Saddleback Plumbing Heating & Air Blog: Archive for the ‘Services’ Category

Tips From Saddleback Plumbing About Upgrading Your Central Air Conditioner

Monday, August 8th, 2011

When the time comes to upgrade your central air conditioner, whether you live in Buena Park or anywhere else, you will have a lot of things to take into account. If you were generally satisfied with the performance of your old system, it can be very tempting to stick with a similar model. But if you do not examine all of the options out there right now, you may very well be missing out on a great deal.

If you already have a central air conditioner in place, chances are that you also have ductwork throughout your house. In that case, you will probably be better off with a packaged air conditioner as opposed to a split system. If it is a split system you are replacing, however, you should probably keep your search limited to other split systems. Installing a packaged air conditioner when you do not already have ducts in place can dramatically increase the overall cost of the project.

You will also want to make sure that the system you choose is compatible with the heating system and air handler that you already have in place. Most central air conditioning systems can be integrated easily with all types of heating systems, but you should still check to make sure this will not be a problem, particularly if you have an older heating system.

In terms of picking out the right new system for your home, energy efficiency is probably the main factor to consider. While just about every air conditioner on the market right now will be much more efficient than the unit you are replacing, you want to make sure you get a model that will provide you with the optimal savings in the long run.

This does not necessarily mean that you should go out and buy the most energy efficient air conditioner out there. In fact, because the more energy efficient units are also typically more expensive, you may not actually save money by going that route. But you will do well to choose a unit that will save you enough monthly to offset the installation costs and for most people, that means that you will want an air conditioner that is either a SEER 14 or SEER 16.

Of course, the actual amount of money you will save as you move up through the SEER rankings depends on how much you use your air conditioner to begin with. If you live somewhere with very hot weather and you use your unit for a large chunk of the year, it may very well be worth it for you to opt for a very high efficiency model.

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How Much Water Does a Leaky Faucet Waste?

Friday, August 5th, 2011

A leaky faucet is obnoxious for more than one reason, as I discovered the other night at my house in Fullerton. It is incessant, it represents a problem that will probably only grow worse, and it can cost you money on your water bill. Beyond all of that, it wastes a lot of water, putting undue stress on the environment. But, how much water does a leaky faucet actually waste? It may not seem like much, but when added up over a period of time, that leaky faucet’s impact can be fairly substantial.

Okay, so a single drip every couple seconds may not seem like a lot of water. But, think about it this way. If you let your faucet drip every day, twenty four hours a day, it is definitely going to add up. Imagine what would happen if every faucet in your home was dripping or every faucet in your neighbourhood. It would not seem like such a small amount of water anymore.

In terms of how much water is actually wasted, it is impossible to tell for certain. After all, every drop of water from a faucet is a different size and falls at a different rate. But, for the most part the water coming from a faucet (according to the US Geological Survey) is between 1/5 and 1/3 of one milliliter. Using those calculations and 1/4 of a milliliter as an average, the USGS estimates that roughly 15,140 drips from a faucet equals one gallon of water.

It may not seem like much. After all, fifteen thousand drops is a LOT of drops. But, if your faucet dripped once every second every day, all day, it would only take four and a half hours to reach one gallon. Every day you would waste 5 gallons of water or 2,082 gallons per year. That is 10% of the average water used by a standard 3.5 gpf toilet on a daily basis. Now, imagine what happens if you have more than one drippy faucet, or if your bathtub leaks which will drip more water at a time or if the leak is larger than the average size.

In short, the cost of a leaky faucet may not seem like much, but as time passes, it can really add up and if it is not taken care of, the cost will only grow as the leak gets bigger and potentially new leaks start in other faucets of your home. Do not let it drip forever – take action now and cut down on the environmental impact you have, as well as your bill.

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How Do I Stop My Pipes from Knocking?

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

Tell me if this sounds familiar – you are sleeping comfortably and in the middle of the night a soft but persistent knock sounds through the pipes in your home. At first it is easy to ignore, but inevitably the sound will grow with each passing night and eventually start keeping you awake. You feel like they can be heard all over Capistrano Beach! Luckily, there are simple solutions for knocking pipes that do not require a plumber or expensive parts.

