Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Thu, Jul 08, 2010
How Much Water do You Use? Gauge Your Personal Water Consumption
Water conservation is becoming an increasingly important issue. In order to start saving water, it helps to know how much water you use for common tasks. Lorain County residents can use this handy guide to gauge their personal water consumption. We’ve also provided helpful suggestions for cutting water use.
- Shower. Letting the water run continuously during a 10-minute shower uses 50 gallons of water. Cutting shower time to 5 minutes decreases water use by 50% to 25 gallons. If you like long showers, install a low-flow shower head which decreases water use by 50%.
- Bath tub. Filling a standard-sized bath tub uses 36 gallons of water. Filling your tub only half full uses just 18 gallons, decreasing water use by 50%.
- Toilet flushing. Depending on tank size, standard toilets use 5 to 7 gallons of water per flush. Placing a displacement bag inside the tank reservoir cuts water use to 4 to 6 gallons. Replacing your toilet with a low-flow toilet that uses just 1.6 gallons of water decreases water use by 73%.
- Washing hands. Washing up while the tap runs uses 5 gallons of water. Filling the basin to wash your hands uses just 1 gallon of water, a water savings of 80%.
- Brushing teeth. Running the tap continuously while you brush your teeth uses 10 gallons of water. Turning on the water only to wet your brush and periodically rinse it uses just 1 gallon of water, a 90% savings.
- Dishwasher. Turning your dishwasher on for a full cycle uses 16 gallons of water. Using the short cycle uses only 7 gallons, a 56% savings.
- Hand wash dishes. Washing dishes by hand with the tap running continuously uses 30 gallons of water. Washing and rinsing dishes in a filled sink uses only 10 gallons of water, a savings of 66%.
Your Plumber Can Tell You About Water-Conserving Plumbing Products
See your local Lorain County plumbing professional for water-conserving plumbing products.
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Fri, Apr 09, 2010
If You Have a Plumbing Leak Let a Plumber Help You Check the Little Things Before They Become Big
It’s every Lorain County homeowner’s nightmare. You hear a steady drip, drip, drip; but you can’t figure out where it’s coming from. Sometimes finding a plumbing leak is easy. When you go searching for the source of that annoying nocturnal dripping, you find a leaking faucet or a running toilet. If giving the spigot handle an extra turn or jiggling the toilet handle doesn’t do the trick, you know it’s time to call the plumber. But often when you hear something dripping you simply can’t pin down the location of the leak. Because you don’t know what kind of damage they’re causing, hidden leaks should spur you to call your plumber right away.
When plumbing springs a leak, the problem can be as simple as replacing worn gasket but often a water leak is the sign of a more serious problem. Even a small leak in a toilet or bathtub seal can result in major damage in a short time. When plumbing leaks, the longer you wait to call your Lorain County plumber, the more water you waste (and pay for) and the greater the chance of serious damage.
Water leaking inside a wall or under a cabinet or inside a ceiling can seriously damage plaster or wall board, causing it to stain and bubble and weakening it structurally. In severe cases, structural elements can become so saturated that they fail, sending tubs or toilets crashing through ceilings into the rooms below. While that may be a worst-case scenario, damage is often great enough to force Lorain County homeowners to replace sections of wall, flooring or ceiling to repair water damage caused by plumbing leaks.
If you hear something dripping, turn off the shut off valves where you hear the leak or turn off the main valve (usually located in your basement) and call Raymond Plumbing today.
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Tue, Apr 06, 2010
Lorain County Homeowners Should Know Where Water Shut-Offs Are Located
Do you know where your water shut-off valves are? It might seem an odd question to ask Lorain County homeowners, but many homeowners – especially first timers – don’t know how their plumbing systems work and where essential components are located. If you experience a water leak in your plumbing system, knowing where the water shut-off valves are located can mean the difference between a little damage and an expensive home remodeling project.
When you buy a house, it’s a good idea to have the current owner show you where water shut-off valves are located, but you can find them yourself with a little bit of sleuthing. Nearly everything in your home that uses water – sinks, toilets, tubs, dishwashers, washing machines -- will have two water shut-offs – one for cold water and one for hot water. These valves are usually located directly under or behind the sink or appliance, although they can be hidden inside a wall or cabinet.
