July 28, 2022

Plumber John’s Tips for a Healthier Home in 2022

Gina: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Mile High Living. I’m Gina Belich. All right, we’ve all been there. It’s a 90 degree day, your home’s air conditioner just isn’t working right, or that leaky bathroom faucet is keeping you up all night. Well don’t suffer any longer, and call the company that has been helping homeowners in the Denver and Boulder area for almost 50 years. Joining me now is John Murphy, master plumber and service manager for Applewood Plumbing, Heating and Electric. Welcome. I bet you’ve been a busy guy lately.

John: Oh, yes, yes we have.

Gina: With these record high temperatures, everything that we’ve been going through. But today, let’s start off by talking about sump pumps, right. A lot of people may not even realize that they have them or how they work, talk about what they do and how important they are.

John: Well, they’re important, Gina, because they control the water that’s around your foundation, rather than let it get underneath the foundation and wreak havoc around the foundation of your home. So it controls the water, puts it into a receptor, or what we know as a pit, and then you install a pump and it pumps it outside the house—basically to do it all over again. But it does control the water.

Gina: That’s very nice. And we all know one of the biggest things as a homeowner is making sure that you control the water in, around your home at all times. Some of us have learned the hard way, I will say. All right, let’s talk about then the maintenance, if you have a sump pump at home and the maintenance that it takes to really keep it going and making sure that it’s doing its job.

John: You know, just making sure that it’s working properly; that’s one of the things that we do when we go out. We do an evaluation, make sure that that’s working properly, especially in homes that are newly constructed, is many times debris gets in that and will hang up the float on a pump and things like that and keep it from operating properly and getting rid of the water out of your home. So, just one of those things to kind of keep an eye on and make sure it’s working properly.

Gina: Absolutely. If you’ve got it there and lucky enough to have that, making sure that that’s controlling the water, you want to make sure it’s working to your advantage. Absolutely. All right, now, when the pandemic hit, I remember there was a huge run on toilet paper and paper towels and all of that. Right.

John: Yes.

Gina: And I know that a lot of people decided, okay, well, I can’t get my hands on toilet paper, I’m going to use flushable wipes.

John: Yes.

Gina: Look at this. The look on your face tells it all. Have they been your nemesis, these flushable wipes?

John: They have since the advent of flushable wipes. The name flushable is true. They do go down the toilet just fine. They will wreak havoc with your sewer line, though, and they’ll get hung up in there and create a damning effect in there and everything gets hung up behind it. We won’t go into the details on that. But these flushable wipes, they are flushable. That is true. Not a good idea to put down your sewer line because you will be calling us out. It does not break down that toilet paper. It’s a very fibrous cloth, so it doesn’t break down like toilet paper does and disintegrate over time. It tends to hang on and again create havoc within your sewer line.

Gina: Well then, when we talk about creating havoc, what kind of damage are we talking about? Just so folks at home might know, especially if all of a sudden they encounter a problem, a year or so after the pandemic has stopped, we’re back to everyone can get their hands on normal toilet paper again, right? And then all of a sudden they’re like, wait a minute, things aren’t quite working the way they’re supposed to through my pipes and my disposal and all of that.

John: Well, many times there’s underlying problems and that’s the reason it doesn’t go on out to the city sewer. And they get hung up in there and they’ll pile up and there’s quite a few of them in there. So sometimes it takes quite a while to get all those, retrieve all those out and get them out of there. But many times what we find is when we scope or camera the line, that there’s underlying problems like roots and things that aren’t supposed to be in the sewer line. Once it’s compromised, it’s compromised and you need to do something with it because you’re going to continue to deal with that problem. Other things that cause a problem is low points in the line. The earth settles over time in many cases and so when that happens, it’ll create a place for the water and things to dam up and gather, gather rather than flowing on out to the city sewer. Obviously, we can come out and recognize those problems when we stick a camera in or see what’s going on.

Gina: Take care of it. Absolutely. We started off talking about these hot temperatures. Everyone’s AC, if you have it, is probably running all the time. Air filters is something that is super important and you say this really year round?

John: Yes. The biggest thing is airflow and getting airflow in your system. So the filters keep that airborne. Dirt and debris. We have pet dander, things like that to get clogged up in different places within your heating system and it can really again, create havoc within that because if you don’t have enough air flow, your system has other problems and it can work extra hard and actually do damage to your system if there’s too much dirt and debris that’s allowed to get and flow through your system. And really the only way to combat that is to make sure your system gets cleaned on a regular basis and to make sure you keep those filters changed after that.

Gina: Absolutely. Now, before we go, can you tell us about the great deal you’ve got for folks?

John: $50 off any service. Anybody that calls in or just actually have us come out and say, I saw you today on TV and $50 off any service, and we’ll get you taken care of, whatever it is, you call us up.

Gina: All right, great having you here. Let’s remember, folks, that you heard John right here. Call Applewood Plot Heating Analytics today for $50 off any service they provide. Call 303 232-6611 or visit Applewood fixit.com to schedule an appointment today. They paid for today’s segment. We’ll be right back.