Posted by I ever had the following problems in plumbing and drain/sewer systems.
- Water related equipments include: water heaters (tankless), hot tanks (boiling water), disposals, sump pumps, water softeners (for hard water), water filtration (for making water drinkable directly from faucets), etc.
- Every equipment has its lifespan. Better maintenance can extend lifespan. You can choose to repair or maintain when needed. You can certainly choose to have a rigorous maintenance schedule. Both plans work just fine. It is only a matter of balancing between your time, repair cost, replacement costs and benefits.
- Looking for parts can be very hard and time consuming. So repair is costly and even cannot be done due to the fact the models do not exist any longer. This is very true especially for high end products.
- drain and sewer pipes in old houses (30+ years) maybe narrower.
- Water heater: Little maintenance to extend lifespan
- How to clean hard water deposits: water in Los Altos is relatively hard.
- lateral pipe: the part connecting the pipes from your house to the main drain under the street; a common problem here is tree roots. This part is your responsibility and can be very costly. Some cities like Palo Alto take care of this issue for their residents. Call the city before you call a plumber on your own.
- main drain under your house
- Pipes from main drain to every plumbing fixture
- Clean out: 1-2 holes that you can snake and unclog the main drain/sewer pipe under your house.
- Toilets: newly toilets have push buttons on the top. Before the flush is on the side so that the lever is easy to damage.
- In Palo Alto, new homes need to do back flow check every year.
- Sewer vent: clogging can happen if the vent pipe does not function well.
- Denny Plumbing – Rough Plumbing (
- Allied Concrete Pumping – Concrete
pumping (5942 S Locan Ave, Fowler, CA 93625 Phone: (559) 834-9890)
- Decorative Plumbing Supply
- Pumbing N’ Things – 1620 Industrial Way, Redwood City
- Sink & Faucets: Waterstone Faucets
- Under Sink Products: Hot tank, filter, etc. 951 304 0520
- In Sink Products: Disposals, hot tanks
- Jason Wu plumbing fixtures (571 Colorado)
- Duravit tubs showers toilets (571 Colorado)
- Home Depot, Lowe’s, Costco
Tips: For high end products: the models are updated often and you will not be able to find parts in 5-10 years. Solutions: 1) buy 1-2 sets of backup parts; 2) replace instead of repair
Dittmann Plumbing at San Mateo (Donald Taylor 650 343-2159)
- Solar Water Heater (Lowell: Pool) Turn to “vacation mode” if gone for more than 2-3 days when it is sunny outside
- Water Heater Leaking from the bottom
Tip: the life span for water heaters is about 10-15 years.
Tankless water heater (Bryant)
- Tankless water heater and recirculation system: runs in one of two modes: 1) always on; 2) timer-based;
- Clean filter (located beneath the tankless unit) as needed; If water is not warm, the filter could be clogged
- Part (installed in shower): Thermostaic cartridge for PL 8950 valve, Afeel Corop dba Huntington Brass 11100 Dna Circle, Cypress, CA 90630: 714.373.2788
E J Plumbing (Kevin Penkauskaus & Micheal S. ) checking fee: $275
Tagaki: Allen Poon 510-468-8530
- Smart Plumbers & Rooters (Chris)
- Fifteen Dollar Sewer & Drain (408) 686-1501
Kratzer Plumbing: Lee Kratzer (650) 571-5580 (Pine)
- Maximus Plumbing & Heating Services (repaired drain pipe of the tankless water heater at Colorado)Phone: (650) 995-1050
- Hot Water Heater Solutions 408-915-0435; 5201 Great America Parkway Suite 320; Santa Clara, CA 95054
- Wizard Plumbing and Drain 650.843.9911 (Repaired loose faucet under the sink at Colorado)
- Bayshore Plumbers
- John Wei 408 930 6608, 510 676 9188 水龙头，热水炉，马桶，垃圾机， 煤气管，水管，精通大小渠，电脑探测管道，来水与去水
- Shifu Zhang: 408.242 2092
- Kim 408 621 0067; 650 380 8298
Tips: smaller water flow or toilet flush is not powerful can due to the pressure in your pipes. Sometimes, a valve might go halfway close. Check valves can simply fix the problem.
Tip: wipe off the grease on your dishes and pots before washing them; don’t pour oily and buttery stuff into drain. Tip for old houses: sewer pipes are usually narrow; it is normal for you need to have a plumber to check or snake every 6 months. Tips for Palo Alto Residents: (Santa Rita) Call (650) 496-6995 to report sewer problems; “House Sewer Clean-out/Roto Rooter: Some times the tree roots at front of house interfere with the sewer lines. We noticed that the clean-out area at front near street might start to look dirty. When this happens, it is time to call the City of Palo Alto. The City will arrange for and pay Roto Rooter (or some vendor like that) to clean the sewer pipes from the street to the house. If you call Roto Rooter directly, The City will “not” pay for the service. Best to go through the City and it will most likely be covered for you.” |
Mike’s Fire Sprinkler
- electric or non-electric; differences
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