Important Facts to Consider during Fix a Leak Week!

Did you know that if you use less water for cleaning you’ll save energy and protect the environment?

Drops need Energy! Be aware!

To understand how water and energy work together, it’s important to ask this question: Have you ever picked up a gallon of water or milk from the fridge? It’s a bit heavy, right? The same happens when a lot of energy is used to carry every gallon of water you use from a drinking water source to a treatment plant that makes it safe to drink.

After water leaves the treatment plant, more energy is needed to carry it through water pipes to your house. Imagine the journey it has taken—and just how tired you would be after carrying that much water all day! Exhausting, right?

When you open the faucet to get “hot water”, it takes energy to warm it up before it comes out of your faucet. The energy it takes to treat and deliver the water that just 10 houses use in a year could power your home’s refrigerator for more than two years! 

Showering Tips, do’s & don’ts!

The shower is a place where we can clean up, cool off, wake up, or relax after a long day. But it’s also a place where we waste a lot of water and energy! Please consider these  facts to save water and energy:

• The average shower lasts eight minutes. Since a standard showerhead has a water flow of 2.2 gallons per minute, each shower uses 18 gallons of water!

• If water drips from the faucet after you turn it off, it could be a leak. Call an  Expert Plumbing company such as Benjaming Franklin Pulmbing! 

• One of the best places to save both water and energy at home is in your shower.

• Make sure to turn off the faucet all the way after you  take a shower.

• WaterSense has a special label for showerheads that use less water but still provide a great spray of water when you shower. Try it WaterSense labeled showerhead.

• Every shower, you’ll save enough electricity to power a 60-watt light bulb for eight hours.

• Every year, you’ll save the amount of water it takes to wash more than 70 loads of laundry.

• Ever y Drop Counts! Don’t leave the water on when you brush your teeth.

• Follow U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program with some tips for how you and your family can “shower better.”

Important Facts you might not know!

·     Water is also used to cool the power plants that generate the electricity we use every day. So, every time your television, computer, or lights use energy, water is being used up too. In fact, it takes 3,000 to 6,000 gallons of water to power one light bulb left on 12 hours a day for a year. Turn out the lights and save both water and energy!

• WaterSense labeled showerheads use less water but still have power. Estimate how much water they save by recalculating numbers 6 through 9 above using a shower flow of 2.0 gallons per minute. Check out how much water you can save by looking for WaterSense when shopping for a showerhead.

• There are more than 300 million people in the United States. If each person reduced his or her shower time by one minute, we could save a combined 165 billion gallons each year!

• Energy we use at home is measured in something called kilowatt hours, or kWh. On average, your home’s television uses 26 kWh of electricity per month. If your family uses WaterSense labeled showerheads, you save more than 370 kWh of electricity per year. With the energy, you’re saving, you could watch 14 months of television!

• Across the United States, we use more than one trillion gallons of water each year just for showering. Never fear! You and your family can still save water and energy. 

    Leaks account for approximately 1 trillion gallons of water wasted in the United States each year. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) WaterSense, program promotes its annual Fix a Leak Week as part of its efforts to encourage Americans to use water efficiently. The average home can waste more than 10,000 gallons of water per year-more than enough to fill a backyard swimming pool. By finding and fixing running toilets, leaky faucets, and dripping showerheads, a family can save as much as 10 percent on its utility bills and save water for future generations.

     If you've already determined, you have leaks and you have found that DIY is not enough for water and energy savings solutions it might be time to replace your leaking fixtures as well as having a plumbing fixture evaluation. If you consult with a plumbing professional, and look for the WaterSense label when considering a new toilet, faucet, or showerhead, you could increase your home's water efficiency.

Remember, Leaks Can Run, but They Can't Hide

Save The Date!!! Fix a Leak Week Event - March 20 through 26, 2017

    

    Our professionals team and our highly skilled plumbers are professionally trained and have the skills, tools, and experience to exceed your expectations. For your Treasure Coast and North Palm Beach emergency plumbing need contact our emergency plumbers, at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing.

