Frequently Asked Questions

Boilers/Radiant Heat Units typically will continue to operate for longs periods of time with poor maintenance practice's and unbeknownst to the home owner the unit is operating at incorrect pressure, temperatures and dirty components such as burners, heat exchanger and fluids. operating a unit under these conditions will greatly reduce efficiency and lifespan of the unit.

In addition to annual maintenance your technician may recommend additional maintenances that are less frequent than normal maintenance that would vary on application and manufacture maintenance recommendations such as heat exchanger cleaning, purge and flush, chemicals treatment. 

Drain & Sewer systems require maintenance just as much as any other systems in your home. We recommend a enzyme based drain chemical to prevent sludge build, although you may minimize putting grease and food down your drains bacterial growth is inevitable. Enzymes uses a good bacteria to remove bad bacteria & organics from accumulating in your piping system which will lead to smelly drains, slow drains and clogged drains.  Enzymes are typically safe to put down any fixture besides toilets and safe for all type of piping materials unlike highly acidic drain cleaners.

Roots have been known to flourish in drain & sewer piping. Once again mother nature will have its way if so chooses to. If roots have penetrated your piping system we recommend repairing or replacement to prevent any costly damages caused by backed up drains. 

For temporarily relief the drain can be snaked to remove root growth and treated with root killing additives to prevent growth, but at some pipe the piping will collapse and drain cleaning and root killer will have no affect. You can ask your plumber about a sewer scope to locate and inspect the severity of damages.

Septic/Pump Tanks- It is highly recommend to use proper septic and tank enzyme based chemicals to prevent permanent damages to drain fields and pumps. Using proper chemicals  in recommended intervals will prevent frequent tank pumping's/maintenance and shorten life span.

TIP: Some septic systems have a outlet filter that can occasionally become clogged that many home owners mistake as a tank the needs to be pumped. Ask your plumber about teaching you about cleaning the filter process as its fairly easy for most system. We recommenced having ground level accessibly septic tank lids for easy access and a clean spare filter to swap out in the time of need. 

It is not recommended to put anything other toilet paper and what leaves your body down your drainage and sewer system. Any product that states is flushable or septic friendly is still not recommend, these products tend to dissolve over a period of time, but can still cause a clog or jammed pumps.

Furnace/Air Conditioning- Although some filters are rated up to 90 days we recommend replacing your filters every 30 days along with seasonal maintenance  to prevent poor performance of your units. 

Evaporator (Swamp) Cooler-Pads lifespan vary depending on usage and water quality.

 3-4 sided coolers(champion) pads typically last 1-2 seasons while cell deck pads(master cool, breezeair) typically last 3-5 seasons. Water treatment and proper maintenance will help increase life span/performance of the pads and unit.

Water filters/conditioners-Canister type water filters and canister type conditioner filters typically have capacity ratings(lifespan) set by the manufacturer ,although water quality and usage my shorten the manufacture lifespan. refer to your technician to verify product capacity and recommendation replacement intervals.

Tank Style- Tank type water heaters are typically recommend to be drained annually although most manufactures recommend a "blow Down" 1 Gallon every Month.

We recommend having a licensed technician perform annual maintenance where we would not only drain the unit, but check for water, gas and carbon monoxide leaks, corrosion and safety codes. (tank type waters have internal anode rods that prevents hard minerals from corroding the tank and the anode rod is recommend to be replaced every 3-5 years to prolong the life of the unit.)

Tankless Style- Tankless type water heaters typically require annual maintenance to prevent scale build up on the heat exchanger and sensitive components. long term neglect of maintenance on tankless units dramatically shorten lifespan of the unit as well as over all performance. Although a basic flushing of the unit can be performed by a home owner we recommend having the unit maintenance by a licensed technician that will check for additional water, gas, carbon monoxide leaks, flame sensor ,water filter, air filter ,condensate trap and safety codes.

(Water Treatment devices will prevent hard mineral wear/damages to tank and tankless style units.)

As we all know "You get what you pay for", cheaper price may indicate cheaper materials and products, You likely  will pay more in the long run. 

We favor no brand of materials for compensation but rather for quality and reliability of product. We will only use products that are tried and tested in our community to ensure longevity and if a failure occurs then replacement parts are readily available.

With this competitive corporate market it will be hard to determine which contractor will be able to perform quality work with quality materials at a fair price. We perform at or above current codes and always pull a permit and have our work inspected by the Authority of jurisdiction when required to do so.

Our work must work as good as it looks.

If you have Kitec or Polybutylene it is recommend replacing all the piping to prevent a major water leak that can cause a tremendous amount of damages.

Most homes are typically repiped with PEX piping that has been tried and tested now for many years. If properly installed most PEX piping manufacture warranty PEX piping for 50 years.

Homes can typically can repiped easily if a crawlspace or attic space is available, if these spaces are not available the home can be repiped with out removing concrete but instead removing drywall and installing pipes.

When selling or buying a home it is recommended to have a licensed technician inspect your home plumbing systems. A skilled technician will be able to locate, determine and recommend your homes overall conditions such as age, flawed materials or brands, water hardness, water pressure and safety code violations.

A lot of time a plumbing system is out of site, out of mind which can end with costly inconveniences. 

                        BE PREVENTIVE RATHER THAN REACTIVE.

Water pressure varies through out the community. Older developments tend to have higher pressure than newer communities due to the matter of undersized infrastructure from the increase demand from newer developments. Recommended water pressure is 60-65 psi, code recommends to be under 80 psi. Most mechanical contractors void warranties when water pressure is over 80 psi due to the severity of damages caused by high water pressure.

We recommend having your water pressure checked at least annual as water pressure may change rapidly. High water pressure can prematurely wear all plumbing pipes, fixture and units. 

(A pressure reducing valve can be installed to reduce the pressure and keep the pressure at safe range in case of water pressure fluctuations from the city.)

Water quality varies through out the city and well water systems. It is recommend to have water treatment over 4 grains of hardness. There is several methods of water treatment although we recommend a water softener for the most protection possibly. feel free to ask you technician about water treatment that will best fit your needs.

Mother Nature can have a great deal of affect on your homes plumbing, heating & cooling systems. We can not control the weather but we can adapt with knowledge on the relationship of our systems.

 Extreme weather conditions not only makes us uncomfortable but are equipment as well.

Equipment is designed to operate optimally at certain indoor & outdoor temperatures, when  Mother Nature presents less than favorable conditions our equipment tends to noticeably struggle. There is not much we can do to counter these conditions other than making sure are units are operating at there highest performances.

Hot weather and rains can cause poor cooling with refrigeration and evaporator (swamp) coolers.

cold weather and large quantities of snow can cause furnaces, boilers and heat pumps to run more frequently.

High winds can blow out pilot flames to water heaters, boilers and furnaces.

Varying outside temperatures can cause heating and cooling units to struggle to regulate your homes heat mass which may cause short cycle of the system.