Due to the EPA regulations requiring toilets to use only 1.6 gallons of water each flush, many people experience problems with their toilets flushing properly. They find themselves flushing 2 or 3 times and constantly having to use a plunger to unclog the toilet. These multiple flushes end up using more water than the old 6 gallon toilets used. This is no fun and can be an embarrassment when guests use their bathroom. Many times, people will not be able to clear the commode with a plunger and they have to call a plumber like Reliable Heating, Air & Plumbing of Woodstock to help. This has become a serious problem in past years. People actually purchase old commodes made before the EPA regulations went into effect and have then refurbished so they can have a toilet that actually flushes well. There are stories of some actually smuggling toilets from other countries where the regulations do not apply to get a properly flushing toilet. I know this may sound funny to you, but it is actually a real issue and problem with some of the commodes on the market today.Reliable Heating, Air & Plumbing has the answer. American Standard makes special toilet called the Champion that is virtually unable to be clogged. They use a new design and water valve to make sure all waste is removed in one flush without ever backing up. I challenged my own by rolling up a large clump of toilet tissue just to see the results and away it went no problem. The American Standard Champion toilet can actually flush 20 golf balls down in one try! They are very affordable and will save hundreds of dollars in water costs and potential damage to your home due to an accidental overflow situation.
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Posts Tagged ‘reliable heating’
Toliets that Don’t Backup?
Thursday, January 12th, 20120% APR for 5 Years
Thursday, January 12th, 2012Reliable Heating, Air & Plumbing along with Trane have partnered to bring a never before offered financing plan to their customers. Same as cash no interest financing offers have been around for years, but they usually are for only 12 or 18 months and they have always accrued interest that was due and payable if a payment was one day late! Kinda a “got you” clause that in the past kept many from using these handy payment plans. If every payment was on time, they were a great tool to pay for a new heating & cooling system or a water heater over an extended period with no extra cost added on. But the downside of these offers was that if one did miss a payment, the “same as cash” aspect was stopped and interest was due back to the first day and the interest was always very high. You would end paying considerably more for the product. Not anymore with this new offer from Trane and Reliable Heating, Air & Plumbing. The new program, in which the consumer gets 60 months O% APR with no interest building up or accruing and if they are late on a payment, they aren’t penalized for the interest on they whole loan amount. If fact, they only get charged a small “late fee”. You can actually get up to 59 days late until you are penalized with additional costs other than the small late fee. This a great plan as it allow one 5 years to pay for a new Trane system that can cut utility cost in half or more. This actually allows the small monthly payments to be made by the savings generated by the new system. This type of offer has never been offered before in the world of furnaces and air conditioners, only in the automobile business.
Don’t Forget Your Plumbing
Wednesday, January 11th, 2012At Reliable Heating, Air & Plumbing , we have thousands of customers under a yearly contract to maintain and service their heating & cooling systems. By making sure the equipment is in top notch shape, we can assure a homeowner they are receiving the lowest operating cost and the most comfort possible from their system.
Another home system that needs maintenance, but that is commonly overlooked, is your plumbing. We all use our plumbing year after year, neglecting the routine items that should be looked at on a regular basis. One should consider a plumbing service agreement that will assure peak performance and possibly avoid a costly leak or accidental outage. Reliable Heating, Air & Plumbing has a plumbing service agreement that can be added on to our heating & cooling service agreements or be purchased as “stand alone” contract to just maintain your plumbing only.
Here are some of the items that Reliable checks on a plumbing tune-up and why it is important to keep each one working properly:
We check toilets for leaks from the tank to bowl as this “silent leaking” can increase your water bill drastically and you will never see a leak as the water goes down your sewer pipe. We put dye in the tank to see if any water leaks into the bowl to detect this potential costly leak.
We replace toilet flapper valves when needed to make sure they are in good shape and not leaking. The toilet manufacturer recommends these be replaced once a year to prevent leaks and failure.
Reliable Heating, Air & Plumbing checks faucets and water lines for leaks and repairs when needed. There can be a small drip under a vanity or kitchen sink that you do not see until it ruins your cabinet or hard wood floors. Reliable also checks fixture drains leaks and we to snake out all tub drains to clear out any hair or soap buildup. This assures you will not have a clog that can become a major problem. Reliable plumbers check the washing machine hoses and drains along with all outside hose bibs.
