Category: Uncategorized

 

Skin Cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. Ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun are the leading cause of skin cancer. July is UV Awareness Month. During the month of July make sure to take action to prevent skin cancer and reduce the risk of UV damage.

Prepare for UV Awareness Month

Too much sunlight can cause several long-term health conditions:

• Visual Impairment
• A weakened immune system
• Wrinkles and sunburns
• Skin cancer

Prevent Getting Sunburned

Summertime means spending more time outside enjoying the nice hot air. Make sure to check the local UV index before spending time at the pool, going to the park, or even enjoying a walk with your Pokemon Go. Check your sunscreen to make sure the Sun Protection Factor (SPF) is between 30 and 50; no one wants burnt skin. Always apply sunscreen lotion 15 minutes before going outside. You will need to reapply your sunscreen every two hours.

Protect Your Eyes From the Sun

Sunglasses can protect your eyes from UV rays on sunny days. If you are indoors sitting near a window, you should still wear sunglasses. Too much exposure to UV light can increase your risk of developing cataracts. Only wear sunglasses that offer UV protection.

What Time is the Hottest During the Day

You should avoid sitting in the sun between the hours of 10:00 am and 4:00 pm. You need to wear sunscreen throughout the year, and you need to apply sunscreen more often if you are swimming or sweating. Some sunscreen lotions are waterproof, but you should still apply more sunscreen whenever you get out of the pool.

For summer tips with your home’s plumbing, call Daniel Cordova Plumbing, Drain & Sewer in the Glendora, CA area at (626) 962-0085. A friendly customer service representative can assist you.

 

Purchasing a new home is an exciting adventure for you and your family, and you deserve to enjoy it. After you have found that dream house that has the right number of bedrooms, a big picture window, and a beautiful backyard, you need to think about those parts of the house you do not see on a daily basis.

Many people are aware they should have a new home inspected before buying, but often they fail to make sure the plumbing has been inspected as well. Months after the purchase, plumbing problems such as flooding and leaks start manifesting themselves.

Plumbing problems that go undetected can cost the new homeowners thousands of dollars in the end. A professional plumber from (company) can help you analyze potential problems.

After the inspection, you can request the house seller to work on plumbing problems that have resurfaced as part of the sale agreement. The fact is that most retailers will either go ahead and fix the problem or adjust the price of the house. Here are some plumbing tips that can guide you during plumbing inspection before signing agreement papers.

Check the Water Heater

Hot water is essential for bathing, cooking, and laundry. You want to make sure your family is supplied with hot water consistently. Among critical factors that you should consider while inspecting a water heater include:

• Size: a water heater should have at least 40 gallons tank for a family of four
• Location: Make sure the water heater is located in a safe place and it is well positioned
• Age: Check how old is the water heater
• Signs of corrosion: If the water heater is corroded, request the seller to install a new one as part of the purchase agreement

Check the Pipes

You would want to check for cracks, leaks and other problems that may call for a replacement. It is also worth noting that homes that were built before 1998 might have a lead or galvanized plumbing. Lead poses an environmental hazard and can cause health problems, particularly in children.

A plumber can provide guidance on estimating the cost of replacing lead pipes before you agree to buy the home. Other things that you should consider include:

• Make sure pipes are prevented from freezing during winter seasons. This can be done through wrapping or having vents closed off during the winter.
• Look for stains on surfaces underneath the pipes and on walls. Stains on pipes indicate leaks. Even if there are no apparent drips, stains signal future problems.
• Check for discoloration, dimpling, and flaking, as these signs indicate corrosion. You may bring in a plumber to help you do this inspection
• Watch for small leaks. The small leaks can easily be repaired, but they are indicators that the time for replacing plumbing for the whole house is approaching. It is most likely that all the pipes in the house are of the same vintage and made up of the same materials.
• Look at the color of the bathtub water. If the water has a yellowish or brown color, the pipes have rusted (a sign of decay inside the pipes). This is a clear indication that replacement will soon be needed.

