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Kitchen Remodeling Ideas for Your Home

So you are going to remodel your West Covina kitchen. Fantastic, exciting, and fun. You have been noticing kitchens at friend’s houses or apartments, visiting showcases, stopping in at display kitchens and now you are confused.

You have looked at so many new displays you would like to adapt to your upcoming remodel.

A Few Things You Should Do First

• Make a list of your wishes. What would you like your kitchen to highlight? More light, more counters, more cupboards? All these items
• Narrow this list down to reality. What will fit in your West Covina kitchen, realistically?
• Where are the existing plumbing fixtures located? Do they work with your dream kitchen, or will you need to review your plans to fit with your existing plumbing, or remodel utilizing your existing plumbing with some modifications?
• Additional electrical service needed? Will all the appliances you plan on adding work with the electrical supply available?
• Are your costs going to be feasible and how will this affect the resale of your property?

Now that you have your ideas on paper, your next step is to sit down with the designer and the respective specialists. From here you will learn what is real and what is impossible, what will work and what won’t work.

But the designer and specialist may be able to work with you to pull many of your dreams into the package with your existing setup. They know the existing plumbing and electrical advantages and disadvantages, and what needs to be done to meet all codes and standards.

Do you like the Cozy Kitchen appearance?

• Glass cupboard doors displaying your favorite dishes
• Sleek almost hidden appliances to keep that country look?
• Bay or Bow Window for extra light at the counters for that spectacular view.
• Counters galore for all your prep work?
• Hidden countertop appliance area for convenience and availability?
• Two separate sinks, one for vegetable and food preparation, the other for cleanup. One near the prep area and the other right next to the dishwasher.
• Possibly you would prefer two dishwashers; one never seems to be enough to keep a kitchen looking “company ready” at all times.

Wouldn’t a mini built-in refrigerated salad bar be the ultimate health benefit to you and your family?

Whatever your dream is, you want to ensure you have the proper plumbing to fit the needs of your appliance selection. Always remember, the refrigerator requires water too, but only if you want ice cubes.

Your kitchen is a central part of your family life, so make it beautiful. Call Daniel Cordova Plumbing, Drain & Sewer at (626) 962-0885 to transform the look of your West Covina, CA home with unique kitchen remodeling ideas.

Appliances in Your Home that Waste Water

In the past, there was less importance on conserving water, but more than that, there was less technology available that allowed people to use the minimal amount of water needed while using their home appliances.

What has transpired over the last few years is that there is an increased awareness of the amount of water that we waste each and every day and a strong push by a massive amount of people towards the green movement. Here are some of the biggest water wasters, which you may want to check into replacing if you are using older models.

Toilets Could Be the Culprit

There is no doubt that one of the biggest culprits when it comes to water wasting is your everyday toilet. Toilets use up to a dozen liters of water each and every time they are flushed.

Older models were not really concerned with saving water, but were more so designed to ensure that the toilet cleared and functioned properly.

Over the last few years, we have become much more concerned with conserving less water, especially with the increases in population and droughts that have been so widespread lately, and it has led to the creation of toilets that use about a third as much as they used to.

You can expect a toilet to save thousands of gallons of water each and every year by upgrading to newer models.

Shower Heads Also Waste Water

Although your sink faucets and various other faucets in your West Covina house may be on the same page as shower heads, showers are well known as wasting a great deal of water.

The reason for this is that older shower heads shoot out water at a faster volume than is necessary, so newer models have been created in order to account for this problem.

Newer shower heads are designed to distribute enough water to be comfortable in the shower and to get clean, without simply shooting out way too much water.

Some models also spray water that is likely not even hitting you, which is simply wasteful. Upgrading your West Covina shower heads is very inexpensive and you can end up saving about 25 percent water you would have used previously.

Washing Machines Wasting Water

Top loading washing machines simply feature reservoirs that are inefficient in the amount of water that they utilize, although they absolutely are efficient at cleaning clothes.

However, front loading washing machines feature a considerable reduction in total water needed, so they are a great money and water saver in the long run.

