There is a cure for the summertime blues here in Long Beach - at least if those blues are caused by plumbing problems that can crop up this time of year. Make sure your summertime living is easy by following some simple preventive tips to keep your plumbing healthy - and having access to a professional plumber just in case.
Starting on the outside of your home, if you have embedded sprinklers, they’re liable to be more in use now than at any other time of year. So be sure to clean the heads, and inspect them for any wear and tear.
Inside, avoid wear and tear on your dishwasher, garbage disposal, and kitchen drains following these tips:
Rinse dishes before they go in the dishwasher.
Keep foods like stringy celery, banana peels, watermelon rinds, and corncobs out of your disposal and into the trash or composting can.
Run water before and after you use your disposal to keep the drain line clear. Let the water run for at least fifteen seconds after you’ve put any food down the drain.
Do watch what and how much you put down your disposal at one time.
In the laundry room, with heavier loads of clothes passing through your washing machine, due to summer activities, there are more problems that can occur and wear and tear on your washer and dryer. Replace washing machine hoses regularly every few years to prevent cracks in the lines. Don’t overload your washer. And shake out clog-inducing sand before you toss that bathing suit and beach towel into the machine.
In the bathroom: vacation time means more people in your house, and more toilet paper in use. Limit the amount of paper passing through the pipes at any given time, keep a plunger handy.
And connecting all your plumbing is your sewer line of course. Tree roots grow in summer and can cause intrusion into your lines. Have a plumber inspect your line pipes and let you know if any damage has occurred or if you’re susceptible to problems. A non-intrusive plumbing camera can quickly assess any trouble spots and prevent issues or keep solutions simple.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Sewer Line Maintenance in Long Beach
Sewer lines can cause a world of headaches if they crack, break, or burst. While sometimes problems can occur no matter what you do, it’s relatively easy to minimize the extent of the problem and prevent damage to your home.
How? Maintenance! Just as you wouldn’t wait until you lost a tooth to schedule a teeth cleaning, you shouldn’t wait until there’s signs of trouble before have routine maintenance performed on your sewer line in Long Beach.
Simple, regular maintenance through sewer line cleaning, and line observation by using unobtrusive plumbing cameras can mean the difference between a smoothly operating sewer line and a major plumbing issues.
Viewing any problems before they become enormous is key to providing an fast, cost-saving, and efficient to solution. For example, if you have trees on or near your property, roots will edge their way into any small crack in a sewer line and create the need for major repairs. If you spot that leak or crack early, this can be prevented. Knowledge about deteriorating pipes, rusted sections, or build ups of debris means you’ll be able to find a fast solution. Today, many sewer line repairs caught early enough, can be handled without using conventional, intrusive digging. Pipe lining and pipe bursting, both handled in a trenchless fashion are quick and economical solutions.
Non-invasive plumbing cameras provide your “insider’s look” at the sewer line, and regular maintenance - cleaning the line - prevents a host of problems. After all, if no cleaning or checking takes place, you won’t even know there’s a sign of trouble until trouble arrives. Smelly, soggy spot in the lawn? Backed up or slow moving toilets, sinks or drains? Don’t wait until one of these major issues occurs. A little look around and cleaning of that sewer line can save you time and money.
How? Maintenance! Just as you wouldn’t wait until you lost a tooth to schedule a teeth cleaning, you shouldn’t wait until there’s signs of trouble before have routine maintenance performed on your sewer line in Long Beach.
Simple, regular maintenance through sewer line cleaning, and line observation by using unobtrusive plumbing cameras can mean the difference between a smoothly operating sewer line and a major plumbing issues.
Viewing any problems before they become enormous is key to providing an fast, cost-saving, and efficient to solution. For example, if you have trees on or near your property, roots will edge their way into any small crack in a sewer line and create the need for major repairs. If you spot that leak or crack early, this can be prevented. Knowledge about deteriorating pipes, rusted sections, or build ups of debris means you’ll be able to find a fast solution. Today, many sewer line repairs caught early enough, can be handled without using conventional, intrusive digging. Pipe lining and pipe bursting, both handled in a trenchless fashion are quick and economical solutions.
Non-invasive plumbing cameras provide your “insider’s look” at the sewer line, and regular maintenance - cleaning the line - prevents a host of problems. After all, if no cleaning or checking takes place, you won’t even know there’s a sign of trouble until trouble arrives. Smelly, soggy spot in the lawn? Backed up or slow moving toilets, sinks or drains? Don’t wait until one of these major issues occurs. A little look around and cleaning of that sewer line can save you time and money.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
How to Stay Cool this Summer in Long Beach
Worried about how to stay cool this summer in Long Beach without spending a fortune on air conditioning? Don’t want to come home after a long day at work to heat and humidity? The easy solution of course is to turn on the air conditioning, but that uses up money and energy. It’s just not sound anymore for your wallet or for the environment. In fact, in many locations, the electric company offers discounts for people willing to allow their a/c to be turned off on certain days when energy is at a premium.
With this in mind, what is the alternative to using that air conditioning? Here are some tips.
Use fans whenever you can. Ceiling fans save energy and are proven to reduce temperature by around six degrees. And if you’re going out - turn them off, because they use power, too.
Set your thermostat to 78 degrees or higher and leave it there - but if you’re away at work all day, set it even five degrees higher.
Get a programmable thermostat. Inexpensive and easy to install, you can program your home’s temperature to fit your schedule.
Clean or change your air conditioner’s filter yearly to make sure your unit is working well. Dirty filters mean less air flow and less efficiency.
At dinner time, don’t use the oven! Use the range or the microwave, or make a salad - or cook several meals at once, preferably in the evening, when things have cooled down for the day.
Consider doing dishes by hand so that you can avoid that heat setting on your dishwasher’s drying cycle. Wait until you’ve filled the dishwasher before you run it to save energy.
Try to use dishwasher, dryer, and stove after the sun goes down or early in the morning - that way you won’t be adding more heat to your home when it’s hot outside.
Even your lighting can help you keep things cool - compact fluorescent light bulbs use 75% less energy and generate 75% less heat than standard bulbs!
With this in mind, what is the alternative to using that air conditioning? Here are some tips.
Use fans whenever you can. Ceiling fans save energy and are proven to reduce temperature by around six degrees. And if you’re going out - turn them off, because they use power, too.
Set your thermostat to 78 degrees or higher and leave it there - but if you’re away at work all day, set it even five degrees higher.
Get a programmable thermostat. Inexpensive and easy to install, you can program your home’s temperature to fit your schedule.
Clean or change your air conditioner’s filter yearly to make sure your unit is working well. Dirty filters mean less air flow and less efficiency.
At dinner time, don’t use the oven! Use the range or the microwave, or make a salad - or cook several meals at once, preferably in the evening, when things have cooled down for the day.
Consider doing dishes by hand so that you can avoid that heat setting on your dishwasher’s drying cycle. Wait until you’ve filled the dishwasher before you run it to save energy.
Try to use dishwasher, dryer, and stove after the sun goes down or early in the morning - that way you won’t be adding more heat to your home when it’s hot outside.
Even your lighting can help you keep things cool - compact fluorescent light bulbs use 75% less energy and generate 75% less heat than standard bulbs!
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