Check the Sewage System

Sewage issues are often expensive and smelly, and it is imperative you know about them prior to purchasing the home. First, you need to find if the waste goes to your septic tank or into the town or city sewage system. It is worth noting that most homes built in the 1950s often have sewer lines made of Orangeburg pipe. These pipes are made up of tarpaper that quickly collapse after degradation. In particular, if the house has septic tanks you should look for the following:

• Find out the exact location, and it should not be located near a water well or stream.
• Check for the last time the septic tank was serviced or emptied. The septic should be emptied if the sludge covers more than a third of the total volume.
• Ensures the baffles are well connected to the tank’s outlets and inlets.
• Check for any cracks and make sure the riser lids are secure.
• Sewers lines should also be clear of tree roots and debris. A plumber can determine the status of sewer lines by running a specialized camera through the pipes.
• Any leakage or odor around the septic tank is a sign that there is a problem. The seller should address it before you sign the contract.

Check All Faucets

The bathroom and kitchen plumbing are also critically important. Check the drains, showers, sinks, and toilets. You should check and make sure all faucets are operational, and water has sufficient pressure. The toilet should flush when you pull the handle. In addition, check the following:

Make sure the sinks and toilet bowl are firmly installed and do not move when you apply gentle pressure on them.

Check for any warping or discoloration in the flooring, particularly around bathroom equipment. If the surface feels spongy, that is an indication there is a leak that requires repairs.

Only in very rare cases are sellers held liable for these issues and much more after a sale has been completed. This is because most sales agents will say that the house is being sold as it is, and is the responsibility of the buyer to evaluate the condition before they make the purchase.

Having a qualified plumbing expert inspect the plumbing system and point out any major issues before you buy can save you a lot of money in the end. An expert can point out a serious problem that can dissuade you from buying the house.

More importantly, you can negotiate for a reduction of the sale price to offset the cost of repairs for problems resurfaced during an inspection. Besides, plumbing inspection will give you some insight about the property and help you avoid hassles related to plumbing in the coming years.

Daniel Cordova Plumbing, Drain & Sewer proudly serves the La Habra, CA area. We use advanced solutions that will identify all types of problems including root intrusions, as well as misaligned, punctured, broken, corroded, and off-grade pipes. Call us at (626) 962-0085 today to schedule a plumbing inspection.

The summer solstice is going to be happening in just a few weeks, but many people do not realize the meaning or origins of this event. The summer solstice has been celebrated for thousands of years. It is commonly referred to as “the longest day of the year,” but this is not all that happens during the summer solstice.

What Is the Summer Solstice?

According to astronomy, a solstice happens when the tilt of a planet is most inclined towards the star it rotates around. This means that the summer solstice occurs when the Northern Hemisphere is pointed as far towards the sun as possible during its yearly rotation. In the summer solstice, the Northern hemisphere experiences the most hours of daylight during the year, and summer officially starts.

 

Why Do We Have Longer Days in Summer?

During the time around the summer solstice, the days are very long. This happens because the northern half of the Earth has tilted towards the sun, so it spends more time in the sunshine each day. Meanwhile, the farther half of the Earth has tilted away from the sun. Meaning that in certain places, like Australia, they will experience darker days and cooler weather during the summer solstice. However, if you travel far enough north during the summer solstice, the sun will appear to travel around the horizon instead of setting each night because the days are so long.

Where Does the Phrase “Solstice” Come From?

The name, “solstice,” comes from the Latin language. It is a combination of “sol,” which means sun,” and “sisto,” which means “I stand still.” Therefore, the basic phrase used to refer to the longest day of the year means “the sun stands still.” A solstice was called this by the ancient Romans because the day was so long that it seemed like the sun was practically standing still in the sky for most of the day.

Enjoy the long summer days in Whittier, CA without worrying about your plumbing. Call Drainiacs Sewer & Drain today at (626) 962-0885 to learn more about how we can meet your summer needs.

 

Outside of the waste disposal industry and conservationists, nobody likes to think about garbage. As far as most are concerned, the sooner it disappears, the better everyone’s life is.

A common method to dispose of garbage is, unsurprisingly, garbage disposal. In a 2004 study, 44% of all homes in America were found to have kitchen-sink unit garbage disposals.

The garbage disposal offers a quick and easy way to get rid of soft food garbage. Just as the garbage disposal can conveniently discard refuse, any issues about the structural integrity of the garbage disposal can make things worse.