     We are available 24 hours, 7 days a week to solve all your plumbing issues at your convenience. you can also visit us online at: http://www.benfranklinplumber.com/wp/maintenance-service-plans/ for all your plumbing needs.

ST. LUCIE (772) 236-6080

MARTIN (772) 214-3848

PALM BEACH(561) 316-9007

INDIAN RIVER (772) 617-0370 References WaterSense: Meets EPA Critera WaterSense An EPA Partnership Program. (2008, Mayo 08). WaterSense: Meets EPA Critera WaterSense An EPA Partnership Program. Retrieved from https://www3.epa.gov/watersense/our_water/learn_more.html#tabs-6

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The Benjamin Franklin Plumbing Team from Florida’s Treasure Coast is Ready for the “Fix a Leak” Week Event!

Do you know what the "Fix a Leak Week project" is? 

It’s an annual event hosted by the EPA to chase down household leaks. This project will take place March 20 through 26, 2017, and it’s the ideal opportunity to hunt down the drips inside and outside your home. Household leaks can waste more than 1 trillion gallons of water annually nationwide, so be prepare to chase those leaks at home and save valuable water and money all year long.

The main purpose of this event is to teach you and your family how to find and fix household leaks. What you can expect from this event? From WaterSense demonstrations, family fun runs to leak detection contests and insights about how to be handy around the house when addressing these issues.

There are common types of leaks found in the home, such as worn toilet flappers, dripping faucets, and other leaking valves. These types of leaks are often easily correctable, requiring only a few tools and hardware that can pay for themselves in water savings.

First, you need to determine whether you're wasting water, the next step will be identifying the source of the leak. Here are some recommendations to follow carefully to identify if your home is addressing any leaks.

• Check your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter changes at all, you probably have a leak.

• Look at your water usage periodically, such as January or February months. If a family of four exceeds 12,000 gallons per month, there are serious leaks.

• Add some drops of food coloring in the toilet tank, if any color shows up in the bowl after 10 minutes, you have a leak.

• Examine faucet gaskets and pipe fittings for any water on the outside of the pipe to check for surface leaks.

• The Regional Water Providers Consortium has a video on detecting household leaks that you may find helpful.

Toilets 

Flappers are inexpensive rubber parts that can build up minerals or decay over time, and that is one of the most common reason toilets will leak. Replacing them can be a quick and easy fix for your water woes. To fix this leak, consult your local hardware store, or licensed plumber.

Bring the old flapper to the hardware store for comparison to make sure you buy a new flapper that fits your toilet model. You can also check the owner's manual, if you have it, or the manufacturer's website for the appropriate replacement part number for the flapper.

Faucet

Old and worn faucet washers and gaskets frequently cause leaks in faucets. Many tutorials are available online for how to fix a wide variety of faucets. Here are a couple of examples:

• The Do-It-Yourself Network has a handy reference on faucet repairs

•  YouTube has numerous video tutorials on how to fix a dripping faucet 

Showerheads

Some leaky showerheads can be fixed by making sure there is a tight connection between the showerhead and the pipe stem and by using pipe tape to secure it. Pipe tape, also called Teflon tape, is available at most hardware stores, is easy to apply, and can help tame unruly leaks. For more complicated valve leaks in showers that drip when not in use, contact an experienced handyperson or licensed plumber.

     Outdoors

     If you have an in–ground irrigation system, check it each spring before use to make sure it wasn’t damaged. Or hire an irrigation professional certified to inspect it for you. They will not only help you detect and correct leaks in the system, but also maximize its efficiency.

     Finally, check your garden hose for leaks at its connection to the spigot. If it leaks while you run your hose, replace the nylon or rubber hose washer, and ensure a tight connection to the spigot using pipe tape and a wrench.

     Have you done all that you can to try to eliminate leaks from your home but still can't nip that drip in the bud?

