Posts Tagged ‘La Canada Flintridge’

Water Saving in a New Pasadena Home

Monday, April 30th, 2012

New plumbing strategies in Pasadena offer a plethora of new water saving features, which older homes tend not to offer.  Water saving in a new home can be quite simple, considering all the new technologies which are available to home builders.  Make yourself knowledgeable about these options and when you purchase a new home watch for these.  If you are building a home, it is good to communicate to the builder which of these options you want in water efficiency.

Indoor Water Saving Solutions

Up to 70% of water usage in residences happens indoors.  A number of items that new homes tend to provide save water usage and money in the long-run.

  • Bathroom plumbing fixtures such as toilets, bathroom faucets, and showerheads offer low-flow options
  • High efficiency and low energy use hot water heaters
  • New appliances such as dishwashers and clothes washers
  • Install a tankless water heater close to the most used hot water usage areas
  • Use of an on-demand style recirculation system in combination with a high efficiency water heater
  • Install a solar water heating system to preheat water which enters the tankless water heater
  • Check for leaks regularly to ensure there is no waste

Outdoor Water Conservation

Anywhere from 30% to 70% of water usage of homes is used outdoors for yard landscaping and pool upkeep.  When designing an outdoor space, it is important to keep in mind how much water will be used for upkeep, as well as to ensure that water is saved where possible.

Landscaping:

  • Properly plan and design the landscaping
  • Limit grass and lawn to 40% or less of landscaped areas
  • Choose plants and flora which are regionally appropriate
    • Group plants according to similar water usages
    • Use native plants and those which have low water needs
    • Schedule efficient irrigation
      • Use fixed-spray sprinklers on lawn
      • Use drip or micro irrigation on plants, flowers, and bushes
      • Water during cooler times of day to ensure little evaporation due to heat
      • Do not over-water, it can harm plants just as much as not watering enough
      • Use mulch to prevent evaporation of water near plants, and to keep weeds away
      • Keep the yard properly maintained and the soil healthy with fertilizers

Pool:

  • Use a pool cover when the pool is not in use; this can save 30% to 50% of water which is wasted through evaporation
  • Keep the pool temperature a few degrees lower, the higher the temperature of the water the more evaporation occurs
  • Plant a windbreak of tall foliage to prevent wind from whipping water out of the pool
  • Check and fix leaks regularly
  • Clean pool and pool filters regularly to prevent backwash

Whether indoors or outdoors, water saving in new homes is quite easy, and while some options mean spending some money initially, the long-term savings on water month over month and year over year are quite significant and worthwhile indeed.  If you would like any explanations of these strategies please call Ace Pelizon Plumbing

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Azusa Plumber’s Guide: How to Stop a Toilet from Overflowing

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

An overflowing toilet is a really unpleasant problem to have in your Azusa home, and one you will undoubtedly want to correct right away. Toilets are reliable in that they tend to last a long time and not act up much, but when yours does start to malfunction, you pay attention right away.

To start with, examine the root cause of the overflow problem. There are three major causes of overflow: a clogged or blocked drain that does not allow the toilet to flush properly, an improperly adjusted float that allows the tank to overfill and a blocked vent pipe that replaces the air in the pipe after each flush.

Each of these requires a different course of action, so let’s discuss each individually.

If the drain is blocked, you will probably know right away. For one, water will overflow from the toilet’s bowl rather than the tank. For another, there will probably be quite a mess. Treating this type of overflow problem is straightforward—remove the clog. For simple clogs, a plunger and some elbow grease will get it done. Another trick is to stick the open mouth of an empty two liter bottle into the drain and squeeze. The blast of air can knock the clog free.

If your toilet is clogging and overflowing frequently, however, the problem may not be with the drain or with anything you are doing. It may be that the vent pipe is clogged. A vent pipe moves external into the plumbing system to replace the air that is pumped out with each flush. When it is blocked, the toilet can’t flush properly, which can lead to overflowing. If you have trouble with frequent clogging, call an Azusa plumber to inspect the situation.

In both of those situations, the toilet bowl will overflow. Another possibility is that the tank overflows, which is a different kind of problem. This is often cause by the filler float being set too high, so the tank fills with too much water. You can fix this by simply adjusting the mechanism inside the tank that controls the level of the float.

Whether it’s one of these three, or something else entirely, when your toilet overflows, be sure to check it out and get it fixed right away.

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How to Replace a Bathroom Faucet in La Canada Flintridge

Friday, December 16th, 2011

Whether your old faucet is broken or you just want to spruce up your La Canada Flintridge home’s bathroom a bit, installing a new faucet is a relatively cheap and easy solution. It is one plumbing project that can be done via the DIY route, it takes only a few hours to do and it does not cost much.

Before you get started, make sure you have chosen the right type of faucet as a replacement. There are a few different kinds and you will want to replace the old sink with a similar kind in order to prevent problems and headaches during and after installation. If you’re unsure what kind you need, either consult the manual, take a picture to bring with you to the store or have a professional take a look at it.

Once you have the right faucet picked out, it’s time to get to work:

  1. As always, turn off the water supply. There should be shutoff valves for the hot and cold water supplies right underneath the sink to make it easy on you.
  2. Unscrew the drain collar from the drain rim. Making sure everything is clean, place the house in the center of the middle hole. Screw it in place with the mounting nut. Tighten it up with a basin wrench, but take care not to over tighten. This can crack the porcelain.
  3. To install the hot and cold valves, begin by loosening the mounting nut on one and removing it. Replace it with the corresponding new valve. Repeat on the other side.
  4. Screw the braided lines to the valves you just installed, as well as to the spout. Tighten with a wrench, but again take care not to over tighten.
  5. Secure the faucet handles onto the valves that you installed in step #3. Make sure to put each handle on the correct valve.
  6. Fit the supply lines. You may have to do some cutting if you are using rigid supply lines rather than braided ones.
  7. Assemble and connect the pop-up drain assembly. You may have to test and adjust it a few times in order to get the right fit when open and closed. Secure the rods in place.
  8. Turn the water back on and check for leaks. Turn on the faucet for a bit to flush out the system before using.

Your sparkling new faucet is all set! And if you run into any problems, give your local plumber a call.

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