Summer is just around the corner, and hopefully you’ve already gotten your air conditioning system ready for the added strain of operating on a daily basis. Preventive maintenance is never a bad idea when it comes to preparing your air conditioner for summer, but it’s not the only thing you can do to make sure you get the most out of your system. Read on to find out more about how zone control can help you stay cool this summer.
Saddleback Plumbing Heating & Air Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Trabuco Canyon’
Improve Your AC System This Summer with Zone Control
Monday, April 4th, 2016Why is My Heat Pump Not Putting Out Heat?
Monday, February 29th, 2016Heat pumps are highly valued for their ability to act as both heating and air conditioning systems. In fact, it’s one of the main reasons that homeowners install them in the first place. But, being able to do that means the system is more complicated, which means there are more ways for things to go wrong. If your heat pump seems to be stuck in air conditioning mode, or doesn’t put out as much heat as it should, you may have one of the following problems.
The Benefits of Ductless Heating
Monday, January 25th, 2016Winter is here, and for some of us that means finding a new home heating system. While it can be tempting to just get another heating system just like the one you had, you may be able to find a system that fits your needs much better. Ductless heating, for example, has quite a few advantages to offer. Let’s take a closer look at ductless heating systems, and the benefits that you can garner from installing one.
Boiler Problems to be Aware of This Winter
Monday, December 21st, 2015Boiler systems have a ton of advantages when it comes to heating, which is why they’ve been used for so many decades. Just like any other system, though, they can still run into problems. If you’re using a boiler to keep warm this winter, you’ll want to keep an eye out for certain problems that can crop up. The sooner you can get these boiler problems repaired, the more damage you can prevent. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the issues that can affect your boiler system.
Should I Replace My Furnace?
Monday, November 16th, 2015Winter is upon us, and now is the time to make sure that your furnace is in good shape. If your furnace isn’t up to the task of keeping your home warm for another winter, it’s time to replace it. No one wants to have their furnace break down on them in the middle of winter. So, it’s best to replace it now before the weather gets really cold. Read on for some of the signs that your furnace is in need of replacement.
Signs that You Might Have a Slab Leak
Monday, September 7th, 2015Slab leaks are one of the most damaging problems that can afflict a home’s plumbing. Unfortunately, they’re also one of the most difficult problems to detect and fix. The best way to protect against slab leaks is to keep an eye out for the signs that accompany them. The faster you can identify a warning sign that you have a slab leak, the faster you can have it repaired and the more damage you can prevent. Let’s take a look at some of the signs that you might have a slab leak.
What Can Cause Damage to My Water Line?
Thursday, January 22nd, 2015There are some really big repairs homeowners really don’t like to deal with: replacing roofs, re-wiring their homes and repairing either a water line or sewer line. While these types of repairs are ultimately good for your home and you, they are big repairs that tend to be costly. There are a few ways in which water lines can become damaged, and here are some of the more common scenarios our Saddleback Plumbing technicians have seen:
- Aging of pipes – over the years, water lines have been made of a various metals, and some age better than others. Metals like iron can last over a hundred years while galvanized piping lasts about 50. If your water line is made of a type of metal that ages earlier than other types, it may age more quickly.
- Corrosion – it’s hard to keep metal from corroding when it constantly comes into contact with water; safeguards are taken to help reduce the level of corrosion on piping, but once it starts it doesn’t stop. Corrosion leads to cracks and holes, which will cause your water line to leak.
- Tree roots – tree roots are incredibly strong. They can wrap around a pipe and crush it or they can infiltrate small cracks and holes and as they suck up the water in the line, become stronger and bigger.
- Ground shifting – the ground doesn’t necessarily stay put over the years, and even small shifts can cause a break in a water line.
- Pressure – if a major clog forms deep in the system, the pressure from this clog can cause the water line to burst.
- Fluctuating temperatures – if your water line pipe is exposed to highly fluctuating temperatures, the metal will expand and contract. Enough expanding and contracting can weaken the pipe and cause cracking, which can eventually lead to a break.
- Freezing – it takes a lot to freeze a water line pipe, but if it does freeze, the ice crystals put tremendous pressure on the pipe from the inside; many times, this pressure is enough to cause a break in the pipe.
Soggy areas in your yard, dirt in your water and low water pressure are all signs that you may have a water line break. If you are seeing these signs, then it may be time to call Saddleback Plumbing and schedule an appointment for water line repair service in Trabuco Canyon.
Do Ductless ACs Really Work?
Friday, July 25th, 2014There are a lot of options these days when it comes to choosing an air conditioner for your home, and one that has gained popularity over the last few years is the ductless AC. The question of do they work is simple: yes, they do. But the more important question is: is a ductless AC right for your air conditioning in Trabuco Canyon, CA? The best way to truly answer this question is by working with an air conditioning specialist, like the ones at Saddleback Plumbing, but to get you started, it helps to understand how a ductless system works and what its benefits are.
How Does a Ductless AC Work?
