Plumbers Jacksonville FL - Surviving the Perfect Storm

By Billy Aldridge

With Hurricane Sandy making a beeline for the New Jersey coastline, we Floridians are glad that we managed to duck another bullet.  But you have to remember that major storms hitting the Northeast are not an everyday event.  In sunny Florida, storms are a common occurrence.  With that in mind, the last thing that any homeowner in Florida wants to do is wait until the next major deluge is underway to batten down the hatches.  Below is my take on a storm preparedness checklist.

A stands for Action Plan

While many Floridians have weathered a hurricane or two in their lives, you would be surprised how many people choose to wait until the last minute only to fly by the seat of their pants.  While this may have gotten you through some tight spots in the past, this scenario is not going to be sufficient to protect you and your loved ones if a prolonged power outage accompanies a blow.  While help inevitably comes, after a major disaster, there is no telling how long you are going to be on your own.  One of the things every family needs to do long before hurricane season begins is to have an action plan to know what to do when Mother Nature turns nasty.  While you may choose to ride out the storm in your home, you need to establish a regrouping point should you be forced to flee.  While having a cellphone is a wonderful way to communicate, this is usually one of the first things to go down in a hurricane.  So you will need to have alternative means of communicating such as a walkie talkie or handheld marine radios.

B is for Bathrooms

Bathrooms are not only a necessity, they can also be a life saver.  While most people can go without food for days or even weeks, the human body can fail in three days without water.  If a storm is severe enough, it can compromise sewage treatment plants, which means that water coming out of the taps would be considered unsafe to drink.  While many people stockpile bottled water during an emergency, this is one of the fastest commodities to become depleted should disaster strike.  One of the best things you can do to prepare for an emergency is to fill the bathtub up with water.  Not only will this supply be safe to drink, but you can also ration it out for washing and cooking purposes as well.

C = Camping Gear

If you will recall the four hurricanes that came barreling down I-95 to hit JAX in 2005, then you know that power can be cut off after a major storm for days or even weeks.  If you want to get through the worst of it without having to turn into a refugee, then you need to have a supply of camping gear available.  This should include a tent or two, depending upon how many people you hope to shelter.  You should also have a camp stove and supply of waterproof matches, a saw, an axe and no less than one hundred feet of rope at hand.  Not only will this help you campout in your backyard, which may prove more comfortable than staying in a house without air conditioning.  But it will also allow you to begin the cleanup process and secure your valuables until help arrives.

D means keep your drainage clear

Water, not wind, is the cause of the worst damage during and after a major storm.  If Hurricane Katrina was any indication, the last thing you want to do is have four feet of standing water inside your home once a storm has past.  While many of the poor souls in New Orleans live below sea level, as all too many homeowners in Jacksonville know, there are many low lying areas in town.  So when the rain is coming down in buckets, that’s the worst time to find out that you have either a partial or total blockage in your drains.  If you suspect your drains are becoming blocked, it’s best to contact a plumbing contractor to clear the blockage before a storm can flood your home.

E stands for Electricity

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that big storms cause big damage to the power grid.  When you are sitting inside your boarded up home listening to flying debris bonking off the plywood covering your windows, you know that it probably won’t be long before you are plunged into darkness.  The problem is that once the lights do go out, most people don’t realize that they need to throw the main to the off position so that when the power comes back on, the surge created won’t do damage to major appliances.  If you do have a backup generator, make sure it is well clear of the house before you start it.  There’s nothing more toxic than carbon monoxide.

F is for Food

While a supply of ice in the fridge is usually sufficient to keeping groceries from spoiling for a couple of days, you certainly don’t want to open the fridge until the lights come back on.  This means you need to have at least a two week’s supply of canned goods and packaged food on hand.  You will also need something and somewhere to prepare them.  If you don’t have a camp stove, you can always use the gas grill (outside once the storm breaks) to cook.  Therefore you need to make sure you have a full bottle of LP gas ready before the storm starts. 

G means Gutters

If you have gutters on your house, they are a natural sump for leaves, branches, loose shingles and all forms of wind whipped debris that if not cleared can cause a backup and roof leak as standing water can get under the shingles and into the house.  Therefore you need to make sure that the gutters are clear and that water can flow freely before the start of a downpour.  You should also have a number of tarps handy that you can use to patch any roof leaks that can be caused from fallen limbs and flying debris.

