The top three things every homeowner should do in order to ensure their natural gas or electric water heater is working properly.
As temperatures around the Valley are starting to drop making sure a home’s water heater working properly is becoming increasingly more important.
1. Visually inspect the water heater every month. Take note of any new rust spots, water heater problem, discoloration, etc. If the outside of a water heater has visual changes, the interior is changing as well.
2. Check to make sure the water heaters on / off valve is working properly every month. If a homeowner has a small water leak and they go to turn it off and the valve breaks in place it can result in a terrible water leak. It’s best to check the water heater valve regularly and practice turning the valve to avoid problems when you need it.
3. Have the water heater flushed once a year, make sure any and all built up inside is removed annually to prevent water leaks and retain great hot water.
It is always recommended by all water heater manufactures to have a licensed plumber check it yearly and make sure it is working safe and properly. There are many parts inside the water heater along with parts that keep the water heater working safely to protect the home and everyone around it.
Did you know that more than 90 million American’s will be traveling over the holidays. Homeowners can expect on average 12 guests at their dinner table for holiday celebrations.
Toilets will have extra use over the coming weeks as we approach Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Christmas and New Years. Everyone thinks of baking desserts, making beds and dusting fans but no seems to think about giving their toilet a check up before guests arrive.
The average person uses the restroom between six and eight times each day. Homes with 12 or more guests can expect an increase in toilet traffic during this peak travel season, as many as 96 extra flushes per day.
Plumbers across the country celebrated National Toilet Day on November 19th and Benjamin Franklin, The Punctual Plumber was no exception.
In honor of National Toilet Day we wanted to share 19 interesting toilet related facts.
1. The toilet is flushed more times during the Super Bowl halftime than at any time during the year.
2. The toilet is the home appliance that uses up the most amount of water.
3. The most expensive toilet in the galaxy is found in space. Each toilet in space costs about 19 million dollars.
4. Most toilets flush in the key of E flat.
5. The first time male and female toilets were separated was in Paris during a high-class party in 1739.
6. The first toilet ever seen on TV was on “Leave It To Beaver”. The first movie to show a toilet flushing was in the movie “Psycho”.
7. An average person visits the toilet 2500 times a year, about six-eight times a day.
8. The average person spends three whole years of their life sitting on the toilet.
9. The average life expectancy of a toilet is 50 years.
10. Over $100,000 US dollars was spent on a study to determine whether most people put their toilet paper on the holder with the flap in front or behind; the answer: three out of four people have the flap in the front.
11. Every year, there are more than 40,000 toilet-related injuries in the US. The odds are 1 out of 10000 that you will get a toilet-related injury this year.
12. There are 333 squares of toilet paper on a roll.
13. On average, consumers use 8.6 sheets per trip – a total of 57 sheets per day. That’s an annual total of 20,805 sheets!
14. The White House has thirty bathrooms. The Pentagon uses about 636 toilet paper rolls per day.
15. Dentists have recommended that a toothbrush be kept at least six feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush.
16. The first toilet cubicle in a row is the least used (and consequently cleanest).
17. The average desk harbors 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat
18. Car steering wheels carry more than twice as many germs as a toilet seat
19. Lack of suitable toilets and sanitation kills approximately 1.8 million people a year, many of them children.
For more fun facts and information about Benjamin Franklin, The Punctual Plumber please visit: http://www.benfranklinplumbingaz.com/.
Thank you for reading my blog, if your toilet is needing some extra attention to make it through the rest of the year, please use our easy real time online booking system or call us at 480-812-1855, mention this blog to receive $39.00 off any toilet repair this week.
The leaves are changing, the temperatures are breaking, haunted houses are dotting the landscape and it’s beginning to look a lot like fall.
Carving, baking and painting pumpkins is an age-old Halloween Tradition. However, it can turn into a plumbing disaster if the excess pulp and seeds go anywhere near the homes plumbing.
With the increase calls to local plumbers due to clogged garbage disposals and backed up sinks Linda Stanfield with Benjamin Franklin, The Punctual Plumber is here to share tips and tricks to avoid potential plumbing problems this holiday season.
