Drain blocked? BEWARE!!!

There is no feeling to describe how one feels when it becomes apparent  your drain or sewer has clogged up.  You may wake in the morning, take your  shower and go to start some laundry when you are hit with some awful odor as you descend the basement stairs.  You proceed further to investigate and find the area around the drain under the utility tub is covered with water and sewage.  Now you are faced with an even bigger problem, who to call.  How do you determine who to call?  Do you go to the yellow pages? Or ask a neighbor?  the internet maybe?  All of these will find you plumbing companies that can open your blocked drain. 

 There are several companies that will do a great job for you, but which one do you pick.  Let’s see, you can choose one of the national “rooter” companies and this is what you may get when they arrive at your home.  The Technician will sell you a drain cleaning for what seems like a high price to you but you need it done so you say ok.  As he is snaking the drain the “supervisor” will arrive at the job offering you to camera your sewer for free.  Remember this is before the Technician has cleaned the drain well.  The “supervisor” who is actually a salesman, will proceed to tell you what terrible shape your sewer is in and how it needs to be dug up right away to solve this problem for good.  The cost for this sewer replacement will start in the $2-$3k range and go up from there.  “Sign this proposal and you’ll get 90 days same as cash”.  Their goal is not to clean your drain but to dig your drain, BEWARE!!!

Next there are the local companies that are larger and advertise any drain any time for $X.  This sounds great until they get to your home and your clean out is in the wrong spot or we can’t get a large enough snake through.  You need a camera or jet and the final cost will be several hundred dollars.  If you decline this service, well then there is no guarantee because you need additional work. BEWARE!!!

Here is what we do for you.  We will assess the situation, quote you a reasonable price and snake you drain with the largest cutter blade we can get through your sewer.  We will run the snake through the drain many times working the tough spots until they are no longer tough.  If we feel a camera is justified we will suggest that to you for an additional charge but there is no pressure.  We will clean up after ourselves.  Except for the lack of that awful smell in your basement and sewage on your floor you won’t know we were there.  Plus we offer the best guarantee in the business, up to 1 year.  With our On Time Guarantee you will know we will show up on time and ready to do you job.  Don’t hesitate to call C. Lee Services for all of your drain needs at 330-923-4944 today.  Drain cleaning is serious business, don’t leave it to amatures or sales people who just want your money.  We are in the service business.  We won’t recommend something we don’t believe will solve your problem just to raise the ticket price.  Call the honest plumber.  Beware of the big guys.

Water Saving Toilets

Do Water Saving Toilets Actually Work to Save Money and Water

This is the question that has haunted us for some time now. There is that one rumor saying that they don’t work because you have to flush two or three times to get everything down, which in turn uses more water than an older toilet and then there are those people who actually have the water saving toilets and say that they work and save money. So who should we believe? Maybe if we saw the facts it would help clear some of this up.

The average national daily water use for toilets is twenty-four gallons of water. To think about it, that is a lot of water being wasted. With the population rising, we need to conserve water since only three percent of the water on Earth is actually drinkable. One way we can conserve water and cut our costs down is to use a toilet with a 1.6-3.5 gallon tank instead of a seven or more gallon tank. That is half or a little more than what we are or were using, and that means less water you have to pay for.
           
After the water usage law of 1992 was passed, people had problems with the plumbing of their new smaller tank toilets. These newer low-flush toilets were not ready to be introduced into the market and that is where the rumor came from which claims that water saving toilets don’t work well. However, things have changed as we’ve progressed with technology. The new low-flush toilets now work better than the old water wasting toilets and that can come as a great relief to our water supply not to mention our pockets.
           
By replacing those old toilets that waste water it can save you an average of one hundred dollars a year, if not more. Of course your savings do vary on where you live because of different utility ratings, how many times the toilet is flushed, and how many people live in your home. Water saving toilets work and you should think about investing in one because it’ll actually save you money and you can do your part in protecting the environment by something so simple and easy to do. Find a plumbing contractor here to install a water saving toilet for you.

(As a personal note, I have two bathrooms and I decided to put in two water saving toilets and as it turns out it has saved me an average twenty dollars a month, which then I can put to use in my gas tank which makes it easier to go back and forth between work.)

To Flush or Not to Flush: How to Dispose of Cosmetics, Cleaning Supplies and Medications

Come on, admit it. Almost all of us are guilty of disposing something down the toilet that we shouldn’t have, one time or another. When we do this, we don’t stop to think about the safety of what we are doing. What is really happening to the things we flush? Read below to know the truth about what to flush or not to flush. If you aren’t sure if something you want to flush is safe, then you should ask a plumber for advice.

Water treatment does not remove the chemicals you flush

Water treatment plants don’t remove medications from wastewater.

Flushing things down the toilet, especially chemicals, whether it be cosmetics,cleaning supplies or medications, could be harmful and eventually end up in the water supply. Most water treatment plants are not designed to destroy or even remove these things from the wastewater.

