Water Conservation Tips

You have probably heard that it is good to conserve water all the time and not just in times of drought. Are you doing enough around the home? Read and follow these water conservation tips for the home to be sure.

Collect Water to Reuse. There are many times throughout the day that we are wasting and not aware of it. For example, when taking a shower we let the water run until it heats up. Did you know that you can collect this water and use it to feed outside plants or flush your toilet? Also, in the kitchen when you are washing fruits and vegetables you can use a tub to collect the overflow and also use it to nourish plants. If you have a pet you can use their old water to give to plants as well. Also, if you have an ice cold drink, don't just throw the ice away, dump it on a plant instead. These techniques combined, could save you 200 to 300 gallons a month!

Stop Running Water When Not Necessary. Turning off the water while brushing your teeth, washing your hands, washing your hair, or shaving can save up to three gallons a day. Using the garbage disposal less can also save, use the garbage or compost instead. Defrost food in the refrigerator instead of with the faucet. Soaking pots and pans instead of letting the faucet run while scrubbing them clean. Also, instead of running water while washing the dishes fill up two tubs instead, one with soapy water and one with fresh clean water. Using a small amount of soap will reduce the amount you need to rinse. This simple technique can save 200-500 gallons a month!

Make Sure You Use Water Saving Fixtures, Faucets, and Toilets. Faucet aerators break water flow into fine droplets while using less and they can also reduce splashing while washing hands and dishes. Low flow shower heads also sometimes called energy-efficient shower heads or water saving shower heads use less energy and water. A typical showerhead uses about 5 to 8 gallons per minute, but most low flow showerheads can reduce this amount to around 2.5 gallons per minute cutting your usage by about 30%. Low-flush toilets also known as low-flow toilets, water-saving toilets, or water efficient toilets only use, on average, about 1.6 gallons per flush instead of the traditional 5 gallons a flush. Switching to a low flush toilet can cut your water usage by 70% per year!

If you need a plumber, call us at 403-279-7554 or visit us at http://www.bakerplumbing.ca/

The Ten Suggestions of Plumbing

Forewarned is forearmed, notably in terms of plumbing. Repairs may be fairly pricey so it will be significant for you and everyone in your house to know a couple of plumbing fundamentals which can save you money and time down the road. Even children as young as five can study a couple of plumbing ideas! Here are the highest ten plumbing checks each house owner needs to know:

1. Plumbing emergencies could require fast pondering and movement on your part or that of a household member. Everybody in your home should know where the principle cutoff for the water is, just in case.

2. Discover ways to learn your water meter. When no one else is home and you already know there isn't a water operating, verify your meter to make sure not one of the dials are moving. If they are, then you might probably have a water leak somewhere. Toilets and faucets are the most probably culprits and may add a number of a whole lot dollars a year to your water bill.

3. Examine for toilet leaks by inserting just a few drops of food coloring within the tank. About 20 minutes later, test the toilet bowl for any presence of color. In case you do see one thing, there may be seepage around the flapper valve. It's a simple fix so long as you know there is a problem.

4.  Try to drain a number of gallons of water from your scorching water heater tank twice a year. This ensures the valve works and likewise allows sediment accumulating on the backside of the tank to filter, maximizing heating efficiency. Higher yet, if in case you have the funds invest in a tankless water heater and watch your utility bills decrease because no power is spent protecting gallons and gallons of water hot in a storage tank. A tankless water heater heats water on demand, while you need it. Certain conditions apply.

5 Once you rest room looks like it would possibly overflow, remove the tank lid and press down on the flush valve, effectively plugging the opening at the backside of the tank. This prevents the bathroom from overflowing whilst you decide the source of the clog causing the problem.

6. Check all water and drain valves operational by opening and shutting them a minimum of twice a year. If you don't do that, a valve could freeze up over time. So if you're caught in a plumbing dilemma and can't flip the valve off, you would be dealing with critical problems and expense.

7. Find the place the stop valves are for the taps and bathrooms in your home. This allows you to turn off water on the problem supply fairly than inconvenience an entire household by turning off the primary valve to the house.

