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Tips & Tricks from our Plumbing Contractors

Four Plumbing Cleaning Tips and Tricks from Your Residential Plumber

Has the pandemic had you looking around for your next home project? It may not be as exciting as a new build or a paint refresh, but as a residential plumber that sees it all, I bet your plumbing could use some TLC. Think of it as getting a head start on spring cleaning!

With entire families having spent so much time at home the past several months, everyone’s plumbing has been working on overdrive and would benefit from a good cleaning. Fortunately, our residential plumber knows a handful of simple and effective ways you can clean your plumbing fixtures without many tools.

1. Clean Those Drains

While the drains in your home may be functioning just fine at the moment, consider giving them a quick clean. Gunk and grime will pile up over time leaving you with a clogged drain if you do not clean regularly. Cleaning out your sink, tub and shower drains every so often will also prevent future clogs.

What you need: white vinegar, baking soda, hot water

Pour ½ a cup of baking soda down your drain
Pour ½ a cup of white vinegar and let the mixture sit for 15 minutes
Boil water
After 15 minutes, pour one cup of your hot water down each drain
Repeat if necessary

2. Clear Your Traps

If you didn’t know, the “trap” is the curved pipe beneath your sink connecting the drain pipe to the sewer pipe. The purpose of this pipe is to hold some flushed water. This sitting water creates a seal in the pipe that prevents smelly sewer gases from coming back up. The unfortunate part of this curve is that it can also retain other items you flush. A regular trap cleaning can prevent clogs.

What you need: rubber gloves, bucket, wrench, scrub brush and soap

Put on rubber gloves
Place a bucket beneath the trap
Loosen slip nuts using a wrench (you can also try by hand)
Remove the trap and pour everything inside into the bucket
Scrub out your trap with soap and water
Replace the trap and tighten the slip nuts.
Run the sink to ensure water is flowing correctly

3. Clean Shower Heads

Showerhead nozzles get clogged overtime with scale build-up from water minerals and the usual grime. When your home uses hard water, you’ll find this happening more often. To get the most out of your shower, use this quick cleaning method.

What you need: white vinegar, baking soda, gallon size plastic bag, rubber band

Pour ⅓ cup of white vinegar into plastic bag
Put ⅓ cup of baking soda into plastic bag
Shake the bag and tie it around the nozzle with the showerhead submerged

You can also try removing your showerhead and scrubbing the nozzles from the inside. You’ll need to remove the filter, so clean that out while you’re in there!

4. Clean Grout Mold

Dark and humid environments are the perfect place for mold spores to spread. This means showers can be one of the biggest culprits that carry mold in your home. Take a look at your grout lines and see if there are dark spots between the tiles. Over time, if this mold grows, it can spread to other parts of your bathroom and eventually affect your health.

What you need: white vinegar, spray bottle, coarse scrub brush, toothbrush, caulk

Ventilate your bathroom
Put white vinegar into a spray bottle
Spray the solution onto mold and scrub with brush
Use a toothbrush for hard to clean grout lines
Caulk any missing or worn out grout lines once you are finished cleaning.

Need Assistance? Contact Our Residential Plumber Today!

Take it from this residential plumber that your energy is never wasted on a quick cleaning. However, if you do not have the time or motivation to clean your plumbing, we are here to help. Moonlight plumbing covers Mystic and Stonington, CT, and we are open and ready when you are. Whether you need a plumbing cleaning, fixture repair or replacement, we can handle any job no matter how big or small. Contact us today!

November 18, 2020/by Moonlight Plumbing

Moonlight Plumbing

Water Heater Plumber Provides Insight On Hot Water Heater Temperature Setting

Nearly 20% of your energy bill is calculated from your water heater. Our water heater plumber says that setting your water heater temperature too high/too low can do more harm than good. For example, if your water heater temperature is too high, you’re paying for that extra cost. On the contrary, if your water heater is too low you may experience an inconvenience with lack of hot water. Also, with lower water temperatures, you’re at greater risk for growing bacteria in your tank.

