If you have ever taken a look at the base of your toilet where it meets the floor, you may have noticed a bead of caulk sealing the base of the toilet to the floor. While this watertight seal is important, there is actually a more important seal hidden within the base of the toilet.

Inside, your toilet sits on a wax ring that serves to keep sewer odors from wafting into the room, seal water from leaking from the bathroom plumbing and provides a degree of stability to the toilet installation. You may need to replace that seal if:

• You notice leaking water at the base of the toilet.
• You smell sewer odors in your bathroom.
• The toilet is unstable or rocks side to side at all.
• The toilet was removed temporarily for any reason, such as replacing it or putting down new flooring.

As it happens, replacing the toilet seal is a fairly simple and inexpensive operation. If you know a little about plumbing, you can try to take care of this job yourself, just follow these 16 steps:

1. Shut off the water supply.
2. Empty the bowl and tank by flushing the toilet. You may have to flush twice.
3. Get the bowl and tank completely dry by soaking up any remaining water with a sponge, rag or towel.
4. Remove the bolts that attach the base of the toilet to the floor.
5. Disconnect the supply line the leads into the toilet.
6. Gripping the bowl, rock the toilet gently back and forth to break the seals.
7. Lift the toilet free from the floor.
8. Now you can see the remnants of the old wax ring. Remove all that thoroughly.
9. Place the new seal in place of the old one, centering it exactly, with the rounded side up.
10. Replace the toilet over the seal and flange.
11. Have a seat! No, really; this helps to create a new seal between the ring and the toilet.
12. Reattach the nuts you removed from the base.
13. Reconnect the water line.
14. Turn the water supply back on.
15. Flush the toilet, looking carefully for any leaks.
16. Apply a new bead of caulk to the bottom of the bowl to complete the sealing job.

If you need any help, talk to your local Newark plumber.

Your Mendenhall home’s toilet is not an overly complicated piece of equipment. But in order to work properly, it does require that all of its parts are in the right place and in good shape. Even if something small on your toilet is out of place, it can cause problems like constant dripping or running, improper flushing force or a sudden refilling of the bowl when no one has flushed the toilet.

These problems can sound serious, but many of them are quite easy to address if you know where to look. With most toilets, that place is the flapper valve. The flapper valve is a relatively small rubber plug that fits over an opening at the bottom of your toilet tank. When you press the handle to flush your toilet, the flapper valve lifts up and allows all of the water from the tank to go rushing into the bowl.

The force of this water pushes everything out of the bowl through the drain at the bottom, clearing the bowl and refilling it with fresh water all at once. As long as the flapper valve is able to maintain a tight seal, this process will go along smoothly without a hitch. But sometimes these valves become dirty or simply wear out.

When that happens, water can begin to leak down from the tank into the bowl on an almost constant basis. Depending on the severity of the leak, this may just cause the toilet to run constantly. Or it can even cause periodic “phantom flushes” were the toilet clears the bowl without anyone pressing the handle.

Phantom flushes occur because too much water has seeped down from the tank into the bowl. When the volume in the toilet bowl reaches a certain level, the water in the bowl is forced out, resulting in a flush. This wastes water and can also be pretty startling if you are not expecting it. Fortunately, though, you can usually fix this problem easily enough.

To do this, check your flapper valve to make sure it is keeping a tight seal with the bottom of the tank when not in use. If it is not, you may only need to clean it off to restore the integrity of the seal. In more serious situations, however, you may need to replace the flapper valve entirely. This is not difficult or expensive and can save you a lot of water in the long run. If you need more information, talk to your local plumber.

In the case of a plumbing emergency, the last thing you want to do is watch as more water continues to pour into your Childs home through a burst pipe, broken appliance or busted water valve. So, the first step should always be to turn off your main water supply valve. Here are some tips for finding that valve and getting the water supply off as soon as possible.

Finding Your Main Water Supply Valve

The valve is almost always located in one of two places. It will either be outside at the entry point for the water supply to your house or it will be located in your basement or garage between the inlet and the main water line. In some cases, it may be even be under an access panel in basement. However, this is less common than the first two options.

Once you find the main water supply valve, turn it off to immediately stop more water from entering your home. If you notice that water is continuing to enter your home, you have a problem before the entry valve and should call the city immediately because one of their pipes might have burst.

Shutting Off Individual Appliances

In many cases, the problem is related to a single appliance. If this is the case, you don’t necessarily need to turn off the entire water supply – just the supply valve for the specific appliance or fixture. Every major water fixture and appliance in your home should have its own shutoff valve in an easy to reach place. This goes for every sink, toilet, shower, dishwasher, and washing machine in your home – not having those valves can be dangerous.

Once you have turned off your water supply, it’s time to call a plumber. Make sure to keep track of everything you do (take notes if you can) and supply that information to the plumber both on the phone and when they arrive. It will help them diagnose and solve the problem much faster.

When you think of water filters, you may imagine a faucet attachment or a pitcher with a filter installed. But there is an easier and more convenient way to provide filtered water to all areas of your Hartley house, and that is a whole house water filter system. These units are becoming more and more popular as people begin to realize that it is not just the water you drink that needs to be filtered. In fact, there are many reasons that you may want to filter the water you shower and wash your clothes in as well.

Impurities in your water can affect you and your family even if you do not drink it. And that is why whole house water filtration systems remove contaminants from your water before it even comes near any of the faucets in your home. These types of systems are attached to the main water source for your home and can treat the water as it comes in and before it is distributed elsewhere.

These are generally simple systems, which makes them relatively inexpensive to install and maintain. Of course, your filter will need to be changed on a regular basis and that is an ongoing expense. But most of these filters are designed to filter between 10,000 and 100,000 gallons of water. While each filter will come with a recommendation for how often it needs to be replaced, it is important to remember that you may need to replace yours sooner rather than later depending on the amount of contaminants in your water supply.

