the plumbing visit, we do maintenance of the water heater, which includes flushing the heater and checking its safety devices. We also have a checklist with about 175 points, which involves going around the entire house, working the valves, making sure everything is working properly, and dye testing the toilets to make sure you’re not wasting any water. If there happens to be something like a leak under the sink that you don’t know about, we’ll catch it and let you know. We call this plumbing visit our maintenance and safety inspection, and it’s invaluable in making sure that we’ll detect any potential problems before they turn into a sudden emergency that surprises you out of nowhere.

 

For the two HVAC visits, you’ll get a heat check or a cool check, depending on the time of year.  (During the cooler months you’ll get the heat check, and during the summer months you’ll get the cool check. We do charge for any maintenance that might need to be done.) In each HVAC visit, we’ll check the levels and see how the HVAC system is working. Our checklist has about 100 points, depending on how many systems you have.

 

Another key benefit that Diamond Club Members receive is preferred service. Sometimes an extremely urgent situation will come up when you least expect it. It might happen during a time when it seems like everyone else has a need as well. If a Diamond Club member calls in to our company with a need—even if we’re fully booked—we’ll bump non-members back in the schedule to provide our Diamond Club members with priority service.

 

Members also receive a much longer warranty on most repairs. If we repair a toilet, for instance, and we replace the fuel valve, it normally comes with a 1 year warranty. As a Diamond Club member, you’ll get a 2 year warranty instead. If we replace a fixture (like a toilet, faucet, sink, etc.) and you’re a current member, you’ll get a lifetime warranty on the component as long as you keep your Diamond Club membership active. This is a huge benefit for someone who buys a fixture like a toilet because it means that you’ll never have to worry about it again as long as you’re an active member.

 

Diamond Club members also get discounts, including a 10% discount on service and repairs done in your home. As a member, you’ll have this discount applied even if you get a replacement. Depending on what kind of work we do, you’ll probably get back somewhere from 10 to 15 times the value of what you paid for the program within one year of membership. It’s kind of a no-brainer for homeowners who are concerned about their home and its longevity.

 

It’s easy to sign up for the Diamond Club. You can do it right over the phone without even having anyone come over to your house. However, if you do have a service call set up, whoever comes to your home would be happy to sign you up. If you have any questions, contact us online or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

 

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How hard could it be to remove a toilet, really? After all, don’t you just pull it right up? It might not be as simple as you think. Here are 3 things not to do while removing a toilet. (For today’s purpose, we’re not going to get into putting the toilet back on.)

1. Turn off the Water.

I have literally seen people not turn off/disconnect the water from the toilet before removing it from the floor. Luckily, most people do get this part taken care of. However, when you remove a toilet, you also need to empty the water from the tank and bowl. Otherwise, when you pull the toilet up, it’s going to pour all that water all over the floor. Always remember, don’t leave any water in the toilet.

2. Cutting the Caulk .

I’ve seen someone pull the toilet up and caulk that’s still stuck to the linoleum or laminate floor will actually pull the floor covering right off with the toilet itself. If it’s old, it can also crack and ruin the floor covering. Always make sure to get the caulk completely loose from the floor.

3.  Inspect the flange.

Any time you pull a toilet, you should take the wax off of the flange, remove the old bolts, make sure the toilet flange is in good working order, and make sure it’s at the correct height before setting the toilet back. One of the most common mistakes people make is they pull the toilet up, do work like installing a new floor, and then set the toilet right back—without replacing the wax or bolts, and without adjusting the height of the flange. This often happens with flooring contractors who are not plumbers and are just worried about getting the new floor installed. They just put the toilet right back, which is a big no-no because sewer gas can get into the house and leaks can rot the floor right around the flange.

In these kinds of situations, it might be a wise idea to get a professional to take a look before the toilet gets put back. If someone has the right tools and experience, they might be able to remove a toilet by themselves. Otherwise, it’s probably a good idea to reach out to someone like the team at Wisler Plumbing. Contact us online or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

 

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Exciting News

We have some very exciting news involving how our organization will change starting in 2020: We’re going to be offering HVAC services to all of our clients and the community at large! Right now we’re extremely busy at work to recruit competent people who fit into our organization and allow us to bring the HVAC trade onboard. Once we ramp up all of our systems and procedures, residential owner-occupied homes can come to us as a one-stop shop for water treatment, plumbing, drain cleaning, and HVAC as well.

Our Goals

One of the areas we’ll be working on over the next four to six months is our installs (both plumbing and HVAC) to make sure we do a better job with lead times for our clients. For instance, if one of our plumbers goes out for a leaky pipe and they find that all the pipes are in rough shape, they may recommend a re-pipe of the home. Sometimes the job might take 3 to 5 days to complete, in addition to getting put on a schedule with a wait time of two or even three weeks. We want to be able to shorten that lead time so we’re more responsive for these kinds of larger projects.

Continuing to Grow

This is a huge change for 2020, and we’re definitely going to continue to grow. We anticipate 15% growth next year, and along with that growth comes more new people and more business. We’re on track to run our first HVAC calls at the end of this year, so by the time January rolls around we should be well in the groove of things.

 

If you have any questions about HVAC or plumbing, contact us online or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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The Most Common Issue

Where do homeowners even begin when it comes to choosing a new water heater? The most common mistake that I see in homes is a water heater that isn’t sized properly, or one that wouldn’t be able to meet the demand for water in a household. But how does such a common issue even occur in all these homes in the first place?

