Carney All Seasons Blog: Archive for March, 2014

How Does a Reverse Osmosis System Benefit My Water?

Friday, March 28th, 2014

If you are looking to improve the quality of the water in your home, you have a number of different options for water filtration, such as water softeners to combat hard water and acid neutralizers to balance pH levels. To increase the quality of your drinking water, you can install filters to remove particles that can enter the municipal water system. However, one of the best ways to have cleaner drinking water in your home is to call in a professional to install a reverse osmosis system. We’ll explain how this works and how it can benefit you.

At Carney Plumbing Heating & Cooling, we take the quality of water in the homes of our customers seriously. That’s why we offer installation of many different types of water treatment systems in New Hope, PA. To find out what water treatment system will work best for you, set up an appointment with us today.

Reverse Osmosis Systems

A reverse osmosis water treatment system is a water purification technology that removes much smaller particles than standard filters. The way it works is to create two areas of water under different pressure, with a semi-permeable membrane between them. The water in the high pressure area is forced through the small pores of the membrane to the low pressure area, and the membrane filters out contaminants.

Reverse osmosis can trap particles that would escape standard filters, resulting in healthier water that also tastes fresh… much fresher than you might get from store-bought bottled water, which is not only expensive but frequently is nothing more than regular municipal water run through a gravel filter.

Reverse osmosis can remove bacteria, pesticides, viruses, sulfates (no more smelly water!), sodium (helpful if you also have a water softener installed), chlorine, calcium, and all the other larger dirt particles that can enter drinking water.

Find the Right Purification System for Your Home

Although reverse osmosis systems are excellent for water filtration, they may not match your home’s specific needs. Call Carney Plumbing Heating & Cooling to have water testing done. Our analysis will help us find out what problems need addressing in your water supply, and then we can match you with the ideal water treatment system that will take care of it.

Whether you have hard water or acidic water, Carney Plumbing Heating & Cooling will find the water treatment system in New Hope, PA that will give you the freshest water supply possible.

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Ways to Prevent Drain Problems

Wednesday, March 19th, 2014

Slow drains and clogged drains are something that most homeowners accept as inevitable, unavoidable hassles. They keep a plunger on hand and maybe a bottle of acidic drain cleaner to fix the occasional plugged-up kitchen sink or shower drain, groan at the inconvenience, and then simply go on with their normal routine. Sometimes, they can’t fix the clog and have to call a plumber to take care of it.

It doesn’t have to be this way, however. Although there’s no way to completely avoid drain troubles, you can reduce them to rare occurrences with a few precautions. For drain cleaning in Blue Bell, PA to help you eliminate most clogs, call up Carney Plumbing Heating & Cooling.

Methods that will reduce your drain troubles

  • Don’t pour F.O.G. down the drains: “F.O.G.” stands for “fat, oil, and grease,” three common products of cooking that people often pour down kitchen drains. Although liquid when hot, all three will transform in waxy solids when they cool down, leaving a coating inside drainpipes. This build-up will eventually cause clogging and slow drains. Deposit all F.O.G. into a separate container and remove it to the trash.
  • Don’t pour liquid cleaners down the drains: It sounds like a solution to the problem, but it actually creates more problems. Commercial liquid cleaners are acidic and will damage the interior lining of pipes and can cause drain problems worse than clogs. If you can’t clear a clogged drain with a plunger, call a plumber.
  • Use drain covers on bathroom drains: One of the common troubles that bathroom sinks and showers face is clogging from hair and soap scum. You can reduce this with drain covers that prevent unwanted debris from going down the drain.
  • Have regular professional drain cleaning: Drain cleaning services done either every one or two years, or as necessary, will keep your drains in excellent condition and free from the debris that can build up along the drainpipe walls. Professional plumbers use video inspection equipment to target cleaning and ecologically safe (and non-acidic) additives to help keep the pipes clean in the future. Special hydro-jetting safely washes out the insides of drain pipes with blasts of high pressure water.

You’ll need experts in drain cleaning in Blue Bell, PA to handle the drain cleaning because of the precision equipment required.  Call up Carney Plumbing Heating & Cooling and talk to our plumbers about scheduling a drain cleaning visit to help you make clogs a “Once in a Blue Moon” hassle.

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Pros and Cons of Different Heating Fuels

Wednesday, March 12th, 2014

For heating, people once had to rely on the most basic choice of fuels: coal, wood, and oil. Modern heaters can still use wood for fireplaces and coal for grills, and oil remains popular for some boilers. But now there is the option for natural gas, propane, electricity, condensed wood pellets, and more when it comes to heating fuel. We’ll look at the three most common fuels for homes today to help you understand your choices.

Carney Plumbing Heating & Cooling has over three decades of experience helping people find the heating in Hatfield, PA that will give them the best comfort and value. Contact us today to talk about your options for heating fuel.

Natural Gas

  • Pros: Natural gas is piped directly to your home, so you don’t need to worry about running out of your supply. It’s less expensive than either oil or electricity, so it provides high levels of energy savings. Natural gas systems have powerful heating ability that can handle most winter temperatures.
  • Cons: Your home must have a hook up to a municipal gas supply. Gas heaters require more maintenance and repairs than other systems. There is also a small—but possible—risk of carbon monoxide exposure and explosions.

