Plumbing Tips

Check The Washing Machine Hose   A burst hose that brings the water supply (hot or cold) to your washing machine can cause a huge amount of water damage.  Frequently check the hoses for signs of bulges or small leaks.  If you find them, replace the hoses with flexible metal wrapped hoses. If you’re leaving on vacation, it might not be a bad idea to turn off the cold and hot lines into your washing machine, or for that matter, turn off the shut off valve to your house so not only is the washing machine water supply cut off, but also water supply lines to your refrigerator.

Know How Your Run-Off Drainage System Works It’s Fall and the rainy season is just around the corner. A wet basement or crawl space is a common problem if you live in the Northwest because we live in an area that gets rainfall for most of the year.  Add in the geography of our area which is hilly to mountainous, it’s understandable why the ground can stay wet for so long after we’ve had some rain.  While water coming into your basement is an obvious problem to fix, why the big deal about water in the crawl space?  Most homes with crawl spaces have structural elements made out of wood.  Wood is susceptible to “dry rot” if it becomes saturated, then allowed to dry out, only to become saturated again.  So standing water beneath your home can pose a dry rot threat because of the constant moisture.  That’s why a moisture barrier (thicker black “visquine plastic” is often used) is put over the bare dirt in the crawl space to keep the moisture below from reaching your home, but even the moisture barrier may not be enough to protect your home.   Often the problems of damp or wet basements

Watch Your Water Bill It’s important that you watch your water bill, especially if the bill suddenly starts to significantly increase. If your water bill suddenly jumps, you may have a slow leak in your service line or it can also be from your toilet continually running. You can check to see if the leak is in your service line by looking at the surface of the ground where the line runs from the meter to your house for damp areas or areas of standing water.  Another way to check is to shut off the water service to your house at the shut off valve and then check to see if the water meter is still running.  If the meter is still running with the water to your house shut off, then it’s a pretty good chance you have leak in the service line between the meter and the house. In the same token, if the meter stops running when the water is shut off to your house and you’re still experiencing big water bills, then you may have a leak somewhere else in your water lines, but check your toilets first.  If you can hear water running in the

My Heat Exchanger Is Cracked?   The basic role the heat exchanger plays in your gas furnace is to confine the combustion from your gas furnace in a metal enclosure (the exchanger).  The combustion heats up the exchanger and the heat is then blown throughout your house. If the exchanger is cracked, then it means you’ll likely have to replace the furnace because it can pose a health hazard.  One of the gases produced by the combustion is carbon monoxide, an odorless gas that is highly toxic.  Replacing a heat exchanger is frequently not economically feasible and buying a new, replacement furnace is more economical in the long run. Contact us about one of our high efficiency gas furnaces that carry a lifetime warranty on the heat exchanger, and don’t forget, the tax credit for these furnaces expires at the end of 2010!  For a very limited time a 10year extended warranty on parts and labor are being offered by some manufacturers. That’s why it’s prudent to have your gas furnace inspected annually by a qualified heating technician from Beacon Plumbing.  We’ll inspect the heat exchanger and other critical components in your furnace to give you peace of mind that