1. Never call the gas company if you smell gas. Call your local plumber.

What the gas company will do is come to your home and confirm a gas leak. Then, they will pull your meter and tell you must get your entire gas system tested, inspected, and released by an inspector before they will come back to reinstall your meter.

 

2. Frostproof faucets are not supposed to freeze right?  Well, sometimes they do.

We forget to remove the hose connected to it. So a frostproof faucet works like this…The water shuts off inside the warm house space. When it is shut off, the barrel of the faucet empties all the way back to the shutoff area within the warm space. To keep a hose connected is bad because it prevents the barrel from emptying. The water will then freeze and bust the barrel or the mechanics of the faucet.

 

3. Did you know that all new fixtures you purchase have a flow restrictor in them?  

They limit the amount of water you can receive from them. By removing the flow restrictor, you can receive a higher volume of water through them allowing you to wash your hair much faster.

 

4. Tankless water heaters are very expensive, but over time they will save you a boat load of money on your gas bill.

A conventional water heater comes on burning gas at least twice a day without hot water being used and will come on much more than that when you start using hot water. It usually runs for 15-45 mins to reheat the water in the tank. A tankless water heater will only burn gas when you use hot water and stops as soon as you do. Therefore, a tankless water heater is a much more cost effective way to heat water.

 

5. When you get that big water bill and start to panic… don’t. Finding the source of the high cost is the main concern.

Houses built after 1951 by code are supposed to have a shut off at the point of entry to the house. The point of this was to allow for a place to shut off the water for service, isolation of the house and service pipe, and winterizing of a home. With that being said, finding this valve (if the original plumber put it in as they should have) is the first step to finding your leak. From there, isolate the house from service line. If the meter stops, the leak is in the house plumbing. If it doesn’t, then the leak is in the service line coming to the house.

 

6. Toilets have rubber parts inside that allow them to do what they do. Over time, the ( chemical filled ) water will break down the rubber parts, causing problems.

It’s worth having your toilet looked at first if you’re having a high water bill. It’s not always the cause, but it frequently is.

MORE COMING SOON!