What is the Demand on the Unit?

What often happens is, a family will buy a home and the people living there before them might have been an elderly couple who lived by themselves. (This home might have been a bit on the large side, so they moved into something more suitable.) Once the family moves into their new home, what would have been just fine for the elderly couple simply can’t stand up to the large family (especially with teenagers). The water heater may be very undersized and it just won’t be able to handle the demand.

While choosing a water heater, it becomes incredibly important for homeowners to consider the actual demand for hot water. Is the family’s water usage habit resulting in a very large demand? Or is there actually not very much demand? From there, you can determine the water heater that will make the most sense. A household with very large demand would be best served by a tankless or gas water heater, which will help maximize the efficiency of the system. Whereas, if there isn’t very much demand at all, an electric tank water heater or hybrid electric water heater would make the most sense. Ultimately, your choice will really be centered around how much water you need.

What is the Best Kind?

Tank water heaters are not going to be anywhere near as efficient as a tankless water heater, which works on-demand. When comparing a gas water heater vs. an electric water heater, gas is going to be much more efficient and produce more hot water. But the best advice I can give someone when making the decision is to just ask a professional. Water heating is something that takes money out of your pocket—it’s something that you have to pay for on an ongoing basis every single month. Whenever you have to make a decision like that, you don’t want to pick something that is inefficient. It would end up costing you more money, month by month, every single month that you own the water heater.

Get Help Making the Decision

Don’t make an off-the-cuff decision about which water heater to choose. Get a professional involved and make sure they understand your needs for hot water. They will know the various different brands and equipment, including what would make most sense for longevity over a period of 10 years. That’s going to save you a lot of money in the long run.

If you’re in the market for a new water heater and want the assistance of a professional, get started today by reaching out to the team at Wisler Plumbing and Air. Contact us online or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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The average lifespan of a water heater is 8 to 12 years. Some heaters do last longer than that, however. One way to maximize your water heater’s life is through maintenance, which can potentially extend its life by an extra 5 years. First, though, I should mention that most of the topics I’m going to cover here are explained in the owner’s manual, which goes into detail about the maintenance required for your specific water heater.

 

Water quality is incredibly important to the longevity of a water heater. One of the best things that you can do when it comes to its longevity is simply put really good water into it. If the water has iron, hardness, sediment, etc., it will settle and accumulate in the bottom of the heater, causing premature failure.

 

Next, flushing your water heater at least once a year is very beneficial. (Some people do it as often as every six months.) There are lots of water heaters out there that have never been flushed. You don’t need to be in a panic if that’s the case, but flushing does allow any sediment at the bottom of the heater to be removed before it has a chance to build up and cause blisters in the inside of the glass lining.

 

Another factor that affects the lifespan of your water heater is the anode rod, which is there to attract the minerals in water that could cause harm to the tank. The anode rod is made from a softer metal, so it will actually diminish (wear away) instead of the metal tank itself. After the rod is diminished, it can be replaced to extend the life of the heater. As long as you have a rod in there, it will be able to do its job of protecting the tank.

 

The next piece is the temperature and pressure (T&P) relief valve. As the name implies, its job is to protect the heater against excessive pressure and/or temperature. If it is not working properly and the pressure gets too high, it can cause the water heater to rupture. As long as it’s inspected and working properly, you shouldn’t have any problems with rupture due to pressure or temperature.

 

To keep your water heater working for as many years as possible, it should be maintained annually. This is a service that’s included for all our club members during each annual maintenance and safety visit. To learn more, contact us online or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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Wisler Plumbing and Air

When we talk about the Wisler Way, it really just means that we stand behind some key principles that we’re very passionate about. Here are a few that immediately come to mind for me:

We stand behind our work. It becomes very frustrating for homeowners whenever they make a purchase and don’t have support after the sale. We always try to be committed so whenever we put a piece of equipment in someone’s home, we’ll be there to service it later on. If you ever have a problem, you can be confident that we’ll be reachable for help. A healthy company that can stand into the future is very important when it comes to service. Some of the service providers out there are shortsighted—they only pay attention to things on a very narrow timescale. Their goal is simply to get the sale and finish the work. That kind of mindset doesn’t have the customers’ best interests at heart.

We’re satisfaction-driven. Just the other day, a client called in with a concern that I didn’t really agree with. I communicated to him exactly who our company is, but I wasn’t going to argue with him about it. I was simply going to answer the need that he had, try to resolve the problem, and move forward. The bottom line is, we’re very focused on the overall satisfaction of our clients.

As I’ve often said to my team, I don’t want our clients paying for anything but results. We often get calls from people who have problems like drips, something that isn’t working properly, or something that isn’t working like it used to. Going to someone’s home and charging money to do something that doesn’t truly resolve that concern is absolutely worthless. It would be extremely frustrating for a homeowner to schedule three or four visits just to actually get their problem to go away.

We use upfront pricing. We tell our clients about the fees that we have even before coming out and we try our best to make sure that there aren’t any surprise. Even before any work is done, we’ll make sure that you know the cost down to the penny.

We believe heavily in training and consistency. One of the marks of a good team is that there is consistency when it comes to executing a process, regardless of who is helping you. We believe in training and making sure that we have competent techs in your home.

If you want to work with the team at Wisler Plumbing and Air, contact us online or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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