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Sewers aren’t really the most glamorous topic to talk about on this blog. Believe us, we’d rather talk about going fishing or fun quarantine projects, but how about we cover the important stuff first?
Sewers and drains need to be cleaned on a periodic basis so that you’re never suffering from the extreme plumbing problems they can cause. A backed-up sewer system or busted septic tank is going to spin your head around with the problems it can cause. That’s why we’re going to talk about signs that scream the need for drain and sewer cleaning in Lloydminster. As long as you’re vigilant and you know a thing or two about what to look for, we promise the problem won’t get as bad as you might think.
For those who do encounter drain and sewer issues, remember to call us—Lloydminster’s plumbing and heating authority—for fast and friendly service.
What universal event in life is guaranteed to cause extreme anxiety? Besides what just happened back there. That moment when you flush the toilet and the water in the bowl begins to rise! As the singer Tim Leher is credited with penning – Life is like a sewer: what you get out of it depends on what you put into it.
Blaine here for Guardian Plumbing and Heating. Excited to bring you our another Episode of the Guardian Angle. These blogs are for you, our customers. They are not intended to be heavy, technical, install your own equipment tutorials, but alternatively, easy to understand tips about things that most people can do to protect their homes and increase the life of all their Plumbing and heating equipment.
First things first, if the water is rising in the toilet, take the lid off the tank and push down the flapper, this will stop more water from entering and causing it to overflow. This will give you time to call the plumber or grab a plunger!
Today I want to address the problem of drain maintenance. As Tim so elegantly wrote, what you put down the drain is very important. But what’s more important is what we avoid putting down our drains. Some of the biggest culprits that are completely preventable are, coffee grinds, egg shells, grease, fat or oils, paper towels, wipes, condoms and feminine hygiene products. Some of the items that are not so preventable are hair, hair products and roots.
The City of Lloydminster finds that this is such a problem that they have dedicated time and resources into an initiative called the Grease Beast to help bring awareness to the items that they don’t want put down the drain.
The best way for us to protect our homes from the expense and inconvenience of backed up drains is to prevent things like grease and coffee grinds from entering the sewer. One way to help with grease is to use parchment paper when cooking items like Bacon, Then you can just pull the parchment paper off when the grease has hardened and throw it into the garbage. The city of Lloydminster has a neat idea they call using a FOG Cup. FOG stands for Fats, Oils and Grease. Your FOG cup can be a used Biodegradable coffee cup that you would have gotten from Tims, Mc D’s, Second Cup, Starbucks or wherever you get your coffee. Place your hot or cold Fats, oils or grease into the cup, keep it in the fridge or freezer to make sure they remain in a solid state and when it is full you can actually put it in the green Organics recycling bin! Coffee grinds, just throw your paper filter into the trash. If you use a reusable filter, you need to try to get as much grinds cleaned off as possible. The other items like paper towels, baby wipes and so on, we just need to educate the people in our homes of the cost to get those items removed, and that it is not worth throwing down the drain when the garbage is just as close.
If you find yourself in a situation where people in your home have not been careful, Guardian Plumbing and Heating has Lloydminster’s most equipped Sewer Cleaning Service with the Guardian Drain Doctor. We can Auger out the lines, We can high pressure jet the lines, even removing roots and we always include a camera inspection with every service so that you know exactly what is happening and can make the best decision for your system. We have some customers that upon investigation found their line had broken or have continuous issues with roots, and with semi annual maintenance we can keep them flowing without having to dig up the lines and dumping their money down the drain. This also allows us to keep an eye on the problem to see if it is getting worse. Our protection plan members even get a complimentary 30 day guarantee on drain cleaning services. So if you are in a JAM!! Give us a call!
Here at Guardian our top priority is building trust and integrity through lifetime partnerships that meet our customers needs. This is accomplished through a WOW experience for our customers consisting of honesty and fairness, exceptional technical knowledge, reliable, efficient products and a commitment to excellence. One of the key ways we fulfill this mission is through the Guardian Protection Plan our protection plan includes Annual Maintenance included, 20% Discount on repairs, 24 Hour Priority Service and and industry leading Lifetime Warranty on Recommended Repairs.