8. Preserve a plunger around for clogged sinks and bathrooms as they are efficient tools for plumbing issues.

9. Put money into just a few substitute parts equivalent to a ball cock and some washers and orings for those simple plumbing fixes around the home.

10. Avoid chemical drain cleaners for eradicating clogs. Instead use a plunger or invest in a roto rooter device referred to as an auger, nickname "snake," for these powerful obstructions in plumbing pipes.

For all your plumbing needs, http://www.bakerplumbing.ca/ or call @ 403-279-7554

Tips on Leaks!

Leaks inside the house, no matter from which area, brings nothing but huge problems for members of the family. That is why you are rushing to get the necessary plumbing repair service in your area in order to put a stop to these leaks as soon as possible. Help your plumbers work on these concerns faster by identifying these safety tips to protect you and your family in the course of the repair:
Note Specific Areas Where Leaks Come From.
You might want to list these areas out if there are too many leaks in the different parts of the house. Or go ahead and place a tape for small pipes of tie a towel around to prevent the water from dripping while waiting for the plumbers to come.
Test Your Other Faucets For Possible Signs Of Leaks
Go around the house and check every faucet. You can even ask the rest of the family members to help you especially if you own a big house and that doing this all by yourself will definitely take much of your time. Provide instructions on what to do with those leaks as a temporary solution to help the plumbers repair additional pipes that leak in other parts of your house.
Disconnect Outside Water Hoses
This may be applicable more on residential projects rather than in those commercial plumbing services. If left connected, there will be more water to put to waste, something that mother nature does not wants us to do isn't it? If you have shut-off valves inside the house, then you can just turn these off to prevent additional volume of water from dripping.
Clear Your Kitchen Sink Of Waste That Causes Clogging
This is the usual concerns of those who are calling for plumbing repair service at home. Do not ever put fibrous waste down the drain. Examples of these are plant fibers from fruits and vegetables like carrots, celery and banana peels.
Do Not Pour Fat Or Cooking Oils Down The Drain
You might think that it is convenient for you to do, but this might be the cause of trouble inside your home. If you already did this, you can pour hot water down the drain to minimize the grease that block these pipes. You can also pour cups of vinegar to help do the same thing and flush the waste on the pipes.
Remove Hair, Soap Bits And Other Debris Near The Sink
The plumbers will help us unclog the drains in these pipeline, however, you also need to do your part. Please clean your sinks with these hair strands, soap bits near your shower sink and dispose these properly. Make their work place as comfortable for them as possible even if their job is considered as a messy one.
Provide Cleaning Supplies Near The Area For Faster Cleanup
This is something that you need to do as soon as they are done with finishing touches on covering those leaks. Ask for any recommended way to clean the area when they are done with their work. This is to make sure that you will not hit parts of the repaired pipes that might cause bigger trouble. If they advised that you let the area untouched for a few days, follow their lead, if that means being a leak free house after a few days then cleaning is worth the wait.
These are just simple, but effective ways to help these experts to come up with a safer plumbing repair service activity as soon as possible. Remember that their job is to look after and repair these problem leaks, so make it possible to let them work safely and comfortably in your place as much as you can.

The Must Haves for Plumbing Tools

You may not run into plumbing issues very often, but when you do they can be a real hassle. Fortunately, most of them can actually be fixed yourself fairly easily. All it takes is a bit of knowledge and a few simple tools and you'll soon be on your way to performing your own plumbing repairs and avoiding the potentially high costs of hiring a professional plumber.