     If you've already determined you have leaks and you find these step-by-step solutions aren't enough to stop them, it might be time to replace your leaking fixtures. If you consult with a plumbing professional, and look for the WaterSense label when considering a new toilet, faucet, or showerhead, you could increase your home's water efficiency.

     Our professional team and our highly skilled plumbers are expertly trained and experienced to exceed your expectations. For your Treasure Coast and North Palm Beach emergency plumbing needs contact our emergency plumbers, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing. 

   We are available 24 hours, 7 days a week to solve all your plumbing issues at your convenience. you can also visit us online at: http://www.benfranklinplumber.com/wp/leakdetections   for all your plumbing needs.

ST. LUCIE (772) 236-6080

MARTIN (772) 214-3848

PALM BEACH(561) 316-9007

INDIAN RIVER (772) 617-0370

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Ways to Prevent a Plumbing Catastrophe during Christmas

During Christmas, everything seems to change, family reunions, hosting friends at home, meeting new neighbors, preparation of food, endless possibilities that you and your home is expose to a different routine. Based on that challenging season we considered this article very useful to help you to prevent a plumbing catastrophe, specially during Christmas time.

Its plumbing safe to try on your own, correct? Even when there are many simple DIY plumbing projects, more complex projects needs the help of an expert, because it’s a job that people spend years and years learning how to do well as plumbers. Becoming a master plumber takes 8 years, in fact. That’s as much as a doctor. So, when it comes to dealing with plumbing emergencies, prevention is the name of the game. Follow this common ways to prevent a plumbing catastrophe at home:

1. Know where your main water shutoff valve is and if it works

It is important to know where your main water shutoff valve is. If any plumbing problems arise, this will allow you to quickly stop the incoming flow of water into your house. It is also a great thing to know about if you will be doing any minor DIY work. 

2. Check plumbing fixtures

Regularly checking your toilets, tubs, sinks, valves and other fixtures will help to ensure problems aren’t being discovered the wet way. Every 2-3 months, making a lap around your house inspecting your fixtures for any damage. Check the place where the fixture meets the drain. If anything looks wrong or broken, get some professional help.

3. Freeze-proof your pipes

Even Thought winter in Florida is no that aggressive, it’s important to recognize that your plumbing also needs to be fitted for the change of the weather. On unusually cold days, cabinets containing plumbing should be left open toward the heated room, and rooms with exterior plumbing should be kept no colder than 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Only use matching components

If you need to replace a connector or a pipe fitting, you should always make sure you are using matching components. Size and materials are both important. We see a lot of damage done by people connecting the wrong types of pipes in attempted DIY work. Because a break in this fixture, for instance, could leave you up a certain creek 

5. Test your sump pump

Sump pump systems keep pesky ground water from seeping into your house through the basement. Every 3-4 months, test your sump pump system by pouring enough water into the pit to trip the float and make the pump run. The pump should remove the water. If it doesn’t, make sure it’s plugged in and connected to electricity. If it properly plugged in and still doesn’t work, then call the experts.

6. Call a professional, Call Benjamin Franklin

As we mentioned there is a follow up steps that could be made in order to prevent a catastrophe, however plumbing is not really a DIY activity. Attempting to “learn by doing” with the stuff under your house and in your walls, could damage both your house and your walls. In situations where you are unsure, call a professional to have their advice.

We recommend our professional team; our highly skilled plumbers are expertly trained and experienced to exceed your expectations. Plumbing emergencies can happen at any time day or night, so you can’t afford to wait for normal business hours to call a repair technician. 

For your Treasure Coast and North Palm Beach emergency plumbing contact Ben Franklin Plumbing emergency line. We are available 24 hours, 7 days a week to solve all your plumbing problems at your convenience.

Wishing you a safe and Happy Holidays! 