If you found this video valuable please subscribe to our YouTube account, signup for our newsletter, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
And that’s how we saw things today from the Guardian Angle!
Backflow is one of the worst things a homeowner can experience. Imagine you’re trying to take a bath, and after you’ve filled the tub up with fresh water on your relaxing day off, it begins to fill with water that comes from the opposite direction. That’s what we call backflow, when water flows backwards from the direction it should be going. It’s unsanitary, unsafe, uncomfortable, and it makes everyone unhappy.
Luckily, there are answers out there to this kind of problem. As your local experts on plumbing installations in Lloydminster, SK, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to talk about how a backflow preventer works and how we can help you get this component in your plumbing system.
Preventative work is always a good call, and when it comes to the safety and security of your plumbing system, a backflow preventer can be an amazing way to keep things in good shape for years to come.
THE END IS NEAR!!!! THE END IS NEAR!!!! THE END IS NEAR!!!!
Ok maybe it’s just the dawn of winter, but even so there are a few things that you as a homeowner should do before the deep freeze sets in or it may feel like Armageddon and as the Actor Sean Patrick Flanery said, Do something today your future self will thank you for.
Blaine here for Guardian Plumbing and Heating. Excited to bring you our another Episode of the Guardian Angle. These blogs are for you, our customers. They are not intended to be heavy, technical, install your own equipment tutorials, but alternatively, easy to understand tips about things that most people can do to protect their homes and increase the life of all their Plumbing and heating equipment.
We have all looked back and thought, I sure could have done that differently. Well at least I have. Often a little bit of foresight or if someone had just given us a little bit of information we could have saved ourselves a whole bunch of hurt. Like when Ethan trusted Hailey to give him a ride on the spinny chair at the park
No children were permanently harmed in the making of this video. My wife Elisa might kill ME for releasing it though!
After plumbing for over 30 years, one of the most common mistakes I’ve seen made by homeowners is forgetting to remove the hose from their outside tap. Many people assume incorrectly that because the valve is referred to as a Frost Free Hydrant, that they don’t need to worry about them. Let me explain how these handy devices work and why leaving a hose on can be so disastrous.
The Frost-free Hydrant was designed in such a way that when you close the handle it has a long shaft that closes the tap 12” back inside your house where it is warm. When installed correctly the water that could potentially freeze is able to quickly drain out and thereby protect the faucet from freezing. The issue that happens when you leave your hose on, is that when you turn off the tap, there is no where for the water to drain away, allowing the water to remain in the pipe, as the water freezes it begins to expand and eventually will blow out the side of the hydrant.
Most of the time when it does freeze and blow out the side, the water is turned off, so you won’t see the problem right away. But what ends up happening is, come springtime, you are outside and you hook up your hose to water your beautiful garden and unbeknownst to you the water is spraying out the hole in the side of the faucet and into your basement and since your outside enjoying the beautiful spring day, it floods and you don’t have a clue.
Some older homes may have an outside tap that looks like this. These do not drain out and need to be shut off on the inside of the home with the outside tap left open to let the water drain out. A lot less common, but we still see them out there.
Now the best thing that you can do is come September 1st, start removing the hoses from your outside faucets. Maybe even go into your phone’s calendar and make an alert right now “ Take hose off of tap” for Sept 1st. If you have a hose reel, put on a quick connect to make it easy to remove and less of a hassle.
This may seem so simple, but you wouldn’t believe how many Frost Free Hydrants we replace every spring that could have easily been avoided if the hose had just been removed earlier in the season. While we’re chatting here, don’t forget to blow out your underground sprinklers and remove the hose from your sump pump.
Here at Guardian Our top priority is building trust and integrity through lifetime partnerships that meet our customers needs. This is accomplished through a WOW experience for our customers consisting of honesty and fairness, exceptional technical knowledge, reliable, efficient products and a commitment to excellence. One of the key ways we fulfill this mission is through the Guardian Protection Plan our protection plan includes Annual Maintenance included, 20% Discount on repairs, 24 Hour Priority Service and and industry leading Lifetime Warranty on Recommended Repairs.