H stands for Hanging on until help arrives

While time seems to slow down and storms seem to last forever when you are hunkered down in the middle of one, the last thing you want to do is to start wandering around in its aftermath.  As bad as things on the home front might seem once the storm is past, there are still imminent dangers from downed power lines, broken branches and receding flood waters that are best to avoid.

Billy Aldridge is one of the Doctors of Plumbology at Aldridge and Sons Plumbing, a family owned and operated residential and commercial plumbing company in Jacksonville Florida.  To review even more helpful tips and how-to videos visit their website at http://plumbers-jacksonville-fl.com

Plumbers Jacksonville FL - Water You Waiting For?

by Billy Aldridge

When it comes to drinking water, most people don't give it a second thought.  But when you think about it, fresh, clean water is one of the things that none of us can live without.  A human being can go for weeks without food.  But all it takes is three or four days without water to do most people in.  So you would think that most people would be concerned about the water they ingest.  If the sales of bottled water are any indicator, then water quality is definitely an issue to most Americans. According to a bevindustry.com article, consumption of bottled water in the US in 2010 was a whopping 8.75 billion gallons.  This means that on average, every man woman and child in the US drank 28.3 gallons of bottled water in 2010.  

So bottled water is extremely popular.  But how healthy is it?  According to an MSNBC report:

Tests on leading brands of bottled water turned up a variety of contaminants, including cancer-linked chemicals three times higher than California's health standard, according to a study released Wednesday by an environmental advocacy group. Lab tests detected 38 chemicals in 10 brands, with an average of eight contaminants found in each kind of bottled water. Tests showed coliform bacteria, caffeine, the pain reliever acetaminophen, fertilizer, solvents, plastic-making chemicals and the radioactive element strontium.

While contamination concerns are certainly an issue, when you also consider that in some instances the cost of bottled water is more than the cost of gasoline, this gives many people pause to consider the alternatives.

Turning on the Tap

While municipalities from coast to coast treat water before delivering it to consumers, there is a wide disparity between the type and efficacy of treatment systems.  According to the CDC:

Drinking water supplies in the United States are among the safest in the world. However, even in the U.S., drinking water sources can become contaminated, causing sickness and disease from waterborne germs, such as Cryptosporidium, E. coli, Hepatitis A, Giardia intestinalis, and other pathogens.Drinking water sources are subject to contamination and require appropriate treatment to remove disease-causing agents. Public drinking water systems use various methods of water treatment to provide safe drinking water for their communities. Today, the most common steps in water treatment used by community water systems (mainly surface water treatment) include flocculation, sedimentation, iltration and disinfection.  

You have to understand that the mandate of municipal water treatment is not to provide purified water.  Treatment plants are only required to keep contaminants and pathogens below 'acceptable levels."  To do this, various chemicals are added, including chlorine and fluoride.

In fact, the CDC will be the first to tell you that scientists have determined that typical water treatment plants are not designed to filter out such things as pharmaceuticals including pain killers, tranquilizers, hormones and antibiotics.  While these same scientists have not conclusively proven that the public is being harmed by these drugs, they have shown that tiny amounts can have detrimental effects on human cells and DNA.

So this leaves it up to the average American to not only determine whether the water coming out of their taps is 'safe', but it also leaves water treatment up to the individual as well.

Walter Filtration Drop by Drop

Even if a consumer is willing to invest in a home filtration system, there are a number of different technologies from which to choose.  Everything from activated charcoal filters, to reverse osmosis, ceramic filtration and steam distillation systems are available.  So there are a number of choices to be made with regard to such things as cost, as well as the best type of purification system for your needs.  Before choosing a system, you have to understand that all water pollution is not created equal.  Neither are treatment systems.  Certain types of treatment are better at eliminating one kind of contamination as opposed to another.  The only way to scientifically determine the best system for your needs is to have the water tested.

