Angie's List has selected Heffner Plumbing for the 2011 Super Service Award in the Plumbing and Water Heater categories. Thanks to all of the Heffner Plumbing customers that have taken the time to submit reports to Angie's List to make this possible!

 

 

Mother Nature is playing games with us here in Indiana, but the consistently colder temperatures mean colder water coming into the house both for wells and city water. This colder water can shock water heaters tanks that are in marginal condition and cause them to start leaking. I see it every winter, so if you have a water heater that is 7 years or older, keep an eye on it. If you find that your tank is leaking, shut the water off to the water heater and give me a call even if it is at night or on the weekends.

 

The Federal tax credit for high efficiency appliances expires on December 31, 2011. Although the amount this year, $300.00, hardly compares to the $1500.00 from last year, it's still $300.00. This does not include rebates that may be given by the gas company which may be as much as $150.00. That being said, if you want a Navien tankless water heater, now's the time to call to get this done! http://energytaxincentives.org/consumers/heating-cooling.php  

...

I had an emergency service call today for a burst water line underneath the kitchen sink. The burst water line had flooded part of the kitchen and leaked water down into the unfinished basement below. When I arrived, I found that a plastic supply tube for the hot water for the kitchen sink faucet had blown apart and away from the shut-off valve. I removed both the hot and cold plastic supply tubes and installed stainless steel braided supply tubes that will not blow apart like the plastic one did for the hot water.

Speaking to the homeowner, he told me that he had installed the faucet and that the home improvement center had recommended the plastic supply tubes. These supply tubes are fine IF installed properly. The stainless steel braided supply tubes are more user friendly however and will not blow apart like the plastic one did on this job.

I have received so many calls over the past few years on these type of kitchen sink faucets, that I can diagnose almost 99% of these calls over the phone. The pull-out spray handle has a hose that is threaded into the end of it. Through use and/or abuse, the hose connection comes loose and will leak water down into the kitchen cabinet and make it appear that the sink is leaking. A simple way to check this is to pull the handle out of the faucet body and slowly turn the water on. If you start to see water leaking where the hose connects to the spray handle, gently tighten the connection with a pair of pliers. That's it! If the hose still leaks after tightening the connection, then you may need a new hose and a service call may be in order.

How many times have you heard the expression, "Water and electricity don't mix." Electrocution is a very real danger with a flooded basement. And it doesn't have to be a significant amount of water to have this happen. Just a 1/4 inch of water can electrocute a person as easily as 2 inches of water. Here are some steps to take if your basement floods:Turn off the electricity for the basement at the breaker panel. If there isn't a circuit breaker that will isolate the power to the basement, turn off the main circuit breaker to the house. Before you turn off the power to the house however, make sure that all of your computers have been backed up and shut down to prevent losing any work or files. If the circuit breaker panel is located in the basement, call an electrician or the power company to turn the power off. The simplest way to pump out a flooded basement is by using the sump pump. So if the basement has flooded because of a sump pump failure, get the pump replaced by a professional plumber and let the pump...

Mother Nature has been relentless in her wrath this winter for many parts of the country. The current ice storm that the Indianapolis area is experiencing could be catastrophic in terms of the damage done. Here are some things to consider in regard to your plumbing if you lose power:Water lines will not freeze until the temperature gets to 32 degrees or lower. If you lose power and are going to leave the house, shut the water off and open up all of the faucets down to the lowest fixture. If you shut the water off and don't drain the water pipes down, the pipes could freeze and split and flood the house when the water is turned back on. Empty the water out of the toilet tanks and bowls (again, only if you are leaving the house). A wet/dry vac does a great job of getting all of the water out. If you live on a well, fill the bathtub with water in order to flush toilets. Pour water from a bucket directly into the toilet bowl to flush it. Remember, if it is yellow, let it mellow. If it is brown, flush it down. This...

I've installed hundreds of kitchen sink faucets over the last 20 years, but never one like this. Delta has a line of kitchen sink faucets called Touch2O where all you have to do to turn the water on and off is touch the spout or handle. Sensors have been installed in the faucet that enable this to happen. These sensors are connected to a solenoid valve that turn the water on and off. The system is powered by 4 C cell batteries with a battery pack that is mounted on the side of the kitchen cabinet. Watch the video to see how this works!

An Amazing Kitchen Sink Faucet!

Of all of the homes you can build or purchase, a concrete slab is probably the cheapest. That being said, this literally comes with a price down the road if you ever have a slab leak from a water line. I had a job yesterday in Carmel where the cold water line for the masterbathroom was leaking. The customer was fortunate in that I didn't have to break up any of the ceramic tile in the bathroom to make the necessary repairs. Years ago, I plumber I know literally tore up the house from the water heater to the kitchen to repair a slab leak. A proper locate of the leak would have prevented this, but that didn't happen. Crawlspaces and basements have their challenges and can flood, but I'll take that over having to pull cabinets and vanities and using a jack hammer to fix a water leak.