8 Winter Home Maintenance Tips

8 Winter Home Maintenance Tips

Getting your home ready for the winter is important for homeowners in most parts of the United States. Even here in Georgia, we can see some low, freezing temperatures, snow, ice, and sleet. Staying ahead of the bad weather and making sure you’re prepared for it can potentially save you tons of money in costly repairs each year!

Here are 8 winter home maintenance tips that can help you avoid home damage this year:

  1. Get your furnace or boiler checked out and serviced by a contractor before winter heats and you need to use your heat! Turning up the heat in your home during frigid temperatures can help you avoid other costly repairs to your home.
  2. If you plan to use your fireplace during the winter, have it checked out by a professional before you build your first fire of the year!
  3. Keep all interior doors open to help even out the temperature throughout your home. This can help prevent your pipes from freezing.
  4. Adding extra insulation in your attic can help prevent freezing pipes. Also, if you’re in an area of the country that sees a lot of snowfall and winter precipitation and extra heat escapes into your attic, it can warm the snow and ice on the roof. If the warm snow and ice refreeze, it could cause an ice dam which can cause water damage inside your home.
  5. Check the weather stripping and caulking around all doors and windows. This simple step can help better insulate your home and can save you money on your utility bill.
  6. Have a professional plumber come out and inspect your pipes for potential leaks before any bad weather hits. Small leaks can turn into potentially huge plumbing disasters if left un-repaired during winter weather.
  7. Make sure you know where the main water supply valve is located. In case of a burst pipe, turning off the water supply can stop the leak and prevent more damage.
  8. Before winter weather hits, make sure all your gutters and downspouts are cleaned out and can drain properly. If snow and ice builds up in your gutters and downspouts and can’t drain, you could face potential water damage.

For any assistance getting your plumbing ready for winter, contact us today at (678) 822-7095!

 

 

Plumbing Fun Facts

Plumbing Fun Facts

Although modern day plumbing and advances in sanitation technology are fairly new, plumbers and the plumbing industry have been around forever. Many of us don’t spend too much time thinking about plumbing or plumbers, and don’t realize that the plumbing industry actually has a long, rich history. To get the new year kicked off, we’re going to go through a few, fun plumbing facts!

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  • The Egyptians were skilled in plumbing drainage construction as far back as 2500 B.C.
  • In 1700 B.C. the Minoan Palace of Knossos on the isle of Crete featured four separate drainage systems that drained into giant sewers made of stone.
  • Aqueducts to supply water to the Roman Baths were first built in 312 B.C.
  • In 800 B.C. the first Roman sewers were constructed.
  • In 1738 JF Brondel introduced the first valve type flush toilet.
  • The Tremont Hotel in Boston became the first hotel to have indoor plumbing in 1829.
  • The National Public Health Act was passed in England in 1848. It became the world’s first model for a plumbing code.
  • In 1870, Thomas Twyford designed the one piece toilet.
  • Toilet paper was first used in China. The Chinese were also the first to mass produce it
  • 10 million trees are used worldwide each year to keep up with toilet paper demand
  • Splinter free toilet paper wasn’t introduced until 1935
  • Americans use approximately 8.6 sheets of toilet paper per bathroom trip
  • 75% of the world’s population does not use toilet paper due to cost or insufficient plumbing
  • During Desert Storm, the military used toilet paper to camouflage their tanks
  • The average person will spend about 3 years of their life on the toilet
  • The Pentagon uses almost 700 rolls of toilet paper every day
  • Americans used 50% more toilet paper than other Western countries
  • Toilet paper wasn’t introduced in the United States until 1857
  • The United States is the largest exporter of toilet paper in the world!

We hope everyone’s new year is off to a great start. Remember, if you need residential plumbing services in the metro Atlanta area, contact us today about any of our services at (678) 822-7095!

How To Drain A Hot Water Heater In 4 Easy Steps

How To Drain A Hot Water Heater In 4 Easy Steps

Today we’re going to run through a few easy steps on how to drain a hot water heater. But first- why would you need to drain a hot water heater? Over time, sediment builds up in your hot water heater. This can lead to energy inefficiency, clogs, or eventually no hot water in your home! Draining your hot water heater each year as part of your yearly home maintenance is a good idea.