Homeowners also need to understand that there are other factors involved in the purification game. For instance, when distillation, reverse osmosis or carbon filtration systems are initially deployed, they all remove their fair share of contaminants.   However, as time goes by, the percentage of contamination removed decreases.  Inevitably all filtration systems have a finite lifetime and require periodic maintenance.  If you are considering acquiring a whole house water treatment system, you need to cover the frequency and costs of maintaining the system as well as how long it will take to recoup your investment.

The bottom line is that if you are looking to ensure the quality of your water, you should talk to a trained water purification professional to determine the type of system that best fits your needs and your budget.  Because when it comes to your family's health, this is one commodity that's truly priceless.

Billy Aldridge is one of the Doctors of Plumbology at Aldridge and Sons Plumbing in Jacksonville, FL.  To find out more about water filtration and other water related issues, visit http://plumbers-jacksonville-fl.com.  

  

Plumbers Jacksonville FL – The Thing in the Basement

By Billy Aldridge

There is something lurking in the basement, hall closet or garage of every residence in the US.  It’s big, it’s ugly, it’s hungry and you could wake up one fine morning to find out that it has struck.  Now I’m not talking about some kind of phantom that lurks in the darkest recesses of your imagination.  What I’m talking about is your water heater.

Now I know that when it comes to your top ten list of things that go bump in the night, the water heater is the last thing that you would consider as a menace to you or your family.  But consider the following:

1.      The average water heater consumes up to 25% of the power that the typical homeowner pays for month in and month out.

2.      Since this contraption is literally out of sight and out of mind, it isn’t unusual for most people to ignore the thing until they wake up to find an inch or so of water on the floor due to the fact that their heater gave up the ghost.

3.      The average life of a water heater is thirteen years.  After that, contaminants in the water tend to collect around the heating element, making the heater even less energy efficient. 

4.      Speaking of energy efficiency, today there are a number of alternatives to the traditional water heater.  These alternatives take up less space and/or use up far less energy.  (More on that later.)

I know what you’re thinking.  You live in Jacksonville, Florida.  There are no basements in Jacksonville.  While this may hold true, the fact is that no matter where your water heater is installed, it takes up a lot of valuable space.  Space that could better be used for storage.   When you are ready to replace your existing water heater, you may want to opt for either a tankless or a hybrid water heater.  These units take up far less space and use far less electricity. 

Tankless systems are the ultimate in power efficiency since they make hot water on demand…as much as you want.  Unlike traditional water heaters that expend the majority of their power consumption on maintaining the temperature of water stored inside the tank, tankless heaters only operate when you turn on the tap.  Another couple of advantages of a tankless system are that you never run out of hot water.  This is especially useful if you have a large family or when the overnight guests come for a visit.  They also take up less than a third of the space of a traditional water heater.  Some can even be installed outside, which is the ultimate space saver.  The downside is that tankless heaters tend to be a bit pricier than traditional units.  If you take the longterm approach and factor in the energy saved, these systems will ultimately pay for themselves.  However, tankless isn’t the only way to go.

Hybrid heaters are available that straddle the fence between traditional and tankless heaters.  Like tankless systems, hybrids are a bit pricier than traditional water heaters.  These units won’t save space, bring a bit taller than traditional units they replace, since the heat pump is mounted on top.  However, they are much more efficient since they contain a heat pump that draws in heat from the air to help heat the water. When Consumer Reports tested hypbrid heaters they determined that the average family would save around $320 per year.  This is a plus, since hybrid water heaters cost about $1000 more than traditional units.

That’s not to say that conventional water heaters have gotten stuck in some kind of technological time warp.  Like most major appliances, water heaters have improved tremendously over the past few years.    That’s why you want to shop for the cheapest unit you can lay your hands on, but the one that gives you the best overall value.  The first step in selecting the best system for your purposes is to determine the size you need.  To do this, you need to calculate the amount of water your family uses during its busiest hour. 

ConsumerEnergyCenter.org created this useful guide:

Your house has:
How many bathrooms?	1 to 1.5	2 to 2.5	3 to 3.5
How many bedrooms?	1 - 2 - 3	2 - 3 - 4 - 5	3 - 4 - 5
You need a First Hour Rating of:	43 - 60 - 60	60 - 70 - 72 - 90	72 - 82 - 90

Understanding the Energy Guide

Once you've figured out your "First Hour Rating" - how much hot water your family typically needs and the size of the water heater you should buy - look for the "First Hour Rating" figure on the EnergyGuide.