Oil

  • Pros: Oil costs less on average than electricity, and doesn’t require you have any connection to a natural gas line. It is effective for back-up systems that don’t depend on outside fuel sources.
  • Cons: Oil burns less completely than natural gas, leading to extra waste that increases energy bills and leads to soot and pollution that is bad for both your home and the environment. Oil must be stored, so it may run out if you forget to schedule delivery, and it is generally less convenient than gas.

Electricity

  • Pros: Available everywhere—if you have a home, you have electricity, and an electrical heater will work for you. Electrical heaters usually cost less to install, last longer, and take up less space than other heating systems that use different fuels.
  • Cons: Electrical power is more expensive than natural gas. It also cannot reach the same levels of heating power as either oil or natural gas systems.

In general, we advise that homeowners who currently use oil for heating investigate the possibility of an oil-to-gas conversion. A home with a gas line opens up many more possibilities for heating, as well as hot water and kitchen appliances. And of course, electricity is always an option. Call Carney Plumbing Heating & Cooling today to ask about oil-to-gas conversions, or for any other help you need with heating in Hatfield, PA.

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What an Acid Neutralizer Water Treatment System Does

Friday, March 7th, 2014

The water our homes receive from the municipal supply can sometimes bring with it some problems. Although you can combat some of these issues with filters on faucets, the best way to deal with low quality water is to have professionals install a whole-house water treatment system that takes care of all the water that flows into your home.

There is no single type of water treatment system, because there are numerous types of problems that can afflict your water. With the help of professional plumbers who specialize in water treatment, you can find out what needs to address in your water supply. Carney Plumbing Heating & Cooling has technicians who can help you determine the water treatment system in New Hope, PA that will give you the purest water possible.

One water treatment system we often install is the acid neutralizer.

The basics of an acid neutralizer water treatment system

High levels of acid entering your plumbing can turn into a serious problem. Although usually not dangerous to drink, high acid content water can cause corrosion in copper plumbing, a metal resistant to normal forms of corrosion, and pinhole leaks. Acidity will also cause ugly green and blue stains to form on your fixtures.

High levels of acid in your water can be detected with a pH test (ask your plumber to do this). A low pH number indicates too much acidity. To counteract this, a whole-house acid neutralizer can be installed. There are a number of different types of neutralizers. The most common is the calcite acid neutralizer tank. A calcite system injects reactive magnesium oxide into the water supply which dissolves into the water and neutralizes the acid. The calcite in the tank must be replaced routinely, although this is a simple task.

Using a calcite acid neutralizer may cause an increase in the hardness of your water (increased levels of calcium and magnesium), and some homeowners will also opt to have a water softener, which raises the sodium level of the water, installed to help balance the water.

Have professional water testing done

If you aren’t sure if you need an acid neutralizer, bring in plumbers with experience with water testing. Using samples of water taken from around the house, these water tests will tell you what sort of water treatment system will help you have the best water, whether it’s a water softener, an acid neutralizer, or some other system like a chemical feed pump.

Carney Plumbing Heating & Cooling offers many different types of water treatment systems for New Hope, PA homes. Call us today to schedule an appointment.

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Signs of a Sewer Line Break

Monday, March 3rd, 2014

The wastewater in your home moves through various pipes to a central sewer line, which runs underneath your home and out to the center of the street to connect to the municipal sewer system. And for the most part, that’s all you really need to know about your sewer line—until a break occurs in it and threatens your home with sewer odors, numerous drain clogs, basement flooding, and foundation damage.

Sewer line breaks can occur because of corrosion (a problem for older homes with galvanized steel plumbing), shifting of the ground due to construction or natural disasters, and the pressure from growing tree roots. Whatever the cause, sewer line breaks require professionals to excavate the sewer trenches and replace the damages lines as soon as possible. Carney Plumbing Heating & Cooling can deliver fast and dependable sewer repair in Lansdale, PA when you have problems with a broken sewer line.

Here are warning signs of sewer line break:

  • Sewage odors from drains: One of the earliest signs you’ll encounter if the sewer line breaks are foul smells coming from your drains. If the smells are accompanied by gurgling in your drains, it means that sewage gases are being forced up through the water plugs in the p-trap (the curved pipe below a sink) of your drainpipes.
  • Persistent clogs: Along with the sewer odor, you will start finding clogs in drains around the house, none of which react to a plunger or other kinds of clog removal.
  • Foul-smelling lawn: When the sewer line breaks, the sewage will seep into the ground and rise up into your lawn. If you lawn has a similar sewage smell to the drains, it almost definitely points toward a damaged sewer line.
  • Water stains in the basement: If you have a basement, water damage from sewage backflow will start to appear here first. If you notice water stains around drains in the basement, call for professional plumbers.
  • Rats and other pests: The sewer odors will begin to attract pests such as rats. If you begin to notice vermin in your basement or in your yard, look for other signs that you may have a broken sewer line.

You’ll need the best professional help you can find

Sewer line replacement requires extensive digging; it is something you should never delegate to amateurs. The potential for even greater damage to the sewer line is high unless you have professionals handle the task.

Carney Plumbing, Heating & Cooling has years of experience with sewer repair in Lansdale, PA. Our plumbers are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to help you with sewer line emergencies.

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