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How to Prevent Plumbing Failures This Winter

Plumbing Tips

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Plumbing failures are definitely not fun. We depend on our toilets, showers, kitchen sinks, and laundry so much every day, but we tend to take them for granted. It’s complete havoc if they stop working, but it’s probably even more catastrophic if the plumbing in a home ruptures or breaks completely. (Parts of your home are generally made out of materials like wood and paper, and contact with water can lead to mold or other serious issues.) Now that winter is coming up, here are a few easy things you can do to make sure your home is prepared.

An Ounce of Prevention

We see outside hose connections that have frozen and burst more frequently than any other kind of plumbing failure during the wintertime. Generally speaking, what happens is people leave their hoses hooked up to the hose bib. Any water in the hose bib will freeze and expand, causing it to burst. Of course, you can prevent this from ever happening by simply disconnecting the hose. But someone might decide to use the water hose on a day when it’s not very cold (maybe to wash the car). A couple of days later, freezing temperatures come and you realize that the hose is still connected. Just try to be extra diligent throughout the winter to keep those hoses unhooked, because it’s an easy way to prevent major damage. (If you just have a hose bib, you’ll also need to find its shutoff valve and cut it off. For frost-free wall hydrants, on the other hand, you can generally just disconnect the hose.)

Winterize

Some homes have plumbing like an outdoor kitchen or outdoor shower. Maybe it’s a dock down at the lake with freshwater. These fixtures need to be properly winterized—just turning the water off isn’t good enough. The pipe can burst if it hasn’t been drained completely. (Air is sometimes used to blow any water out of the faucet.) Ice makers, refrigerators, or other similar appliances might also be on the outside patio. They need to be blown out so that they don’t freeze.

Close off the Airflow

One area that easily gets skipped over is the crawlspace. When a weeklong cold spell arrives with below-freezing weather and wind, it’s very common for all the plumbing inside a crawlspace to get frozen solid. You can prevent that by simply making sure the crawlspace door and vents are all shut securely. Heat from the house will be able to keep the space conditioned enough that the plumbing won’t freeze.

Check You Insulation

In more rural communities we regularly see wellheads, well houses, and well pits where the insulation was wet, unmaintained, or removed during the summer while maintenance was being performed. You’ll need to check the insulation in all of these areas to make sure it’s properly installed and doing its job.

Don’t Forget the HVAC

People with lake houses often turn the heat down low enough to still keep the space conditioned. In that case, it might be a good idea to make sure the HVAC system is working properly. Otherwise, we do offer a winterization service that’s only a call away. If you have any questions about preparing your home for the upcoming winter, contact us today or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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Most people don’t think about their water heater and how it needs maintenance, but it’s just like any other piece of equipment. Our car, house, and even our own bodies need maintenance. If we don’t exercise and eat healthy, we’re probably not going to last as long. If we don’t change the oil in our car, it won’t last as long, either. Maintenance is just a good idea, but it can also be a way to save money.

Most people don’t realize that buildup occurs in the water heater, especially if there’s hardness in the water. Calcium is dissolved in hard water, but as it is heated, the calcium solidifies and accumulates either on the element of an electric heater or on the bottom of a gas water heater. The layer of calcium buildup acts as an insulation barrier, which means the water heater has to work harder to do the same job. Therefore, it will cause over-payment on your electric or gas bill. To help reduce buildup, we will flush the water heater.

The tank that holds the water is kind of like a settling tank. If there’s debris, sediment, or calcium, it’s going to settle to the bottom of the heater. The tank will corrode very quickly if it’s got a bunch of sediment and gunk at the bottom. That’s going to cause premature failure, and we solve that by flushing the tank as well.

We also check the anode rod when we maintain a water heater. (The owner’s manual says this should be done as part of proper maintenance.) The anode rod is there to protect the metal that makes up the tank itself. Once the anode rod is completely depleted, there is no protection left. If we replace the anode rod when it depletes, we can add a couple of years to the life of the water heater (which saves you money).

If it’s been a while since you had your water heater checked and maintained, just reach out to the team at Wisler Plumbing & Air. 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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Here are 8 common plumbing myths we hear the most:

Myth #1: You can leave hoses on frost-free wall hydrants and they won’t burst during winter.

You should remove hoses from frost-free wall hydrants and drain them completely. Otherwise, you do in fact risk a burst during winter.

Myth #2: Putting in an object to displace water in the back of the toilet tank (e.g., brick, bag of rocks, containers, etc.) will save water and/or money.

It doesn’t actually save you water or money. Your toilet still just flushes and fills up the same exact amount of water, because the toilet’s tank float will ensure that a specific amount of water is used.

Myth #3: It’s perfectly fine to pour grease down the drain.

It is not OK to pour grease down your drain because, while it starts in liquid form, it will not wash all the way down the drain unimpeded. As soon as it goes down the drain, it will become solid and potentially clog the pipe.

Myth #4: You can put any kind of food down the garbage disposal.

This is completely false—if you put certain things down the disposal, it will cause it to stop up and result in a problem for you.

Myth #5: It’s OK to flush ‘flushable wipes’ down the toilet.

