FYI on the Rheem Heat Pump Water Heater

A few weeks ago we posted something about a new high-efficiency water heater out from Rheem (Rheem Heat Pump Water Heaters Promise Super Efficiency). Someone did point out that this heat pump style machine is not exactly new - although it is new for Rheem, but the real news is that the machine has now been pulled from the market. That's what we hear from our supplier. No word on what led to the recall.

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'Fix a Leak Week' Coming in March

It's startling how much water is lost to leaks that are pretty simple to fix. Replacement parts for dripping faucets, running toilets, leaky showerheads and such are relatively inexpensive and pay for themselves in water savings.

So prepare to get ready for summer by checking for leaks now - or at least between now and March 21st. March 15-21, 2010 has been declared `Fix a Leak Week', so it's the thing to do.

Here are a few tips to get you going:

• Fixing easily corrected household water leaks can save homeowners more than 10 percent on their water bills.


• A good method to check for leaks is to examine your winter water usage. It’s likely that a family of four has a serious leak problem if its winter water use exceeds 12,000 gallons per month.


• Check your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, you probably have a leak.


• One way to find out if you have a toilet leak is to place a drop of food coloring in the toilet tank. If the color shows up in the bowl within 15 minutes without flushing, you have a leak. Make sure to flush immediately after this experiment to avoid staining the tank.


• If your toilet is leaking, the cause is most often an old, faulty toilet flapper. Over time, this inexpensive rubber part decays, or minerals build up on it. It's usually best to replace the whole rubber flapper—a relatively easy, inexpensive do-it-yourself project that pays for itself in no time.


• An irrigation system should be checked each spring before use to make sure it was not damaged by frost or freezing.

For more information, visit www.epa.gov/watersense/fixaleak on the web - or call Boden Plumbing here at the office (707 996 8683). The answers are out there.

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