Saddleback Plumbing Heating & Air Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Irvine’

An AC That Isn’t Cooling Enough? Here’s What Might Be Happening

Tuesday, June 1st, 2021
woman-before-fan-in-house

The temperatures are warming up, summer is almost here … and your air conditioning system is already disappointing you. 

You don’t want to go through the summer with an air conditioner that is struggling to keep up with the heat. If you’ve noticed that it’s taking too long for the AC to deliver the comfort you want, or the AC isn’t getting the house to its regular level of cooling, you may need to look into air conditioning repair in Irvine, CA from our pros. 

There may be a simple explanation, so we’re going to climb a ladder of possibilities, from the simplest to the most complex, to see what’s causing the AC’s capacity problem.

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How We Can Make Your Allergy Season Less … Sneezy

Monday, April 19th, 2021
woman-with-allergies

The break between winter weather and spring weather isn’t a sharp one in Southern California, at least not as sharp as in other parts of the country. But there is a change, and the warmer weather is enough to start the spring bloom in plants. Nice as the warmer temperatures are, that plant bloom brings something else with it that isn’t as nice—allergy season. 

If you have sensitive allergies or asthma problems, then spring can often be unpleasant. Spring allergies can bring sneezing, coughing, watery and itchy eyes, dry itchy skin, headaches, nausea, and asthma. Many spring allergies resemble the flu or the common cold. The source of many of these problems is tree and grass pollen, and it can be hard to get away from them, even in your house.

There are several medical ways to alleviate the problems of allergy season. But we can offer you indoor air quality solutions to lessen allergy season. You only need to call us and we can find the best way to help.

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I Have Hot Water in My Home—But Not in the Shower!

Tuesday, December 15th, 2020
shower

Waking up to a cold shower in the morning: that’s one of the day-to-day nightmares we’re all afraid of. And even during a mild Southern California winter, the idea of having to get through the morning after you face a surprise cold shower, or even a lukewarm one, is a pretty unpleasant one.

Usually, when people think of their shower losing its hot water, they connect it with a loss of hot water to the entire house. If you have a shower that isn’t warming up or won’t warm up at all, you’ll probably first make the assumption that something has gone wrong with the household water heater. Often, this is the problem and you’ll need to call technicians to fix it. 

But what if only one shower has lost hot water? If you find that you’re still getting enough hot water at other taps, what has happened to the shower?

There are several possibilities, and you’ll probably need to call for professional plumbing in Irvine, CA, not to fix the water heater but to fix the shower’s plumbing.

The Broken/Worn Down Mixing Valve

What’s most likely happening is a problem with the shower’s mixing valve. The mixing valve is a control valve that creates the balance in the flow of water from the hot water line and the cold water line and blends the two together for your desired shower temperature. This valve can wear down over time or even break, and no fiddling around with the shower handles will be able to provide the right hot-cold mix.

You can’t see the mixing valve because it’s set behind the shower wall among the pipes, and we don’t recommend you try to access it by dismantling the faucet handle or anything else that requires you to take out wrenches and other tools. This repair requires professionals, who may need to replace the entire mixing valve. 

Failed Anti-Scald Device

You may have a device inside installed into your showerhead designed to prevent a surge of extremely hot water from creating a scalding hazard. This anti-scald device, also called a “hot limit stop” or “rotational limit stop,” is found in many modern faucets, and if it is set too high or it breaks, it may prevent almost any hot water from coming through the showerhead. The showerhead will need to be dismantled to fix or reset it. We recommend calling a plumbing technician to do this, since making an error with this device can create a scalding hazard, and not all showerheads come with this device.

There are a few other, less common possibilities, such as a broken cartridge in a point-of-use filtration system or cross-connected pipes. It’s best not to guess at what could be wrong, however. If you want your hot shower back as fast as possible, the quickest route is to call us and schedule plumbing service. Going DIY with your plumbing in general, and any plumbing connected to your hot water supply specifically, is a bad idea!

Saddleback Plumbing Heating & Air has served Orange County since 1981. Schedule plumbing service with our technicians today.

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How a Professional Cleans Drains and Clears Drain Clogs

Monday, January 13th, 2020
drain-with-chain-plug

Drain clogs are one of the most common plumbing problems homeowners face. They’re “ordinary” in the worst way—they crop up often and can bring daily activities to a halt until resolved.