EMERGENCY SERVICE: (877) 236-1776

ST. LUCIE: (772) 236-6080

MARTIN: (772) 214-3848

PALM BEACH: (561) 316-9007

INDIAN RIVER: (772) 617-0370

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DID YOU KNOW THE DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING IS ALSO THE BUSIEST DAY FOR PLUMBERS?

One of the busiest day of the year for plumbers is the day after Thanksgiving, wondering why? Simple, with the preparation for Thanksgiving meal there’s a lot that can go down your drain and disposal. Small portions of food as well as the extra use of your drain and disposal among others, puts more pressure on plumbing systems. For that reason, the day after Thanksgiving we are prepared to receive tons of phone calls looking for our services. 

In some cases, trying to complete a huge plumbing project using DIY procedures can actually be very dangerous. You might be handy, and it’s possible you know your way around a faucet and a drain at home but, when it comes to plumbing problems, there are some things that are simply better left to a professional.

A recent survey by Benjamin Franklin Plumbing found that the majority of homeowners try to fix plumbing problems themselves rather than calling a certified plumber. Here is a list of simple tips you can consider during this season to avoid many plumbing issues:

• Follow a regular check out on your plumbing fixtures

Following a regular check out on your plumbing system to see is everything is working accurate will save you time and money, so go around the house and look carefully if anything of the following issues are happening: Dripping faucets, running toilet, leaky pipes, slow or clogged drains and low water pressure.

• Consider a preventative maintenance if not sure if your plumbing system is accurate 

If water drains slowly in your showers or sinks, and it’s been a while since you’ve had a plumbing inspection, now may be a good time to call a trusted plumbing professional. They can spot potential trouble areas. They can also help winterize your plumbing system for the colder weather to come. Cold temperatures can put more stress on your pipes, drains, outdoor hose bibs and water heaters

• Use substantial amount of water 

A common mistake many people make is not using enough water with the disposal. Run water for more than just a few seconds when using the disposal. The water keeps the food moving through the drain and helps flush it out.

• The trash can or compost pile is best

Fats, bones and vegetable peels can clog drains and damage the disposal. We recommended to have a handy trash where you can put them as the extra use of your disposal puts more pressure on the plumbing systems. When fats and grease cool, put them into a disposable container also and throw it in the trash. If you have a compost pile, that’s a good place for peels.  Anything that you can hold in your hand and throw it out instead, is better to keep safe the plumbing system.

Plumbing emergencies can happen at any time day or night, so you can’t afford to wait for normal business hours to call a repair technician. For your Treasure Coast and North Palm Beach emergency plumbing needs contact our emergency plumbers from Ben Franklin Plumbing at (877) 236 -1776. 

We are available 24 hours, 7 days a week to solve all your plumbing issues at your convenience, and lets the spirit of Christmas begins safe and enjoyable! 

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What to do if your Water Heater is Leaking?

A water heater leak may seem like just a minor issue, but if you don’t get this problem fixed in a short time, a water heater failure can cause a significant flood in your house. This can also lead to weighty repair bills, and cause mold to sprout, which can be hazardous to your health as well as lead to even more damage to your property.

Hot water heaters, whether gas or electric, will last you about 10 – 12 years (depending on how good you take care if it). Even so, there’s always a chance your water heater could leak.

Water heaters will typically leak from one of two places. Depending on where the leak is located, you may or may not need a new water heater.  Take a few minutes to determine where the leak is actually coming from, and you may be able to fix the leak yourself with little or no cost. 

Where to Start?

Step 1: The first thing you have to do before starting work on the water heater, is to turn off the power and the gas, and shut off the water to the heater to avoid possible shock or burns.

Step 2: When you have completed the previous steps, you have to drain the water tank. To do this, you have to let the water flow through a hose until the tank is empty. The water should run outdoors, or to a large bucket (it’s not recommended that you empty the water inside of your house).

*Caution: Remember that the water exiting the water heater will be very hot!

