If you’re into water conservation, you’ve probably heard the eco-ditty: “If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down.” It refers, of course, to toilet flushing habits. The idea is that less flushing conserves more water. While an admirable sentiment, the practice can be startling to unprepared  homeowners or their visitors. The solution is to have yourlocal plumbing professional install dual-flush toilets. Dual-flush toilets let you save water without offending your grandmother’s sensibilities when she raises the toilet lid.

New Water Conservation Habits

Newer, water-efficient toilets use 1.6 gallons of water per flush. Older toilets, however, use 4 to 6 gallons of water per flush. Dual-flush toilets are designed to use less water to flush waste. First developed in Australia in 1980, dual-flush toilets are just beginning to become popular with mainstream America. States where drought conditions are common were among the first to embrace and promote their use. Dual-flush toilets use a half flush for liquid waste and a full flush for solid waste, chopping water use in half. Users choose the amount of water to be used by pushing the toilet handle one way for a half flush or in the other direction for a full flush.

Results of Poor Water Conservation

By 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 36 states will be fighting serious water shortages brought on by drought, inefficient water management, increased consumer demand and aging water system infrastructures. The Southwest and portions of California have been struggling with water shortages and been forced to impose strict water rationing for years.

Current News On Water Conservation

Dual-flush toilets are now a standard feature in green building designs. When the U.S. National Park Service constructed a new visitors’ center at Denali National Park in Alaska, dual-flush toilets were installed in all the restrooms.

Conserve Water And Save Money

Installing dual-flush toilets decreases your water use (good for the environment) while decreasing your water and sewer bills (good for your bank account). Definitely a win-win choice!

Sump pumps are made so when water reaches a certain level, a lever is tripped which turns the pump on. The pump takes the water and moves it out of the basement or crawl space via a discharge line. This line goes outside the home and brings the water away from the house.

A common issue with sump pumps is that the water they carry comes from within the ground. So that means the water has dirt in it which can clog pipes and pumps over years of use. The worst part is, this could happen any time of the day and odds are you won’t be in your basement or crawl space to hear it or see it. That means the pump would stop working and water would back up into your home, potentially causing water damage.

This scenario can be avoided with two tools. Some sump pumps on the market have a secondary sump pump in the same basin – if the first pump does not turn on for any reason, the second one will kick on and start pumping water. Also, during periods of heavy rainfall, having a secondary sump pump gets water out of the basement at a faster rate.

To Continue reading

by John Smith

Save $35 off any Sump Pump Installation

Water conservation programs are popping up around the country. Is it time for your approach to go beyond the basics?

Water-saving washers and dishwashers. High-efficiency and dual-flush toilets. Eco performance showerheads and faucets. All are well-established components of water conservation programs – and have proven effective for builders large and small. For instance, KB Home, the first national builder to partner with EPA’s WaterSense program, has used water-saving fixtures and appliances to reduce water consumption in its homes by 20 percent.

While a 20 percent savings is impressive, some builders are finding creative ways to save even more. There is potential for big savings, for example, by rethinking the home’s interior plumbing infrastructure and reducing the need for lawn irrigation.

Creative Plumbing

Tankless water heaters. A tankless water heater will be most effective if it’s placed as close to the point of use as possible. “Sometimes you might need two instead of one,” according to John Barrows, a Long Island-based green builder, and co-author of “Green Building for Dummies.”

Shorter pipe runs. Centrally locating a conventional water heater can reduce hot water piping. With less heat loss as water travels through the pipe, users won’t run the water as long while waiting for it to heat up.

Recirculating systems. A hot-water recirculating system uses a pump to quickly move hot water from the tank to the tap, while simultaneously sending cooled water back to the tank. One potential downside, according to Barrows, is that the system can be an energy drain if it’s left on all the time. He suggests adding timers, motion detectors, or a simple switch “so you can turn the system on like you turn on the lights.”

To continue reading

Homeowners with dated bathrooms like these should run, not walk, to their nearest computer to enter the American Standard Ugliest Bathroom Contest. The bathroom voted to be the ugliest will win a $10,000 installed suite of furniture, fixtures and faucets.

Homeowners can enter the contest by visiting Facebook until August 20, 2010.

Look the System Over

This is why maybe one of the first things that you should examine in your home is the sump pump in the basement. Look it over very closely and also see if it has a backup system. Is it a cheapo pump that is prone to break downs, or does it look like it has too many years on it? Also, if there is a backup pump you should take a good look at it as well.

Do Some Research

Be honest with yourself, because if the basement sump pump is going to fail on you, it will do it the most inopportune time possible, right in the middle of a sever storm in the middle of the night. Another good idea is to find out if the area that you live in is prone to power outages. If this is so then you may want to convert to a water powered pump system.

To continue Reading

by Joe Finkelman

Save $35 off any Sump Pump Installation

Piasa Commercial Interiors claims it was forced to hire three different plumbing companies between September 2005 through June 2009 to investigate the cause of its periodic sewer stoppage problems.

