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In a typical home, more than 9,000 gallons of water are wasted while running the faucet waiting for hot water. 

As much as 15% of your annual water heating costs can be wasted heating this extra 9,000 gallons. (Ask us about the solution)

Though we all have heardthe many slang-words of which his cognomen is probably responsible for, the truth is... there is no hard evidence anywhere that English plumber, Thomas Crapper was the inventor of the modern-day amenity that often bears his less-than-flattering name (it's believed Crapper may have bought the patent rights from another man - Albert Giblin - and marketed the concept as his own).

More toilets flush during half time of the Super Bowl than during any other time of year.

The toilet uses more water than any other appliance in the house. 

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Greetings!  

Merry Christmas! I hope you are as excited about the coming of the New Year as we are here at Casey's Plumbing. Everyone has had some real financial challenges in recent years, including our businesses. But going into 2013, I feel we're finally going to begin pulling ahead and start growing again.

This will be good news for you as well because of the added staff that will be added to the team. We're adding help in order to provide you, our clients, more timely service. Again, our work load has finally picked up enough that more technicians will be required to keep a friendly schedule  to all.

Because we're just now going into the "very cold" weather season, we are leaving our earlier "how to winterize your home" instructions in our newsletters until things warm up.

Speaking of "very cold weather", do you know what to do if a pipe in your plumbing system were to break? Do you know where to shut your water off in case of an emergency? If not, you're in luck because in this month's newsletter, we have provided some easy to understand instructions on locating your water shut off valves.

And finally, you won't want to miss this moth's "Recipe of the month" Samoa Bundt Cake. Caisie Breen prepared this cake for her Aunt Becky as an early Christmas present -  everyone just loved it!

We wish you and your family a wonderful 2013, complete with the determination and energy to complete new goals that bring happiness and good health to you and your family.

See ya next year!

 

Locating Your Master Shut-Off Valve

When an emergency such as a major leak or broken water pipe occurs, the first thing you will need to do is shut the water off. If you act quickly, you may prevent costly water damage to your home and valuables.

 

Your master shut-off valve is sometimes located next to your house in line with or near the water meter. Your water meter is most often located if front of your house at the curb. 

 

If you have a basement, you should find your main shut off valve at the wall closest to the street. If not here, keep looking at other walls as shut offs in a basement almost always enter in the basement. The picture below is the home shut off valve located at the basent wall. You'll notice that the pipe pictured here is old galvanized pipe which hasn't been used in over 40 years. Piping used since then could be copper, Wirsbo, Pex, or CPVC.

 

It may be in the garage or utility area. Once you find the master shut-off valve, test it to see that it works properly by closing it and checking to see if the water is off. 

 

Notice that the valve pictured below also has a pressure reducing valve installed just downstream from the main shut off. City pressure must be reduced if it exceeds 80 PSI. This valve was found in a garage.

 

 

Note: Your home's shutoff valve may either be one with a round handle or a lever type as both show above.

 

Label the valve with bright colored tape or a sign. Make sure everyone in the home knows where the valve is located.

 

If you have a pipe break indoors and the water seems warm, you can simply shut the water off going in to the water heater thus leaving the cold water on to the

 house. 

 

In the image below you will see the shut off valve feeding the water heater, above the water heater and on the right side of the two pipes coming through the  wall.

  

 

If you have a water rupture under a sink, it may be that a supply tube burst. To see if this  the problem, carefully reach in to the cabinet and turn the shutoff valves off. If the water seems warm, be especially careful not to get burned. 

 

If all else fails and you simply want a professional to deal with your water emergency, call Casey's Plumbing. We'll have the problem repaired in no time.

  

  503-620-9111

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MORE THAN JUST A 20% SAVINGS

including 20% off any work performed*.

They also receive special treatment when calling in for a service call; they go to the front of the line regardless of how many non-Diamond Club Plus customers were on the board. 

A Diamond Club Plus member will receive a FREE annual plumbing and electrical evaluation to ensure your system is safe and operating smoothly.  

And finally, it's FREE! The $14.95 monthly dues accumulate in an account to be used for future work. So let's say that you've been a member for 10 months and now need some plumbing or electrical work done. You will now have accumulated around $150.00 that can go towards that work. So there you have it; it really is FREE.

Because we couldn't possibly accommodate all of our clients, we limit the membership to 22% of our customer base. So if you are interested in becoming a member, do so today.  

Just call, 503-620-9111 and tell them you want special treatment too and are ready to sign up for the Diamond Club Plus.

*Does not apply to larger bid type work. 

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Tips for hiring a contractor

MONEY SAVING COUPONS

All Plumbers Are Not The Same  

• All Casey's Plumbing employees are background checked to insure that a safe person is entering your home.

