“A Royal Flush Is Better Than A Full House!”

Did you know its World Plumbing Day!?

WPC mission statement is: “To promote the role of plumbing in improving public health and safeguarding the environment, by uniting the World Plumbing Industry, for the benefit of all.”

Join us in saying a great big THANK YOU to everyone (especially our hard working plumbers and technician’s) who work hard everyday to ensure we have clean, safe water and that our sewage continues to flow! It can be a tough and sometimes very tiring job!

As a part of World Plumbing Day and our appreciation for indoor plumbing, clean healthy water and safe sewage systems we must also remember the importance of water conservation in our daily use and taking care of our home and business plumbing systems.

A few things to remember to help conserve our water and plumbing systems!

• Shut the water off when not in use.
• Upgrade to a low water consumption use toilet.
• Install a new shower head.
• Ensure all plumbing leaks are promptly repaired.
• Upgrade old water lines to ensure clean, proper and efficient water flow.
• Only run your dishwasher when it is full.
• Replace old appliances with new energy star appliances (dishwasher and washing machine).
• Install a water softener which will clean your clothes better and rinse soap off your body, dishes and clothes easier.
• If you notice your drains are slow or not draining properly, have this investigated before it causes a back up into your basement.
• Space out your water usage rather than doing large amounts of laundry in one day (which can flood your septic system) space it out over the evenings of the week and only do a couple loads on the weekends.
• Use a rain barrel to catch rain water for use in gardens.
• Ensure you have a proper septic system – septic tank and weeping bed.
• Know the location of your septic system and weeping bed. When your home was built there would have been a septic plan.
• Ensure the septic tank lids are always accessible – this is especially important during the winter if you have a back up. There are risers and plastic lids that can be installed which are easier accessible at anytime of the year.
• Check your septic tank yearly to ensure it is draining properly and pump when the sludge build up is lessening the capacity of your tank. (Approx 3-5 yrs) When in doubt always call a professional.
• If you have a garborator in your home ensure your septic tank is pumped yearly – or if you are on a septic put your food scraps in a composter.
• Never put any kind of grease down your drains or into your septic system.
• If you have a septic system be careful what cleaners you use in the toilet – heavy bleach cleaners can kill micro-organisms important in breaking down and treating waste water.
• Do not flush paper towels, baby wipes, feminine products, kitty litter, condoms or anything other than toilet paper down the toilet. Even if the product says “flushable” ! We’ve flushed out many blockages due to these “flushable wipes”!
• Do not pour any chemicals into the septic tank – the system is designed to work with the natural biological’s which enter the tank to break down.
• Never drive over, park on or build over top of your weeping bed. In the winter it is important to never plow the snow above your weeping bed, this will help insulate and prevent freezing in colder winters.

How does your Plumbing System Work???

Here are a few pictures to give you visual of the system!

This is a typical home septic system.

A colour coded diagram of a home’s basic plumbing system.

A home’s plumbing system coming out to the main sewer.

For those of you connected to town water and sewer,

The Home Comfort People

We will heat you up and cool you down!

• Clear any brush or debris away from your vents and air conditioner condenser outside.
• Remove any debris from your eavestrough and roof. Repair any leaks in the eaves to ensure proper drainage.
• Examine your roof to determine if any shingles were damaged or fallen off during the winter.
• Check all exterior taps to ensure once turned on there is no leak inside or out.
• Walk around your home and check the grading to ensure all landscaping, decking, patio stones or paving is properly slowing away from your home and safe with no cracks or broken deck boards.
• Check all exterior electrical plugs for proper operation – if there is any damage or a plug is not working be sure to call a qualified and licensed electrician to repair.
• Pull the lids off your septic tank (if you have one) and check to ensure the tank is properly draining. If you notice your tank has a lot of sludge in it or that your drains are gurgling or slow its time to book a septic tank pumping.
• Pull out all furniture from walls and thoroughly vacuum and clean behind and under them.
• Change your furnace filter and vacuum all registers and cold air returns by removing the grates and vacuuming into the duct openings.
• Check all windows and doors (inside and out) for any cracked caulking or wood damage.
• Check all indoor plumbing for any leaks and repair or call a professional as required. Ensure if you have a sump pump it is working properly so it is ready for the Spring thaw.
• Check for dampness in your basement to prevent any mould or mildue growth and ensure your rooms have proper air flow.

  Arrange your Spring Cleaning and Service for your HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) Equipment including your Furnace, Boiler, Water Heater, Air Conditioner, HRV, Unit Heater, Tube Heater etc…

It’s another extremely cold winter day.

Cold temperatures with blowing snow, it can be a disaster for your home’s Plumbing and Heating!

1. Go out and dig ALL the snow away from all Heating vents – Furnace, Water Heater, Dryer, Fireplace. Blocked vents can cause your system to fail – it needs fresh air to breathe!

2. Some vents have a little screen in them (to stop critters from climbing up in) this can freeze over with the condensate exhausting from the furnace, if it does just pull it out and ensure the vents are completely 100% clear. Remember to replace this in the spring!!!

3. Prevent your water from freezing by running all your taps consistently over the day to keep water running through the pipes or leave a tap running. Especially if you have washrooms you rarely use.

4. If you do not have a heated basement get a heater for the mechanical room – A small room heater that is meant for indoor use will help! Also ensuring the room is well insulated will help too!

5. Its too late – your pipes have froze…
– Leave the cupboard doors open so heat can get to the pipes.
– Insulating your pipes will help as well or putting a piece of hard foam insulation at the back of the cupboards.
– Place a small heater close to the pipes – be very careful not to leave it in the cupboard and unattended – do not create a fire risk. If you do not have a small heater, a lamp will help provide extra heat.
– Open your taps so that the water has somewhere to expand to, if it does not this is when pipes will burst.
– It is essential to have heat in your mechanical room.
– Wherever your water pipes are outside do not drive over this area as it can push the frost down and cause pipes (and even sewage/septic lines) to freeze!

6. No Heat – no one wants to wake up chilly, especially with temps as low as they are this morning! Do you have back up heat? Its always a good idea to ensure you have a heater or two just in case your heat goes out. A technician will get to you as soon as possible, however in the mean time this will help keep the chill off. Please do NOT use your stove, BBQ or any heater intended for outdoor use in your home – this could be potentially dangerous to you and your family. Start with re-setting your furnace, sometimes it will reset and start up. If this doesn’t work – ensure your vents are entirely clear – this includes down into the pipe where snow and ice can hide causing a blockage.

7. Pets and Children… Please do NOT leave your pets out in these temperatures! It’s way too cold for children to play outside – make it a board game movie day or check out public skating.

8. Vehicles will need to warm up even just for a few minutes before driving.

9. Clear all the snow and ice away from all doors to ensure a proper latch for them to stay properly closed. In temperatures like this it won’t take much to cause problems!

10. It’s Family Day weekend, if you really do not need to go out, Don’t! Enjoy the day with your family and stay cozy warm!The sun is shining brightly but its darn cold out there!