Month: February 2019

You whipped up dinner and threw the scraps into your kitchen sink without giving it a second thought, for the garbage disposal to do its job. We’ve all done this numerous times.

Such little lapses could eventually cause big-time damage. It’s true, that garbage disposals were invented with the aim of creating a fast and easy way to dispose of trash and clean up your kitchen.

However, disposals have limits on what they can dispose of and what they can’t. In regards to your garbage disposal, adopting good disposal habits and prevention are best practices.

With the United States producing 624,700 metric tons of waste daily, garbage disposals have become a necessity in most homes to manage waste but when damaged they can be very expensive to fix.

So how do you know what not to drop into your garbage disposal in order to prevent damage?

That’s what you’ll learn in this article, knowing this will save you tons of cash in repairs. So let’s look at 16 things you should never throw into your garbage disposal.

1. Coffee Grounds

Most likely you’ve heard about how coffee grounds help to clean your garbage disposal and eliminate odors; however, putting coffee grounds in your garbage disposal is a big no-no and should be avoided.

If you want to clean your garbage disposal you can try using lemon and ice.

Even though it’s quite tempting to toss the coffee grounds into your drain, as it seems like a quick solution, it will cause a very costly backup.

2. Egg Shells

After whipping up your bacon and eggs breakfast, you can easily form the habit of throwing the eggshells into the garbage disposal.

The eggshells may seem brittle and harmless, but after you throw them down the drain, your garbage disposal grinds it up into tiny pieces and it ends up sticking to other oily and fatty substances which creates a huge clog.

Asides from this, the inner membrane of the eggshells gets stuck in the garbage disposal blades which makes it dull in grinding up waste.

3. Fat and Oils

Fats and oil account for over 47% of all sewer overflow in the United States yearly, this shows that it’s a major problem for your garbage disposal and must be actively prevented.

As a matter of fact, these two substances spell woe for your garbage disposal.

They act as adhesives for all other substances thrown into your drain and create sticky, thick globs in your pipe which stops every other thing from passing through.

4. Pasta and Rice

Dropping cooked rice and pasta into your garbage disposal can cause a plumbing nightmare. This is because they are foods that expand in water, and will increase in size when in the disposal.

Also, the garbage disposal grinds the pasta and rice making a nasty thick paste which will cause your garbage disposal to stop functioning or block your drain.

5. Bones and Other Solids

Source: YouTube

You shouldn’t send solid substances down your garbage disposal, it may be strong but it’s certainly not strong enough to break bones and other types of solid wastes.

They will get stuck in your pipes and sink and, jam your disposal as well as cause numerous other issues. Rather, put them in the bin or compost them.

Also, seed pits should never be put in the garbage disposal, because of how thick they are.

6. Celery

While some veggies can slide down your garbage disposal with no issues at all, celery can cause it to back up with heavy problems.

This happens as a result of the long fibers it possesses which tie up the glides of your garbage disposal

7. Paper Towels

Even though paper towels are biodegradable, they won’t dissolve instantly because they are made to be absorbent, so they’ll end up restricting the blades of your disposal.

8. Cotton Balls

As soft as cotton balls are, if you dump a bunch of them in your garbage disposal, you’ll end up restricting the blades from moving.

9. Oatmeal

Oatmeal especially when uncooked can easily slip through the disposal without being cut. Oatmeal generally swells or expands when it makes its way through the disposal.

In some occasions, the oatmeal may flow out of the garbage into the sewer but if it doesn’t flow out and it gathers in the down line and you will have to clean out the drain and this can be very discomforting.

So if you do not want to constantly do some plumbing work on your garbage disposal, try not to let oatmeal get into it.

10. Nuts

No matter how tempting it looks don’t ever succumb to the temptation of dumping nuts into your drainage. Nuts are hard to get rid of and peanuts are not exempted.

It may look as if they glide easily into the garbage disposal but the issue is not getting them into the garbage disposal it is getting them out of the garbage disposal.

If peanuts and peanut butter get into your garbage disposal, the drain will get clogged and the process of unclogging is quite messy and tiring.

11. Onion Skins

If big chunks or diced onions are dumped into the garbage disposal, it doesn’t really cause any problem, but where the problem lies is if the thin membrane which comes after the dry outer layer gets stuck in the garbage disposal.

This inner layer is not just thin; it is also very slippery and can easily pass into the garbage disposal without your notice.

The thinness makes it easy for it to miss being cut by the blades of the garbage disposal and they it gets wound around the drain.