When water shut-offs are hidden, most newer homes have removable access panels that allow your Lorain County plumbing professional to reach plumbing components for adjustment or repair fairly easily. However, in older homes, plumbing may have been walled off inside plaster or wallboard walls or between floors and ceilings. An experienced Lorain County plumber usually has enough knowledge of plumbing practices in the area to locate hidden plumbing components. While most homeowners choose to leave hidden fixtures alone unless a leak develops, plumbing access panels should be added whenever possible.
Most of the time, homeowners either see or hear a leak, but sometimes tracking down a leak requires the assistance of a professional plumber.
Next time: What to do if you have a plumbing leak
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Thu, Mar 18, 2010
Now is the Time to Inspect Your Plumbing
Spring is just around the corner in Lorain County. The cold winds of March are about to give way to rainy April showers which makes this the perfect time to inspect your plumbing systems to make sure they’re in peak working order. Even a slow drip or a tiny leak can add up to thousands of gallons of wasted water and a substantial hike in your water bill. Leaky pipes also attract animal and insect pests including rodents, termites and carpenter ants. If you discover a plumbing problem, no matter how minute, call an experienced Lorain County plumber immediately. Fixing a small plumbing leak today can save you money and aggravation down the road.
You may want to have a licensed Lorain County plumber who is familiar with plumbing systems and experienced in detecting potential plumbing problems perform a spring plumbing inspection of your home or business, but you can do it yourself. Look for the following spring plumbing problems:
- Check all faucets and plumbing fixtures (faucet handles, shower heads) for drips or leaks.
- Make sure all drains have clean strainers to prevent hair and debris from clogging drain pipes.
- Check toilet tank and bowl for cracks and leaks. If your toilet occasionally flushes independently, it may have a faulty flush valve or hidden leak. To test for leaks, add a half dozen drops of food coloring to the toilet tank and wait 30 minutes. If the toilet in the bowl is colored, you have a toilet leak that may require replacement of the flush valve assembly or tank seal. If toilet handles have to be jiggled or held down during flushing, the valve assembly should be replaced.
- Check to make sure your sump pump is plugged in and operating properly.
More spring plumbing tips coming soon.
You can stay cool this summer and keep your cooling systems in tip-top shape with an A/C Performance Check. if you schedule now, you get a free estimate, plus $20 off our regular fee.
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Wed, Jan 20, 2010
Start Saving Water Now Before we are Forced to Choose Between Driking Water and Using it for Santitation
“No Loo? No I do.” is the catchy, chuckle-inducing jingle that is responsible for the construction of 1.4 million toilets in India. But a lot of young men aren’t chuckling. In rural India, new brides are refusing to walk down the aisle unless the groom promises them a toilet. “No Toilet, No Bride” is the slogan of a women’s rights campaign geared to bring indoor plumbing to rural India where half the population – nearly 665 million people – still lacks access to private toilets.
Community toilets and latrines or the open fields are often the only lavatory option in the small villages that dot India’s countryside. Lack of modern sanitary facilities is more than a lack of convenience. Poor sanitation can spread diseases like typhoid, diarrhea and malaria. Women are driving change with new-found social power. They want bathrooms with modern toilets and it looks like they’re going to get them. As one love-struck 22-year-old recently commented to The Washington Post, “I will have to work hard to afford a toilet. We won’t get any bride if we don’t have one now.”
India’s privy plight might bring a chuckle, but it should also make us appreciate what we have. Of course, climatologists warn that if we don’t start conserving our water supply, the day may come when we don’t have enough water to flush our nice, modern toilets. Last summer, severe drought in California, Georgia and the Southwest had some folks catching shower, bath and dirty dish water in buckets and using it to flush their toilets. Some fear that climate change will force us to eventually choose between drinking water and using it for sanitation. Scientists are urging people to start saving water now before we reach a crisis point.
Find out what you can do! Water conservation tips you can implement at home.
Water saving toilets qualify for the energy-efficient tax credit. Save substantially on your monthly energy bills and help the environment at the same time!