How to prepare your house’s plumbing for fall 2016?

Can you believe that it's fall already? And whether you like it or not, the time for you to prepare for winter has begun. You miss another day, and you’ll make sure that you have a severe winter. Fall is preparation time for homeowners, just like it is the back to school time for students. Here’s how you can prepare better.

First of all, you need to start quickly. Maybe it doesn’t feel like it’s fall, but when the month starts you need to get active.

Begin by storing the garden hoses. You need to turn them off, drain them off and then store in a suitable location. An appropriate place to store garden hoses is the one that doesn’t let the hose freeze. The tubes face damage due to freezing, and if you can find an area in your house, that’s relatively warmer in the winter, use that space to store this. Draining the garden hoses properly before storage is another important thing you shouldn’t ignore. That is because if there’s water left in the hoses, it can freeze and readily damage it.

The Next thing is to turn off the hose bibs. Again, draining these properly is crucial; else they will freeze in winter and might burst off. You should also ask your plumbing service provider to pay a visit and frost-proof the hose bibs. It’ll significantly reduce the problem of frozen pipes.

The sewer system faces the wrath of summer and fall. It is almost always overworked during these seasons and hence, there are chances of blockage or slowdowns in the sewerage system. If you’re slightly unsure on whether the system is working fine or not, you should call a plumbing service to inspect. Don’t let it wait till winter as then; it will not only cost you more to fix but also be tough to perform the task.

These are the three crucial steps for maintaining a healthy outdoor plumbing system in fall. You also need to schedule the annual heating system check and maintenance. Annual maintenance is paramount, and the prices of service are relatively small during this time. Hence, you must go for it as soon as possible.

All in all, you need to prepare your house’s plumbing system for the weather that’s going to come ahead. Above four are the basic steps every homeowner must take. Apart from that, a sump pump is also a big concern for people who live in hurricane-prone areas. The risk of having a massive storm stays till November and hence, it’s a good idea to ensure that the sump pump is in shape during the early fall.

You can always call a plumbing service for inspection and get all the issues fixed in one go. Same Day Pros allows you to browse through best services available in your area and get free cost estimates. Feel free to use that for your ease.

Plumbing Tips Every Pet Owner Must Know

Pets are the best companions you can have, and it's not just about having dogs but any species of pets are just a delight to a pet owner. But the troubles that come along with being a pet owner aren’t soothing. There’s that added sense of responsibilities and some issues that are unique to pet owners. Dealing with pet hair is one of those.

While as an active internet user, you might have read posts about how to reduce pet hair on the carpet or just all over your house, it’s probable that you skipped the plumbing. Pet hair can be a nightmare for your drains and faucets. Here’s a quick guide to help you go through all such problems that may happen due to pet hair and how to deal with those.

1. Use drain stoppers to avoid clogged drains due to pet hair
It’s a necessary thing which pet owners often forget. It’s especially important if your pet is shedding and you still want to give it a bath in your bathroom. The hair that falls off during the wash will build and clog the drains. A safer and better option in such a situation to use drain stoppers. They’ll collect all the hair that you can easily dispose of. Viola! Your pipes are safe.

2. Your pet has a secret life
And that begins when you leave the door of your bathroom open. Pets, cats & dogs, love to sniff around, and there are certain places where they can’t resist the urge to lick. The toilet is one of those irresistible places. Now, there’s no issue with your pet licking the toilet bowl or seat except that it’s plain gross. Well, there is. The chemicals in the regular toilet cleaners are dangerous and can make your pet sick. Some are harmful enough to leave your dog in paralysis state or dead. Develop a habit to keep the toilet lid closed.

3. Don’t flush cat litter down the toilet
Cat litter isn't meant for flushing down the toilet. In fact, the toilet is supposed to gulp in just the human waste and toilet paper. Even regular tissue papers get clogged. Certain products come with the “flushable” label on them, but it’s highly unlikely that they are flushable. So, just to be safe and avoid unnecessary plumbing  problems, don’t do this.

4. Don’t let your dog dig too deep
If you have a lawn, there are high chances that your dog digs over there and also, that the water supply and gas pipelines run through that very lawn. If your dog digs deep enough, it may affect those water or gas pipelines. Keep checking those areas and ensure they’re not dug too deep.

Apart from these, you should ask your local plumber to install pressure balancing valves for you. That’s what a highly responsible pet parent would do if the pet loves to take baths. In case, you need a plumbing problem to be fixed; you can locate excellent plumbers at Same Day Pros and get free cost estimates. Give it a try! 

Plumbing Installation and Repair Charges

The cost that you can expect while hiring a plumber depends on whether you are going for a new installation or getting a repair done. New installation costs much higher while the cost to fix a damage depends on its severity. On an average,  cost varies between $150 to $550+.

Billing :

The billing for this task can be done in two ways. Either it could be on hourly rate basis or a flat rate per job. It depends upon the work that needs to be done and on the company you’re hiring.
However, the price can be affected by some variables like:

1. The amount of time it takes to complete the work.
2. The quality and number of the fixtures.
3. Some professionals that are employed.
4. Whether it was an emergency service or a regular one.

Make sure you analyze the cost structure of the company you’re considering to hire. Some companies may offer a low hourly rate but charge additional “equipment fees” that would eventually make it a costly deal. So, don’t go by the seemingly lucrative offers and analyze the contract carefully.

Also, companies charge a higher rate for providing services during weekends, holidays and under emergency situations. The best option to deal with this is to get a thorough estimate and make sure the estimate is according to what one can expect from a local plumbing service in your area.

From Same Day Pros: http://bit.ly/21jzD5V