First, it is good to know why your pipes are knocking in the first place. In most cases, knocking pipes are caused by variable water pressure in the main supply pipes coming into your home. That pressure is important because it keeps the water moving freely between pipes and into your faucets. However, when the air used in pressurizing those pipes leaks or is depleted, water moves suddenly and violently, creating the knocking sound as it traverses the length of the supply lines.

The easiest fix for this kind of knocking is to first turn off your main supply valve. Make sure you communicate to anyone in your home that you are shutting off the valve as it will stop ALL water coming in. Now, flush the lines by opening all of the faucets and flushing your toilets. Water can still leave your home through drainage pipes and this will ensure all of the supply lines are fully empty.

Once the lines are cleared, feel free to turn your main valve back on. It is important to do this slowly so that the air chambers between and around your pipes have time to refill before the water courses back into them. However, now that the pipes were fully emptied, the knocking sound should be completely gone.

It is as simple as that. In most cases, you should not need to call a plumber to help, but if you have any problems finding your main valve or shutting it off, a plumber can be helpful with the proper tools and the knowhow for various kinds of shutoff valves. Additionally, if you live in an apartment building or a shared space, you may not be able to perform this fix. Rather, you should contact your superintendent or landlord and make sure they know exactly what is happening – with any experience, they should recognize the problem and be able to make similar fixes to your pipes.

Knocking pipes can be incredibly frustrating if not dealt with as soon as they start. Now that you know how simple it is to make the fix, make a habit of regularly flushing your lines and the knocking likely will not start up again.

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The Advantages of an Air Conditioning System in Aliso Viejo

Monday, August 1st, 2011

Just about everyone knows that air conditioning systems keep your indoor environment cool and comfortable during the hot summer months, which is very important when you live in a place like Aliso Viejo. While this may be enough of a benefit for you, there are also some other benefits to having a central air conditioning system installed in your house as well.

For instance, if you have someone in your household who is more susceptible to extreme temperatures than most people, an air conditioning system can actually help improve their overall health. Babies certainly fall into this category, as they have more difficulty than older children or adults do controlling their body temperature.

Also, many elderly people or people suffering from certain medical conditions, particularly heart conditions, are especially sensitive to the heat. If they are unable to stay cool, it can be very dangerous and damaging to their health, and an air conditioning system helps to guarantee that they will be able to stay cool and comfortable even on the hottest days of the year.

Aside from direct health concerns, air conditioning systems can also help to alleviate the symptoms of colds and allergies. They do this by controlling the level of humidity inside your home. If the air in your house is too moist or too dry, it can exacerbate cold and allergy symptoms, as well as dry out skin and make the indoor environment generally uncomfortable.

Proper humidity control is also important because it helps to ensure that any air filtration or purification system you have in place is able to operate at peak efficiency. Many of these units have a hard time extracting particulate contaminants from the indoor air that circulates through them if that air is too humid or too dry. With a state of the art air conditioning system in place, however, you will not have to worry about whether or not the humidity level in your home is out of balance.

It is also worth noting that a central air conditioning system can be preferable to a window mounted unit because it provides for a more even distribution of cool air throughout the house. Also, when you have a central air conditioning system, the condenser which is the source of most of the noise and vibrations that air conditioners make will be located outside and out of earshot. With window mounted units, on the other hand, there is really no way to block out or diminish the noise.

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Maintenance: Cleaning Your Conditioner Coil Will Save You Headaches Later

Friday, July 29th, 2011

You have plenty of things to clean all over your house. But do you really have to clean your air conditioner too? Well, if you want it to keep working well, you do. In fact, cleaning the coil of your air conditioner is a quick and easy process, especially if you do it on a regular basis, and it can save you a great deal of frustration later on.

Like any machine, your air conditioner needs a tune up from time to time in order to continue to function properly. While a lot of this is taken care of if you have an annual maintenance service performed by a professional, your air conditioning coil will benefit greatly by being cleaned more often than that.

In fact, during your annual maintenance visit, your air conditioning technician can easily demonstrate for you how to get to the coil and clean it. This is a relatively easy task that you can carry out every month or so when your system is in use to help ensure optimal health and functioning for your system.

Of course, your air conditioning system will still run whether you clean the coils on a regular basis or not. For now, that is. Allowing more and more debris to build up on the coil, however, can have a big impact on the overall energy efficiency of your unit. An air conditioner with a dirty coil will have to work harder to keep your house cool, and that will be reflected by an increase in energy consumption.

