Winterizing Your Inside and Outside Faucets:

It is the time of year people are busy traveling or having company over around a fire to warm up from the brisk night air. While many people are enjoying these fun activities, we all know that old man winter is right around the corner here in Dallas, Texas. It is important to take time to check that certain areas of your home are protected from the cold. Areas that are sometimes forgotten are the inside and outside faucets.

Frozen pipes can not only cause many problems to the homeowner, but can be extremely costly. Homes that are built in colder religions tend to have pipes that are insulated but those who are located in warmer regions, most of the time, are not. This can lead to problems if there is a sudden cold snap.

Here are some easy steps to take to make sure your faucets are ready for the winter cold.

• First, you want to make sure you locate all of the exterior faucets on the property. Some may be located on/in a wall, in a box in the ground, or on a pipe coming up out of the ground. All hoses should be disconnected, drained completely of water, and stored away.
• Next, shut off any accessible valves to the outside pipes and faucets. Open the handle on the faucet to ensure all water has drained out of the pipe and faucet itself. After the pipe drains, turn the handle on the faucet to the off position.
• Last, wrap all exterior faucets with a towel or cover them with a wall hugging insulating dome.
• Any interior faucets that are located inside on an exterior wall should be left on to drip at a very slow pace and the cabinet doors should be left open to allow warm air circulation.
• To further protect the interior pipes, it is advised to wrap the pipes in an insulation sleeve. These inexpensive sleeves can be found at your local home improvement store and can be used year-to-year.

So as you are enjoying your fun winter activities, make sure you set some time aside to winterize your faucets first.  These simple steps can save you from having to clean up a mess in your house and a costly fix.

 

 

The Dos and Don’ts of your Garbage Disposal:

Cooking the holiday meals, baking those delicious desserts, and catching up with family and friends. It is the season where the kitchen is one of the busiest rooms in your home.  If your sink is equipped with a garbage disposal, it is a tool that you will most likely be using often.  It is important that your garbage disposal is running problem free before the holiday craziness.

Garbage Disposal Do’s:

Maintenance:

You want to make sure that the disposal is properly maintained and clean. A simple and easy way to do this is to pour in a little dish soap, small pieces of lemon peel or orange peel (breaks down grease as well as eliminates unpleasant odors) and run cold water through the garbage disposal during and also for a few minutes after use. The reason for cold water is that it will cause any food and substances in the disposal to harden and be broken up by the blades.   Another easy and effective maintenance procedure is to sharpen the blades of the disposal.  To do so, run a few ice cubes through your garbage disposal. This will not only sharpen the blades but clean up any grease build up you might have.  It is recommended to run your garbage disposal on a regular basis.  If it is not used regularly, the internal parts can freeze up, rust and corrode. Even if you do not have anything to grind up, run cold water and soap though the disposal.

What to grind:

When using your garbage disposal, make sure the pieces you are grinding are cut small and that you run them through one at a time.  Putting too many plate scrapings down the disposal all at once can prevent everything from grinding up small enough and can also damage internal parts of the disposal.  Certain hard items such as small chicken bones, egg shells, and fruit pits are acceptable to run through the disposal, but we discourage this practice as they will most likely cause a clog in the sewer piping.  Always remember to run cold water though when running any food waste through the disposal.

 

Garbage Disposal Don’ts:

It is very, very important not to put certain items down your garbage disposal.  Glass, metal, plastic and paper are all things to avoid as well as large items such as big bones. These can jam the blades of the disposal. Expandable food items such as pasta and rice can stick to the sides of the disposal which will make it difficult to clean and flush the disposal out.
When grinding items through your garbage disposal, make sure that you do not stop the motor from running until the grinding is complete.

Be Careful!  

While you are in the kitchen this holiday season, just be aware of the Do’s and Don’ts when using your garbage disposal.  While a garbage disposal is a useful tool, it can also be very dangerous if not used with caution.  Never reach into the disposal if there is a jam.  You can use a needle nose pliers or something similar to grab the item or call us at Rodgers Plumbing to come help.

 

 

 

Keep your guests happy this Thanksgiving with stress-free plumbing.  Here are a few tips to keep the holiday more enjoyable.

1. Keep your water hot by waiting 15 minutes between each shower and not running dishes or laundry during peek bathing time.

2. Keep your drains clear by disposing of food scraps, peelings, and egg shells in your trash can or compost pile, not down your garbage disposal. The disposal may be able to grind it up but it most surely will get jammed up in your pipes.

3.Keep the trash cans close to the commode to encourage guests to place trash in the trash and not down the commode. Put the wet wipes up and out of sight. Some guests may not know they cannot be flushed down the commode.

Prior to doing a major flooring replacement job, we wanted to test our house to see if it had an undetected slab leak. The house is 30 years old and has not had a slab leak in the past to our knowledge. The plumber showed up on time and was very polite. The leak testing involved timing a pressure test on the supply lines and plugging and filling the sewer line and observing its level over time. Both sets of lines passed the test. We were pleased. We had used Rodger’s Plumbing in the past to replace 2 water heaters and add automated shut off valves. They did a great job then and we believed they would do so again, and they did. Highly recommended!

Originally contacted Rodgers for a simple toilet replacement which morphed into a larger bathroom remodel and some additional plumbing work around resetting lines and fixing a flange problem. Enjoyed working with Jimmy and found him sincere, credible and with my best interests in mind.

Old kitchen faucet broke and they did a new faucet install on the same day on short notice. They were running late but called to inform me. Reasonably priced compared to the 3 other plumbers I called and were available same day.

The toilet tune-up service was excellent. Beforehand, the toilet was continuously running water after a flush while the bowl never filled with water. To stop the continuous water flow, I had to open and shut the water valve before and after using the toilet. Rodger Plumbing was very responsive to my request for the toilet tune-up service, showed up 15 minutes early, and quickly evaluated / fixed the problems with the toilet. They even replaced a toilet part not covered by the tune-up service without any incremental charge. It works good as new now.

Robert came out quickly after we called to schedule service. He was efficient in getting the job done and was detailed in his explanations. He also was able to get our shut off valves at the furnace, water heater and oven up to code. When we had issues with the very picky inspector (who we later found out wasn’t even the normal inspector), Rodger’s Plumbing was quick to come back out and make adjustments per the city’s unusual requests (shut off valve behind the oven above counter height). Overall, everyone we talked to and worked with at Rodger’s Plumbing was extremely pleasant and accommodating. They went above and beyond their hired duties to make sure we had excellent customer service. I’ll be using them going forward for all plumbing needs!

Cleared drain from roof & side of house. Very consistent with estimating costs (when possible) so it’s not a surprise. I have used Rodgers for years & will continue to do so! Everyone I have been in contact with has been friendly, professional & honest.

Roger came by personally to go over the details with me and schedule the work. Work was done promptly and professionally. Would hire again.