If you found this video valuable please subscribe to our YouTube account, signup for our newsletter, and follow us on Facebook, instagram and twitter.
And that’s how we saw things today from the Guardian Angle!
How are your kitchen drains? How about your bathroom drains? If the answer to that question is anything other than an enthusiastic “great!” then you might need our help. Drains go through cycles of being clear and clogging, it’s just a fact of plumbing life. But what homeowners don’t realize is that there are effective and affordable solutions out there to their plumbing woes.
If your drains are starting to slow down, you don’t have to play the waiting game while you get ready for the inevitable clog to happen. You can address things before they get really bad. By using the help of a licensed and certified plumber, you can avoid some of the most obnoxious plumbing problems like drain clogs.
The term “emergency plumbing” is probably not something you enjoy hearing. In fact, it usually makes homeowners have a migraine when they remember the last time they had to deal with an emergency plumbing issue. Whether it’s a burst pipe, a gushing leak, or an overflowing toilet, emergency plumbing is nothing to scoff at.
Luckily, we’re the pros and we can help you out. Staying calm and collected in an emergency situation is not a natural talent, but a technique that can be learned. Take it from the experts on emergency plumbing in Lloydminster—there are ways to make these nightmare situations just another normal day.
Down below, we’ve put together a checklist of what you can do when encountering an emergency plumbing situation. You can print this list out, or keep it on your phone in case you need it at a moments notice. We’re here to help!
Here in Lloydminster, heating is going to be an important part of our daily lives when temperatures begin to drop. We know it’s been easy not to think about it with our warm temperatures and sunny days, but we promise those temperatures will change drastically in the coming months. This is the opportune time to take out your heater and test it to see if it’s working properly.
Today, we’re going to talk about some of the best practices you can learn for your heating in Lloydminster. Regardless of whether you use a heat pump or a furnace to keep your home warm during the winter, we’ve got some tips that can help you take it out of hibernation and get it working before things get too cold.
Don’t forget to call us if you encounter any problems with your heater. Our team is experienced and licensed to fix any and all heating problems.
When confronted with a plumbing problem, you’re given three options. The first option is to ignore the issue and keep trying to go on with your normal life, which never really works out well. The second option is to call your local handyman or neighborhood amateur plumber to see if they’ll repair it on the cheap. The third option is to call a licensed, professional plumber with competitive pricing from a plumbing company. Which option do you choose?
Well, let’s scratch the first option out first. Neglecting your plumbing is never a good idea, regardless of what’s wrong. Here, we’d like to talk about why contacting a professional to take care of your plumbing in Lloydminster is always a better idea than your local handyman.
Don’t believe us? Let us get into detail about it below and we promise you’ll think differently.
How do you like itching your eyes and nose while suffering from a sore throat every time you enter the bathroom? Or, perhaps you’re a fan of smelling a bleach-like scent waft up from your kitchen sink while you try to cook a delicious dinner? We get it, all of those scenarios sound awful—so let’s work hard to avoid them.
Chemical drain cleaners are a terrible solution for a problem that we encounter regularly. As your neighborhood plumber in Lloydminster, the only thing on the forefront of our minds is the health and well being of your plumbing system. Chemical drain cleaners are a hazardous solution to a problem they don’t even fix half the time.
Keep reading as we go into serious detail about the ramifications of utilizing these chemicals and what you can do instead.
What is the one thing that can save you thousands on your heating and cooling system, that so many people don’t know. Pay attention! This one piece of advice can extend the life of your equipment for years.
Einstein said, when you stop learning you start dying, so I’m going to help you live a little more today!
Blaine here for Guardian Plumbing and Heating. Excited to bring you another Episode of the Guardian Angle. These videos are for you, our customers. They are not intended to be heavy, technical, install your own equipment tutorials, but alternatively, easy to understand, tips about things that most people can do to protect there homes and increase the life of all their mechanical equipment.
