Frequently Asked Questions:

We are thinking about replacing our older hot water heater with something more energy efficient. Should we consider on of these new tankless water heaters?

You should absolutely consider it. A tankless water heater is the new way to go. Tankless water heaters provide a high level of performance that meets the needs of nearly all full-time households today, at a time when fuel costs are soaring and conserving energy is more important than ever. We will be the first to tell you that there is a higher cost upfront for the purchase and the installation of a tankless water heater, but we believe the investment is well worth it. You will recover your upfront cost in energy bill savings with in a few years. You will be investing in a more energy efficient product that saves energy, is more environmentally friendly, offers space savings and endless hot water. Tankless water heaters eliminate the stand-by heat loss of regular hot water heaters by not storing hot water during non-use periods, saving you money to heat your water. This also helps decrease carbon emissions and green house gases. Tankless hot water heaters offer more flexibility within a home, changing as your family changes to offer more or less hot water to meet your household needs. Tankless water heaters also take up a lot less space, last at least twice as long, and offer a higher comfort with a more steady temperature supply than traditional water heaters. Rinnai is one of the leading manufacturers of tankless water heaters and they have a very helpful website with lots of facts. Visit them on the web at: www.foreverhotwater.com

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What things should we consider when purchasing a new tankless water heater?

There are a lot of choices when purchasing a tankless water heater with more coming every day. We have installed many different brands for our customers including Rheem, Rinnai and Takagi. Rinnai tankless water heaters require plumbing installers to be certified and we are a certified Rinnai tankless water heater installer. We have installed over 70 tankless water heaters as of August 2008 and comments from our suppliers lead us to believe that we are one of the most experienced Rinnai tankless water heater installers in the Augusta area. We strongly recommend gas tankless models over electric. We do not install electric models as we do not believe in their performance right now.

Every household has unique hot water needs and every tankless water heater installation is a little different depending on the needs of your household, and the location of the hot water heater installation. Rinnai has a tool on their website to help you find the model of tankless hot water heater that bests fits your needs. Visit them on the web at: www.foreverhotwater.com

We would be happy to come out personally to talk with you about your tankless hot water installation and give you an estimate. We always give free estimates!

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What happens when roots get inside lines?

If left undisturbed, the roots will completely fill the pipe with multiple hair-like root masses at each point of entry. The root masses quickly become clogged with toilet tissue, grease and other debris flowing from homes and businesses to the main sewer, resulting in reduced flow and slowed drains. A complete blockage may occur if the roots are not removed and root growth impeded.

Once roots have entered the pipe, they continue to grow and expand, exerting considerable pressure at the crack or joint. The increased pressure often breaks the pipe and may result in total collapse, which requires sewer repair or replacement.

Some pipe materials are more susceptible to root intrusion than others. Clay tile pipe is easily penetrated and damaged by tree roots. Concrete pipe and PVC pipe may also allow root intrusion, but to a lesser extent than clay pipe. PVC pipe usually has fewer joints and the tightly fitted joints are less likely to leak as a result of settlement around the pipe.

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How often should I have my septic system inspected?

Septic systems should be inspected and pumped a minimum of once every three to four years. You may not be experiencing any problem now, but a full septic tank may allow unwanted solids to flow into the drain field, which is the part of the system that consists of a distribution box, with a series of connected pipes. Each pipe allows water to flow into a bed of stone that drains into the ground. If paper and other solids flow into the drain field it becomes blocked and ineffective. A blocked drain field is costly to repair or replace.

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My shower head and faucet aerators have a buildup of a white substance around the area where the water comes out. Is there anything I can do other than replace them?

The unsightly buildup is mineral deposits. To remove these deposits from the showerhead, take a plastic bag and pour a cup of vinegar in it. Place the bag over the showerhead and use a twist tie to hold it in place overnight. In the morning, remove the bag and use an old toothbrush to gently scrub off the deposits. You might be able to remove the aerators from the faucets and allow them to soak in the vinegar overnight.

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What can I do in my own home to do my part and help conserve water?

There are several easy to do, affordable projects that you can do around your home that can save over 20,000 gallons of water per household each year without changing your current lifestyle. Here are a few that we recommend:

Have a high-efficiency toilet that has an EPA WaterSense label installed in your home. Older inefficient toilets are responsible for most of the wasted water in homes today. These new High-Efficiency toilets flush with 1.28 gallons per minute or less but still have strong flushing power. Installing one of these toilets can save around 4,000 gallons of water per toilet, per year, for an average family. There are a variety of different High-Efficiency toilet styles to choose from, including the dual flush type that gives you two different flush options, a smaller flush for liquids and a stronger flush for solids, depending on your flushing needs at a particular time. Here is a helpful site you can use to check out which toilets have the EPA WaterSense label: www.epa.gov/WaterSense/pp/find_het.htm. Some other recommendations include:

• Replace standard water faucet aerators with new 1.50 gallon per minute, high efficiency aerators. Just replacing these aerators can reduce your faucet water use by as much as 30% without having to give up water flow or replace good faucets. Reducing water flow also means less water your home has to heat.
• Have a hot water recirculating pump system installed in your home. There are new easy to install systems that keep the hot water moving towards all of the fixtures in your home. Recirculating systems really cut back on wasted water because you don’t have to run a faucet for as long waiting for the water to turn hot. You can reduce the wait time for hot water to a shower as much as 3 minutes. That could equal a savings of over 5 gallons of water per shower. Hot water recirculating systems are especially helpful if you have a bathroom located at the opposite end of the home from your hot water heater.
• Replace standard showerheads that use 2.5 gallons per minute with new high-velocity, high performance, and water saving shower heads that are designed to use only 1.75 gallons per minute without sacrificing performance. This could also save over 30% of your water use per shower, again reducing the amount of water your home has to heat.