Also, an air conditioner with a dirty coil that is having to work harder to keep your house cool will wear out more quickly than one that is working properly without added impediments. The added wear and tear that this causes to various other parts within your air conditioner can cause them to malfunction and need to be replaced sooner than they should.

This means more costly repairs, even if they are minor ones. It also means that your entire air conditioning system will probably not last as long as it may have with proper care. You will have to replace it sooner, adding even more to the cost of having and running the equipment.

Cleaning your air conditioner coil regularly is a simple and effective way of helping to keep the entire system running smoothly and efficiently for many years to come.

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How Much Will a High Efficiency Air Conditioner Save You?

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

When it comes to your air conditioning system, the energy efficiency rating really does matter. While you may be paying a bit more for products with higher energy efficiency ratings to begin with, you will certainly save a significant amount on your monthly cooling bills in the years to come.

Before you can evaluate your options in terms of energy efficient air conditioners, however, you will need to know how their efficiency is represented. Most air conditioners come with what is called a seasonal energy efficiency rating (SEER). A higher SEER means a more energy efficient model, and likely a higher price tag as well.

But how much more energy efficient is a SEER 10 air conditioning unit as opposed to a SEER 11? Well, the truth is that it is about 7% more efficient. However, a SEER 14 will be 23% more efficient than a SEER 10, but only 5% more efficient than a SEER 13 model.

While all of these numbers can help give you some context in which to evaluate the various air conditioners out there, they can only go so far. Turning these percentages into dollars is what you really have to do when you are trying to figure out what your monthly or yearly savings will be.

So to give you a bit of perspective, imagine that your annual cooling costs come to around $480 with your current SEER 10 air conditioning system. If you choose to upgrade to a SEER 13, you will save somewhere in the neighborhood of $110. But if you opt for the SEER 14 instead, you will gain an annual savings of closer to $140 compared to your current bill.

Of course, the SEER of a particular air conditioner is not the only thing that will cause the price of the unit to rise, nor is it the only thing that can cause your monthly cooling costs to rise. Air conditioners also need to be matched to the size of the space they will be asked to keep cool.

If the unit you have is too small to effectively cool the area in question, you are likely paying more than necessary in terms of cooling costs for less than ideal results. Similarly, if your unit is too big, you will be paying too much no matter how high a SEER rating it has.

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What Is New in Air Conditioning?

Monday, July 25th, 2011

There are developments being made in air conditioning just about every day. This is a huge business, and so manufacturers are constantly trying to outdo each other as it is their only way to compete for customers. What this means for you as a consumer is that you will always have an excellent selection of products from which to choose.

Energy efficiency is one of the main selling points for any air conditioning system. For that reason, manufacturers are constantly working to come up with new and better models. The most advanced air conditioning systems on the market have energy efficiency ratings that by far surpass what was available even ten years ago and it is only going to keep getting better.

Another type of air conditioning system that is relatively new but is rapidly gaining in popularity is the ductless mini-split system. These and other compact air conditioners are popular because they can be installed virtually anywhere and do not take up much space. They also do not require the duct system that many other central air conditioners do.

In this way, ductless mini-splits combine the best of central air conditioning and more conventional window or wall mounted units. They keep individual rooms of your house cool and comfortable and can be controlled independently of one another, but they are also very quiet and energy efficient. In fact, ductless mini-splits are among some of the most energy efficient options available in the air conditioning world today.

For many years, enjoying the comfort that air conditioning provides has meant putting up with the noise of the compressor as well. Now, however, you can get the best of both worlds. Many air conditioning companies, in response to customer requests, have been working to curtail the noise and vibrations that air conditioners make.

This has affected models all up and down the line. Whether it is a window mounted unit you are after or a large central air conditioning system, you can rest assured that the model you buy today will be much quieter and produce a great deal fewer vibrations than your old system.

This is not only good news for you. It can also help to make your relationship with your neighbors a bit friendlier. The outside component of most air conditioning systems is usually where all the noise and vibrations come from anyway, and so your neighbors are likely to hear and feel it as well.

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How to Plunge a Clogged Drain

Friday, July 22nd, 2011

It is almost inevitable that you will have to deal with a plugged drain somewhere in your home at some point. This drain may be in the bathtub, a sink or a toilet. But wherever it is, a plunger is usually your best bet for getting it out. If you are going to be successful, though, you need to know how to set yourself up and use the plunger properly.