There is no such thing as a flushable wipe, even though the name might indicate otherwise. You can buy ‘flushable wipes’ at most stores, but they don’t act the same way as toilet paper. Septic systems and sewage systems are made/designed around biodegradable paper. As long as flushable wipes are not made from the same exact biodegradable paper, they are not OK to be flushed.

Myth #6: Drain cleaners are safe and non-toxic.

This is another statement that is completely untrue. The base product in drain cleaners is acid, which is extremely corrosive. You are breathing the fumes and/or dumping the product down a pipe that might be made out of metal (which could potentially damage the pipe). If you’re going to use any type of drain product, use a drain maintenance product instead of a drain cleaner. Some of these products are non-toxic and will keep a clean drain from getting clogged up in the first place. (We do offer a half gallon product with 64 uses.)

Myth #7: Rumbling sounds are a sign that a water heater is going to explode.

Everyone has seen videos of a water heater flying through someone’s roof. But just because a water heater is making noise doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to explode—it could just be due to poor water quality that needs to be resolved.

Myth #8: Cleaning tablets that turn the toilet water blue are cool and/or useful.

These products actually aren’t a very good idea. The tablets you drop into the back of the toilet tank are chlorine-based and contain a high amount of chlorine—enough to damage the rubber components in the back of the toilet, which will eventually dry rot.

If you have any questions about these myths, reach out to the team at Wisler Plumbing and Air by contacting us online or giving us a call at 540-483-9382.

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Now that fall is here and we’re heading into the cooler temperatures, there’s no better time to start getting ready for the change in seasons.

Be Vigilant of Debris

If you have an outside stairwell that has a drain at the bottom, all you have to do is make sure that it stays clean of any accumulated debris so it doesn’t get stopped up. Leaves, acorns, or sticks can definitely get stuck in there more easily during the fall.

Outdoor Plumbing

Aside from that, almost everything related to plumbing will really be about staying one step ahead of winter. The best time to be prepared is now that it’s not an urgent issue—that way you aren’t scrambling the day before a cold spell. The first thing to prepare for the winter months is outdoor plumbing (like an outdoor kitchen or shower). You’ll need to winterize it by removing any water. Disconnect any hoses attached to an outdoor hose faucet, especially if you don’t use them. Any water left inside can freeze and cause them to burst.

Check Underneath

Make sure you also focus on getting any crawlspace or cellar doors closed and ready for the cold weather. If there is any insulation that needs to be repaired or replaced, now is the time to get that taken care of, too. You might have had a leak during the summer, or rain might have caused an outside area to become wet. Get it sealed up and replace the wood insulation so you can prevent any freezing of the water lines or drain lines once it gets really cold.

If you have any pressing plumbing issues this fall or winter, you can always reach out to the team at Wisler Plumbing and Air by contacting us online or giving us a call at 540-483-9382.

 

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Top Considerations When Choosing a New Faucet

 

It’s not very often that someone shops for a new faucet. Here are four important things that everyone should pay attention to when choosing one.

 

How is it used?

 

Make sure you consider the use of the new faucet. For instance, if you do a lot of cooking and use your kitchen heavily, the kitchen faucet is not a place to skimp when it comes to your budget. Something that you might use up to 10 or 15 times a day needs to be able to hold up to that kind of demand. If you install a low quality or cheaper faucet in that kind of environment, you’re definitely going to be disappointed.

 

On the other hand, there are places like a half bath that only guests will use. For areas that aren’t going to receive heavy or daily use, you can probably get by with a faucet that looks nice but maybe isn’t the highest quality. The key takeaway here is just to consider how much use the faucet will get. You’ll want to spend more on a faucet in a master bath that gets regular daily use.

 

One handle or two handles?

 

For a faucet that you will use a lot, I would recommend a single handle because it’s easier to adjust the temperature and easier to use in general. However, in most environments, a two-handle faucet will tend to look better. Remember, if you want a functional faucet, then a single handle will be the better choice. However, if you want something that looks nicer, a two handle is probably going to be a better design.

 

What kind of cartridge?

 

On the inside of the faucet, the component that turns the water on and off and keeps the faucet from dripping is called a cartridge. An important thing to remember is that cartridges can have rubber components in them, which can fail and lead to drips. However, in the last five years, ceramic disc cartridges have become a very popular item. They use ceramic components instead of rubber. If you want a faucet with longevity, I definitely recommend a ceramic disc cartridge.

 

Don’t take a faucet for face value.

 

Although a faucet might look really good, or maybe appear similar to another faucet when placed side-by-side, it might be made out of plastic components that have been chrome-plated or applied with a chrome finish. A chrome finish will not last as long on plastic as it does on metal. Check to see if the faucet’s handles, underside, drain, or spray wand are made out of plastic. This is really how manufacturers make a faucet cheaper or more economical, even though they might look identical to a more expensive faucet on the outside. If longevity is important to you, pay attention to what material the components are made of. Metal will always last longer than plastic in terms of functionality and robustness. Plastic will tend to break or chip much faster.

 

If you have any questions or want professional assistance, all you have to do is contact the team at Wisler Plumbing and Air today. Contact us online or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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