The EnergyGuide will be a large yellow sticker that, by law, has to appear on water heaters and other appliances. In this case it compares the average yearly operating costs of different water heaters, using the same criteria for all models tested. It lets you see which one would probably cost you less to run.

On this sample, the "First Hour Rating" appears on the upper left-hand corner, underneath the water heater's energy source. The "First Hour Rating" is 66.

Choose a model with a "First Hour Rating" close to the capacity you need. Don't just rely on the physical size of the storage tank - gas water heaters work quicker than electric ones, so they produce more hot water in an hour. A gas water heater that holds 40-gallons may turn out as much hot water in an hour as a 65-gallon electric one!

If you decide to increase the size of your water heater, make sure you have room in your home for a bigger model. Water heaters are sometimes crammed into tight spaces - check the manufacturer's specifications on any model you buy to make sure it will fit.

Note the big number - $156 - in the center of the EnergyGuide. That's the estimated cost of energy needed to operate this water heater for one year. On the bar immediately below this yearly cost, the label even displays the range of yearly costs of comparable-sized water heaters, from the least expensive to most expensive. That's why an EnergyGuide label is such a valuable tool - it makes comparison shopping easy.

Whichever type of heater you buy, be it traditional, hybrid or tankless, remember that you are going to have to live with the thing for a decade or more.  So choose the unit that makes the best sense in the long run, instead of making the mistake of feeding that other monster that lives in your home: the electric meter.

Billy Aldridge is one of the Doctor’s or Plumbology at Aldridge & Sons Plumbing.  For more helpful plumbing hints and step-by-step videos, visit http://plumbers-jacksonville-fl.com and http://waterheatersjacksonvillefl.com/

 http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/home/appliances/waterheaters.html

Down the Drain – What you don’t know can hurt you when it comes to preventing plumbing issues.

By Billy Aldridge

What goes down might just come back up.  At least that seems to be the consensus when it comes to most simple plumbing issues such as backups and clogs.  While some of these problems are the result of forces beyond our control, others are simply a matter of poor preventative maintenance.  Below I will share with you some cause and effect scenarios.

The Kitchen Sink

You’d be surprised at what people put down their kitchen sink.  Chicken fat, hot grease, pancake batter and more get poured down the drain, sometimes with disastrous results.  Worse, most people do nothing to clear the drain until it backs up.  And then they usually resort to some kind of caustic chemicals to try to rectify the matter.  This can cause more damage than good in some circumstances, particularly if the pipes are more than twenty years old. 

First of all, any kind of fluid that will change its state to a solid once it cools off, such as grease, lard, fat and pancake batter should never be poured down the drain.  I deal with these substances by keeping a jar under the sink where I pour all hot grease and fat.  When it comes to pancake batter, after using a spatula to scrape as much of the batter as possible into the trash can, I will fill the bowl with hot water in order to dilute the material as much as possible.  Only then will I pour the water down the drain, followed by filling the sink two thirds full of hot water and then pulling the plug.  In fact this procedure is an excellent monthly preventative maintenance item, since it will flush the pipes out.

When it comes to garbage disposals, this is another clog builder, particularly if you don’t run it long enough or flush the drain with enough water after each use.  Not only does this appliance contribute to clogs, but it can also become an odor creator if not properly maintained.  Below is a video where I show you how to disinfect a stinky disposal.

Bathroom Buildup

As bad as the kitchen sink can be when it comes to backing up, the bathroom sink and tub can be even worse.  That’s largely due to such things as hair, grooming products, cosmetics and hair.  Did I mention hair?  It’s amazing the tensile strength, not to mention the knotting ability of hair.  Particularly long hair.  Once even one strand becomes affixed in a drain, it isn’t long before a tangle of the stuff begins to impede and eventually stop the flow of water altogether.  Certain kinds of hair dyes, cosmetics and over the counter remedies have an affinity for hair that creates bonds between the follicles that eventually turn into a ball of stickum that grabs onto any foreign object that comes down the pipe. 