The EPA recommends a temperature of 120˚F for a water heater. It typically avoids insufficient hot water supply, is energy-efficient for billing purposes, and is a comfortable temperature for family members of all ages. But, there are a few reasons why you may want to set your heater above or below the recommended amount.

Reasons For Straying From the Recommended Temperature Setting

If you have a dishwasher that doesn’t preheat water, you may want to set the water heater to 140˚F.
If children or Elderly are in the facility, you may want to keep it lower due to burning concerns.
Individuals with suppressed immune systems or respiratory disease should keep the hot water at 140˚F.
Individuals living alone may want to keep it lower to try to save money since demand for water is less.
In general, every 10˚F you turn it down, you can save an average of 3-5% on your energy bill.

Other Notes About Water Temperature Setting

Need to know what your current water temperature setting is set to? It can be found by looking at the dial on the water heater. Or, if you don’t have a dial, you can take a temperature reading from any faucet. If you do a measurement from the faucet, be sure to let the water run for a few minutes to get the most accurate reading.
If you’re unsure on the temperature your water heater should be set, start at 120˚F change by intervals of 5-10˚F. You know you found the perfect temperature when…
- You get enough hot water to shower, wash dishes, do laundry, etc without running out.
- Children or other family members are not at risk of injury/burns.
- It’s comfortable to cleanse with but is still at a respectable temperature to be wary of the energy bill.
If you decide you need to lower your water heater temperature, but are worried about bacteria growth, you could install a hot water tank booster. This will store the water at 140˚F, but will mix with cooler water before reaching the faucet. Thus, you get water about 120˚F by the time it is pouring into your hands and you can rest assured that bacteria isn’t infecting your water heater.

Water Heater Plumber Near You

Find a water heater plumber near you. In our previous blog we shared the different types of water heaters we offer at Moonlight Plumbing. Talk with one of our professionals today to see which water heater is best suited for your home/facility. Also discuss what temperature to which your water heater should be set. Anyway we can help, we’re here for you!

September 3, 2020/by Moonlight Plumbing

Moonlight Plumbing

Moonlight Plumbing Shares Out of Town Checklist

If you’re going to be away from the house for a few days, a week, or even longer you’ll want to do a few things to your plumbing before you leave. Our plumbers at Moonlight Plumbing wanted to share a few, simple plumbing obligations that can help save money. It can even, potentially, save you from water mess caused by a leaky or broken pipe while you’re away.

Imagine it, you leave the house to go see family for a week. The best “vacation” we can get during quarantine. You really enjoy catching up with everyone and getting out of the house. You’re feeling relaxed for maybe the first time in a while. But, when you return home there’s a puddle of water on the kitchen floor. Your head starts spinning on where to start to clean up the mess. Before you arrive at a solution, you’re panicked at what broke and how much is it going to cost to fix it? Well, we want to provide you and your family with a helpful plumbing checklist to potentially avoid messes like this. You can use our list below to help check your plumbing is all set before you leave the house.

Moonlight Plumbing Before You Leave Checklist

Turn off the main water supply

No one is going to be home and using the water, so no one will be missing it. Save yourself the potential headache from a water pipe breaking and leaking while you’re not home!

Clean the garbage disposal

Probably one of the smelliest places in our house. Ensuring your disposal doesn’t have food sitting in it while you’re away will help minimize the smell. You should run a disposal frequently anyway, but especially do it right before you leave for a period of time.

Clean the toilets

Another smelly spot in our homes. Flushing the toilets frequently helps to eliminate/minimize odors. But, if no one flushes it for a week it can get quite the odor if not appropriately cleaned before leaving.

Check the sump pump

If there is a major flood in your basement due to a broken pipe, heavy rainfall, etc. you want to ensure your sump pump is going to help get the water out. You can test your pump by pouring a bucket of water into it and waiting for it to kick on. If it does, you’re all set. If not, give us a call.

Inspect and turn off water heater

If you’re turning off your main water supply, you certainly don’t need hot water. If you have a tank-based water heater, you can simply turn off the valve. This will also help save money because the water will no longer continue to cycle to keep warm while you’re away. You can actually drain the water out of your system and inspect for leaks before leaving as well. To be sure you do these maintenance preparations correctly, contact one of our professionals.