Water is delivered to your home at high pressure, and then a component called a pressure reducing valve lowers the pressure for use in the home. Pressure inside your home can be no more than 80PSI and if it is higher, it can damage all the plumbing fixtures in your home. Reliable plumbers check the pressure yearly to make sure this valve is not out of adjustment or broken.
One of the most important appliances that has to be inspected is the water heater. It has to be checked for gas leaks and to make sure the “flue” or chimney is working properly. If your flue stops working, your home can become filled with carbon monoxide. The emergency pressure relief valve needs to be inspected once a year to assure it is in good shape and all Reliable plumbers perform this important function. This valve releases excess pressure if there is a malfunction in the water heater. The water heater should be flushed every year to reduce sediment buildup which will cause premature failure and this is a part of a Reliable Heating, Air & Plumbing service agreement. The emergency water cutoff valve should be checked to make sure the valve is easy to operate and has no leaks. Gas water heaters need to be checked for rust and leaks as these units normally only last 10 to 12 years before they fail. Most water heaters are installed in areas that if they leak they cause damage to the flooring or furniture, so often times it is better to just replace an older heater before it floods. The question on an older heater is not is the heater going to rust out and leak, but when it will leak.
If one has these above items checked on a yearly basis, you can be assured you have done all you can do to prevent costly failures. The state licensed plumbers of Reliable Heating, Air & Plumbing can handle all the above tasks in a professional manner to make sure your homes plumbing safe and efficient.
It’s not just “routine” maintenance this time of year.
Monday, October 3rd, 2011by Dan Jape of Reliable Heating, Air & Plumbing
Cold weather is right around the corner and you will soon be in need of heat in your home. Furnaces need a complete service and cleaning each year before they are turned on to make sure they are safe and efficient. Many times, a homeowner will make the assumption that just because a furnace ignites, it is safe to operate. This could not be farther from the truth. Modern day furnaces are a very safe appliance and when maintained, can give years of service. But it is important that the series of safety devices and components that make them safe are in good working order. All modern day furnaces are safe if they are maintained properly, but if neglected could cause a problem. Reliable Heating, Air & Plumbing employees 100 plus Nate certified techs to make sure all is in good shape for a long cold winter.
One of the most important items to check and clean is the heat exchanger. A furnace burns gas and heats up a metal box that contains the gas burners and when the box is warm, a fan blows air across the outside of the box and transfer heat to the air stream, which is then distributed to all the rooms of a home. This heat exchanger heats and cools thousands of times a year and this causes expansion and contraction. This can cause metal fatigue and cracks in this burner box which allows carbon monoxide to leak into the air stream. We have long optical scopes that can be inserted into a heat exchanger to check for cracks and fatigue to make sure they are airtight. This is extremely important to be checked every year, as this piece is a very stressed component of the furnace and can fail at any time a furnace is over 10 to 12 years old. It is also very important that any rust and debris that accumulates in the heat exchanger is vacuumed out to allow all the heat generated by the combustion of the gas to be properly transferred to the air stream.
Another very important series of devices that need to be checked are high temperature limit switches which monitor a furnace for an overheated condition. These high limits are crucial in making a furnace safe and they need to be checked and tested each year to make sure they operate correctly. If a fan or blower stops operating on a furnace, the gas will continue to ignite until these limit devices sense the furnace is overheated and shut off the burners and turn the furnace off. These limit switches are directly in the air stream and take a lot of abuse and they fail after a number of years.
Furnaces have a device that moves air and fumes through the heat exchanger and it is often a component that needs service in a modern furnace. This “draft inducer” is in the combustion stream of the furnace and is exposed to the hot, acid laden fumes of the by-products of gas combustion. Some manufactures make the housing of these inducers out of plastic and they become so hot, the plastic housing cracks allowing flue gases to be emitted into the living space of a home. Some early models also used metal housings and fan blades that was not built out of corrosive resistant materials and they rusted out quickly. These units need to checked at the start of every season for proper operation and integrity of the housing. A complete and through inspection on all the controls on a furnace have to checked every year to assure one all is working properly on their gas furnace.
A gas furnace that a builder installs in your home can give you 14 to 18 years of service if they are taken care of properly and serviced regularly. A furnace that a consumer purchases can last 20+ years and provide safe efficient heat if properly maintained. Have your local heating and air contractor check for correct operation and your family should be warm and safe this winter. If you are need of a new furnace, they start out as low as $1495 and can go up to $3500 for a top of the line model.