The standard way to zap a clog is with a sink plunger. A hand-cranked drain auger (a.k.a. drain snake) is another option that can work in some cases. A third choice many homeowners make is to pour a bottle of “drain cleaner” into the drain to eat away at the blockage. No matter what the labels on these bottles of drain cleaners promise, they are terrible for drains and for you. When you need a third option to clean a drain and clear a clog, call a plumbing technician in Irvine, CA.

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Clogged Air Filter: A Simple Problem With Big Consequences

Monday, December 30th, 2019
pleated-air-filter

No matter what climate you live in, the clogged air filter in the HVAC system is a major problem. Here in Orange County, our heating systems don’t put in a huge amount of work, but you’ve probably had yours running regularly over the last few weeks when night and morning temperatures dropped into the high 40s. You’ll likely have reason to turn the AC on again before the winter is over—that’s just how our climate works.

No matter if you have the air conditioner, the heater, or just the central fan of the HVAC system running, you’ll need to pay attention to the HVAC filter and have it changed routinely to avoid having it become clogged. This is a basic part of HVAC maintenance in Irvine, CA—one of the few parts of maintenance you can do on your own. We recommend checking on the filter once a month. You’ll know it’s too clogged if you hold it up to the light and the filter blocks out the light. Expect to change the filter every one to three months.

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Some Facts to Know About a Heat Pump Installation

Monday, December 2nd, 2019
heat-pump-backyard

A new heating installation in Irvine, CA usually isn’t a big moment—and that’s because homeowners rarely think about heating systems in the mild winter climates of Southern California. However, any HVAC installation is important, and we recommend you give some serious thought to what type of heater you have in your house. If you’ve come to the point where you’re certain it’s time to put in a new heating system, one of the best options available in our climate is a heat pump.

Heat pumps are different from most standard heaters, such as furnaces and boilers, so to help you out with a heat pump installation, we’ve listed some vital facts about what to expect from a heat pump.

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Beware of IAQ Problems During Wildfire Season

Monday, November 4th, 2019

dramatic-smokeWe often do a post at this time of year to caution people about the potential effects of wildfires during this season in indoor air quality in Irvine, CA. It’s different this time, because California is already in the midst of major wildfires across the state. Although Orange County isn’t dealing with a specific wildfire now, trouble with air quality will spread through large parts of the state, and more fires are always a possibility we need to be aware of.

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Poor Cooling From Your AC in the Fall? Here’s Why

Monday, October 7th, 2019

woman-in-front-of-fan-hand-on-headOrange County only gets a small amount of relief from the heat in October. We can expect to have weather hovering in the 80s on many days this month. You’ll give your air conditioner a few small breaks, but you’ll think about the system less and less. Because of this “fall mindset,” you may not pay much attention to drops in cooling levels around your house.

If you notice a change in the volume of cooling from your AC or rooms that are warmer than they should be when the air conditioner is running, you may still need to schedule air conditioning service in Irvine, CA to have it fixed. Keep in mind, we can always have spikes in heat in Orange County at any time of the year—you want an AC you can always depend on!

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Know Where the Water Main Shut-Off Valve Is

Monday, September 23rd, 2019

plumbing-valves-and-tubesNobody wants to have a major plumbing emergency. At least you have a reliable plumber in the area who can help when you’ve got major trouble from the plumbing. Never hesitate to call us when you think you’ve got a plumbing emergency—if you wait, you’ll likely end up with a worse problem.

However, before you call us for help, there’s something essential to know in case of a plumbing mishap that’s threatening to flood your home. You must know where the water main shut-off valve for the house is and how to activate it. Share this knowledge with the other adults in the house so they also know how to stop the water flow into the house in case of emergency.

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Reasons Your AC Keeps Tripping Its Circuit Breaker

Monday, July 29th, 2019

installer-stripping-wireOne of the first things we recommend people check when their air conditioning system suddenly stops working (fans, compressor, all of it) is to check the electrical panel. The circuit breaker to the air conditioning system may have tripped and cut off the electricity. Resetting the tripped breaker will restore the AC to normal working order.

But what if this keeps happening? If you’re often walking to the electrical panel because the AC once again shut itself off, there’s something wrong. It might be with the electrical panel itself—if it’s an old panel, ask an electrician to look at it and determine it’s time for an upgrade. But it’s more likely you’re due for some good ol’ air conditioning repair in Irvine, CA from our skilled HVAC technicians.

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