Dyno-MO! Plumber Rescues Puppy from Sewer

We all know that plumbers are "Protecting the Health of the Nation", but in England they're protecting the health of their dogs as well it seems.

If you haven't heard the story, a four-year-old boy living near London managed to flush a 1-week-old puppy down a toilet. Apparently he was trying to wash the dog. The fire department was called. The SPCA was called. All to no avail.

Then they called Dyno-Rod, a local plumbing service. The plumber arrived with a camera that is normally used to inspect sewer lines and located the puppy -- still alive but situated out of reach between two access points. He then used the camera equipment to nudge the puppy along the pipe to the nearest manhole where a fireman was waiting to retrieve him.

A veterinarian pronounced the puppy none the worse for the experience, and the little boy now knows not to flush puppies down the 'loo'. (And he's very sorry.) So a happy ending.

You can watch the video here:



Here at Boden Plumbing we have the same kind of cameras, but we've never been called on to rescue anyone or anything with them. (knock on wood) We have used them to solve a lot of plumbing mysteries without too much digging or scratching of the head.

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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

Why Not Join the 'No Drips' Club?

Boden Plumbing has had service agreements with customers for quite some time, but we have recently revamped our program. We think of it now as our customer assurance plan, and we've also dubbed it 'The No Drips Club'.

Our “No Drips Club” is a members-only service plan that is limited to 25% of our customers. (We would be unable to offer this to everyone as we couldn’t possibly keep up with all the work.) We recommend it to our customers who really love their homes and want the best protection
available.

We believe that our program offers unparalleled service and security for your home’s plumbing - and for a fee of just $12.95 a month. Benefits of membership include:

Complimentary home inspection
Club members are entitled to services normally valued at $300 as part of a once-yearly home inspection. During your inspection, our tech performs scheduled services and makes any required plumbing system adjustments, including connected equipment. Here’s a selection of the services you'll receive:

• All your toilets are checked and tested for leaks and smooth operation. New flappers are installed if necessary and any needed adjustments are performed at no charge
• All of your exposed water lines are checked for any damage.
• All of the piping under your bathroom and kitchen sinks is checked for any sign of leaks.
• Our inspection includes a complete home water audit, with recommendations on saving water and money.
• All of your sink drains are checked for signs of clogs.
• Your washing machine hoses and valves are checked and thoroughly tested.
• Your water heater is checked for safety, leaks, and signs of corrosion. We’ll even flush your water heater while we’re there, which helps to maximize the life span of the tank.
• If there is access to your main sewer line, we will video inspect your line—an excellent way to nip potential problems in the bud.
• The water pressure at your home is checked to make sure you’re not risking damage to all of your water-using appliances and fixtures.
• Your gas meter is checked for earthquake preparedness and leaks.
• Any concerns or questions you have about your home’s plumbing will be gladly answered.

VIP Service
As a member of “The No Drips Club”, you’ll go to the front of the line and the top of our appointment book if you ever need plumbing service.

Preferred Service Rate
As a member of “The No Drips Club”, you’ll have the opportunity to take advantage of members only specials throughout the year. You will also receive 5% off fixture installs and 10% off service work.

The Best Guarantee Available
When you are an active member of “The No Drips Club”, we extend our standard one-year parts and labor warranty on most repairs to two years. Warranties on the fixtures we supply and install, as well as our warranties on certain major installations, already range from 4 to 10 years.
(See your service invoice for details.)

Receive a Credit after 1st Two Years
For the first 24 months of your membership, 50% of your monthly dues are accumulated and credited towards any future service or product you purchase. That means, when you have been a member for 2 years, you have over $150 to spend on a new faucet, water heater, or plumbing service of your choice—in addition to the previous four benefits. We're trying to make it easier for everyone to give good service a try.

You can ask your service technician to sign you up—or call us here at the office (996 8683). We’re here to help! And we also have a brochure on hand that describes the program and includes a handy sign-up form. We'd be happy to mail you a copy - just let us know.

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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

Regarding our main website...

May 20th - Update
Okey dokey. We're good to go. Got the all clear, and we're back up. Whew!

May 19th
If you have searched for "Boden Plumbing" through Google or tried to log onto our main website (www.nodrips.com) from a Google toolbar during the past two days, you probably got a warning that the site you were trying to view may be dangerous to your computer system.

Yesterday Google let us know that our website had been corrupted by some nefarious code, put there by creepy hackin' spammers no doubt. They call it malware. We immediately did what was necessary to clean up and reload our web pages and are now waiting for Google to review the site and give us the all clear.

Thank you for your patience and understanding while we get our web act together.

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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

Boden Plumbing Supports VOM Teen Center

As a locally owned and operated company, it's important to us at Boden Plumbing that we're an active part of our community and contribute where we can. We try to do that in a number of ways, one of which is by supporting local non-profits. It seems to us that we can magnify our contribution by giving to those who are already working hard.

One of our favorite non-profits here in Sonoma Valley is the Valley of the Moon Teen Center. Recently we provided soccer balls and a few safety cones, and we're glad to see the boys are putting them to good use and are having some fun. If you're looking to give some support to a worthy cause, we encourage you to consider the Teen Center, too.