Here’s how to drain a hot water heater-

 

  1. Turn off the water supply- If its electric, turn off the power at the breaker box. If its gas, turn the thermostat to the pilot setting. Connect a drain hose to the valve near the thermostat and turn off the cold water supply.
  2. Drain the water- To prevent forming a vacuum, turn on one of the hot water faucets in your hosue (the tub, the sink, etc.). Open the drain valve on the hot water heater. Make sure the end of the hose that the hot water is draining out of is far away from anything that could be damaged by hot water.
  3. Get rid of any remaining sediment- Once all the hot water has drained out of the water heater, turn the cold water supply back on to flush out any sediment that remains in the hot water heater. Once all sediment has been washed out, close the drain valve and turn off the faucet inside your house. Make sure to read all the warning labels and instructions that go with your hot water heater- some hot water heaters need to remain full in order to prevent any damage.
  4. Check the pressure release valve- Turn your power supply back on once your tank has refilled. Once the temperature has come back up, check your pressure release valve by using the instructions that came with your hot water heater.

how to drain a hot water heater

Don’t forget- for the month of December, Masterflo Plumbing is offering you a great deal on water heater installation in Atlanta, GA! This month ONLY we will install a 40 gallon electric water heater for you for only $699! Don’t get stuck without hot water this winter! Call (678) 822-7095!

What Is A Tankless Water Heater?

What Is A Tankless Water Heater?

We’re willing to bet you’ve heard of a tankless water heater before, but do you really know what it is? Tankless water heaters are gaining in popularity and come with some great benefits.

A tankless water heater provides hot water as it is needed instead of holding on to a bunch of hot water that isn’t needed (which costs you extra money). Its a similar concept to running the heat in your home during the winter- if you aren’t home you don’t run it. If you don’t need the hot water, don’t heat it up. This simple concept can save you tons of energy and money on your utility bill. You can read more about the energy efficiency of tankless water heaters at Energy.gov.

Tankless water heaters work by heating water directly as opposed to heating up a stored tank of water. When a hot water faucet is turned on in your home, cold water travels through a pipe into the water heater unit. Tankless water heaters can be electric (an electric element heats the water) or gas (a gas burner heats the water).

Tankless water heaters provide hot water at a rate of 2-5 gallons per minute. While this is a great rate, some tankless water haters can’t keep up with the demand for hot water in a large household. To circumvent this problem, you can install two or more tankless water heaters to keep up with demand. Since you’re not paying extra money to heat water that isn’t needed, the only additional cost to you is the initial cost of the water heater. You can also install tankless water heaters that are designated for certain appliances.

Don’t get stuck without hot water or high energy bills this winter! Call Masterflo Plumbing today for your brand new tankless water heater at (678) 822-7095!

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10 Fall Home Maintenance Tips

10 Fall Home Maintenance Tips

With the weather outside looking more and more like fall and less and less like summer, we thought we’d reiterate some of our top fall home maintenance tips!

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  1. Clean your gutters and your downspouts and make sure your downspouts have plenty of room to drain.
  2. Check all your outside doors for weather stripping. This can make all the difference with the inside temperature of your home and can save lots of money on your utility bills.
  3. Check the grading around your house and walkways. This can keep your basement dry in case of lots of rain or melting snow.
  4. Pull weeds and hidden debris in and around your yard and flower beds.
  5. Shut off the water taps and make sure all your outdoor taps are drained.
  6. Trim your trees to make sure none of them are hanging over your home.
  7. Mulch any young or vulnerable plants and trees. This can help them survive the harsh winter temperatures.
  8. Pack up all your outdoor furniture and decor. Winter temperatures can be harsh on outdoor furniture.
  9. Check all your outdoor lighting to make sure it works. Winter means colder temperatures and less daylight hours!
  10. Make sure any outdoor trash cans or recycling receptacles are easily accessible. No one wants to trudge through ice, slush, or snow to take out the trash!

Remember- if you need an emergency plumber in Canton, GA this fall or winter contact us at (678) 822-7095!

Plumbing Tips For Fall

Plumbing Tips For Fall

Fall is here, and there are a few things every homeowner should do each fall to keep their plumbing system in top shape. Not sure what you’re supposed to do each fall? Masterflo’s got you covered.

