As reviewed with Pat McMahon recently, thousands of Valentines will be taking their romance to the bathroom this year. With soft music and candle lite baths, but before homeowners turn down the lights they should make sure their shower and bathtub are safe from clogs, mineral deposits, and life-threatening bacteria.

The bathroom can quickly become a safe haven for germs and even life-threatening bacteria. This is one of the major reason it is essential to maintain a regular cleaning schedule with a home’s drains and pipes.

When Texas A&M University microbiologist Rita Moyes, PhD tested 43 water samples from whirlpools, she found that all 43 had mild to dangerous bacterial growth.  Almost all showed bacteria from fecal matter; 81% had fungi, and 34% contained staph bacteria.  According to Moyes, the main reason whirlpool tubs are so dirty has to do with the lining of the pipes.  Water tends to get trapped in the pipes, providing a breeding ground for bacteria.  When the jets are turned on, the germy water spouts out into the tub where homeowners will be soaking.

1. Flush the drains, toilets and grease traps at least once a month with BioBen. This will keep the pipes clear and issues resulting from clogged plumbing at bay. It also doesn’t contain any hazardous chemicals, so homeowners never have to worry about sacrificing the safety of the environment for the sake of a clean and functioning drain.
2. Fill each sink to the brim, and then pull up the stopper. The volume and weight of the water will completely fill the drain pipe and flush the drain line. Once every three months, fill every sink and tub in the house with water. With the help of friends or family members simultaneously pull all of the drain stoppers up and flush all toilets in the house. This large volume of water will help flush out the larger sized drain stacks and underground building drains.
3. Soak each showerhead in vinegar overnightand scrub off excess mineral deposits in the morning. This will help maximize water pressure. Simply tie a plastic bag filled with a cup of vinegar around the showerhead before bed and remove in the morning.

Pipes should be given a cleaning every six months by a professional plumbing service. In addition the cleaning of pipes and drains, look closely at pipes for cracks and breaks.  Cracks in the pipes can cause leaks, both slow and fast, which can ultimately lead to damaged cabinetry, ceilings and flooring, mold and even termites.

Regular cleaning of drains and pipes can prevent clogging, flooding, breeding of bacteria and ultimately preserves the condition of fixtures and the health of the occupants of the home.  Scheduling time to do a check-up on the piping in your home may be the best and most important choice to make this Valentine season.

If you’d like to schedule an appointment with us, feel free to visit us online at http://www.benfranklinplumbingaz.com/ or call 480-485-1111.

Looking for a little pop of glam in your accessories for the holidays? Try something unexpected like this…

You may have seen the hints of gold and copper accessories hitting the runways this fall and we’re here to tell you theres a very simple and affordable way to do it yourself.

Did we mention it was actually pieces of piping? Not all plumbing pieces are used for plumbing repair only

You can head to your local home improvement store and pick piping pieces in all shapes, sizes and metals. Once you pick out your pipe ask for a piece cut between one and three inches – depending on the size you’re looking for.

Then all you have to decide is whether or not you’re going to go for a sleek or casual pony tail, a cute braid, or experiment with different updo’s.

To insert the clip into your hair, just twist the hair style and slip the clip up to the spot you would like it in. If you’re worried about it staying put just wrap a small elastic hair band under the clip.

Whichever way you decide to incorporate the DIY hair cuff you can be guaranteed the cuff itself will be the easiest part. We would love to see your styles. Check out our facebook page: and send us pictures that we can feature on our next DIY Blog!

Thanks to our friends at glitterandpearls.com for sharing DIY Plumbing inspired fashion tips!

If you’re looking for a centerpiece that you can use well past the holidays then we suggest this DIY project. These earthy tones can be used all year long depending on the color themes in your house. You can even take the basic concept and switch out the color themes to give the center piece a more festive feel when wanted.

In this example wooden spools were used so that we could cut them down to different height ranges in the center piece. But you can also use one of our favorite pieces of supplies… plumbing hardware! Both have the perfect opening when using them vertically to slide in candles, an essential element to any center piece.

If you’re using wood, you can use a glue gun to fasten them to your base. In this example the spools were glued to the lid of a large round box. You can find similar items at your local craft store, or mix it up by going with a unique shape. Maybe you even have something lying around your house that you could recycle?

After it’s glued together slide in the candles. For this one we chose tea lights. But you can play around with colors, scents, sizes and even battery operated ones.

Next, start choosing what you would like to fill the center piece with. This example uses a mixture of spools, ornaments and decorative balls (dig into those christmas storage bins and i’m sure you’ll find something. If not take off to your local craft store or Ikea)

Throw in some big pine cones to be reminded of the holiday season, weave in a string of battery operarted lights and it’s as simple as that!

Enjoy this easy project and if you have any tough plumbing projects, save time call the punctual plumber Benjamin Franklin Plumbing 602-485-1111.

A special thanks to ‘Something from Nothing’

Today’s Do It Yourself Project is a Holiday Wreath.. and it happens to be made with plumbing materials! If you’re looking for one of a kind holiday decor or just a fun holiday do it yourself project then this is for you! Most of these things you can either find lying around your house, tucked into holiday decoration boxes in your garage or pick up at the store for under ten dollars.
Click HERE for some Christmas music while you CRAFT!

The Square Christmas wreath is assembled out of:

5 – 6 feet of thick garland or 12 feet of cheap, sparse garland (double up the cheap stuff)

66 inches of 1/2 ” plastic plumbing pipe

4, 1/2″ 90° plastic elbows

(The plastic pipe will run you about $5
and the elbows around 50 ¢ each.)

Twist ties

Holiday Decor add on’s (pinecones, glittery leaves, feathers, etc.)

Mini lights

First start with the piping. Cut your plastic pipe to 4 lengths of 16.5 (if you don’t have the tools to do this at home you can have the hardware store cut them for you)

Then insert the pipe into your 4 elbows

After you connect all the pieces you should have a square frame for your wreath.

Next you’ll need your garland. We took the traditional green, but feel free to experiment with glitter garlands or even feather boas if you plan on using it for inside holiday decor in a kids room. You can even skip a step by getting garland that already has lights woven in. (But technically your garland should not have the lights on it at this point so that the lights are easier to replace if broken later on) Next, lay your garland around your frame. Remember you can double up on the garland if needed!

After you lay the garland around the frame, attach it to the plastic frame with wire. Twist ties work best because they’re pre-cut and fairly inexpensive. Do this all around the wreath until all of the garland is secured.

From here, all you have left is to add the lights (if your garland didn’t come with them) and your add on holiday do-dads.

TIP: It’s easier if you hang the wreath up to do this. That way you can see exactly how it’s going to look. You can hang it with an old wreath hanger or pick one up at the dollar store.

NOW you can put your mini lights on. Instead of running them around and around the wreath, lay the lights on top in a zig zag fashion. That way if your lights need to be replaced you can easily remove them.

Once the lights are on you can add in your birch twigs, leaves and pinecones. To attach the pinecones, just hook some wire around the pinecone and then tie it to the wreath.

You can also pick up wreath add ons at your local super store or craft store for a few dollars that already have wire ties attached to them.

The best thing about making your own wreath is you can reposition things if they don’t look good. You can also reuse the base year after year, and just switching out the add ons if you want!

And then for the final product….TADA!

A huge thanks to Theartofdoingstuff.com for today’s inspiration!