“We stay busy during Halloween, people don’t realize how stringy, slimy substances from the pumpkin will harden and can stick to the pipes,” said Linda Stanfield, owner of Benjamin Franklin, The Punctual Plumber. “Our service professionals are available 24/7, 365, we can repair plumbing emergencies and get our customers back to their Halloween activities and guests with little delay.”
The challenge to keeping pumpkin pulp and seeds from causing plumbing problems is being cautious when removing and disposing of the pumpkin’s remains.
Benjamin Franklin, The Punctual Plumber has this advice to offer:
Carve pumpkins away from the kitchen sink, on newspapers, magazines or plastic.
Throw all pumpkin-related material and newspaper directly in the garbage or into a compost bin.
Do not put pulp and seeds into the garbage disposal or toilet.
For the bakers Linda has the following recommendation –use the pulp and seeds for Halloween sweet treats including desserts, breads and muffins. Recipes that use both pulp and seeds are available on several popular cooking websites. Some of our favorites come from www.pumpkinrecipes.org
When you’re stressed sometimes water can be the best relief. Whether it’s swimming, hot showers or just a bubble bath.
However, too many of those high-pressure showers and you could end up paying for more than the increase in your water bill.
Water flows throughout your house because of water pressure. Too much pressure and the faucets can actually begin to wear down, leading to leaky valves and dripping faucets.
You may even have this problem in your home now and have thought:
“Well, it’s just a small drip… how much water can a little drip like this really waste?”
And you’re right. A single drip from a single faucet won’t waste much water.
But did you know roughly 3,000 little drips could equal a whole liter of wasted water and about 15,000 of them could equal a gallon?
Sure you’re probably thinking – “Now that’s a lot of drips! There’s no way my little problem could turn into THAT!”
But think about every faucet in your home dripping a little bit all day long. Soon those little drips would add up. Not to mention if you don’t fix the pipes that those drips are dropping from you could soon end up with an unexpected flood from even the smallest of cracks in the piping.
So now maybe you’re wondering…
“Well how do I make sure this doesn’t happen to me?”
The answer to that is simple! Just make sure to check your water pressure on a regular basis! You can learn how to check your pressure by follow these easy steps:
1) Purchase a water pressure test gauge from a local home supply store.
2) Attach the gauge to an outside water faucet and turn it on fully. Then, look for a reading between _____ psi and _____ psi for the Phoenix area, but that range could different depending on where you’re from.
The easiest way to find out what your gauge should be reading is to check with a local plumber, likeBenjamin Franklin Plumbing, or with your town’s local water department.
3) Then check the water pressure inside your house by attaching the gauge to your bathroom shower, kitchen or bathroom sink. You will want to make sure to test the pressure any where water runs to make sure enough water is reaching every faucet and that there are no leaks!
As always please feel free to call your local Benjamin Franklin Plumber at 602-903-1111 with any questions or concerns or to book your next appointment! Remember if there is any delay it’s you we pay!
Water, whether you drink from your faucet, your fridge or a pre-packaged bottle is not what it used to be. We as consumers can tell by key factors like taste, smell and even appearance.
We have talked about what’s in your water. We have talked about how cities are trying to decontaminate it and what those decontaminates are like chlorine. We have talked about how they are affecting your plumbing and even a few ways to prevent that water from entering your home like with a whole house filter system.
What we haven’t talked about is exactly what contaminates are in your water, let alone what household items are flowing with that water around in your pipes.
A recent article by Readers Digest released what is truly in our tap water. “60,000 chemicals are used across the country—and can get into our drinking water—though the EPA enforces limits on fewer than 100.” Out of what was found, some could be expected like animal waste and pesticides especially around smaller, rural towns. Others, like medical waste, arsenic and rocket fuel were a bit more of a shock. The largest shock was how much was slipping through the checks and straight into our homes.
We’ll tell you here, exactly whats in our water and floating around with it in the sewers…
Have any questions about whats in your water? Call us at Benjamin Franklin, The Punctual Plumber today at 602-485-1111. Mention this Blog post, and we’ll even come out and check the quality of your water for FREE!
But the real question is: What would you do if you didn’t have a toilet…
The reality is that billions around the world don’t have access.
