South West Florida Brokers

Sink and Drain Maintenance Top Seven Things that Make You Go Glug


There are certain things that you shouldnt put down your sink. Its true there are certain things that go down your drain and it has to be that way, but you can keep it cleaned out. If you dont keep it cleaned out it will become clogged up. Sink and line maintenance is a part of being a home owner. Its good to review the basics, and learn about what some people purposely allow into their sinks and lines.

Read this list about the donts of rinsing the wrong thing, and not keeping a drain clean.

1. Food. Dont rinse foods down you sink unless you have a garbage disposal, itll stop it up. This includes things such as pop corn kernels, peelings from any vegetable or fruit, pasta shells, breads or butters. All of these can form a plug between your sink and line for drainage to the outside. Breads and butters are really bad about clogging up a line because it forms a gooey mixture, and clings to the sides and bottom of the line.
2. Grease. It doesnt matter what type of grease it is. Nor does it matter if its hot or cold grease. Hot grease wont clean a line nor run any faster down a drain. It clings to the sides of it and forms a hard plug. It thickens very fast when exposed to the cooler lines beneath your sink. Always dispose of grease after its cooled in an air tight container either in the refrigerator or left on a counter top. Dispose of your grease into the garbage after its cooled.
3. Detergents. Using a dish washing liquid thats made for sink usage is the only thing you should put down your sink. Other types of detergents made for car washing or even for the dishwasher will clog it up, especially if you use in abundance. It seems logical that youd be able to use a dishwasher liquid in the sink. However the force of the dishwashers agitating action breaks apart the thicker detergent where you just rinsing it down the drain will not. The same applies for a clothes washer too. The detergent itself is exposed to the agitating and breaks down.
4. Pesticides. Never pour toxic pesticides down your sink. They can when mixed with water congeal, and form hard cores in the sink line. Besides it eats out the lines and causes leaks to occur. Dispose of them properly.
5. Calcium Chlorate and Lime. Some people that are on septic systems have poured excessive amounts of calcium chlorate down a sink line drain to get rid of odor. Its true some products consist of these substances, but they are specially formulated for sink usage. Bags of calcium chlorate and lime will cause a plug not only to develop at the sink goose neck, but farther down the line too. When calcium chlorate gets wet it turns to cement and hardens. Never pour the powered form down you sink lines because it will break off down the line and cause a secondary plug.
6. Outside Oils. As with grease from the kitchen never allow mechanical or cleaning oils down your sink. Outside cleaning oils have a strong petroleum based formulation. Lubricating oils for joints or hinges, and motor oil are two of the tops on the list. People have poured this down their sinks, and had horrible plugs in the drain sink lines. You need to know that its against the EPA, Environmental Protection Agency to pour motor oil in anything besides a designated container for it. You could get into huge legal and financial trouble if any traces of it show up in a water contamination test. Its not worth the risk, and its bad for the environment too.
7. Inside Oils. Your lines wont appreciated having baby oils, liquid eye liners, bottles of very oily based moisturizing oils, and hunks of oil based soaps shoved down its drain lines. Dispose of them properly by leaving them in the container, or poured into another container if you want to reuse the bottles. Pick out the soap and throw away in the garbage too.

Hair is another thing that will stop up your drain. Use a hair trap on all drains so it wont stop up your lines. Also conduct a monthly hair sweep, and clean out all drains in the house, and that does include your kitchen drain too. Every month or so pour a reliable drain cleaner down your lines, so there wont be any more plugged drains to fight with.

You may find you will be able to keep any subsidies on your old loans.

Furnace Fall out Three Things to Check before Calling an Expert


Before you start losing it and screaming at your furnace in the dead cold or the heat of the summer time, stop and take a deep breath. Your furnace might not be working because of a few simple issues that can be fixed quickly. Sometimes the simplest thing is right before your eyes, and when youre agitated you can miss them. Take a few moments and read about 3 common things that can go wrong, and more importantly what you can do to keep your furnace working.

Here are 3 tips to use before you call your service repairman.

1. Check your Setting. People have actually called a service technician and theyve found out that the only problem was that their temperature setting on their thermostat control was not turned to the proper setting for heating or cooling their home. Thats not only embarrassing, but a very expensive call for something so simple. Be sure and check.
2. Check Breakers and Service Switch. If your service switch isnt on, or any of the other switches arent on, the furnace wont run. The service switch is located near or on the furnace. Look at the main breaker box in your house too. If its been tripped it wont come on either. Sometimes all thats need is to replace the service switch if its gone bad.
3. Outside Disconnect Switch. Go outside and look around the unit. Youll find a switch that you can flip to turn the outside fan on. Again check your main breaker box inside the house to see if that control has been changed to the off position. Replace outside service switch if needed, as a service technician can easily replace it.

If all of these things are in working order then itll be time to call your local service company for a complete inspection of your furnace unit. Dont attempt to try to diagnose any serious issues. Not only could you hurt yourself or others, you could void the warranty on your furnace. Youll be completely responsible for the cost at that point. Be wise and call.

Before a major problem develops there are ways to lengthen the life of your furnace.

Filters. Regularly change your filters on your furnace. Its recommended by professional HVAC heating, venting and air conditioning service technicians to change them on monthly bases. If youre furnace type can be fitted for a washable filter, then youll save some money by using them. You can save some money too by buying your standard filters in bulk. Most hardware supply stores or home improvement stores will either have them in stock as bulk, or they can special order them for you too. When thinking about changing your filters dont forget to include any time that there is a high volume of foot traffic. Holidays and times when doors will be fanned open such as in the summer time, might require you change the filter more. Pet dander will cause more clog for your furnace too.
Vacuum and Wipe Down. Another way to lengthen the life of your furnace is to clean it. Grab a shop vacuum thats works well and clean the furnace. Make sure you vacuum is in good working order, the last thing youll need is it to be leaking more debris back into the furnace.
Replace Insulation. If your furnace has insulation around or inside the door be sure to examine it for brittleness or huge pieces of it missing. It can further clog up your furnace by being pulled into it when the fan kicks on. It wont take long for it to burn up a motor.
Inspect Wiring. Go outside and look at the wiring that connects your outside cooling and heating fan to see if there are frayed wires or loosening wires from it to the house. Clean away debris from around the fan and if possible wash off the unit with a mild detergent. Pull out any leaves or garbage out of the grill of the fan, so it can run with maximum efficiency.
Clean Vents Inside and Out. Go and take the time to clean out your floor vents. Also look outside and check your duct work to make sure that it hasnt fallen or become tangled. Naturally you run the unit harder because youre not staying cool or warm in the winter, if there is anything clogging or obstructing the air flow. This will shorten the life of your furnace.
Furnace Inspection. Make sure to schedule a yearly inspection on your furnace.