Shut off automatic ice maker

This is one a lot of people don’t think about. Your ice maker will continue to run and cost you money even though no one is using the ice.

Ensure outdoor sprinklers work properly (if you have them)

If you have an automatic sprinkler system, check that it’s set to run at the correct times each day. Also, double check that it’s following the proper schedule. The last thing you need is dead grass from the sprinklers not running, or a flooded yard from them never shutting off!

Leave washer and dishwasher doors open

Final little piece of information is to keep the washer and dishwasher doors open. This will help prevent a musty/old food smell, as well as mold. While unpleasant if you forget this, just be sure to run them empty when you get home. Try using a cleaner when you run it to get the pipes clear again and help the smell go away.

Returning Home

Remember, once you return home, to turn on the water heater, main water supply, sprinklers, ice maker, etc. You’ll want to flush the toilets and run the garbage disposal again. You’ll want to do this as soon as possible because regular flushing and rinsing helps prevent odors in these appliances. But, if you forget to do any of these things before leaving for vacation, and you find yourself in a messy situation – call our professionals at Moonlight Plumbing! Unfortunately, we’ve seen countless flooded rooms, broken/leaky pipes, and faulty appliances in general. But because of this, we know how to properly clean up and repair the mess the first time around. We’re here if you need us!

July 22, 2020/by Moonlight Plumbing

Plumbing - Get the Facts

What Happens to Your Piping When Using Non-Treated Tap or Well Water

We typically don’t think twice about the water running through our pipes. That is until it’s flooding our kitchen or we drink it. Many of us replace old pipes, clean / unclog them, and do general plumbing maintenance to our pipes. All of this is quite important. But, you should also be conscious of what flows through your pipes. Understanding the difference between treated and untreated water and the effects untreated water can have on your pipes is vital in maintaining pipe longevity. So, let’s dive in.

Plumbing Insights: the Difference Between Treated and Untreated Tap/Well Water

Understanding what each treated water has filtered out can help to clarify why it’s so much better. Listed below are the contaminants in untreated tap and well water.

Untreated well water may have these contaminants in it:
- Microorganisms
- Nitrate
- Heavy metals
- Organic chemicals
- Radionuclides
- Fluoride
Untreated tap water may have these contaminants it:

Effects of Untreated Water on Your Plumbing

First of all, untreated water contains many minerals. These minerals create deposits which can clog your pipes. This solidified scale of minerals (or limescale) accumulates in pipes, water heaters, washing machines, and dishwashers. This, in turn, can result in big expenses or repairs. Also, clogs can obviously lead to issues throughout the plumbing system. They can affect water pressure, cause appliances to fail, and more. What a headache!

Secondly, untreated water can also cause build up along the pipe walls and connectors. This leads to loose connectors in piping (so increases the chance of a break in piping and water flooding your house). In addition to leaks, it can also create condensation in undesired places.

Finally, untreated water can cause cosmetic issues. It leaves hard-to-clean residue on shower heads, faucets, etc due to mineral build up on the exterior appliances. No one wants that!

How to Treat Your Water

To prevent your pipes from untreated water damage, there are two options:

Install a water softener.
Install a reverse osmosis water treatment system.

So, what is a water softener? Great question. It’s a tank situated between your water source and the internal plumbing that services your home. Obviously, this tank helps to filter out the harmful contaminants that may be in your water. Similarly, reverse osmosis strips contaminants from your water through a semipermeable membrane. Talk to an expert to see which is the best option for your home.

Save Money, Treat Your Water

In the long run, to save yourself from cleaning up a flooded room, save your pockets from repair costs, and to save your future self the headache… treat your water! In addition to treatment, continue to do regular maintenance work to keep pipes clean and water flowing steadily. Furthermore, if you have questions, need guidance, or have the unfortunate situation of untreated water damaging your pipes, we are here to help. Contact our professionals today!

July 17, 2020/by Moonlight Plumbing

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