Flush toilets are unavailable to a majority of the developing world and over 3 billion people worldwide do not have access to any form of toilet or latrine system. Therefore, these people must result to urinating or defecating in public. Numerous health issues come from the lack of suitable toilets along with safety concerns especially involving women using a public form of bathroom.
Did you know lack of toilets and sanitation kills approximately 2 million people a year most of whom are children?
In order to bring safe, clean toilets to the developing nations the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation along with UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, African Development Bank African Water Facility, Water Services Trust Fund and German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and WASH for Life are teaming together for a water and sanitation challenge to reinvent the toilet.
Over 8 different universities worldwide are currently underway to create technology that will reinvent the toilet as “a stand-alone unit without piped-in water, a sewer connection, or outside electricity—all for less than 5 cents a day” according to PRNewswire.
We are here to help you and your family be sure your toilet is safe while keeping you healthy, if you have any concerns please contact Benjamin Franklin Plumbing or call us at 602-903-1672, to help you stay healthy.
As we discuss bathroom renovations one of the leading renovations that comes to mind is with the shower or bathtub. However, even though the shower is one of the leading bathroom renovations, it is usually only a simple renovation of the showerhead fixture.
But if you are looking for a new showerhead consider one that gives you options… even if it is just two options between a rainfall or a waterfall
When it comes to renovations, most people are unaware how a shower, bathtub or even the combination of the two can be the definition of your bathroom and just how much you can actually do to renovate it.
First you must decide:
Are you renovating a shower or a bathtub?
If you a renovating a bathtub consider what material you would like to have your tub made out of. With customized homes come more options of a customized bathroom in which homeowners usually have more flexibility with design options.
However, you still have plenty of bathtub options that only vary depending on the size of the room you are fitting the tub in.
Your bathtub has the ability to fully define the room. Whether your bathtub is customized by you, or a designer the options for patterns and material are endless.
Technology has given us the ability to put a modern take on the shower bathtub duo.
But if you are looking for just a Shower Renovation…
Start with something like this..
and finish with something like this…
You can also try going green by installing a shower that is water conscious.
The Shower Brake is a water controller that designates an amount of water (when pushed up) that is sufficient for most showers. The controller descends while you shower to let you know how much water you’ve used.
Then there are also the shower options that are without plumbing…
The pocket shower easily folds up so you can take it on the go!
If your ready for a change in your Bathroom shower or tub area, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing can help you come up with just the right update for you!
Contact us today for a free estimate when mentioning this blog, call 602-485-111 or click www.benfranklinplumbingaz.com to make an online appointment.
Summer is a perfect time for home renovations. Whether you simply come up with the ideas and hire a trusted professional to install the renovations, or decide to make it a do it yourself project, either way, there are endless possibilities.
Over the next few days we will be discussing bathroom renovations from showers, sinks and even toilets, highlighting the top and over the top trends to make your bathroom one of a kind.
Whether you decide to fully renovate your sink, including what the sink dish resides in or just decide to switch the faucets there are several options for any bathroom theme.
A bathroom sink renovation could involve fully replacing the sink bowl or in the form of a do it yourself project you re-design the outside shell of the sink by painting it or using a graphic sticker.
The most popular form of sinks in bathroom design is a vessel sink. Offered in many materials, shapes and colors your vessel sink can either be the key accent piece or a complementary and charming accent to whatever theme you may decide.
If you would like to go fully modern, try an unusual shape for your vessel sink. For a list of the different materials offered in the form of a vessel sink look here.
If you want to start renovations with a small change to your bathroom, start by renovating your faucet. Switching to a sleek and modern silver design like the one above will make a noticeable difference in how you feel about your bathroom, whether it be a master bathroom or a hallway half bath.
If you want to try something fun and unusual when it comes to accent colors, try colors in an LED light. These one of a kind sinks are sure to be an eye-catcher for any guest and will be sure to keep your kids entertained.
Then of course there are also the bathroom renovations that to some are considered over the top
but can truly bring your bathroom theme to the next level.
So whether you choose to begin with bold…
…or subtle differences to your bathroom…
Or decide to take on an entire renovation be sure to contact Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, your guide to a flawless installation.
All plumbing, just like a home itself, needs repairing with age.
As water pipes age they become weaker and the chance of a crack is greater, leaving you as a homeowner with the uncertainty of how much damage even a small leak could cause.