Rather than getting rid of garbage, a leaking disposal unit means you’ll be liquid garbage leaking under your sink and, in severe cases, all over your floor.

Understand the Garbage Disposal

Garbage disposals are not complicated appliances. Mounted up on the kitchen sink, the refuse is entered into the disposal unit, which then feeds into a small trap that connects to the kitchen plumbing, eventually reaching the main line.

While every individual unit from each separate manufacturer will be different, this is the basic construction of a garbage disposal.

The simple construction of the garbage disposal is both good and bad news. In some regards, having so few parts means you should be able to detect more readily where a leak is coming from. On the other hand, with fewer and fewer parts to diagnose, the odds are always creeping up that some terminal issue exists within the actual disposal unit itself, meaning it will need to be replaced.

Some DIY Tips

With so few components, there aren’t many areas to correct if there is some leak. That should reduce the amount of time it takes to check the actual unit.

Here are a few places where the unit should be monitored.

• Check the unit’s connection to the physical sink.
• Tighten the fasteners that connect on each side of the trap.
• Test the unit to see if it is loose enough to move.

The disposal unit itself can work itself loose in a few separate areas over time, due to the vibrations it leaves in its wake while being operated. Check under the sink, first, to see if the brackets connecting the top elements to the sink are loose. The fasteners are usually screws, and they can be only turned to tighten: try to tighten these screws, bolts or fasteners and see if there is any give in them.

Another bit of maintenance is to tighten the fasteners between the unit, the trap and the sink line the trap connects to. (The trap is the pipe that connects from the disposal unit to the sink line.)

The fasteners for the trap are usually made of the same material the trap is: PVC traps will connect with PVC fasteners, cast-iron will have cast-iron, copper with copper, etc. Find both fasteners, the one that connects to the unit and the one that connects to the sink line, and gently try to tighten them. Don’t over do this, especially if they’re plastic: if you break either end of the trap or the sink-line, your maintenance effort will have caused a full-blown break in the line.

Another test you can perform is to attempt gently to rock the disposal unit. The unit should be firmly in place, and it should not move at all. If the unit is running, you should check every bracket, nut, and bolt until you find the offender. With luck, there isn’t anything structurally broken, or else you would need to replace broken parts or replace the whole unit.

IF you see a leak, you should run water in the sink to see where the water is leaking from. Usually, if you have tried the above methods and still cannot stop the unit from leaking, a professional should be called.

Problems You Should Call a Plumber For

The most common reasons a disposal unit would start leaking typically have very little to do with the unit itself.

One of the most common reasons a disposal unit begins to leak is that the unit itself is plugged, or the pipes from the unit are plugged. Liquid solutions are unlikely to work, in that case, as chemicals used to unclog pipes are more of a preventative measure than something that can fix the existing problem. A plumber should be contacted to break through the clog and get the water flowing properly through the pipes.

Disposal units may physically break in some measure – usually, a crack near the bottom or an o-ring used to seal the unit may either come loose or break. That does happen, but it is not as common as the pipes going bad.

Cast iron pipes rust, and when they rust, they begin to rot away. The rust will sap the pipe of its structural strength until it becomes so degraded that it can no longer hold water.

If that is the case, the pipes will need to be replaced immediately. There is no adequate short term fix for a pipe that is broken, so the leak will likely persist until a viable replacement can be found from a professional plumber.

Where those pipes begin to rot can be a major issue to consider. If the pipes are starting to fail behind the wall, it will become a major plumbing issue and crisis. Usually, though, the problem occurs between the trap and the connection where the disposal pipes connect to the sink line. This will require the trap to be disconnected from the disposal, the disposal unit removed (so that the pipes can be accessed) and the pipes to be removed and replaced.

That is a somewhat arduous task, so a professional should be hired to complete the job.

Conclusion

A little maintenance goes a long way, but maintenance alone won’t stave off old pipes or aged disposal units. Nothing is built to last forever.

Strongly consider contacting Daniel Cordova Plumbing, Drain & Sewer in West Covina, CA at (626) 962-0885 to come and inspect your garbage disposal unit as soon as you think there might be an issue.