Recently, an insurance salesman returned home from a business trip to find his first floor and basement flooded with water. The trouble? His water line burst, spewing thousands of gallons of water unnoticed. It took months of work and two contractors to repair the damage. “If you’re going to have a leaking supply line, it’s going to happen while you’re away,” says Ray Connaughton, president of Allied Reddi Rooter.

Even a minor leak can become a major disaster if no one is home to notice, especially in an area with laminate or hardwood flooring. Many times, hot water tanks or water lines fail in recently renovated living spaces.

By closing the main valve, you are minimizing the risk of damage. Once the initial pressure in the lines is depleted, the leak may stop. “Instead of thousands, literally thousands, of gallons of water, you might have 50 gallons from the hot-water tank leak,” Spaulding says. “There is no downside whatsoever (to turning off the main valve). It takes a few seconds and the peace of mind and potentially thousands of dollars in savings is worth it.

Water You Waiting For?
If you are not sure where your main water valve is located, give us a call,  or contact  us, and we’ll cheerfully explain how to locate it. We’re here 24 hours a day: 513-396-5300 We always come highly recommended and have earned an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau for our expert quality of service. We’re here to help Cincinnati homeowners with all their plumbing needs.

A few weeks ago, we mentioned our sticker shock upon receiving our quarterly water bill. Since then, we’ve added another person to our household: Mother (and her dog) are staying with us for a couple of months.

When we freaked out at our $300 bill, Mom commented (in her mother-in-law way) “$100 a month for water for a family of 6 isn’t so bad. Other people pay more.” But mom’s not paying the bill. So, we’ve been doing a little home work on our water usage to figure out a way to save. A quick survey of our water usage found:

• Laundry: 15-20 loads per week.
• Dishwasher: 14 loads per week.
• Bathroom Flushes: About 100 per week.
• General water-running (brushing teeth, washing hands, drinking, cleaning, etc): Who knows?

On http://www.home-water-works.org/calculator, we found an interesting calculator designed to answer our question: After running water all day long, how much have we used? Our number: Over 360 gallons per day! That’s a lot of water.

The site provides a series of charts and graphs, illustrating usage. A couple of examples from our home:

 

Next Steps
• A family meeting to impress the importance of water conservation within our home.
• Replacing the shower heads and faucets with conservation/low-flow water-saver models.
• Considering replacing our older toilets with WaterSense-certified water efficient models. This step is a little harder – a sturdy flush is pretty satisfying. But,

American Standard (one of our favorite brands) recently was named an EPA WaterSense partner. http://www.americanstandard-us.com/innovations/watersense/

Water You Waiting For? Find Your Number (and then, call ours)
Try the water calculator. It’s fun and loaded with tips on ways to save water. If you’d like to learn more about replacing your old fixtures with new, efficient models (or if you’d like to re-arrange your plumbing pipes to accommodate new appliances) give us a call or contact  the team at Allied Reddi-Rooter for a free estimate.  We always come highly recommended and have earned an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau for our expert quality of service. We’re here to help Cincinnati homeowners with all their plumbing needs.

A few years ago, we hosted our first Thanksgiving Dinner; a home-cooked affair for about 35 people, including all the in-laws.  Midway through cooking the meal, the garbage disposal failed in a big way: it didn’t have enough horsepower grind the celery waste.  Here’s an appetizing image (NOT): a watery backlog celery strings gurgling up from the kitchen sink just in time for dinner.  Ugh.

As every cook (residential or commercial) knows, when it comes to garbage disposals, horsepower and reliability are key.  We’re fond of many brands, but In-Sink-Erator (ISE) is among our top picks.  The new ISE Evolution Excel has a 1.0 hp motor  that will make mincemeat of nearly anything you throw at it, including chicken bones and potato peels.  View ‘real life’  demo > 

10 Tips for Garbage Disposal Care & Feeding

Having used garbage disposals for most of our lives, we’re often surprised that many homeowners find them intimidating. Below are few tips:
1. Run lots of cold water while the disposal is in operation and for a few seconds after it is finished.

2. Avoid putting fibrous food waste into the disposal (celery, pea pods, onion skins, cabbage, etc.)

3. Chicken bones are OK (bird bones are hollow), but ham, steak, and pork bones are not.

4. There is never a need to sharpen disposal blades, because they don’t have blades (in the technical sense).  Disposals use cams (a.k.a., hammers) to pound food to bits.

5. Disposal won’t turn on? Try pressing the red “reset” button on the bottom of the unit (under the sink).

6. If your disposal has a removable rubber drain gasket (where the food goes in), remove it weekly for cleaning – and get ready to hold your nose.  Gaskets get ooky from daily dishwater and food waste.  Happily, the gaskets are dishwasher safe.

7. It’s true – putting orange, lemon, and grapefruit peels in the disposer helps clean it and release  a pleasant, citrus scent.

8. Garbage disposals are generally ok for use with a septic tank.  See tip #1 – run cold water during the entire disposal process to ensure the ground food is suitably soupy for the septic system bacteria.

9. Never drop metal objects (twisties, plastic wrappers, utensils, etc.) into the disposal.  When that happens, power off the disposal immediately and carefully remove the objects.  A few weeks ago, we accidentally dropped BBs down the disposal. You know the movie quote “[BBs]…they go all over.”  It’s true.  Fishing the little devils out required a magnet-on-a-stick, a flashlight, and a lot of patience.

10. If using your disposal is an exercise in frustration,  it may time to consider upgrading to a new model.  Over the past few years, disposal technology has improved a great deal.  New models have more power, less noise, are a pleasure to use.  A new garbage disposal is one of the simplest and most affordable kitchen upgrades available.

Allied Reddi Rooter is a leading expert in garbage disposal installation and repair. Call or contact  the team at Allied Reddi-Rooter for a free estimate. We always come highly recommended and have earned an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau for our expert quality of service. We’re here to help Cincinnati homeowners with all their plumbing needs.

In today’s busy world, unexpected hot water heater failure can rapidly create havoc in your home life. A broken water heater means time off work, finding a suitable replacement, working with a reputable plumber, and — worst of all — cold showers. The popular manufacturers (A. O. Smith, American, Whirlpool, Bradford White, and others), suggest the life of a water heater is 8-12 years. Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to extend your water heater’s life and efficiency:

1. For older water heaters: Inspect and replace the anode rod ASAP. It is “sacrificial” and it self-corrodes so that your water heater tank does not.

2. Install an expansion tank and potentially double potentially double the life of your water heater. When water is heated from 50º to 120º, it expands. In a closed system (i.e., you have a valve that prevents water from back flowing into the water main), expansion causes rapid increases and decreases in water pressure. This pressure on your heater and plumbing which can cause early failure.

3. Clean and flush your tank annually, especially if your heater is older than 8 years. This prevent sediment buildup and maintains higher efficiency of your tank

4. Install a Pressure Regulating Valve (PRV). A PRV reduces system, as well as wear and tear on appliances.

5. Install a water softeners — this is less of an issue for people on city water, but if you have well water with high mineral content (iron and/or calcium), scaling can occure (a.k.a. your appliances and pipes get “limed up”. Scaling reduces the life of a water heater.

Today, there are many options for replacing an aging water heater – determining which type of water heater (gas, electric or tankless) is best suited to your needs and lifestyle is a good start. Your plumbing professionals at Allied Reddi-Rooter are available for a quick consultation.  Call or contact  the team at Allied Reddi-Rooter. We’ll make sure your home’s plumbing is ready for the new year. We always come highly recommended and have earned an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau for our expert quality of service. We’re here to help Cincinnati homeowners with all their plumbing needs.