Sometimes, despite your best efforts, the weather conditions still get the better of us!  If you find yourself with a frozen line try the following:

-Open the access to your crawl space and turn the heat up. Never place heaters in the crawl space, especially unattended ones!

-Open a faucet down line from the freeze up.  Once the frozen pipe begins to thaw, the moving water will help keep it from happening again.  When the water starts flowing again, reduce it to a trickle and let it run until the threat of freezing is reduced

-If you hear water running but you don’t have anything running, shut the water off immediately and give us a call!

Many homes in North Idaho require a sump pump for lower level plumbing.  Sump pumps can be very temperamental if you are not cautious.  Here are a few tips to keep sewage where it belongs:

-Never flush sanitary napkins, flushable wipes or feminine hygiene products.  This is inevitably cause your pump to fail unless you have a “grinder” type pump installed……which coincidentally we can do!

-An early warning system can be installed in your pump that will alert you via a cell phone notification or a simple alarm sound.  These alarms are a great indication of a problem with your pump.  What’s that? Oh, yes! We can install that too!

-Set a water detection alarm in the vicinity of the pump.  We can provide this or you can purchase it online.  They are fairly inexpensive but provide warning when the problem is at a critical point and will require immediate attention. 

One of the most abused appliances in your home is your garbage disposal.  Here are some tips to prevent and fix some of the more common issues with your disposal:

-Just because its called a “garbage” disposal doesn’t really mean you can treat is like your garbage can.  Scrap off excess food from your dishes or pot and pans into the trash can before you place them in the sink to be washed or loaded into the dishwasher. 

-NEVER dump egg shells, rinds, potato peel or anything like it down the disposal.  Even if your disposal is able to grind it up, your piping will definitely pay the price in the long run. 

-What if you hit the switch for the disposal, and it makes a humming sound but won’t move? This likely means something has jammed up the blades.  Every new disposal comes with a hex head “S” shaped tool to be used to free up the blades (any hex head set will suffice if you can’t find the key).  On the bottom of the disposal, directly in the center is an opening that can be used to manually rotate the blades and free up what ever is jamming it up. Place the tool into that opening and rotate it back and forth.  After you free up the disposal, and with the disposal still turned off, try to remove whatever it was that jammed the disposal.  If this doesn’t work, give us a call, We’ll get you up and running in no time!

-What if the disposal does nothing at all when I try to turn it on?  This is likely as simple as the disposals “breaker” having been set off.  First go through the process described above to ensure nothing is jamming the disposal and causing it to shut the breaker off to save the motor.  Once you are certain the disposal is clear, push the button (usually red?) located on the bottom of the disposal to reset the breaker.

If it continues to shut off, you likely need a new disposal.  We've got that!

-Stinky disposal?  Try this: Baking Soda and White Vinegar:  pour ¼ cup of baking soda in it, then add a cup of white vinegar. The bubbling reaction naturally kills bacteria and germs that cause odor. Let it bubble for a few minutes and then run some water through the disposal.

-If you have a tank type water heater, regular flushing is essential to extending the life and efficiency of the water heater.  This is done by connecting a hose to the bib at the bottom of the water heater and running it for 5 minutes.  The frequency of how often you need to do this is completely dependent upon the hardness of your water.

-If you have a tankless water heater, a chemical flush is required to extend the life and efficiency of the heater.  Again, how often you must do this is dependent upon the hardness of your water.  A water softening system is highly recommended when a tankless water heater is installed in your home.

-Be sure to never put anything in your toilet tank.  The self-cleaning tablets and similar cleaning products quickly destroy the plastic and rubber components of your toilet tank.

-At this point you will think we are “beating a dead horse”, but it needs to be said anyway, a water softening system helps with the cleanliness of all fixtures and appliances.  Soft water will prevent some of the stains (ewww) in your toilet as well as reduce wear of the toilet tank parts.

-Installing an “easy clean” toilet seat is a great way to maintain a clean looking toilet.  These allow you to easily remove the toilet seat each time you are cleaning the toilet.  Its as simple as twisting the two tabs to remove and reinstall.