Here are Masterflo’s top plumbing tips for fall-

  1. Winterize your sprinkler system. Chances are you paid good money to have your sprinkler system installed, so don’t ruin it by failing to winterize it. There are some great YouTube tutorials out there, or you can check out The Family Handyman’s guide to winterizing your sprinkler system.
  2. Clean out your gutters. If your gutters are clogged, water can freeze in your gutters causing them to expand. This can cause damage to your gutters as well as your eaves and your roof. Using a leaf blower carefully aimed across your gutters is a great gutter cleaning hack.
  3. Drain your garden hoses, roll them up, and store them inside for the winter. Good hoses aren’t cheap, and leaving them outside during the winter is a sure way to ruin them.
  4. Insulate any exposed pipes. This will help safe guard your pipes against freezing.
  5. Schedule your yearly hot water heater maintenance visit. You don’t want to risk losing your hot water during the frigid winter months!
  6. Know where your main water valve is. In case of a broken pipe which can cause flooding, you’ll want to know where your main water valve is so you can shut it off ASAP!

Our final and most important fall plumbing tip is to contact Masterflo Plumbing today at (678) 822-7095 for help with all your fall plumbing needs! We service all of metro Atlanta, so don’t hesitate- call today!

 

Canton, GA Plumber: Water Heater Maintenance

Canton, GA Plumber: Water Heater Maintenance

Suddenly finding yourself with no hot water or with a leaking hot water is every homeowner’s worst nightmare! Water heater repair can be costly, and sometimes a broken water heater can cause additional damage to your home. Regular maintenance can also increase the lifespan of your water heater. The best way to prevent a broken water heater is to schedule regular water heater maintenance visits with your local, trusted Canton, GA plumber!

At Masterflo Plumbing we’d love to save you the hassle, headache, and expense of a broken water heater by conducting your water heater maintenance visit. So, what happens during a water heater maintenance visit?

Sediment Flushing

If you have a traditional storage tank water heater, you have a large storage tank that holds all of your water. As time goes by, sediment can build up along the bottom of the storage tank. After this sediment has had the chance to build up, it can become harder for the heating element to penetrate and heat the water. This can result in a very inefficient water heater, and you may end up with no hot water at all! During a routine maintenance visit, we’ll flush out the storage tank to get rid of any built up sediment before it has the opportunity to cause problems.

Anode Rod

The anode rod is a piece of your unit that protects the hot water heater from rust by degrading over time. If the anode rod is not replaced before it has the chance to degrade completely, its protection will be gone and your water heater will be subject to rust. During each routine hot water heater maintenance visit, we’ll check your anode rod to make sure its still functioning properly and doesn’t need to be replaced.

 

These are just a couple of things that will happen during a hot water heater maintenance visit. To learn more, call your local, trusted Canton, GA Plumber at (678) 822-7095. At Masterflo Plumbing, we’ve got the skills and experience necessary to keep your hot water heater maintained and repaired! Contact us today to schedule your visit!

 

 

Canton GA Plumber | Canton Water Heater Repair
Masterflo Plumbing
241 North Etowah Drive
Canton, GA 30114
678-822-7095
http://www.masterfloplumbing.com 

Canton, GA Plumber: Slab Leaks

Canton, GA Plumber: Slab Leaks

Any homeowner knows that any plumbing problem is an unneeded and unwanted hassle, but slab leaks are one of the worst possible plumbing problems! What makes slab leaks one of the worst possible plumbing problems to have is that even a small slab leak can end up causing quite a bit of damage and can end up being quite costly. The amount of damage caused by a slab and the amount of money it will cost you to fix it can sometimes depend on the location of the leak.

So, what exactly is a slab leak? Your home sits on a concrete foundation called a slab. This helps to keep your home stable and prevent it from shifting over time as it settles. Underneath the slab are many pipes, including your water and sewer lines. If one of these pipes develops a leak underneath the slab, the water from the leak will travel up through the slab and into your home, coming up through the floor. This is a slab leak.

Slab leaks are a huge problem. Sometimes, they can be really large and can create tons of damage underneath your home. Also, they can go unnoticed for long periods of time. The longer a slab leak goes unnoticed, the worse it gets and the more damage it causes. Unfortunately, its next to impossible to recognize a slab leak before its had the opportunity to fester and create extensive damage.

As soon as you believe you have a slab leak, turn off your water! This will aid in keeping any more water from leaking out of the pipes and creating further damage. The next thing you should do is call a Canton, GA Plumber immediately! A professional plumber will be able to tell you for sure if you’ve got a slab leak. If you do, your Canton, GA plumber will be able to pinpoint the exact location of the leak and will be able to begin working to fix it immediately.

For slab leak repair in Canton, GA call the trusted experts at Masterflo Plumbing immediately! The longer you allow a slab leak to continue underneath your home, the more damage you will have. For a Canton, GA plumber call Masterflo at (678) 822-7095 or send us a message!

 

 

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