Once it gets wound in the drain it begins to catch more items that should pass through the drain and before you know it the drain will become blocked.

You can, however, avoid this annoying scenario by dropping the thin layer in the trash and then cut it up into tiny pieces before throwing the tiny pieces into the garbage disposal.

12. Trash

Trash like plastic bags, paper towels, candy wrappers, banana peels, shouldn’t be put into the garbage disposal.

What you could do is put materials like this into the recycle bin or look for alternative ways of disposing of them.

13. Fruit Pits

Some fruits have very hard and dense pits in their center and despite the fact that other parts of the fruit can be put into the garbage disposal, the pits shouldn’t be put into it to avoid running into problems.

Have you ever tried to cut through the pit of a peach fruit?

The answer is most likely no. If you are not able to cut it open with a knife then the garbage disposal will most likely not be able to grind it up either.

When hard items are dropped into the garbage disposal, the machine will begin to malfunction and will have difficulty properly disposing of waste.

Save yourself the stress by dumping your fruit pits into somewhere else order than the garbage disposal.

14. Cleaning Chemicals

Avoid pouring harsh cleaning chemicals such as industrial grade cleaners and drain busters into the garbage disposal.

Regular cleaning agents like dish soap are not capable of causing any harm but harsh chemicals can cause damage to both your garbage disposal and your drain line.

You may think that putting these chemicals will help to clean the blade of the garbage disposal but all they will end up doing is causing wear to it.

If you want to clean the blades of the garbage disposal you can use ice cube of dish soap to clean out any buildup of dirt or grease and if it is clogged, you can seek for alternative ways of unclogging it without using harsh chemicals.

15. Paint

When you pour paint (oil or latex) into your garbage disposal, the paint won’t go directly into the drain, it will cling to the sides of the disposal and also the pipes and then begin to get hard and clog the drainage.

You can pour heavily diluted paint into the disposal without running into any problem but once the paint is concentrated, don’t pour it into the disposal directly.

16. Wet wipes

Wet wipes are an absolute no for your garbage disposal. They create knots which prevent the disposal from functioning optimally and ultimately damage it.

Conclusion

While having garbage disposal makes getting rid of unwanted waste quicker, if you do not know the do’s and don’ts of using one, you may end up spending a fortune in fixing it.

However, following the above list, you can save a lot of cash by avoiding unnecessary repairs.

This post first appeared on https://blog.antaplumbing.com

Whether your water heater broke or your family is growing, you might just need a new water heater. Choosing a new one doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Just follow these tips, and this will be one of the easiest things you’ve done!

Research How Water Heaters Work

There are a lot of different kinds of water heaters. They range from tank to tankless and can be powered by gas, electricity, oil, solar or heat pump.

The two most common tank water heaters run on gas or electricity.

Electric water heaters use coils that go down into the tank to heat your water. This type is ideal for a smaller household that doesn’t require much hot water. Although electric water heaters might be cheaper to purchase, they’re not as efficient as gas heaters in the long run. They also tend to be more expensive over time.

Gas heaters, be it natural gas or propane, are another common water heater choice. They use a gas burner that is vented through a chimney or small wall vent. Propane gas heaters are used when natural gas is not accessible. Propane tends to be cheaper than natural gas.

Above are great examples of tank water heaters, but there is another option: a tankless water heater.

Also known as the “on demand” water heater, it only turns on when you need hot water. There is no holding tank, which makes this a more efficient option. However, like the electric water heater, this also makes it a more expensive option.

You also need to consider the lifetime expectancy of the heater you choose. Where a tank water heater can hold from 40 to 60 gallons of hot water and last up to 13 years, a tankless heater can last up to 20 years.

Taking all this into consideration, it ultimately comes to what is most suitable for you and your household.

Size and Storage Of Water Heaters

You must factor size and storage into your search for a new water heater. To help with this, think back to how satisfied you were with how your old one worked. Some things to consider: Did you had enough hot water? How long did you have to wait for it to reheat?

If the old water heater didn’t provide enough hot water, you might want to upgrade the size of the new water heater.

For a storage tank water heater, a very important factor to consider is the amount of water that can be held and the recovery rate, which is basically the amount of water that can be heated in an hour. An energy sticker on the new water heater will display the recovery rate as First Hour Rating (FHR).

For example, a four-person household would require a 40- to 50-gallon water tank, whereas a two-person household could skate by with a 30- to 40-gallon tank.

Gas heaters have a better FHR than electric water heaters, which means they have a smaller tank with the same EF rating.