Flushing medications down the toilet has a number of harmful consequences, and there are probably more that we don’t know about. Some of the harmful consequences include: poisoning aquatic environments and increasing the problem of bacterial resistance to pharmaceuticals.

Flushing cosmetics

These cosmetics contain chemicals that pollute the water supply.

When cosmetics are flushed, it can also poison aquatic environments because cosmetics usually contain chemical substances that are not removed by water treatment. If you have to throw away your lotions, and make-up products, put them in the trash. As of right now, landfills are the best place to dump cosmetics. Landfills are have plastic barriers that separate the garbage and the ground, which, although imperfect, reduces the risk of contaminating the soil and water table.

How to dispose of cleaning supplies

Cleaning chemicals end up in the water supply if your flush them.

Now what happens when we flush cleaning supplies down the toilet? Think of it this way: If cleaning materials cause skin irritation or other problems, imagine what it does to the aquatic life, which is usually more fragile than humans. Just as cleaning supplies can either kill us or make us sick, the same is true for aquatic life and wildlife. This doesn’t even include what the cleaners will do to the plant life. Flushing cleaning supplies down the toilet also runs the risk of corroding your pipes, as certain powerful chemicals damage your pipes over time.

Alternatives to flushing chemicals down the toilet

Only dispose of biodegradable materials in your toilet.

The old way of disposing cosmetics, cleaning supplies and medications was to flush them down the toilet, but now we recommend:

1.Ask your pharmacy about the proper way to dispose of the medication.
2.Seal medication with the childproof caps it came with and then tape it shut before placing it into your trash.
3.Place medications and cosmetics in with your used coffee grounds and throw it in the trash. This provides an unlikely place for people and pets to look through.
4.Place kitty litter in an empty milk container and then pour liquid cleaners or liquid medications into. It will be absorbed, and you won’t have to worry about contaminating the environment.

Please think twice before you flush your medications, cosmetics, and cleaning supplies down the toilet. Our environment is fragile and the only one we have, so lets not ruin it because we cannot dispose of things correctly. As for the cleaners that we use, it’s easy to find environmentally safe ones to cut down the risk of harming our world further.

Check out recipes for cheap, non-toxic cleaning solutions. Learn how to clean with vinegar. Kill mildew naturally.

Water Heating
Warm water can be costing you more than you think. A typical household spends 14 percent of their energy bill, or about $200 a year on hot water.

• To save on both water heating and water, install a low-flow showerhead. It can cut water use as much as 50 percent.
• Keep showers under 5 minutes. Turn off the water to soap up.
• Attach low-flow aerators to kitchen and bathroom faucets. The faucet will flow stronger while using much less water. For a family of four, this can save thousands of gallons of water a year.
• Wrap the hot water pipes coming out of your water heater with insulation.
• Set the thermostat to 120°F or less for normal use - saving money, energy and even skin (by eliminating scalds).
• If the side of your water heater feels warm near the top, install an insulation blanket. Make sure to use the appropriate type blanket for your water heater, whether it’s electric, gas or oil. Follow the manufacturer’s installation instructions carefully

Please check these tips.  They will help you save money in these difficult times.

Energy Saving Tips

• Limit the loss of expensive heated air to the outside. Use fans sparingly. In just one hour, these fans can blow away a house full of warm air.
• Keep fireplace dampers tightly closed until you prepare to light a fire. An open damper in a 48-inch square fireplace can let as much as 8% of our heat escape out the chimney.
• Lower your thermostat to about 65 degrees F during the day and 60 degrees F at night. For each degree you turn down your thermostat, you’ll save 3% on heating bills.
• When using the fireplace, open dampers in the bottom of the firebox if provided, or open the closet window about 1 inch and close the doors leading into the room. This allows more air for the fire without reducing heat loss.
• Make a draft detector by clipping a piece of tissue paper to a coat hanger. Hold the coat hanger in front of a suspected crack; any movement indicates a leak in need of caulking or weather stripping.
• Avoid heating unused areas by closing off unoccupied rooms and shutting off heat vents. (Does not apply if you have a heat pump)
• Learn about R values before you buy your insulation materials. These numbers indicate resistance of an insulation material to winter heat loss or summer heat gain.
• Consider installing storm windows and doors. Storm windows can be both energy efficient and convenient. Good windows can result in cost savings of as much as 15% a year.
• Consider the advantages of a clock thermostat for your heating system. The clock thermostat will turn the heat down automatically at a regular hour before you retire and turn it up again before you wake.
• Close windows and doors during hot days and open them at night.
• Close drapes and shades during hot days.
• Reduce use of oven, incandescent lights and appliances that generate heat.
• To stay cool, use ceiling fans to cool individual rooms.
• To stay cool, consider installing a whole house fan in the attic.
• Get a timer for air conditioners so they can be off all day and turned on before you get home.
• Time for a new color? Use light colors when painting the house and trim.
• Stay cool by planting shade trees on the sunny side of the house.