• All employees at Casey's Plumbing are drug tested to insure that an alert professional will be performing your plumbing work.

• We offer a full two year warranty (three years for Diamond Club Plus clients), on all our repair work and a lifetime warranty on all workmanship. That's right - if any work we perform ever fails due to workmanship, we will repair it at no cost to you.  

Sure, there are a number of plumbing contractors out there to chose from and it's always a good idea to get more than one quote when choosing a contractor. 

But I want you to know, that when you need a plumber, we'll be there for you. There will be no price surprises and if you are unhappy at anytime with our service, we'll do the job over for free! 

So who should you choose?  

I am humbled and indeed proud, of the loyal customer base we have grown and believe that if you give us a chance, you'll be a happy loyal client as well.

You'll be happy with our service - I personally guarantee it!

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Standard outside faucets with winterization shut off valves.  

 

 

If you have a garage, there is a good chance that there is an outside hose bibb or hydrant,  attached to it along with a service valve located somewhere in the garage (usually somewhere in close proximity to the water heater - see below). 

TYPICAL BALL AND WASTE SERVICE VALVE

The shut off valve to your garage hydrant is either a ball and waste or another form of valve with a waste cap. Note: The "waste cap" is to allow air into the system so that when you turn off the valve to your hose bibb, air can displace the water. 

Turning the above valve off without opening the "waste cap" will result in a vacuum. As such, water cannot drain even though the water is shut off and the outside hydrant completely open.

Below are a couple of images to illustrate taking off the "waste cap" to prepare the faucet for draining. In theory, you are only required to loosen the "waste cap" to allow air into the system. But as you can see from the below image, there is a small rubber gasket up inside the cap.

Opening the "waste cap", to ensure the drain line is open and can get air to drain properly. Sometimes this gasket will get stuck to the drain on the valve body, thus not allowing air into the system.  That's why I remove the cap completely, allow a little water to drain out (see above) just to make sure the drain is open, and then replace the cap back onto the drain with just a turn or two making sure it is still loose.

And you're still not done yet. The majority of modern outside hydrants also have an Anti Siphon Valve at the tip. Exercising this is the final step to winterize your outside hydrants.

 

 

 

As you can see, the Anti Siphon Valve above has a pin protruding out of the spout. After performing the earlier steps, the last step is to push this pin to the side and hold it until the water is drained. On some vacuum breakers like the one above, will have a ring to pull down or lift up. Use the same instructions for these as well.

Here are all the steps, in order to winterize your outside hydrant...

• Close the service valve (see above).
• Disconnect garden hose from outside faucet and leave it disconnected for the season.
• Open the outside faucet and leave it open.
• Return to service valve and open the "waste cap". After making sure that the gasket is not stuck and blocking the flow, place the cap back on the drain loosely.
• And then finally, return to the outside hydrant and exercise the Anti Siphon Valve (see above). 

Clearly, it's no wonder so many end up with broken pipes even though they thought they prepared properly. Again, the most common mistake made when winterizing the above outside hydrant, is that some or all of the above steps are not performed properly.

Frost Proof Hydrants

If you have a frost proof hydrant, the only thing you need to remember to do is to disconnect the garden hose connected to it. This is because a frost proof hydrant has a long stem that will actually stop the water on the heated side of the house. So when a garden hose is left attached, the faucet barrel cannot drain. 

If you have left the hose connected all winter and are unsure if there is damage, simply turn it on. If it froze up, the barrel is likely cracked and will leak inside the wall, only when the valve is turned on.

              
As you can see, this faucet has a long stem designed to stop the water on the heated side of the room. After turning this valve off, the excess water left in the faucet drains on out of the 6" to 30" barrel. But if you have a garden hose connected, it cannot drain and thus will freeze and break during harsh weather. (SEE BELOW)

When this happens, the faucet will leak everytime you turn it on to use it.

So again, if you have a frost proof faucet REMEMEBER TO DISCONNECT YOUR GARDEN HOSES BEFORE THE FREEZING WEATHER SETS IN.

FOUNDATION VENTS

Another common over sight when preparing for winter weather is leaving the foundation vents unprotected. These vents must be open in the warmer weather to allow your home to breath. 

But during the winter, they must be blocked to prevent arctic winds from freezing your pipes. No matter how well you insulate your pipes, if the arctic winds are allowed to enter the crawl space, they will simply take longer to freeze, but freeze they will!

                              

               

APPLY VENT COVERS FROM THE OUTSIDE  / OR FROM THE INSIDE

Of course, if all this is more than you want to tackle, you can always hire a professional. 

For your plumbing preparations, give us a call! We'll always be there for you.

If you just need a little advice, feel free to call Caisie Breen at 971-563-9418.

  503-620-9111

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