How to turn off the water to your home. Good to know in an emergency.

 Most people never think about their water system until there is a problem. It is good to know how to turn off your water system in case of an emergency.

 Many times we get calls from panic stricken customers who's homes are flooding and they cant make it stop.

 For most residential water systems in Florida.

1- Locate the incoming shut off valve where the water enters the home.

 These valves (in most cases) would be located outside of the home above or below ground or inside the garage on a loop. If you are unable to locate your valve a Licensed Plumber would be able to locate it for you.

2. Water meter shut off valve or corporation stop. In most cases the only the water department or a licensed Plumber are supposed to operate, check with your local utility department.



Most homes in our area do not have the homeowner shut off by the meter because it is not required by Florida building code Plumbing.

 Locating and verifying that these valves are functional can save you time and money down the road. 







Why it can be dangerous to let a "Handyman" work on your home.

 

Handyman R/O system install leaks creating mold behind kitchen cabinet.

 

 

 

Push fitting leak inside wall causing this.

 

Mold behind a closet organizer.

 

 

Deck mount Roman tub faucet rough, improperly installed using PVC FIP fittings leaking under a enclosed tub deck.

 

 

No trap on sink allowing sewer gas and sewer vermin into home 24/7.

 

 

30 amp breaker 12 gauge wire on a 4500 watt water heater. (FIRE HAZARD)

 

 

These are just a few things we have had time to photograph over the last few months.

 

The level of expertise required in Plumbing, Electric, Air Conditioning, Building, and many other skilled trades must be handled by professionals that are trained and licensed in their trade to keep the customer safe.

 

 

Please hire your local licensed tradesmen and tradeswomen. Yes they cost more, it is worth the cost.

 

 



 

 

 

 

Will homeowners insurance pay for repairs to your home?

 I get this question more than you would think. The answer is that home owners insurance does NOT pay for repairs on your home. They may with the proper coverage pay for damage to your home caused by say pipes leaking and flooding your home, electrical fire damage, roof failure causing flooding ect, Not the actual repair.

 If your transmission goes in your car does the insurance replace it?  Insurance is different than warranty and should not be confused. Plumbing repairs in inaccessible locations may take hours of demolition to get to the problem and may cost the home owner several hundred dollars to locate and repair.

 We hope this helps inform the public that may be looking for an answer to this question. This is in our professional opinion and may vary with your insurance coverage.

Too Good to be true?

Have you seen ads by service companies that are much lower than all the other quotes you have received? This is called a loss leader. Not an honest way of doing business in my humble professional opinion.

They start with ( Drain clearing $79.00 ) For starters it cost most of that just to get the truck to your door. Then the service tech is most likely paid on commission, so if he wants to make any money he has to start the high pressure sales pitch.  "Oh this is bad, we need to run a sewer camera to find out what is going on with your home!" Now you are at $379.00.

The honest company. " The drain cleaning can very greatly depending on the severity of the issue. It may run from $100.00 to $300.00 in most cases."

In most cases that $379.00 drain clearing would have cost you less than $180.00 from the honest service contractor.You see, even if you had the more severe clog ( in most cases it is not ) it probably would have cost much less than the $379.00.

There are many more examples to this scenario and it encompasses all business. Would you rather have an honest service company or the one who tries to get as much money out of each stop as possible?

Again this is just the educated opinion of a 20 plus year professional Plumber who has worked for a few local plumbing contractors in the local market before starting our own company. The Idea behind H2O Plumbing Solutions is to offer honest professional service to our customers and giving the information necessary to make their own decision on the extent of service they would like us to preform.

Thanks for reading. Bill H.P.S. State Certified Plumbing Contractor. CFC1427731.

Ever think about resealing your bath tub or shower, You should.

The sad truth is that we live busy lives and rarely think about our wet areas until there is a problem.

Your tub or shower whether tile, acrylic, composite or other material should be resealed in our opinion every 6 months. It does not take a very big opening to allow a lot of water to travel behind your water "resistant" surface and get to the wallboard and wooden components behind them. Many times this happens for years without notice due to the fact that it is hidden behind tile. This long term moisture can cause rot, mold, can lead to pests in the home and many other problems.

Where ever your water "Resistant" surface has a joint or penetration maybe suspect. I.e. Grout lines, joints between acrylic parts even towel bars or the valve plate itself. One of my customers had a one piece Fiber Glass shower unit; the towel bar was built in and sealed with silicone. The silicone gave way on one side of the bar and while the shower was running about a half-gallon of water a minute was running and pooling under the unit, causing all sorts of colorful fungi. Eventually the water made it out past the shower and ran under the wood flooring along the base board and destroyed two bedrooms worth of wood floor.

Again reseal your tubs and showers, they will last much longer.

Thanks for reading our blog. Bill H.P.S.

Handy Man fix for a leaking Tub / Shower valve;)

I know everyone thinks plumbers are expensive;) But this customer paid a handyman to fix her rental property. He striped out the seat on the hot side of the valve, then took the spout off and installed a ball valve to control the water. They paid $140 for his work. Now they have to pay us to replace the valve. If we had rebuilt the valve in the first place they would have saved hundreds. Please only hire licensed Professionals!

The dangers of using unlicensed Contractors.

First let me say that I am not opposed to anyone trying to make a living. However would you go to a Doctor or a Lawyer that held no license? How about eat at restaurant who has never held a license or had a board of health inspection?

Well here is a good reason to hire only licensed Plumbers! Watch what can happen with an improperly installed or maintained hot water heater turns into a bomb. Click link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbreKn4PoAc

 This hot water heater failed because the thermostat was disabled and the elements just kept cooking. Also they sealed up the temperature pressure relief valve which is meant to blow off if the temperature or pressure get to high. Generally a TPR valve has Preset Setting at around 150 Psi - Temp 210 F.

Here is a picture of a Potentially dangerous water heater I am getting ready to replace.

The valve on the side of the heater is the TPR valve. When the valve blows off it pushes a pin out of the valve which allows it to open. This valve is wedged tight against the clothes washer and would be hindered from opening properly! This particular heater also has a malfunctioning thermostat which thankfully threw the breaker.

Yes you maybe able to hire an unlicensed contractor and save some money, but should you?

Remember in Florida one MUST be a licensed contractor to preform Plumbing, Electrical, Air conditioning and most other professional trades.