You can also get different types of filters depending on the kinds of contaminants you are most concerned with removing from your indoor water. For instance, some water filters are better for removing bacteria and viruses, while others will do a better job of eliminating things like iron or other specific types of minerals and chemicals.

There are many good whole house water filtration systems out there, but finding the right one for your home can be tricky. For that reason, it is a good idea to consult with a professional plumber who can help you determine which product is right for your home.

When it comes to your Greenville home’s plumbing, one of the most important things you can do is perform regular drain and sewer maintenance. Those pipes are vital to maintaining a steady flow of waste water out of your home – if something goes wrong, you’ll regret not fixing it earlier. Here are some easy strategies for maintaining your drains and sewer lines:

• Avoid Unflushable Items – Some items are designed to be flushed down the toilet. Everything else is not. If something isn’t specifically designed to go down your toilet, don’t put it down there. This includes paper towels, napkins, any kind of food, floss, or hair, and anything else that should go in a garbage can. Toilets may seemingly whisk everything away in one flush, but a lot of that stuff can get stuck on its trip to the sewer.
• Clear Drains Weekly – You can’t clean your sewer line without professional help, but you can do your best to keep drains clear on their way out. Use boiling hot water and lemon juice or a mixture of baking soda and vinegar once a week to clear out the drains of any excess build up. Also, avoid putting any grease or other gunk down the drain that might stick to food particles and clog the drains.
• Have Slow Drains Inspected – If a drain in your home slows down significantly, have it inspected. It might be a bit of hair stuck in a trap somewhere, or it could be your sewer line starting to clog. It’s better to know now than to wait and fall victim to a much larger problem in weeks or months.
• Use Drain Strainers – Don’t let anything go directly down the drain. Use strainers to block food, hair or other stuff from getting into the sink or bathtub drains. Hair in particular, when mixed with grease or soap can become a glue-like substance in your drains.

Most drain and sewer maintenance is preventative and common sense. Pay attention to the effects your actions have on the water lines leaving your house and you can greatly reduce the risk that something goes wrong in the future.

Happy Thanksgiving! We would like to thank you all for being loyal customers and helping our business prosper. Have a great holiday; we hope your Thanksgiving is full of friends, family, and delicious food! And to make you day a little sweeter, here is a recipe for Pumpkin Gingerbread from allrecipes.com:

Pumpkin Gingerbread

“A delicious quick bread that will fill your kitchen with spicy holiday scents.”

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large mixing, combine sugar, oil and eggs; beat until smooth. Add water and beat until well blended. Stir in pumpkin, ginger, allspice cinnamon, and clove.
3. In medium bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and blend just until all ingredients are mixed. Divide batter between prepared pans.
4. Bake in preheated oven until toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour.

For more details, click here.

Like most Winterthur homeowners, you’re probably asking yourself why you need water filtration – what exactly happens to your water that makes it necessary to install an entire new system in your home to keep it clean? There are a few things that might be an issue here and your specific circumstances will determine which affects you the most.

Common Water Contaminants

While most homes don’t suffer from all of the following, there is a good chance you will have at least some of these contaminants in your home:

• Sediment
• Bacteria
• Chlorine
• Copper
• Fluoride
• Iron
• Manganese
• Nitrate
• Sulfate
• Viruses

This is only a partial list too – there are a number of other, more exotic substances that might be in your water. Now, this doesn’t mean your water suffers from all or even most of these problems. Many homes only have one or two contaminants and they may not even be immediately dangerous to your health.

But, here’s the issue – and the number one reason that most homes should have a water filtration system. Things change. While your home may not suffer from virus or sulfate infiltration now, it could later. Things happen to the water supply – pipes get old, things get into the water tables and chemical levels change at treatment plants.

The only way to combat these problems is to have a good water filtration system already in place. Specifically, a reverse osmosis system that can remove all of these contaminants through an advanced chemical process.

Testing Comes First

To make sure you have the right system in place to tackle your water contamination problems, make sure you first contact someone to perform full water testing on your home’s drinking water. Because some of these contaminants must be treated with chemical infusions through pumps or special cartridges, it is important to know in advance what you’re up against.

A water leak can be a big problem. Not only does it increase your bill – pouring water out of pipes that you now have to pay for – but it puts your Earleville home and its foundation at risk. Steady water flowing into concrete under your home is incredibly dangerous if left unchecked. Here are some quick tips to check for a leak if you suspect there might be a problem.

Your First Clue

The first clue that there might be a leak in your home is the water meter. If it suddenly starts to rise much faster than normal, you probably have a leak. You use the same amount of water on most days for showers, dishes and laundry. If the meter goes up by double each day, that water must be going somewhere. Many meters will even have a marker on them that indicates a leak (a red flag that you are using too much water and it’s probably a leak).

Finding the Leak

If you notice your water meter rising when all of your water using appliances are off (or the little warning meter is going off), you have a leak – let’s find it.

Start by turning off the main shut off valve to your home. Make sure your shut off valve is working properly by running a faucet after the valve is closed to see if water still comes out. If the leak indicator or meter is still moving after the shutoff valve is closed, the leak is before the shutoff valve, but after the meter. If it’s not moving, the leak is somewhere in your home, after the shutoff valve.

From here, look for signs of water damage or dampness throughout your home (and possibly outside). Most of the time, an indoor leak will manifest somewhere – either in a dripping ceiling or a damp spot on the carpet.

If no such evidence presents itself, look outside for water. Damp spots on your lawn on dry days are a sure sign as well. If you cannot find any signs of water leakage on or around your property, it may be time to call in a professional to take a closer look.

Wednesday, November 16th, 2011

Monday, November 14th, 2011