Now What?

Choosing your new water heater doesn’t have to be a headache. Just remember: do your research on types, sizes and storage options.

If you get stuck, give us a call. Here at Knoxville Plumbing, we have experts who can help you evaluate what your family needs and match these up with the heater that will work best for you and your household.

The post Choosing a New Water Heater appeared first on Knoxville Plumbing | Plumber in Knoxville | Plumbing | Tennessee.

One of the advantages of living in Florida in general – and Central Florida in particular – is that the increasingly harsh winter weather making news this season is absent in the Sunshine State. While Northern and Midwestern states dig out from massive amounts of snow and sleet, we nevertheless complain bitterly when the thermometer dips to 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

So if you’re a snowbird lucky enough to have a winter home here, or permanently relocated to escape the Arctic freezes, you may be wondering if your septic tank needs special attention this time of year.

Fortunately, the short answer is “no.”

However, certain times of year and certain weather conditions in Florida demand more vigilance on the part of homeowners who have a septic system. But back to that short “no.” What Florida lacks in snow and ice, it more than makes up for in winter visitors – many of who may be your houseguests. As your home is their vacation headquarters, they’re stressing your septic system with additional use. Since their home’s plumbing is most likely connected to a municipal sewer system, they may not know the special care a septic system requires.

Our colleagues at ADB Construct & Septic Corp. of Manchester, CT, wrote about the hazards that holiday guests pose to a septic system in their own blog. 

 

Here’s their observation, because, frankly, we couldn’t say it better ourselves:

“Having guests over during the holiday season can cause damage to your septic system. Your system can become overworked with an increase in showers and laundry usage.

The preparation of elaborate holiday meals can contribute to an overworked system as well. Additionally, guests who are unfamiliar with septic systems might flush unauthorized items down the toilet, leading to damage of your system.

“In order to avoid these issues, stagger showers and laundry usage, rather than using a large amount of water all at once. Stagger your food preparation over a few days if possible. Additionally, you should remind guests what items can and can’t be flushed down your toilet.”

 

As we always say around here at Adams and Son Plumbing, no matter if your home is on a septic or sewer system, only three things should be flushed down the toilet – one them being toilet paper. That means no baby wipes, tissues, paper towels or feminine hygiene products. Ever.

 

Now, back to the weather and your septic tank

Anyone who has called themselves a Floridian for any length of time knows that summer is the danger season for septic tanks. To understand why, it helps to know how a septic system is constructed and how it operates. 

As outlined by Nix Tank Company of Gainesville, GA, a septic system consists of three primary units:

• Inlet pipe: Waste from all of the drains in your house run through this pipe into the septic tank.
• Tank: An underground two-chamber tank holds the waste as it separates into sludge, scum and effluent (liquid).
• Drain field: A perforated pipe releases effluent into the soil for further biodegradation. Solid is routinely pumped by specialists.

The solid waste settles at the bottom of the tank and becomes sludge as microbes break the material down. Grease and lighter solids float to the top. On a non-rainy day, the liquid material, also called effluent, flows from the drain field into the soil and is purified by microbes.

Heavy rain results in excessive water in the soil. This limits the drain field’s ability to release effluents into the soil and leads to dangerous levels of liquid filling up in the tank. Day after day of heavy, sustained rain – as we experience in Florida during a typical summer – can saturate the drain field and overwhelm the septic tank, causing water to back up in toilets and drains. Add an active hurricane season to the mix, and disaster looms.

Save water to save your septic system

The best course of action during rain/hurricane season is to go into holiday houseguest mode. Schedule laundry to avoid washing more than one load a day. Give the dishwasher a break and wash by hand in the sink, running the water only to rinse. Shower, rather than bathe, and keep it brief. Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth and performing other personal grooming. If you have a swimming pool, don’t allow it to drain into your septic system.

Of course, call us if you suspect a leak anywhere in your house or on your property, as leaks also add to the demand on a septic tank – in addition to the other damage they cause. Our June 2018 blog post, “How to Detect Plumbing Leaks” provides valuable tips on locating leaks before they cause extensive destruction. Our July 2018 blog post, “Septic Tank Maintenance – What You Need to Know,” offers additional water-saving advice, as well as steps to keep your septic system trouble-free.

No matter what the season – rain or shine – Adams and Son Plumbing has been providing experienced, expert septic system service to Central Florida residences for 40 years.

Contact us to schedule an appointment.

The post How Weather Affects Septic Tanks in Florida appeared first on Adams and Son Plumbing Services.