Tag Archive for: Raleigh professional plumbers

Tankless Water Heater External Maintenance

Going with the Flow: Tips for Tankless Water Heater External Maintenance

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The Raleigh professional plumbers at Poole’s Plumbing are the number one water heater specialists across the Triangle area, however, even if you have been enjoying the water savings and convenience of a tankless unit you had installed by us, to ensure you keep your hot water flowing, here are several things that you can do at home to perform important Tankless Water Heater External Maintenance.

As noted in a series of articles which include video instructions at the official Noritz website that can be found here, the first step in your Tankless Water Heater External Maintenance is to do an inspection, visually around the unit. Take a good look to make sure there are absolutely no combustible materials present can help to avoid a future hazard. One thing to look for is any type of discoloring on the outside of your tank and its remote control. Wipe this outside surface first with a wet cloth and then be sure to dry it, as despite being water resistant, your water heater is not waterproof. In cleaning the remote control never use oil or fatty detergents or benzene, as either of these can and will be harmful to it.

Tankless Water Heater External Maintenance

Much like the first simple step above of Water Heater External Maintenance, next, simply listen to your water heater to be certain that you don’t hear any abnormal sounds as the unit is operating. If you do hear something that you find abnormal, it is best to troubleshoot this type issue with one of the water heater specialists at Poole’s.

Checking for leaks in the pressure release valve may seem obvious, but this too is a part of Tankless Water Heater External Maintenance that can help to avoid a larger issue down the road. You will want to open the valve to make sure that it turns off correctly and that everything is working as it should. If you do find a leak or drip in the pressure release valve, it will need to be replaced. A thorough check of all connections to the water heater to make sure everything correctly fits can also help to detect leaks and save on a much larger problem occurring down the road.

If your water heater is a DV condensing model you will want to regularly check for dust or soot that has collected in the exhaust. To do this, you will want to use the end of a screwdriver to remove the screen from the intake valve and check for any type of debris. Before putting it back in, thoroughly clean both sides of the screen with a brush and some water, then allow it to fully dry before placing it back in. This will help to ensure that there can be proper airflow into the system.

Tankless Water Heater External Maintenance is crucial in keeping your flow of hot water steady and plentiful and by following these simple at home tips you will be more likely to catch a potential problem or issue before it becomes disastrous and costly. Our next post will be a second part in doing Tankless Water Heater Maintenance with a focus in that entry on how to maintain the internal area of your unit.

Inside-Fall-Plumbing-Tips

More Household Water Conservation Tips for the Kitchen and the Rest of Home

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In the initial posting offering up tips on how to become smarter about conserving water in the bathroom, the Raleigh professional plumbers at Poole’s Plumbing listed several ways in which you could be smarter about not only your usage of water, but by doing so, save money on costly bills by simply being more observant and making sure all is running properly. The same applies to Household Water Conservation throughout the kitchen and the rest of your home, just by making a few simple adjustments and keeping a close eye on the functionality of your appliances.

Household Water Conservation

Starting out in the kitchen and laundry room, there are many simple steps that can be taken to start you on the road to savings and to avoid being wasteful through Household Water Conservation. Three major areas around the house where you can conserve are when using your faucet in the kitchen, while washing dishes, and when doing laundry. The following simple steps can be done by anyone to start your Household Water Conservation.

Faucets

  • Look for any leaks and if found, fix them immediately. (A faucet that leaks just 60 drops in a minute wastes over 190 gallons of water over the course of a month, this is the equivalent of over 2,300 gallons in a year’s time)
  • Install a faucet with the WaterSense label. Any aerator or faucet containing the U.S. EPA WaterSense name uses a maximum of 1.5 gallons per minute.
  • An obvious step that sometimes is overlooked is to simply turn your faucet off if washing hands or scrubbing dishes while lathering.
  • Do not run the water to thaw out frozen foods. Being mindful and thinking ahead to simply put these items in the refrigerator to thaw overnight is an easy way for Household Water Conservation

Dishwashing

  • As noted above under faucets, if washing by hand fill the sink with water to use and then shut the faucet off rather than keeping he tap running.
  • When running a dishwasher, only wash when it is completely full. This will cut down on the number of times you use the machine and thus help with your Household Water Conservation efforts.
  • Use the dishwasher as opposed to washing by hand when possible. Especially if you are mindful of water usage during “pre-rinsing,” the dishwasher will use considerably less water than running the tap as you scrub.
  • Lastly, if you have an older model dishwasher, look into a new, more efficient model. With technological advances, Household Water Conservation can be had easily, as most newer models will tell you the amount used per washing cycle.

Laundry

  • Just as stated above with the dishwasher, maybe the most simple way to achieve Household Water Conservation is by only doing full loads of laundry as opposed to starting up a half full washer.
  • If you have an older model washing machine, adjust the water level for the amount needed in each load. Many of the newer models will do this automatically
  • Once again, updating your older model may be the most efficient method of Household Water Conservation in the laundry room. Units built prior to 2011 on average use about 40 gallons per load, while the newer models use as little as 15 gallons per load.
  • Finding an EnergyStar model or checking when selecting a new unit for the lowest possible “water factor” will help you maximize your per load conservation.

Household Water Conservation

 Much like the conservation tips offered in our previous article touching on the bathroom, following these simple tips for Household Water Conservation can put you well on your way to avoiding wasteful water usage as well as starting on the road to savings.

Raleigh plumbers will help you “Lower the Flow”

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One of the many energy conserving methods that the Raleigh plumbers at Poole’s Plumbing can help you to achieve is through their installation of low flow shower heads, which can help to cut your costs, while still giving you the comfort in a shower head and pressure levels you desire on any of these fixtures you may choose.

With the low flow showerheads, for the maximum in water efficiency, it is recommended to choose a fixture with a flow rate of less than 2.5 gpm. Many older showerheads, whether they are aerating, which mixes air with water or laminar-flow, which form individual streams of water had flow rates more than twice that recommended figure. With the low flow heads being able to be had at $10-20 for some of the units, it is worth looking into, as they can save you on your water costs by an estimated 25-60 percent.

Raleigh professional plumbers

Energy.gov offers several tips on how to decide if your shower head is costing you too much, suggesting a quick and simple, three step test to determine if a switch to low flow would be worth your while. First, they suggest you simply place a bucket, which is marked in gallon increments under the shower head. Next, simply turn on the shower at the normal water pressure you use. Lastly, time how many seconds it takes to reach that one gallon mark. The site goes on to explain that if it takes less than 20 seconds to reach the one gallon mark that you could stand to save money on water costs with the switch to a low flow shower head.

If conserving water, cutting costs and saving energy is something you are looking to do, this is just one of the many ways that the Raleigh plumbers at Poole’s can start you on your way to lowering those water bills.