Greetings!
Six more months and another year will be gone!
Summer is officially here with the 4th of July just a week away. Service calls in terms of what type are all over the board for me right now, but several recent ones have had to do with outside hose bibbs (spigots). Sometimes there is a simple fix that will save you a service call on these. |
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Sometimes A Hose Bibb Leak Is A Simple Fix And Sometimes It's Not |
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A common call for me this time of year is that the customer's hose bibb is leaking. My first question is always where is it leaking from. If the answer is right under or behind the handle, then it may just be that the packing nut is loose. With an adjustable wrench or a pair of pliers, gently turn the nut clockwise (righty-tighty, lefty-loosey). If this doesn't fix the problem, then it's time to schedule a service call. If the hose is leaking where it connects to the hose bibb, be sure that there is a washer in place and that the connection is tight.
If water is coming through the wall/siding of the house or you can hear it leaking inside, the hose bibb is more than likely freeze damaged and will have to be replaced.
If a hose bibb is located in a place that is not convenient for whatever reason, don't think that you are stuck with this forever. Sometimes there are some solutions that can make access much easier by either adding a permanently mounted extension or relocating the hose bibb altogether.
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| Where Does Your Sump Pump Discharge Go? |
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I truly wish that the plumbing code would require builders to connect all sump pump discharge lines to the storm sewer and to do so with 3 inch PVC pipe. In a perfect world perhaps, but that will never happen. I have been getting more and more requests to come up with a permanent solution that is legal and will not end up turning the yard into a swamp. The job pictured below was done for a customer who lives in my neighborhood. For years, the sump pump discharge line has been an issue for various reasons. When I had to replace the sump pump and saw what they had, I came up with the solution of running the discharge line from the side of the house to the back yard where access to the storm drain was located. This solution isn't always possible and it certainly isn't inexpensive to get done, but the sump pump discharge line will never be the headache in the future the way that it has been in the past.
Something else that I always try and do is install a relief discharge for the sump pump on the outside of the house. If the end of the discharge line ever becomes obstructed, the water will go up the relief discharge and then dump onto the ground. Not a perfect solution, but better to have the water dump outside then to burn up a sump pump and flood the basement.
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| White Vinegar Isn't Just For Cooking |
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A customer years ago told me that she used equal parts of baking soda and white vinegar in all of her sink drains and had never had a stoppage in the 40 years that she had lived in her home. If you use this simple home remedy, use small amounts and put the baking soda in first and then the vinegar.
White vinegar can also be used to dissolve hard water mineral deposits for your faucet aerators and your showerheads. Simply pour some vinegar into a baggy and secure this to the faucet or shower arm with a rubber band to hold it in place. Let this soak overnight and the next morning, the faucet/showerhead will be flowing as good as new.
Hard water deposits on the sink around the base of the faucet? Soak a dish towel or small rag with white vinegar and lay this in place overnight. The hard water deposits will be gone the next day.
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| Recent Angie's List Report For Heffner Plumbing |
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Here is a recent report from Angie's List: "David does a great job. He comes when he says. He is very responsive. He does not look like a plumber. He looks more like a college professor or a doctor. Like a doctor, he is very responsive. For my water heater, I sent him an email and then called him and he had already read my message. He does quality work. I have not had any issues with either job. He is very conscientious, wears booties in the house, and cleans up after his work. He is very professional. I would recommend him and will use him again and again."
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