According to their website, the Valley of the Moon Teen Center is conducting a drive to increase its Board and committee members. As part of its ongoing plan to increase services and programming for all teens in Sonoma Valley, the VOMTC Board is looking for additional members to participate in its efforts. “Our plans have outgrown our current board and we are looking for individuals that share our same passion for empowering the youth of our Valley,” says Board President Osias Encarnacion.

Interested community members can contact Osias Encarnacion directly at 939-6709 or by email at Osias@Hyderoad.com.

Valley of the Moon Teen Center is a tax exempt 501c.3 non-profit organization seeking to provide a safe and friendly environment where teens can develop self confidence through encouragement of their potential for becoming productive citizens in society.

The Teen Center is open 3pm-7pm, Monday through Friday, with extended hours for scheduled events. A complete list of programs and services can be found on their website at www.vomteencenter.org.

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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

Boden Plumbing is Raising Money for Muscular Dystrophy

I'm proud to tell you that I'm being locked up...that's right, I'm going behind bars to help Jerry's Kids© and MDA. To be released on good behavior, I have to raise bail and I need your help!

All you have to do is click here to make a secure, online donation before 05/19/09. Your donation will help families living in our community and help guarantee me an early release. I can't wait to add you to my list of contributors.

Thanks in advance for your help. Don't hesitate to call or email me with any questions.

Together we'll make a difference,
Terry

P.S. I'm counting on you, click here to donate.

If the link above does not work, please cut and paste the address below into the address bar of your Internet browser. https://www.joinmda.org/sonoma09/bscruffy/



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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

Gray Water Options in Sonoma County

While our dogs (and some cats) will on occasion drink out of the toilet, it's not something people tend to do. Which does make you wonder why we use fresh potable water to fill and flush the bowl.

Something else well worth thinking about is why that same drinking water when used at the kitchen sink or in the shower is only used once.

It's not like we have an unlimited supply of the stuff.

According to a recent report in the Los Angeles Times, "Widespread recycling of gray water could cut residential water use by 16%, according to one estimate." That's not an insignificant amount of water savings.

The article goes on to say that, "During a prolonged drought in the early 1990s, L.A.'s Department of Water and Power and Department of Public Works conducted an ambitious experiment. In eight homes, including those of several elected officials, they installed "gray water" equipment that diverted the outflows from washing machines, showers, bathtubs and bathroom sinks to irrigate lawns and gardens outside the homes.

"Participants in the program were happy with the results, and the test was officially proclaimed successful in a 21-page research report that found the installations reduced water consumption by about 50% per household on average. No human disease pathogens were found in the outside drainage areas."

That was then, what about now? California is facing another set of drought years, and demand for water has only increased since the early 1990s. And yet gray water systems don't seem any more common now than they were before Los Angeles conducted their study.

It's the regulations. State health and housing officials were asked in 1992 to come up with regulations and permitting requirements to allow for installation of gray water systems. Unfortunately, what resulted is so impractical and expensive that few legally permitted gray water systems have been built. Appendix G of the state plumbing code requires that gray water systems get costly permits, have extensive filtering systems and that they be installed 9 inches underground -- too deep to irrigate most plantings. It seems that concerns about groundwater pollution and disease transmission are what drove the restrictive requirements.

Bottom line for Sonoma County? Aside from rainwater catchment and storage, recycling water at home is limited to capturing your shower, tub and washing machine outflow for use as outside irrigation water -- when the underground distribution system is well below grade. No above ground watering.

Fortunately, State officials are taking another look at the California gray water regulations. More information on possible changes should be available in June. Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and Montana are already ahead of us on this one. Maybe we can learn something from their example.

Contact us here at Boden Plumbing with questions. (info@nodrips.com or 996-8683) We've recently learned about a new gray water recycling system out of Canada that looks promising --- although we haven't tried it ourselves yet. It routes gray water from shower, tub and laundry to a holding tank and then feeds it back into the system to flush toilets. It's called Brac Systems. You might want to check it out.

:: Info on graywater
:: California Graywater Guide
:: more info on graywater and ecological design
:: NRDC Onearth article



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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

Boden Plumbing a BEA Certified Green Business

Boden Plumbing recently completed the review process for certification by Sonoma County's Business Environmental Alliance, and now it's official -- Boden Plumbing is a certified green business in Sonoma County.

When it comes to environmental responsibility, Terry Boden thought it was important to demonstrate the same smart choices in his business that he encourages his customers to make. The Business Environmental Alliance green certification process helped us to formalize practices we have been incorporating over time - and it also pushed us to make even more improvements.

Here at Boden Plumbing we will continue to look for new ways to save energy and resources. If you're looking for ideas yourself, give us a call. We'd be glad to tell you what we've learned.

What we're liking lately:
> hot water recirculation pumps
> Vertex power vent hot water heaters
> the Sonoma County Energy Independence loan program
> federal tax credit for energy efficiency upgrades

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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