This time of year attention always seems to gravitate to hot water issues. When you wake up on a dark, chilly morning and the shower isn't as steamy as you like -- or you have to wait for forever for the water to even get hot -- you notice.

It's a good time of year to perform basic maintenance on your hot water tank for that very reason: the damp and cold is a perfect reminder.

The other thing to think about is the water wasted running the tap waiting for the hot water to arrive. There is something that puts hot water at your fingertips when you need it. It's called a hot water circulation pump, or recirc pump in plumber's lingo.

Installation of a recirc pump is straightforward, and it's easy to maintain. The pump attaches to your hot water heater and a small return valve is unobtrusively installed on the furthest faucet in the home. Since the existing lines are used, there's no added expense for additional lines. Then a timer keeps that hot water circulating in the pipes just when you need it most - saving time, energy and water.

You may not run the hot water all day long while the family is away from home at work and school. During that time, heated water lays in the line cooling off. Then when you do get home - or up in the morning - and need the hot water, all that unused and now tepid water has to run through the line - and down the drain - before fresh hot water reaches the faucet.

The water savings can be significant. Some estimates suggest that in a typical household as much as 16,000 gallons of water can be saved per year with a recirc pump.

If you'd like more information, call the shop. We'd be happy to answer any questions or come to your home for a site evaluation.

:: PG&E energy calculators

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Boden Plumbing primarily serves Sonoma Valley, Napa Valley, and the Petaluma area. We provide a full range of residential plumbing repairs and services.
866-663-7477
www.nodrips.com

Happy Turkey Day from Boden Plumbing

Many of us will be visiting around the dinner table over the next few days with folks we might not get together with all that often. In case you're stuck for conversation, we thought we'd supply some fascinating turkey trivia -- a way safer topic than politics or religion. Trust us.

• At one time, the turkey and the bald eagle were each considered as the national symbol of America. Benjamin Franklin was one of those who argued passionately on behalf of the turkey. Franklin felt the turkey, although "vain and silly", was a better choice than the bald eagle, whom he felt was "a coward".
• According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 45 million turkeys are cooked and eaten in the U.S. at Thanksgiving—that's one sixth of all turkeys sold in the U.S. each year. American per capita consumption of turkeys has soared from 8.3 pounds in 1975 to 18.5 pounds in 1997. Ten years later, the number dropped in 2007 to 13.8 pounds.
• In 2011, more than 248 million turkeys were expected to be raised with an average liveweight per bird of 28 pounds with nearly 6 billion pounds of turkey processed. By contrast, in 1970, only 105 million birds were raised with an average liveweight of 17 pounds and 1.5 billion pounds processed. The turkeys produced in 2010 together weighed 7.11 billion pounds and were valued at $4.37 billion.
• In 2002, retail sales of turkey was approximately $3.6 billion. In 2010, sales reached $4.37 billion.
• Age is a determining factor in taste. Old, large males are preferable to young toms (males) as tom meat is stringy. The opposite is true for females: old hens are tougher birds.
• A turkey under sixteen weeks of age is called a fryer, while a young roaster is five to seven months old.
• Turkeys are the only breed of poultry native to the Western Hemisphere.
• Turkeys have great hearing, but no external ears. They can also see in color, and have excellent visual acuity and a wide field of vision (about 270 degrees), which makes sneaking up on them difficult. However, turkeys have a poor sense of smell (what's cooking?), but an excellent sense of taste.
• Domesticated turkeys cannot fly. Wild turkeys, however, can fly for short distances at speeds up to 55 miles per hour. They can also reach speeds of 25 miles per hour on the ground.
• Turkeys sometimes spend the night in trees.
• Turkeys can have heart attacks: turkeys in fields near the Air Force test areas over which the sound barrier was broken were known to drop dead from the shock of passing jets.
• The ballroom dance known as the Turkey Trot was named for the short, jerky steps a turkey makes.

Enjoy!

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Source: Turkey Trivia — Infoplease.com

5 Simple Steps for Avoiding the Plumber Around the Holidays

Greetings and Happy Holidays from Boden Plumbing! It's time for our annual holiday pep talk about keeping your drains clear when you're cooking up a storm and have a house full of company.

You know the drill. We've talked about it more than a few times before. The day after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest days of the year for plumbers. In fact, it might be the busiest - with calls to clear stopped drains by far the most common problem.

Lots of cooking and extra house guests can take a toll on your plumbing system - but they don't have to. Here are just a few tips to help keep your drains running and your system functioning for the holiday:

1. Don't put fats, grease or cooking oils down the kitchen drain. When rinsing anything down the drain, flush with plenty of water.
2. Avoid putting stringy or fibrous materials like celery and potato skins through the garbage disposal.
3. Never put turkey skins in the disposal
4. Remind your guests not to flush cotton swabs, cotton balls or similar materials down the toilet. The waste basket is the best place for those things.
5. Allow 15 minutes between showers so the drains can empty and the water heater can catch up.

Don't worry - we'll be open on Friday after the dust clears for business as usual, but just a few simple things can help you avoid hassles altogether.

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(For more tips on using your garbage disposal, see our previous post Friends will be envious...Dogs will be sorry

Knock, knock. Who's there? It's probably your water heater...

Do you hear a grumbling, rumbling, or knocking sound coming from your water heater? It's probably an indication of sediment or mineral build-up in the tank - and there's a simple bit of maintenance that you can do yourself to address it.

Sediment does build up over time in water heater tanks. If it builds up too much, it can make your water heater less efficient. If left too long, it does decrease the life span of the water heater. You can minimize those effects by periodically draining your water heater and flushing the sediment out of the tank.

The good news is this is a DIY kind of thing. Once-a-year maintenance will maximize a water heater's lifespan and keep it operating at its best. All you need is a garden hose to attach to the tank to drain the water away. Then just follow these simple steps:

1. Shut off the heating element for the tank. If you have an electric water heater, turn off the breaker at the main panel. If it's a gas heater, turn the thermostat to the "pilot" setting.
2. Turn off the water supply to your tank. Most likely there is a shut-off right at the tank (on a copper pipe running into the top of the tank), but you may need to turn off the main water supply to your house.
3. Attach a garden hose to the bottom drain valve on your water tank and run the hose to a drain or out a door.
4. Turn on a hot water faucet in your home to ensure a vacuum doesn't form in the lines.
5. Return to the tank and open the drain valve near the bottom of the tank. (**The valve on the side of the tank, near the top, is a pressure relief valve. Leave it alone.)
6. Check the color of the water coming out of the tank. At first it will likely be rusty or dark - that's the sediment you want flushed from the tank. After a few gallons have drained, the water should begin to run clear.
7. Once the water runs clear, close the drain valve on the tank then turn off the hot water tap in your home. (If you forget this step, you'll be refilling the water heater for a long, long time.)
8. Turn the cold water supply back on to the tank and allow it to fill.
9. Turn the power or the gas supply back on to the water heater once the tank has filled with water.

If you do decide to drain your own water heater, remember the water is definitely hot enough to scald you. Be careful, watch your eyes, and wear gloves for protection.

Also, it's a good idea to read the manufacturer's instructions and warnings on your tank before you begin. Water tanks vary, and on some it's possible for the heating element to burn out if there is no water in the tank.

So pretty simple. Of course if it does seem a bit intimidating - or you just don't have the time - it is something Boden Plumbing can take care of for you. Just give us a call.