It would seem that the thing stopping more people from becoming stewards of the environment is the idea that purchasing eco-friendly upgrades for their homes will be costly and mean sacrificing their current lifestyles. That doesn’t have to be the case. Simple things can make a big difference. Remember we can’t live green unless we have water to do it. Make every choice count!

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I have a foul odor coming from my garbage disposer. What can I do to eliminate this odor?

Foul odors occur from a buildup of food debris within the disposer. To eliminate this odor, place ice cubes and lemon or orange peels in the disposer and run for 30 seconds. Next, squirt a little liquid dish detergent into the disposer while it is still running. Finally, run cold water for about 30 seconds to rinse all the debris away.

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I am getting a foul odor from a bathroom in the basement. We hardly ever use this bathroom except when we have company. This is embarrassing. What can we do?

Plumbing systems are designed to prevent foul odors from entering the house by means of the trap attached to fixtures. Traps contain water to seal out foul odors; if the water seal evaporates, the odors enter the house. To solve this problem, pour a bucket of water in each trap, sink, shower and floor drain. This will prevent the odors from entering the house.

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Winters are cold and we were told to turn off the outside faucets in the fall before the freezing weather arrives. We did this, however the pipes leading to our outside faucet still froze and broke. What did we do wrong?

Turning off the water is not enough. You must also disconnect the garden hose connected to the faucet to allow the water in the pipe to drain out. This will allow the piping to withstand the cold weather.

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When I am in the laundry room and the water heater is operating, I hear a rumbling sound coming from the water heater. What could cause this?

Rumbling sounds coming from a water heater are an indication that sediment has built up on the bottom of the water heater. What you are hearing is water that is trapped in the sediment and is boiling. This is an indication that the water heater is not operating efficiently. Sediment will not allow the heat to transfer to the water in the tank, which sends the heat up the flue.

You may try draining a few gallons of water off the bottom of the water heater tank. This is done by attaching a drain hose to the valve at the bottom of the tank. Allow it to drain for about five minutes.

WARNING: HOT WATER IS DANGEROUS. DISCHARGE THE WATER INTO A FLOOR DRAIN, LAUNDRY TUB OR BATHTUB. HOT WATER WILL KILL YOUR GRASS IF DISCHARGED ONTO THE LAWN. HOT WATER WILL CRACK A TOILET BOWL IF DISCHARGED INTO THE TOILET.

Many newer models of water heaters have a new feature that prohibits the buildup of sediment in the tank. If your heater is an older model, it may be cost effective to replace the water heater if the buildup is severe.

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I am hearing a whistle sound that seems to be connected to the plumbing system. It comes and goes at times, but I can't find the cause of it. What could cause this?

The sound you are describing is usually caused by a toilet fill valve that is slowly leaking. To locate the leaking toilet, remove the lid of each toilet tank and adjust the fill valve mechanism until it stops. Once you have found the toilet causing the problem, repair or replace the fill valve.

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Rob came out and solved a major issue I've had since the home was built. The original plumber could never get it right, I was amazed at how fast he understood the problem and had a plan for repair. I used to have a long wait for water. He corrected the hot water problem and fixed several problems I had with my showers!

S.W.

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We have friendly, professional, and uniformed technicians that are trained on an ongoing basis to ensure that they can investigate, understand the problem, and perform the necessary plumbing services with both precision and accuracy. And it is CSRA Plumbing policy to present the full-cost to you, the customer, before any work begins. Our technician will inspect and diagnose the situation, and will give you the cost before any work is done. We always obtain your approval first.

Our trucks are equiped to make it easy to solve your plumbing, clogged sewer, or leaking hot water heater problems fast.

We promise to leave your home as clean as we find it. Our CSRA Plumbing Services Technicians come prepared; not only to do the work, but to make sure they leave only a job well done behind. This means clean tools, brand new fixtures, professional uniforms, and proper clean-up of any materials after work is complete.

If you are not 100% satisfied with the work of a CSRA Plumbing Services Technician, we will do whatever it takes to make it right. As members of the Augusta Professional Plumbers and The Plumbing & Mechanical Association of Georgia, we abide by a code of ethics that guides and directs the quality of our service to you.

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For more information, you may reach us by phone at:

Office - 24 hrs.:	706.421.7730
Or:	803.640.4258

Or you may email us at:

General Information:

Info@CSRAPlumbing.com