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 Fri, Jan 22, 2010
Improve the Performance of your Furnace with a Heating Performance Check
Auto repair experts say the single most important thing you can do to improve the performance and reliability of your car is to get the oil checked regularly. It’s a simple, inexpensive maintenance chore that can add years of life to your vehicle and save you thousands of dollars in repair bills down the line. That’s the same reason home heating professionals recommend you schedule an annual Heating Performance Check with a licensed Lorain County heating professional.
Save Money on Your Heating Bill with a Heating Perfomance Check
An annual furnace inspection can pinpoint potential problems before they become tragic disasters. Not only does an annual Heating Performance Check ensure that your home furnace is working at peak efficiency, but an experienced heating professional will also check for gas or carbon monoxide leaks to ensure the safety of your family. Tragically, deadly carbon monoxide fumes from improperly working furnaces kill families in their sleep every year. The best way to protect your family against this odorless silent killer is to have your furnace inspected by a licensed heating professional every year.
A properly running furnace burns less fuel, saving you money on your heating bill. And with Lorain County temperatures regularly dropping into the double and single digits during the winter, an annual Heating Performance Check will protect your family from a chilly middle-of-the-night breakdown. Annual furnace inspections catch small problems while they’re easy and inexpensive to fix.
It's Not too Late to have a Heating Performance Check
In Lorain County, the best time of year to schedule your annual Heating Performance Check is in late summer before you fire up your furnace in the fall. However, it’s never too late in the season to make sure your furnace is operating safely. It’s also important to schedule your annual Heating Performance Check with a licensed Lorain County heating professional with the knowledge and experience to recognize potential problems and fix them before they cause disaster.
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!
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Mon, Dec 07, 2009
Avoid Major Expenses by Calling A Plumber
It’s a wise homeowner who knows when a job is over his head and it’s time to call in the pros. Plumbing problems fall into the category of repairs many homeowners will attempt even though they lack the proper knowledge, required experience or necessary tools. Home repair books may walk you through simple repairs like replacing the snap-on flush valve inside your toilet tank, but more complex repairs usually require expert knowledge and experience to repair safely and effectively.
Delaying the call to your plumber while you fumble around trying to figure out where the problem is and how to fix it, particularly if your have a leak, allows additional damage to occur. Most water leaks happen inside interior walls or ceilings where you can’t see them. Considerable damage can occur before the problem becomes visible. By then, that annoying drip that echoes from the ceiling may have soaked, weakened and damaged wallboard, plaster, subflooring and support beams. Your minor repair has now turned into a major expense.
There are things you can do to prevent plumbing problems from occurring and we’ll talk about that sometime. But if you hear water dripping inside your walls, see a water stain developing on walls or ceiling or “bubbling” plaster, notice water collecting around the base of the toilet or tub, observe water spraying or dripping from a pipe or can’t turn off a dripping faucet, it’s time to call the plumber. Because water can run along pipes or interior structures for some length before dripping, it usually takes a professional plumber’s expert knowledge of plumbing systems to locate the source of a leak. Don’t risk expensive damage to your home. If you suspect a leak in your plumbing system, call the expert plumbers at Raymond’s Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning.
Is it time for you to call your local plumber? If you live in NorthEast Ohio give us a
call.
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Fri, Dec 04, 2009
Did you know that while 70% of our planet is covered by water, only 3% of it is fresh water, the kind we drink and use? And most of the Earth’s fresh water is frozen in the polar ice caps or in mountain glaciers. Only 1% of the fresh water on our planet is available for human use. With more than 6 billion of us competing for every drop, there’s just not enough water to go around. By 2025, the United Nations estimates that two-thirds of the world’s people will live in areas without enough potable water to meet their needs. Water is such a vital component of human survival – we die without it -- that many politicians believe the world’s next great war will be fought over water rights. “Blue gold” is quickly becoming the planet’s most valuable commodity.