Before resorting to Draino or some other caustic substance, the first thing you should do is remove the drain and clean it out.  In many cases, the clog starts and stops there.  If the clog is deeper still, for around $10 or so you can buy a Drain Claw which you can snake down the drain.  If the clog is located a foot or so down the pipe, the claw is designed to grip it and rip it.  If the clog is located deeper than that, then I suggest you contact a plumber.  The problem with caustic drain cleaners is they are dangerous to use and they don’t just dissolve the clog, they will erode the pipes as well.  The cost of having a plumber snake your drain is far less than the cost of a trip to the ER or repairing a pipe that has burst behind the wall.

When Nature Calls

There is another menace that rears its ugly head in outdoor drains and sewer lines: Tree roots.  Particularly in older neighborhoods, tree roots can penetrate sewer lines and outdoor drains, slowing or even halting the flow.  Roots are insidious beasties that enter sewer and supply lines through the tiniest of openings, eventually stopping up the works.  The worst thing a homeowner can do when they notice their drains slowing to a crawl is to wait until it blocks up entirely. If you suspect root intrusion, call a plumber immediately so the situation can be assessed.  Many times the existing roots can be cleared out of the line, which will buy you some time.  That's the good news.  The bad news is that once roots infiltrate the sewer line, there is no choice other than digging it up and replacing it.

As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  When it comes to maintaining pipes and alleviating clogs, the best offense is a good defense.  By that I mean, that with proper care, monthly maintenance and nipping plumbing problems in the bud early, you can save money on plumbing issues by knowing your plumbing system’s likes and dislikes.

Billy Aldridge is one of the Doctor’s of Plumbology at Aldridge and Sons Plumbing in Jacksonville, Florida. For more helpful hints and how-to videos, visit http://plumbers-jacksonville-fl.com 

Plumb Bad – When DIY Projects Go Wrong

By Billy Aldridge

In these trying economic times, I don’t blame the public for attempting to save money by doing it themselves.  The problem is that more often than you’d care to believe, someone gets it way over their heads in their zeal to save a buck.  When that happens, the results can be damage to the home or business, not to mention a huge repair bill.  So the first bit of advice I give to all you wannabe DIYers out there is: Know your limits.

As Seen on TV

The real culprit behind some questionable DIY attempts I suspect are those ubiquitous TV shows that demonstrate just how easy it is to do the job yourself.  Ever since Bob Vila first aired “This Old House” back in 1979, there has been a flood of home repair series that have made their hosts household names and big box hardware supply stores a ton of money.  Just remember that you can’t always believe everything you see on TV.  Plus you also need to realize that most home repair shows are hosted by experienced contractors who know what they are doing. 

Since everyone seems to respond to TV shows, I have put a few together a few YouTube examples myself.  These clips come from news organizations and consumers that show like an outtake reel designed to reveal what can happen when a DIY project goes wrong.  The first is a Fox News piece with Angie Hicks of Angie's list.

DIY Plumbing Disaster for Fun & Profit - In Australia they actually created a competition with a $3,000 first prize that encouraged people to share their DIY plumbing disasters.  I guess that was to cover the damage done.  Below is a clip that shows a running commentary from the judges with some of the more creative entries.  Who says that they don't have a sense of humor down under.

The next installment is a newsflash from a first time homeowner who hired an unlicensed plumber to fix her dishwasher. Not only wasn't the problem fixed. The "fixer" caused more than $17,000 in damage.  Yikes!

Last but not least, here is how not to unstop a drain.  Yuck!

The reason these videos are helpful is that they serve to illustrate some of the things that can go wrong if you try to bite off more than you can chew when it comes to tackling a number of common plumbing problems on your own.  That's not to say that there isn't a time and place for a little DIY.  You just don't want to wind up paying more to fix the fix than the original repair would have cost in the first place.  As my final installment, I offer up a DIY plumbing fix that literally anyone can handle.  

Billy Aldridge is one of the Doctors of Plumbology at Aldridge and Sons Plumbing in Jacksonville, Florida.  Visit their website at http://plumbers-jacksonville-fl.com for all you plumbing needs.