Today, water is still mostly transported in metallic pipes or systems, especially in older homes. Homes with these galvanized iron water supply lines eventually clog with deposits, or become brittle and prone to fractures. With these pipes, the simpler the iron, the greater the risk of corrosion resulting in lower water pressure.
Pipes can corrode because of age or even by wear and tear from natural elements like a mixture of soil and water. The combination of the two will wear against the exterior of the pipes eventually making its way into the pipe itself. This not only leaves the pipe weakened but can also affect both your water supply and your wallet if the pipes crack and burst. The easiest way to check for corrosion with Iron is in the form of rust.
Another thing that could affect your water pipes is water pressure.
Weakened pipes can cause low water pressure, but a problem within your water pump could actually have the opposite effect, building too much pressure in your pipes causing them to rupture.
So take the proper precautions to make sure that your pipes are clog free, crack free and at a well-balanced water pressure. Working at a fast and efficient pace, we will make sure your pipes are properly working. If you need a replacement we will make sure to install high quality pipes, checking that the joints are tight and sealed properly. So make sure to have regular checks by your trusted plumber, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing who in the case of an emergency will make repairs, clean ups and restoration easy and stress free.
Water damage is one of the most common and costly disasters affecting U.S. residences and Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, The Punctual Plumber is on a mission to teach homeowners what they need to know about getting their homes vacation ready. Avoiding water damage is possible with the right preparation. As more Arizonans’ take to the road and the sky this vacation season my goal is for every homeowner to come back to their home and plumbing exactly how they left it – in working condition. Cracks in pipes as small as 1/8-inch can release up 250 gallons of water per day.
According to the National Flood Insurance Program a 1,000 square foot home with just one inch of standing water will cost the resident more than $10,000 in damages.
The cost doubles to $20,000 in damages with six inches of standing water.
In fact, according to theChubb Insurance Corporation 37% of all homeowners claim they have experienced losses due to water damage. The Insurance Information Institute has said these homeowners and renters accounts for billions of dollars in losses annually.
It’s imperative to check the plumbing around the home before leaving for vacation. If they aren’t careful homeowners can return from their vacation to their very own exotic plumbing adventure. There are several simple proactive things each homeowner can do to prepare and protect their homes for vacation.
Here are my top 10 plumbing tips before leaving for a weekend getaway or a six month excursion:
Linda Stanfield showing ABC 15 Smart Family how to use the main shut off valve.
Turn off the main valve to the plumbing system. Make sure the valve is properly working before walking away. There will still be water in the system, but no new water will enter into the system while you’re gone. Only turn it off if nothing around your home needs water, such as pool fills or pumps that need water while you’re away.
If homeowners can’t turn off the main valve: shut off individual valves under your sinks, behind the toilets, at the Reverse Osmosis unit, behind the refrigerator and behind the washing machine. Only turn off the valves that are in good working order.
Even if the main shut off valve was used, be sure no valves or supply lines are wet or leaking before leaving by checking under each sink and toilet in the home.
If there is plumbing behind the refrigerator, pull it out. Check to make sure nothing is wet or corroded behind the refrigerator.
Look around both the homes water heater and softener for wetness and leaks. Each has their own shut off valves that can be used to lessen the chance of water damage.
If the water heater is in good condition, turn the thermostat to vacation on a gas heater. On an electric heater turn the breaker off at the main electrical breaker box. This will avoid wasting energy for heating water while away.
Add water to all drains, and BioBen, before leaving to keep them wet and will help avoid returning to odors.
Walk around the outside of the home make sure nothing is leaking outside before leaving.
Homes with drinking water systems, especially older systems, need to be careful of any cracks in the line. Cracks turn into breaks. Breaks are often the culprit causing water damage in many homes. Some systems can be turned off individually at the valve under the sink to lessen the possibility water damage.
If the homeowner is going to be away for an extended period of time, ask a neighbor to stop in and walk around the home to check that nothing has broken or continues to run while away.
I know these tips are fairly common, but I also know that if they’re not followed they can cause serious damage and cost upwards of $5,000. When they are followed these simple tips will protect homes and provide the owners with a little extra peace of mind while away.