To begin with, remove the strainer or pop-up plug from the opening of the drain. You want the material that is clogging the drain to be able to come back up through that hole when you apply the plunger suction. Next, make sure the sink or tub has enough water in it to cover the head of the plunger completely. A toilet generally has enough water in it already. This water helps to create a better seal for the plunger and allows you to generate better suction, both of which are essential if you are going to dislodge that plug.

You should also make sure you block off any other outlet connected to the drain you are going to plunge. To do this, stuff an old rag or sponge into the overflow opening or into the second drain of a two compartment sink. That will make it possible for the entire force of your suctioning to reach the clog because it will not be compromised by air escaping through an alternate opening.

Now you are ready to plunge. Place the plunger over the opening of the clogged drain. While keeping constant contact with the sink or tub floor, move the plunger rapidly up and down between 10 and 20 times. After the last plunge, pull the plunger off of the sink or tub floor quickly. This should break the seal you have established and help to pull the clog back up the drain towards you.

It can take a few cycles like this before you are able to dislodge the clog completely. But each time you plunge, you are doing more to break up the clog. The pressure from the plunger can eventually get rid of many difficult clogs, so do not be discouraged if it takes a few tries.

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Bathtub Faucets and Fittings

Wednesday, July 20th, 2011

Buying new bathtub faucets and fittings can be a lot of fun. But it can also be a bit overwhelming simply because there are so many options out there. And the types of faucets and fittings you choose will have a big impact on the overall cost of the project. That is why it is a good idea to learn a little bit about your options ahead of time so that you know more or less what you are looking for when you actually get into the store.

To begin with, you will have to decide whether you want brass or plastic fittings. Plastic fittings are generally cheaper, but they also do not last as long and are more prone to chipping and cracking. Brass, on the other hand, might cost you a bit more up front, but it will last you longer and serve you better.

Brass faucets and fittings are available in a wide range of styles and finishes, so you can comb through the options to find the one that best fits with the theme you are going for in your bathroom. However, you should keep in mind that some of the available finishes for brass fixtures and faucets require specific care so that they do not tarnish. Make sure that whatever brass fittings and faucets you buy are a kind that you will be willing to care for properly.

You should also keep in mind that the majority of the functional part of your bathtub faucet will be located behind the wall of the tub. That can make repairs and replacement of faulty parts a bit more difficult than on a regular sink faucet, so you want to make sure you do not have to get in there to fix something very often.

And the best way to ensure that is to opt for a slightly higher quality fitting and faucet. It may cost you a bit more up front, but it will be well worth it to you in the long run. Even with these restrictions, there are still plenty of options out there so you should have no trouble finding one that suits your sense of style while still offering high quality performance for a reasonable price.

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How to Choose the Water Softener That Is Right for You

Monday, July 18th, 2011

If hard water is a problem in your home, the solution may be simpler than you think. There are many water softeners out there, and some of them can be quite effective at treating the water coming into your home in order to remove the minerals that make the water hard. However, there are plenty of distinct differences between the various products on the market as well, so you should take a closer look at your options before you commit to one system over another.

The first thing you need to know when you start looking at water softeners is how hard your water actually is. If your water is very hard, you will need a heavy duty water softener. But if there are only moderate amounts of calcium and magnesium in your water, you may be able to opt for a less powerful model.

You should also be aware of how much water you go through on a daily basis. You want to get a water softener big enough to handle the demands of your household, and you will not be able to do that if you do not know how much water you typically use.

Another difference between the various water softener models on the market today is the type of regeneration cycle they employ. You can opt for a timer regenerated water softener that will complete the regeneration cycle as often as you set it to. These models tend to be cheaper initially, but they can also cost more to operate and maintain in the long run because they will regenerate when the time comes whether it is actually necessary or not.

There are also meter regenerated water softeners that only go through a regeneration cycle once a certain volume of water has passed through them. These water softeners are specifically calibrated to the amount of calcium and magnesium you have in your water so they only go through a regeneration cycle when it is absolutely necessary.

One concern that many people have about using water softeners is that the most common types use sodium as a regeneration agent. That means that they exchange sodium for the calcium and magnesium in the water. If you need to limit your sodium intake, you may not want to be adding even this small amount to your water. In that case, you can purchase a water softener that uses potassium rather than sodium which can be just as effective at removing other minerals.

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