Let me tell you a quick story, when I was just a toddler, my dad was tasked with the job of putting some mosquito spray on me. Somehow in the process the spray got a little too close to my face and I started to have trouble breathing. Now this was back in the 80’s when we had real mosquito spray, you remember the stuff, it didn’t repel mosquitoes, if they got too close they just died. Well apparently they thought I might be having an asthma attack, (not sure how this conclusion came as I didn’t have asthma) but dad was getting ready to rush me to the hospital ran to the vehicle and on the way slammed my head into the side of the truck. Who knew the best ways to stop an asthma attack is a smack to the head. All kidding aside, I started to breath normal and everything was fine. Clean air matters!
Today’s tip revolves around your Furnace’s air. No matter what brand you have, the most important thing you can do to extend the life of your furnace is to change your filter. Now that might seem really basic and a no brainer, but even as a Professional in the industry this is something that I just can’t seem to make a routine. Ask my wife and she will say something about shoe makers and shoes. First of all the filters #1 job is not to clean the air in your home, we have different solutions for that, but that’s another video. Your filters #1 job it is to protect your furnace from dust, dirt and debris. The first thing that dirt is going to destroy is the expensive motor that turns the fan to move your heating and air conditioning around your home. If it makes it past your motor on its journey it will run into your secondary heat exchanger if you have a high efficiency furnace. This heat exchanger has small fins and is where the money is saved by getting the last few dollars out of the gas you just paid for. If the dirt makes it here, it will plug it up and begin to restrict the air from going through and can cause your furnace to get hotter than it was designed for, plus its not going to let the air get to your rooms. The next place for the dirt to plug is you’re Cooling Coil. This basically causes the same issues as plugging up the secondary heat exchanger, but it can also cause your air conditioner to turn into a massive block of ice, and basically leave you stuck in a sauna. Lastly it does stop some of the dirt from entering the air on your home and landing on all of your furniture, creating some chores for the kids to take care of.
Alright there are several different kinds of filters but, we’ll dive into that deeper in a future episode. What I want to touch on today is how to change a furnace filter you wouldn’t believe how many people make this one common mistake when changing their filters.
The first thing you need to do when you change your filter is turn off the power to your furnace. This may be done by turning your thermostat to the off position, flipping the furnace switch on the wall and in some applications you may have to turn it off at the breaker.
The reason why this is so important, is that if you try and remove a dirty furnace filter while the fan is moving air, you are certain to shake off all the dirt that the filter collected and have it get sucked into the furnace. Basically reversing everything the filter was installed to do. After the fan has completely stopped, slide your filter out slowly and carefully, place it into a grocery bag for easy disposal.
The next important item is to ensure that you reinstall the filter in the right direction. On your filter you will see an arrow. You want that arrow pointing towards the furnace. Your filter is always on the Air in side of your furnace and the filter is basically the border guard only letting the clean air enter the furnace.
After you are certain the filter is installed correctly, you can turn the switch back on or turn up the thermostat up or down, depending on the season and you are ready to go.
That clogged filter can cause your system to have to work harder, increasing your energy bills and putting increased burden on your furnace parts. The department of energy in the US says that you can save 5-15% on your utility bills if you consistently change your filter.
So just like mosquito spray in your lungs, dirt in your filter is not optimal.
If you have any questions on how to turn off your furnace or change your filter, don’t hesitate to call us, we can even FaceTime with you to help you locate the right switch.
Our top priority is building trust and integrity through lifetime partnerships that meet our customers needs. This is accomplished through a WOW experience for our customers consisting of honesty and fairness, exceptional technical knowledge, reliable, efficient products and a commitment to excellence. One of the key ways we fulfill this mission is though the Guardian Protection Plan, Annual Maintenance included, 20% Discount on repairs, 24 Hour Priority Service and and industry leading Lifetime Warranty on Recommended Repairs.
If you found this video valuable please subscribe to our YouTube account, signup for our newsletter, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
And that’s how we saw things today from the Guardian Angle!