Environmentalists believe that the long-term droughts being experienced in California, Australia and parts of Africa are a harbinger of even more severe weather conditions that will plague the planet in the not so distant future. People are being urged to start saving water now in the hope of averting a major disaster. Flushing your toilet is the single greatest water consumer in most homes. Asking your plumber to replace out-dated water-guzzling toilets with modern low-flow and dual-flush toilets can save the average U.S. family of three at least 21 gallons of water a day and more than 7,000 gallons of water a year. With most folks paying premium prices for water service these days, installing more efficient toilets in your home can significantly decrease those expensive water bills.
The experienced professional plumbers at Raymond Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning can guide you in selecting water-efficient toilets appropriate for your family’s needs and provide expert professional installation.
If you want to cut your family’s water usage, give the plumbing experts at Raymond a call.
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Fri, Nov 20, 2009
These days we’re all watching our budgets. No one wants an unnecessary repair bill; but as we mentioned in our last post, there are times when trying to repair it yourself can actually cost more. Plumbing is one of those home repair areas where homeowners often overestimate their skills. Delaying a call to the plumber can allow a small problem to become a big and much more expensive problem. There are a number of things, however, that homeowners can do to keep their plumbing system working efficiently and minimize the need for plumbing repairs.
Backups cause most plumbing emergencies. If your sink or tub drain backs up, grease or hair are the most likely culprits. Limit potential problems by preventing these materials from entering drains.
- In the kitchen, strain grease into an empty soup can or allow it to congeal before disposing of it in the trash.
- If grease does get poured down the drain, you can minimize potential damage by pouring a cup of vinegar, a squirt of liquid detergent and boiling water down the drain.
- In the bathroom, use mesh or plastic strainers from the hardware store to catch hair before it goes down the drain.
- Every few days, remove the tub/shower drain cap and pull loose hair out of the drain. Fringe the ends of a plastic straw and use it to hook loose hair.
- Once a month use a drain cleaning product to keep drains clean.
Toilet clogs are another source of emergency plumbing calls. Keep a plunger by each toilet, and plunge vigorously at the first sign of clogging. Never flush sanitary napkins, disposable diapers or disposable wipes down a toilet, even if the box labels them “flushable.” They aren’t. Keep objects away from toilet tanks and keep toilet lids closed to prevent inadvertently flushing toys or air fresheners. If you can’t remove the clog, it’s time to call Raymond Plumbing.
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Mon, Nov 16, 2009
Don't Ignore the Drip of a Leaking Faucet!
Man, I hate that steady drip, drip, drip that makes it hard to fall asleep at night, but once you’re up and charging through another hectic day, a slow drip coming from a sink or bathroom may be easy to ignore. You may not even think about it again until night falls and you’re heading off to dreamland. But a leaking water faucet is something that demands immediate attention.
Even a slow leak can wind up costing you a bundle if you ignore it. For example, if your bathtub has developed a slow but steady drip, say 1 drop per second, you are wasting about 8 1/2 gallons of water a day. That’s a bit more than 259 gallons a month and a whopping 3,154 gallons a year. No matter what you pay for water, that’s expensive! And the cost goes up the longer you wait to call the plumber.
This Could Get Ugly!
If you have a faucet leak, wasted water might be the tip of the iceberg. Often leaks occur where they aren’t visually evident. If you’re lucky, you may hear dripping in a ceiling or behind a wall, but too often leaks are never discovered until damage becomes apparent. Bathtub or toilet seals can seep, water pipe fittings may weep, pinprick holes can develop in out-of-sight pipes, pipe bends under sinks or cabinet floors can corrode. You may never realize you have a plumbing problem until the wall plaster starts to blister or the bathroom floor rots through depositing your tub in the living room or termites invade your foundation drawn by the moisture caused by a leak in your crawl space. All true stories and just a sampling of the horror stories attributed to leaky pipes.
Bottom Line - Call Your Local Neighborhood Plumber
It never pays to put off calling a plumber when you have a leak. Repair costs are never as expensive as the cost of ignoring the problem and paying for extensive repairs. If you're in Lorain County, Ohio, give us a call. We can help you sleep better at night and rest easy during the day.
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Fri, Aug 14, 2009
Find out how to unclog your sink drain in under 90 seconds with the experts at Raymond Plumbing.