Plunger - Arguably the most popular plumbing tool that most people have is the plunger. By using the application of force and vacuum, plungers can be used to help unclog all sorts of drains, including but not limited to toilets that most people may associate them with. Bear in mind that plungers can come in a variety of styles and sizes so you know what kind to purchase for different types of plumbing. What all plungers have in common is the general design: a rubber cup attached to what is usually a wooden shaft that serves as a handle. Sink plungers generally look like a ball that has simply been cut in half while toilet plungers are somewhat mushroom-shaped. They even make one now that looks like an accordion which is very effective

Pipe Wrench - While perhaps not as commonly owned, the pipe wrench is the classic plumbing tool that comes to mind for most people when they think of "plumbing". Widely considered a must-have for any plumber, pipe wrenches allow gripping around objects of a wide variety of shapes and sizes thanks to its adjustable design. As the name suggests, they are usually used on pipes, whether securing or removing them.
Pliers - While normal pliers can be used for plumbing repairs and even be interchangeably used with wrenches in certain situations, plumbing pliers are usually highly adjustable and have an irregular clamp shape. Such a design allows for better gripping on rounded objects such as piping, naturally.

Drain Snake - Possibly the least known plumbing tool and maybe even the most intimidating, drain snakes are fairly straightforward to operate and can be very useful in solving what may appear to be major plumbing issues without enlisting professional assistance. Thanks to its rigid yet flexible design with an auger at the end, drain snakes can remove tougher clogs when plungers can't get the job done. They can be pushed and navigated through piping with relative ease to otherwise hard-to-reach places. Like plungers, drain snakes can be useful in a variety of situations ranging from toilets to bath tub drains. While they tend to be the most expensive tool on this list, they can arguably also prove to be the best investment.

Teflon Tape or Ribbon Dope - Also called thread seal tape or plumber's tape, teflon tape is used to secure pipe leakages. They are commonly applied on the pipe's threading to provide an effective sealing surface when connecting piping together. Think of it as the duct tape of the plumbing world.
As you can see, investing in just a few tools and learning how to use them can save you on potential costs and headaches that may come with hiring a plumber. With a little practice, many common household plumbing mishaps can quickly and easily resolved on your own.

Of course there may come time when a plumbing issue becomes either too time consuming or too dangerous to fix on your own. In the event you do require a plumber's services call us at 403-279-7554 or visit our website @ http://www.bakerplumbing.ca/

Trouble with Hot Water Tanks

Here's some straight talk and practical advice on how you could repair water heater problems. No hot water coming from the faucet, puddles of discolored water close to the heater tank and banging, popping, gurgling, boiling or other strange sounds coming from the tank are all signs that problems with your system have crept up on you. Because there are many things that can cause problems with your water heating system, it is a good idea to call on a professional to diagnose and repair your tank.
Learning how to repair water heater problems yourself can help you to avoid costly mistakes. If you are on a shoestring budget, early diagnosis is key, but before we go any further, a word of caution: If you go near the unit and smell natural gas (a rotten egg type smell), immediately turn off the pilot light and close the gas shutoff valve. Contact a licensed, certified plumber right away for help with the problem.
Now, one of the most common issues with these systems is that it is not doing its primary job. It is important to remember that gas heaters work much differently than electric heaters and the types of solutions to problems will not then be the same. That said, if you water heater stops giving you enough hot water, the tank may need to be flushed to ensure that mineral deposits are not bringing down the efficiency.

If your hot water is too hot, a plumber can find out exactly what is causing the problem and take necessary steps to repair water heater problems such as replacing your tanks thermostat. By the same token, water heater leaks should be diagnosed by professional plumbers because there is no one cause. Usually the problem with noisy tank heaters is an accumulation of minerals due to hard water.

A plumber may be able to repair the problem by flushing the sediment from the tank. But often it is too late by this time and the heater must be replaced. Foul smelling water that smells like sulfur may mean that your anode rod has been damaged and needs to be replaced by a plumber.
If you find that the water is discolored, in most instances, it is often the result of iron, copper and other minerals being dispersed into the water in your hot water tank. Installing a whole house water filter and flushing the tank will help with this problem. It is also a good idea to have a water softener installed as well.

With all of this in mind, it may be that the most cost efficient way to repair water heater problems is to contact a plumber. Be sure to check the validity of the plumber's business license and that they are insured. With proper maintenance and care your water heater can provide you with at least 10 years of good service. However, when there is a problem, let an expert plumber be your first line of defense.