Step 3: Identify the leak’s location:  Sometimes the location of the leak is obvious, but a pool of water can also show up some distance from where the leak occurs.  Once you experience a leak from your water heater, there are two places where the leak may come from:

1. The drain valve also called (Temperature & Pressure Relief Valve), which is the spigot at the bottom of the tank that drains the water.

2. The water heater’s tank: The leak may even be at the top of the water heater, and simply running down through the body of the heater before escaping at a lower level. Water heaters have limited life spans; it’s possible that your tank has become corroded. 

If there is a puddle close to your water heater, condensation could be an explanation too. Condensation occurs when most of the water inside the tank is cold, so the cold tank, reacting with the warmer air inside the home, causes condensation. The water then drips off the tank and onto the floor, which gives the false appearance of a leaking tank. 

Step 4: Repairing or replacing the tank: As stated above, water heater leaks can be a serious problem, so take action quickly! 

If the leak comes from the drain valve, you have to make sure that the bottom valve is fully closed by turning the valve control clockwise. If this does not solve the problem, there could be another problem that requires a professional plumber to repair.

Replacement valves for hot water heaters are available at most hardware stores, and can be replaced using only a wrench. Turn the existing valve counter clockwise to remove it. Wrap the threads of the replacement drain valve with plumber’s tape, and then screw the new valve into the opening until it is hand tight.

If the water heater is leaking from the tank itself, you certainly have to contact a licensed plumber to replace it, because there is no way to repair a leaking tank. The inside of the tank eventually corrodes from mineral deposits and from the constant strain of heating and cooling. 

If you choose to replace your water heater yourself, you will need to properly dispose of the old unit, but either way, the best advice is to call a professional plumber. 

How to Extend the Life of Your Hot Water Heater

To avoid these kinds of problems, which can happen to all of us, the following practices can help extend the life of your hot water tank, as well as keep it operating at its maximum efficiency.

• Drain the tank yearly.

• Replace the anode rod that is inside the tank every 6 months or so.

Any time your hot water heater’s tank begins leaking, the safest thing to do is call a professional plumber who can assess the problem and determine if you need to replace your water heater. Do you live in the Treasure Coast Area?

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of the Treasure Coast and Palm City can repair or replace your water heater, and help you choose a new one that’s right for your family’s needs.

Be sure and check out the current rebates for tankless water heaters.

Contact us here:

ST. LUCIE (772) 236-6080.

MARTIN (772) 214-3848.

PALM BEACH (561) 316-9007.

INDIAN RIVER (772) 617-0370

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Basic Plumbing Tools

Occasionally challenges such as clogs or leaks arise which a do-it-yourselfer would like to remedy quickly. Specific tools are necessary for these types of repairs. While you don't need to know everything about plumbing, it's important to understand the basics, especially when it comes to leaks.

Plumbing Tools

A few tools that are crucial to any home plumbing tool box include: 

1. Closet Auger

Unclogs toilets when a plunger will not work. The auger feeds into the toilet opening and releases the clog when pulled out.

2. Pipe Wrench

Heavy-duty wrench available in several sizes. Great for gripping and turning pipes. Adjustable jaws are made to grip one way and slide the other way.

3. Slip-joint Pliers

Great for various plumbing jobs. Easily removes large nuts such as those found on the p-traps under your sink.

4. Basin Wrench

Long handle wrench with jaws at the end. Designed for reaching nuts in hard to reach areas.

Tips to Remember:

• When dealing with toilet clogs, be sure to wear heavy-duty rubber gloves.

• Pipe wrenches and slip-joint pliers are great tools to have around for retrieving items that have fallen into a drain.

• A basin wrench fits where most other wrenches can't.

• Probably one of the most important tips to remember is where the main water valve is for easy shut off access. (Just in case)

• The average household plumbing system represents an investment of about fifteen percent of the value of the house.

If you are not equipped with these tools, and are in dire need of help, contact the experts.

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of the Treasure Coast.

benfranklin@benfranklinplumber.com

772-236-6080

Mon-Sun: 24/7

www.benfranklinplumber.com

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