Having Dishwasher problems? Hire a plumber.

Plumbing problems on the dishwasher normally occur with little warning and at the most inconvenient times. The most common problems associated with dishwasher plumbing involve clogged or broken pipes and leaky fixtures. Trying to fix these issues yourself might complicate the problem instead of fixing it. To get your water flowing and draining again usually require the service of an expert plumber.

Common problems you may experience with a dishwasher include leaks, clogs, and foul smells.

A water leak that is left unfixed can waste several gallons of water every day. Even loosing 40 drops of water per minute can add up to more than 90 gallons of water every month. A minute drip which is not addressed can grow in size, cause bigger problems creating secondary issues. The obvious problem is raising the utility bill. Depending on the place of the leak and where the water is dripping, it can lead to a damp environment growing moulds, attracting bugs and rotting wood. It is not enough to tighten the faucet spigot or pipe fittings. The whole process requires special tools and skills of an experienced plumber.

A dishwasher that drains slowly is a sign of minor clog. When this is not fixed properly, it can grow into a major clog which can lead to flooding in the kitchen. The debris which blocks the pipes should be broken up and removed instead of pushing them further down the water line. With the service of a professional plumber, the plumbing work will be done quickly and effectively.

A bad smell coming from your dishwasher is normally as a result of drain failure. Stagnant water causes smell, this can later on turn to an awful smell which is accompanied by black water and bacteria, leading to a lot of pipe work and repairs. Freeing up your dishwasher drainage block is only the first step. Replacing or repairing your unit and using an antibacterial substance are also important in order to prevent likely illness which might results from using the defective appliances.

Source: http://plumbingnews.org/2012/having-dishwasher-problems-hire-a-plumber

Gehringer Mechanical offers HVAC, electrical, air quality, plumbing, maintenance, and construction services to parts of Berks, Bucks, Chester, Lehigh, and Montgomery Counties.

Low-flow Showerheads & Thermal Shock

How to reduce water and save yourself from unintended injury

“Going Green” isn’t just a trend—it’s a global wide phenomenon, appealing to many different types of people for many different reasons. It’s good for the health of the environment, it can save money and resources, it promotes efficiency and reduces waste, and it makes us feel good knowing we are doing our part to save the earth for future generations. It is a philosophy, a way of life and in some cases a necessity. Water is one of those necessities.

Because water is so vital to how we live our lives, there is a deep concern about how to preserve and protect the water we use every day for food, bathing, electricity and more. On average the USA uses 408 billion gallons of water per day (National Atlas, USA, 2011). It’s a number that rose steadily until recent years when conservation efforts proved successful in keeping that number level, despite a growing population and an increase in demand, by making the ways we use water more efficient.

Homeowners have been doing their part by turning to more efficient fixtures for their homes and limiting wasteful use. Manufacturers have been doing their part as well offering all sorts of products that use less water, and that do it so well you don’t miss it. Today’s low flow products aren’t just made to use less water; they are designed to function better without it. Consumers don’t have to choose between products that work or products that are eco-friendly—they can have both.

For example, new technologies in how a showerhead creates a stream of water can allow a bather to experience the same intensity of water flow even though there is less actual water in the stream. This is a great thing, but it important to remember that the showerhead is just one part of a larger whole. It is literally an end-cap to a massive system designed to carrier and distribute water. Unintended changes to this system can affect its ability to function correctly and cause unintended failures that can result in serious injury due to what is known as thermal shock.

Thermal shock is when there is a rapid change in water temperature (either hot or cold) that can trigger an automatic response in a bather to escape from the source. This sort of extreme change in temperature is known to make people jump or react in such a way that it creates a high risk of injury from falls or slips, and in the case of hot temperatures it also carries a serious risk of burns. Thermal Shock has been known to cause not only first degree burns in bathers, but second and even third degree burns as well. It is something that occurs when there is an improper balance in pressure inside a water system that cannot properly compensate for the demands of multiple fixtures in the home. (American Society of Sanitary Engineering Scald Awareness Task Group, 2012)

Installing a low-flow showerhead into a building that was designed to work with a product that uses a larger flow of water can create this risk if it is not properly done. This does not mean that that newer more water efficient showerheads shouldn’t be installed in older homes, but it does mean that it is absolutely imperative that the installation is done properly with all the necessary precautions. Low-flow showerheads should never be used with a non-automatic compensating type tub/shower valve. This means making sure that the home uses an automatic compensating valve; one that will not be subject to extreme changes in temperature in the water coming from the showerhead when another fixture in the building, such as a toilet or a dishwasher, is turned on. In addition to making sure it is an automatic compensating valve, it is important to make sure that the maximum flow rate of the showerhead matches or exceeds the minimum flow rate of the shower valve and that both be quoted at the same psi. This way you can be sure that the range of water flow for both the showerhead and the valve are within the same range and will work together properly without the risk of injury. (American Society of Sanitary Engineering Scald Awareness Task Group, 2012)

The balance between the flow rate of the showerhead and the valve it is connected to is the only way to properly ensure the safety of the bather. Attempts to circumvent this by adjusting the thermostat of a water heater carries a high risk and is considered extremely dangerous. Thermostats in water heaters are designed to control the temperature of water coming into the unit and heat it up to the desired setting, but in doing so it can easily reheat the water already inside. It is not uncommon for water coming out of a heater to fluctuate from the set temperature up to 35 degrees warmer putting it into the temperature range capable of producing serious burns within seconds. (American Society of Sanitary Engineering Scald Awareness Task Group, 2012)

Homeowners and the many well-intentioned groups and agencies that are promoting the use of more water-efficient products should make sure they take into account the whole of the plumbing system and how it works together, and beware of focusing on only one part which can lead to unintended consequences and injuries. Going green and conserving water is something that we can all do but we need to make sure that we do it safely so that we protect the current generation as well as the future ones.