Now more than ever, conservation doesn’t require a lifestyle change! Call the professionals of Daniel Cordova Plumbing, Drain & Sewer at (626) 962-0885 to see how easy it is to conserve water in your West Covina, CA home.

Signs You Have a Hidden Water Leak

A huge puddle of water in the middle of your bathroom floor is an obvious sign that there is a leak somewhere in your plumbing system. But most leaks remain hidden until they cause enough costly damage to be noticed.

Five signs of a possible hidden water leak are standing water, visible damage, musty odor in the home, a dripping or hissing sound, and a high water bill.

Visible Water Damage

If you notice a small brown spot on your ceiling, chances are that there is a leaky pipe or fitting somewhere above. But before knocking a hole in your ceiling, be aware that water flows until it finds a place to pool. The actual leak may be anywhere so it would be best to call an experienced professional to do an inspection.

A water spot on a wall may be caused by a pipe just inside the wall or it may be caused by water that has trickled down from an upstairs room.

Mold or mildew growth on ceilings, floors, or walls may also indicate a leak. A buckled floor is also a sign of a leak. Be sure to call a pro as soon as possible so the damage becomes no worse.

Sounds and Smells of a Leak

Everyone is familiar with the sound of water hissing through plumbing. But what if you hear this when there are no faucets open? Try to determine where the sound is most noticeable. This will help your plumber find the leak more quickly.

Mold and mildew love wet and dark places. A leak hidden in a wall or under a floor is an ideal habitat. A musty or earthy odor is an indication of a possible mold infestation that may be caused by leaky plumbing, but it is nearly impossible to determine the location of a leak by sniffing around because the air currents in your house will carry the odor throughout your home.

Once you have ruled out innocuous causes of mold odor such as damp laundry and scents carried in through a window by a breeze, it is time to call a plumber.

High Water Bill

An unexpectedly high water bill may also indicate a leak. One drop of water every second from a leaky pipe may raise your monthly bill by almost two dollars.

Bigger leaks cause bigger bills. It may be wise to call a professional for a plumbing system inspection if you can find no other possible causes for an unusually high water bill.

Don’t be submerged by the water in your West Covina, CA home. Call Daniel Cordova Plumbing, Drain & Sewer at (626) 962-0885 today, and get that water leak fixed now!

The Importance of Backflow

What is Backflow?

Backflow is the unintended change in the initial direction that water or any other substance in a pipeline or plumbing system was designed to flow towards.

For instance, this may happen where the water or substance flows in the opposite direction than that which it was intended to flow towards.

This may happen if the pressure on the water supply line drops thereby allowing exterior liquids to draw off into the waterline. An unfortunate scenario that results in backflow is referred to as a backflow incident.

What is Backflow Testing?

Backflow testing is the inspection of backflow prevention systems, devices, or air gaps to ensure that they are fully functional to prevent backflow of contaminants into drinking water.

The backflow of contaminants usually occurs through cross-connections. It is usually recommended that backflow testing takes place when the systems are installed and every year after the installation.

How Backflow Testing Save The Lives of Family Members?

As earlier observed the primary reason for backflow testing is to ensure that the installed backflow systems are working perfectly to eradicate or at least reduce the chances of a backflow incident. This is because where backflow incidents happen the result is that biological, chemical, and even physical agents of contamination enter the drinking water supply system.

This contamination may then result in injury, illness, and even death for any person coming into contact with the contaminated water. For instance, water in a grass sprinkler system may become infected with weed killers and fertilizers.

This water could then backflow into drinking water that is used by a household or, if the sprinkler system was large scale, by the whole neighborhood. If any member of the household or neighborhood were to come into contact with the contaminated water, the results would be disastrous.

Do not wait until it too late to start backflow testing in your water supply system. Failure to engage in backflow testing may result in an incident where the drinking water is contaminated leading to devastating results.

Because of the level of training required to conduct the test and interpret its results, it makes it difficult for one to do it himself.

Therefore contact us today to carry out the testing for you. You might as well end up preventing a backflow incident accident in the future and therefore saving the lives of your family members.

Want more information on backflow testing in your West Covina area? Just call Daniel Cordova Plumbing, Drain & Sewer at (626) 962-0885, and take the proper precautions.