A ductless air conditioner is similar to a traditional split-system AC in that it has an outdoor unit that houses the condenser and compressor, but instead of using ducts to deliver the cool air, it uses individual blowers. These blowers are connected to the outdoor unit via a small conduit placed in an exterior wall that carries refrigerant to the blowers; the conduit also holds the drain pipe and a power line. The blowers can be mounted against walls and ceilings, hung from ceilings or left free-standing; they just need to be close to, or on, an exterior wall so that it can be connected to the outdoor unit. When a blower is turned on, the refrigerant begins to flow and the normal air conditioning cycle begins. Each blower is independently operated and a single outdoor unit can support up to 4 blowers.
Benefits of a Ductless AC System
There are benefits to a ductless air conditioner that you may not see with a traditional split system or window unit:
- No ducts needed – as the name indicates, and as explained above, you do not need to install expensive ductwork to accommodate this type of system.
- Better energy efficiency – because each blower operates on its own, you automatically have zone control; in other words, you only cool the areas you want and need to. This saves on energy usage, which you’ll see in your monthly energy bills.
- Customized comfort – each blower is fully programmable and comes with a remote control for easy use. You are in total control of the temperature all the time.
- Easier installation – the conduit to connect the blowers to the outside unit requires a small, drilled hole, about 3” in diameter, in an exterior wall. This is far easier than dealing with ductwork.
Is a Ductless Air Conditioner A Good Choice for You?
The best way to determine if any air conditioning system is the best fit for your home is to work with a trained professional. Since 1981, Saddleback Plumbing has helped many customers in Trabuco Canyon, CA install great air conditioning systems into their homes.
If you have questions about whether or not a ductless air conditioner is right for you, call Saddleback Plumbing and schedule an appointment with one of our installation specialists.
Benefits of Hydrojetting in Drain Cleaning Services
Thursday, April 3rd, 2014Hydrojetting is the practice of using high-pressure pulses form a specialized hose to clear out clogs and build-up in your plumbing. The practice entails specialized equipment and requires a trained plumber to operate (you’d be surprised how much damage a little water can do), but it’s become a staple for drain cleaning services. If you have a clog or a build-up issue, hydrojetting may be the best way to deal with it. Here a short list of the benefits of hydrojetting in drain cleaning services in Trabuco Canyon.
- Thoroughness
Snakes, cleaners and similar solutions may only deal with a single clog, or even just part of a clog. Hydrojetting is designed to clear the entire pipeline, getting rid of not only the clog in question, but also any other clogs that may be building up along the line. That provides extremely good value for the money, as well as keeping the problem at bay for some time to come. - Safety
Chemical cleansers can be quite dangerous, especially if they interact with something unexpected down in the drain. Hard items like plastic toys or even organic components can interact poorly with the cleanser and create toxic fumes. While hydrojetting can be dangerous if used by inexperienced personnel, at the end of the day, it’s just water, making is a safe and environmentally friendly solution as well as an effective one. - Efficiency
Hydrojetting can cut through just about anything, including tree roots and mineral deposits. At the same time, it does its job without damaging your pipes at all: the pressure involved is calibrated so that your system can handle it perfectly. With hydrojetting, there’s never any question of whether the problem is getting dealt with.
Here at Saddleback Plumbing, we understand the benefits of hydrojetting in drain cleaning services. More importantly, we have the training and experience to do the job right. If you live in Trabuco Canyon, drain cleaning will eventually be a part of your home plumbing maintenance.
Give us a call today and schedule your next plumbing repair for your Trabuco Canyon home with Saddleback Plumbing. Let us make sure that the job gets done right.
Why Mechanized Snakes Work Better Than Over-the-Counter Snakes
Tuesday, February 25th, 2014When plumbing clogs arise, people tend to turn to plumbing snakes to correct them. They’re easy to use and much safer than chemical cleaners, and they can usually fix the problem with a little elbow grease. Here in Trabuco Canyon, drain cleaning services offer mechanized snakes, which are often a superior choice to the store-bought snakes you might be used to. Here’s why mechanized snakes work better than over-the-counter snakes.
As you may expect, store-bought snakes utilize a one-size-fits-all approach, which means that it’s designed to handle a wide variety of clogs. Unfortunately, that might not be sufficient to deal with the specific nature of a given clog, and even if it is, you might end up inadvertently damaging your plumbing in the process. Mechanized snakes, in contrast, typically offer interchangeable heads, allowing the plumber to tailor the snake to the exact nature of the clog. Not only does that help the snake do its job more quickly, but it can prevent inadvertent damage to the clog in the process.
Then there’s the issue of forced. Over-the-counter snakes usually rely on cranks or plain old-fashioned elbow grease, which again may not be sufficient to handle the task at hand. A mechanized snake, deployed by a professional, can exercise just the right amount of force to break up the clog while still keep in your pipes undamaged. When you add that to a fitted head, it makes the use of a mechanized snake the clear chose over store-bought models.
That isn’t to say a store-bought model is completely useless. Indeed, in mild cases, it can function perfectly adequately, but like a lot of things, you get what you pay for, and for all but the most basic clogs, mechanical snakes work better than over-the-counter snakes. Drain cleaning services along with a host of other resourceful plumbing services are offered by the experts at Saddleback Plumbing. If you’re having problems with a tough clog or in need of other plumbing repair in Trabuco Canyon, pick up the phone and give us a call today. We’ll take care of it with the latest technological advances, used by experienced pros who know how to do the job right.