Sources:
American Society of Sanitary Engineering Scald Awareness Task Group. (2012, March). Scald Hazards Associated with Low-Flow Showerheads. Retrieved August 2012, from http://www.asse-plumbing.org: http://www.asse-plumbing.org/ScaldHazards.pdf
National Atlas, USA. (2011, January 26). National Atlas of the United States of America. Retrieved August 30, 2012, from http://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/water/a_wateruse.html: http://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/water/a_wateruse.html#top

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Winter Energy Saving tips

The golden rule, If you are using your heater during chilly nights, abide by the golden rule: keep it a few degrees cooler than you're comfortable with, applies for the Northeastern region. When the weather dips below freezing and you have no choice but to crank up the furnace, the best way to make sure you're saving money is by investing time in a complete tune-up of your heating system. A proper cleaning and inspection of all your HVAC equipment will ensure your unit is running most efficiently — and can also spot a potential problem before it becomes a major repair. Other heating tips for those in this region include always closing the fireplace damper to avoid losing heat as well as making sure all your windows and doors are secured with weather stripping and caulking.

Source: http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/976049/winter-energy-saving-tips-by-region

Home remodeling spending to accelerate

LIRA and the RMI are both indicating strong gains in the home improvement sector through the end of the year.

An improving housing market and record low interest rates are driving projections of strong gains in home improvement activity through the end of the year and into the first half of 2013, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity recently released by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. The LIRA suggests that the seeds for what appears to be a very robust remodeling recovery have been planted, with annual homeowner improvement spending expected to reach double-digit growth in the first half of 2013.

“After a bump in home improvement activity during the mild winter, there was a bit of a pause this summer,” said Eric S. Belsky, managing director of the JCHS. “However, the LIRA is projecting an acceleration in market activity beginning this quarter, and strengthening as we move into the new year.”

Kermit Baker, director of the Remodeling Futures Program at the JCHS, said, “Strong growth in sales of existing homes and housing starts, coupled with historically low financing costs, have typically been associated with an upturn in home remodeling activity some months later. While the housing market has faced some unique challenges in recent years, this combination is expected to produce a favorable outlook for home improvement spending over the coming months.”

The Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity is designed to estimate national homeowner spending on improvements for the current quarter and subsequent three quarters. The indicator, measured as an annual rate-of-change of its components, provides a short-term outlook of homeowner remodeling activity and is intended to help identify future turning points in the business cycle of the home improvement industry.

The Remodeling Futures Program, initiated by the Joint Center for Housing Studies in 1995, is a comprehensive study of the factors influencing the growth and changing characteristics of housing renovation and repair activity in the United States. The program seeks to produce a better understanding of the home improvement industry and its relationship to the broader residential construction industry.

Source: Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University

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15 Energy Saving Cooking Tips For the Holidays

The winter holidays are upon us, and for many that means spending a signifigant ammount of time in the kitchen, preparing feasts for friends and family. That does not mean, however, that your energy bill has to suffer because of it. If we are smart about how we use our energy, we can cook that turkey and not kill our wallet!

1.Defrost frozen food in the fridge overnight: defrosting food in advance typically halves the cooking time.
2. Cover pans while cooking to prevent heat loss.
3. Make sure your pan covers the coil of your range. If you can see coil peeping out from the sides of your pan, you are losing energy and you need a bigger pan!
4. Just before your food is cooked completely, turn off the oven or burner and allow the heat in the pot or pan to continue the cooking process for you.
5. The less liquid and fat you use, the quicker the cooking time.
6.Use glass or ceramic dishes: they're the most efficient to use in the oven and can reduce the temperature required for cooking.    
7.If you have one, use a pressure cooker. It really saves on energy.
8. Keep the Oven Door Shut -It's hard to resist cracking the oven to check the status of a roasting bird , but doing so causes the oven to drop its temperature, meaning it will require even more energy to stay constant. Resist opening that door! Instead of, turn on the oven light and monitor items through the window.
9. Stuff the Oven -Whenever possible, put several dishes in the oven at once, which can cut down on the amount of time the oven stays on throughout the day.
10.Fire Up the Microwave -Microwaves use just a fraction of the electricity that ovens do, and, of course, can dramatically reduce cooking time.
11.For soups and stews that require long cooking periods, using a crockpot will save a significant amount of energy.
12.Use a steamer to cook vegetables, that way you can layer a number of vegetables on top of each other and still use one ring, or use a pan with a divider.
13.Let your leftovers cool down Let food cool slightly before storing inside the refrigerator, so it won’t have to over compensate.
14.Lower your thermostat Are you expecting a lot of visitors?  Cooking food and a crowd can quickly heat up the room, so adjust accordingly.
15.Load the Dishwasher - When faced with a mountain of holiday dishes, using the dishwasher is usually more energy-efficient. Scraping plates rather than rinsing them will also save water, as will the low-heat and energy-saver options on your machine.

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