According to the complaint filed July 12 in Madison County Circuit Court, R & M Sewer Service finally excavated the area around the sewer line in June 2009 to discover the cause of the backups.

“After the initial excavation revealed the sewer line, Plaintiff was able to see, for the first time, that an underground telephone/communications line had been drilled into, and placed through, Plaintiff’s sewer line,” the suit states. “Once the sewer line was excavated, Plaintiff could see that the underground telephone/communications line had pierced, and was penetrating the sewer line. The sewer line was broken during the excavation process, causing sewage to leak into the surrounding area.”

To Continue Reading

by Kelly Holleran

Save $150 on Sewer Line Replacement

A Boiling Springs neighborhood caught a case of puppy love Tuesday that soon spread to two fire departments and a nearby plumbing company.

Animal-loving volunteers gave up a full work day to rescue a baby German shepherd mix from a storm drain in the Ferndale subdivision off Parris Bridge Road. Another puppy was too deep inside the drain to be reached, but rescuers are hopeful a small trap placed inside the drain will save a second furry life.

Ann Hecht, who lives on a neighboring street, was the first to alert authorities to the trapped animals. She saw one of the dogs walking on the side of the road during her morning walk about 8:30. But when she got closer, she saw the dog had fallen into the drain. The owner of a 13-year-old miniature dachshund, Hecht said she simply couldn’t walk away without trying to help.

Hecht, a receptionist at Boiling Springs Elementary School, called the Boiling Springs Fire Department and Spartanburg County Animal Control. Soon, both agencies were on the scene, along with Cherokee Springs Fire Department and local plumbing company Operation Drains.

Plumbing technicians used a pipe camera to locate the dogs before going into the drain to pull one out.

To continue reading

By Lee G. Healy

If your home has a basement, you are probably aware of the necessity of a sump pump. Even the best engineered basements sometimes leak. A sump pump can remove the water which collects in a basement and move it far enough from the home that water damage is avoided. If there is a power failure, your sump pump may not work if you do not have a sump battery backup.

At the very least, most basements contain valuable mechanical equipment that helps to keep your home comfortable. The furnace, water heater and possibly a washer and dryer could be located in an unfinished basement. Flooding can cause this equipment to be ruined and to need replacement.

With a finished basement, the potential for loss is even greater. In addition to the mechanical equipment, there may be furnishings and structural items that can be damaged by the flooding. If you lose power without a backup, it is likely that many of your possessions could be damaged in the basement. Some of those possessions may not be replaceable such as photos.

To Continue Reading

by Kyle Carter

Save $35 off any Sump Pump Installation

An Appleton man is stuck with a $15,000 bill after learning his homeowners insurance won’t cover major flood damage to his basement.

“I would have been happy to have just a little bit of water in here,” Matt Mangin remarks.

It’s not often that someone would prefer to have rain in the basement, but for the 25-year-old homeowner it would have been a much cheaper option.

“Right as I was leaving the room, the wall just fell in and knocked over the hot water heater, and that sprayed water everywhere.”

After torrential rain last week, his basement wall collapsed — raining brick, earth, and water into his home.

“At that point I just went into like a state of shock and thought we have to get everybody out of here.”

Mangin says he immediately called his insurance agent, but the next day he learned his homeowners insurance policy doesn’t cover any of the damage, leaving him with yet another dreaded surprise and a $15,000 bill.

Mangin admits he didn’t know exactly what’s in his policy. “I would assume most people don’t,” he said. “People always think, oh, you have insurance and you figure you are covered.”

To Continue Reading

By Chris Hrapsky

Save $35 off any Sump Pump Installation

The way to test is easy.

*You can add water to the crock or you can lift the float. Even if the water flushes, be sure that the crock empties completely. Check to be sure that the crock does not have roots growing in it. This is one of the major causes of clogging.

*Check the float to be sure that it is free moving. If it is sticky, it will not work. If it hits against the crock or the cover of the sump, it will not work.

*When testing, go outside to make sure that the pump is doing its job. Sometimes the pump can run but not pump. The cause of running may be that the impeller has disengaged from the pump shaft.

*Check and clean out the air hole in the discharge line.

*If the pump is noisy or if it has any rust, you should replace it.

*Another problem that sometimes happens is when the pump runs continuously during the heavy rains. It could give out. You should consider installing a second pump in the crock with a higher-level float. That way, if the lower pump should fail, the second pump would be the back-up system.

*Your sump pump is electrical, so you should have a back-up battery system. To check whether your back-up works, pull the power plug to the primary pump. This is a much better test than waiting for an actual power outage.

*Replace the battery on the back-up sump every two or three years.

Many companies have developed an alarm system that goes off when the sump pump fails. This might be a sound investment. A flooded basement will cost much more than an alarm.

Testing your pump regularly will keep your basement dry. It is one task that can’t be postponed.

By Nan C Avery

Save $35 off any Sump Pump Installation