July Newsletter from the Bill Howe Family of Companies

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In This Issue

Deal of the Month

DIY Air Conditioning Maintenance Tips

Company Announcements

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Howe-To Tip:

"Howe" to find out if your water heater is producing enough hot water:

tub faucet

If you think you may not be getting enough hot water, we've got a couple of ways to help you find out:

#1 - Check the capacity of your water heater

A new water heater will deliver about 75% of its stated capacity. To check if you're getting the most out of your water heater start with a full tank of hot water (the burners should not be firing). Using your bath tub faucet, fill up a 5 gallon bucket to drain the water heater. Continue to do this until the temperature of the water gets significantly cooler. Count how many buckets were filled to find out how many gallons you're getting out of your tank. (Disclaimer: We do believe this is an effective way to measure your water heater efficiency, however we don't encourage wasting water. Try using the water for something like filling up your tub for a bath or use the water to wash dishes.)

#2 - Measure the flow of your shower head

Using a container of any size (just make sure how much it will hold), run the shower head to fill up the container and time it to see how long it takes to fill up. Legally, a fixture cannot produce more than 2.5 gallons of flow per minute. Ideally, your faucet should be flowing about 1.5 to 2 gallons per minute. If you find that your fixture if flowing at a high rate, you can reduce flow with a water saving aerator or shower head.

July 2011 Newsletter

Greetings!

We hope everyone had a great 4th of July! It's been pretty hot the last week and we're supposed to have a warm July, so in this
month's beneficial article we wanted to give you a few tips on maintaining your air conditioner to prepare you for our next heat wave this summer.

Have a great July and try to keep cool!

Sincerely,

Bill and Tina Howe

Remember, call 1-800-BILL-HOWE because we know howe.

Deal of the Month

Independence Day Deal:

Little Guy Uncle Sam $50 off water heater installation or $100 off tankless water heater installation

Click here for the coupon.

Expires August 30, 2011, cannot be combined with any other offer.

DIY Tips to Keep You Cool

and Save You Money

Simple do-it-yourself tips to maintaining your air conditioning unit from our experts

The dog days of summer are finally here and we may be getting thermometer and sun more than we bargained for! Hopefully you're not turning on your air conditioning unit for the first time. Testing your unit before the heat wave hits will help you avoid any delays in cooling down your home or business as soon as you need it. Granted, it's already hot so most likely you've already cranked that bad boy up.

We've included some do-it-yourself tips below to help you make sure your unit will be working as efficiently as possible all summer long. We also threw in a tip (DIY Tip #3) that will help you save energy and save money since you're not using your furnace.

DIY Tip #1 - Cleaning your outdoor condenser

Whether you have a regular air conditioner or a heat pump condenser, keeping the coils clean is always important. Clean coils ensure you have proper air flow and keep your unit from overheating. Anyone can clean the condenser as long as it is accessible. First, turn off the power to the unit by either shutting off the circuit breaker and or removing the fuse pull-out at the fuse disconnect box. Once the power has been safely shut off, you can use a garden hose to rinse the dirt off your condenser coils. Be sure to only wash the condenser coils and do not use high water pressure to rinse them off. Your unit is made to be outside and can handle the weather, but it's always best not to get the electrical wiring wet. Once you wash/rinse your condenser coils down, let it sit and air dry for at least 15-20 minutes. Then, safely restore power to your unit and put it back in service.

COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENTS

Bill Howe Plumbing, Inc. Wins First Place Rotary Club Heilbron Award for Paying it Forward

(left to right: Randy Frisch, Bonnie Schwartz, Tina Howe, and Reo Carr)

The first of its kind, the Heilbron Awards were awarded at ceremony on June 23, 2011. Named after the first president of San Diego Rotary Club 33, Carl Heilbron, the award is designed to recognize small, medium and large public and private companies that exemplify the pay it forward spirit and give of themselves and their professional expertise to advance the well being and success of others in the community. Bill Howe Plumbing, Inc. was awarded the 1st place award in the medium business category.

Here at the Bill Howe Family of Companies, we're delighted to give back to a community that has been so dedicated to us for over 30 years!

American Heart Association Heart Beach Ball Recognizes Drawing Contest Winner

(Summer Stewart, winner of the Howe Healthy is Your Heart Drawing Contest standing next to a poster of her drawing)

The American Heart Association hosted their Annual Heart Beach Ball on June 11th at the Hotel Del Coronado and the Bill Howe Family of Companies was a proud sponsor of the event. From March 1st to April 29th Bill Howe Plumbing, Heating & Air and the American Heart Association sponsored the "Howe" Healthy is Your Heart Drawing Contest. The contest encouraged children ages 5-12 to enter drawings of their image of a healthy heart and a description of what they do to keep their hearts healthy. Twelve-year-old winner, Summer Stewart attended the Heart Beach Ball with her father to be recognized for her wonderful artwork.

Healthy Hearts and Healthy Pipes Make Happy Homes!

Looking Great on the Go!

We just launched a new mobile website. Same web address (www.billhowe.com), but now it's easy to navigate and get all of the plumbing, heating, air conditioning, restoration, and flood service information on the go! And of course our phone number is right there too. Just look up our website on your smart phone and check out all the features.

Employees of the Month

Congratulations to the following employees:

Plumbing Tech: Steve Greiner

Drain Tech: Rigo Ceja

HVAC Tech: Eric Curry

Restoration Tech: Josue Diaz

Laborer: Justin Gould

Plumbing Job: Art Brant

Drain Job: RJ Bolas

HVAC Job: Eric Sanchez and Juan Sanchez

Restoration Job: Joseph Navarro and Christian Soto