Smell Gas? If so, don’t call the gas company, but rather immediately call a plumber or turn off the gas yourself.

The reason is that when you call the gas company, they immediately put a lock on the main gas meter valve not enabling you to turn it on. But if you call a plumber, the gas in your home remains on while you safely try to locate the area of the gas leak, enabling you to continue to have hot water or a stove to cook on or heat at home.

If you do suspect you have a gas leak, you should turn off the main immediately, and stay away until we get there. Yes, it’s a dangerous situation to be in, but plumbers are more helpful in this area. Besides the gas company doesn’t fix leaks for you anyway!

So keep a wrench tied to your gas meter so that its there in case you ever need it and consider an earthquake seismic shut off valve which automatically shuts down the gas in case of an earthquake. You might even be eligible for a discount on your home insurance for having one installed.

After the earthquake happens you can assess the damage (if any) and easily turn on your gas using a household screwdriver near the gas meter!

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Which brand of heater should I buy? Answer is Bradford-White.

Which brand of heater should I buy? Answer is Bradford-White.

A water heater is one of the most important appliances in your home.

Used to be that when a water heater needed replacing, most homeowners just bought a new tank to replace the old one. But now federal regulations in 2015 require tank water heaters to become more energy efficient, so buying a new one just got a little more complicated and possibly more expensive. This will will save money on your utility bill over time.

Whether it’s a conventional tank water heaters, or tankless water heaters, we only recommend Bradford-White for their superior quality and reliability.

Kitchen sink constantly getting clogged?

Kitchen sink constantly getting clogged?

Consider running less food waste and more water down the drain. Stoppages occur when the waste isn’t driven down by the quantity of water.

So when you use your garbage disposal make sure the food waste isn’t going down without adequate water. And for goodness sakes, don’t put anything that has fibrous material like artichoke skin or celery. Rice also has a tendency to expand and cause stoppages as well.

Make it a habit to put excess food waste in the garbage can rather than the drain… in short. If you only ran water down the drain, you’d probably NEVER have to deal with a stopped up drain at all. Try getting used to only rinsing light food off of your dishes for trouble free drains in the kitchen.

Low water pressure in the shower?

Low water pressure in the shower?

Try removing your shower heads and test the pressure without the head installed to eliminate the head as a source of trouble.  If you have great pressure without the head installed then you likely just need to clean the shower head you have (or replace it) rather than repipe your home saving you thousands of dollars.

I can’t tell you the amount of times that an unsuspecting homeowner was told by a plumber that they needed a new piping system when all I saw were dirty screens at the fixtures!

However, if removing the shower head does not provide water pressure, we are happy to help. Just call us at 818-625-7772 in the Los Angeles area.

Simple preventative maintenance for all drains

Simple preventative maintenance for all drains

Nothings more troubling than a slow draining fixture!

In order to keep your fixtures flowing freely, don’t rinse the hair strands that fall into your sink or shower down the drain, but rather pick them up and place them in the trash can. Get a simple hair drain catcher, it could saving you hundreds on drain cleaning and stoppages.

Sewer problems? Roots?

Sewer problems? Roots?

It’s very common for a sewer to have roots in it. Don’t let high pressure sewer contractors trick you into buying a new sewer system just because you had sewage come up in your tub or shower one time.. Instead get it cleaned out when the problem arises and use the frequency of those problems to gauge the necessity of when to replace the sewer.

Sewer contractors often use your fear to sell you a new sewer and while you’re in an emergency state of mind and they convince you that you need a new sewer while in fact that may not be the case at all.

You may also want to consider a pop-off/up cap at your clean out or get a clean out installed to lessen the effects on your life and to let the waste water issue arrive outside of the home rather than inside where it can be quite alarming and unsanitary.

In short, clean your sewer when needed and don’t jump to conclusions by replacing it just because contractors said that you need to.