Boston Plumbing and Heating Blog

Do you have plumbing problems in your Worcester or Boston area home? If so, looking for a plumber can certainly cause anxiety. But, if you do your homework, you can find a reliable, reputable and dependable plumber that you can have confidence in.

If you live in a big city, chances are there are several plumbers to choose from.  When you contact a plumber, consider a job interview. Ask questions, ask for references, and ask around. Be sure the plumbers you are talking to provides emergency 24 hour service. Then you can check any references and see if they needed to use them in an emergency situation.

Checking out online reviews is a good way to qualify plumbers as well. If you have a central heating and air conditioning system, find a plumber that provides maintenance to your HVAC as well. Ask the plumbing company about maintenance plans as well.

Once you have chosen a plumber, explain the problem and be sure you know what they going to do for repairs. Be sure they provide to you a written estimate with itemized costs. For information on Greater Boston Plumbing and Heating, contact us.

Seeing as this month we celebrate Earth Day, we thought we could give you some ideas on how plumbers can help with water conservation in your home. You can actually make some small changes that can have large effects with water conservation.
 
For your home, there are plumbing fixtures that save water or use less water.  Low-flow plumbing fixtures are permanent, one-time solutions that provide water conservation automatically with little or no additional cost. And, in most cases they can save you money over the long term.

Low-Flush Toilets. Homes account for about three-quarters of urban water demand and indoor water use is about 60% of that. Toilets use about 3.5 gallons of water per flush, which turns out to be about 40% of all indoor water usage. Can you believe that more than 4.8 billion gallons of water is flushed down toilets each day in the United States!

In new construction and in remodeling you have the potential to reduce that water usage by installing low flush toilets. Low-flush toilets use 1.6 gallons of water or less.
 
Even in existing homes replacing standard toilets with low-flush toilets is a practical and economical alternative.

Toilet Water Displacement Devices. Plastic containers (such as plastic milk jugs) can be filled with water or pebbles and placed in a toilet tank to reduce the amount of water used per flush. By putting one of these containers in the tank more than l gallon of water can be saved each time you flush.

Low-Flow Showerheads. Showers use about 20% of indoor water. For $5 you can replace standard showerheads with low flow showerheads and a family of four can save about  20,000 gallons of water per year.

Faucet Aerators. Faucet aerators break the flowing water into more fine droplets. They have the same effect and are very inexpensive. They can be installed in any sink to reduce water use by as much as 60%.

Water Pressure Reduction.  Flow is related to pressure. You can reduce the amount of flow from a water fixture. This is done by installing pressure reducing valves. These valves alone can reduce the amount of water used in your home.  If your home uses a well, reducing the water pressure can save both water and energy. However, washing machines and toilets need a controlled amount of water so a  pressure reducing valve will have little effect on these appliances.

For more information on reducing water usage in your Boston or Worcester area home, contact Greater Boston Plumbing and Heating.

As the summer season approaches, many homeowners in Boston and Worcester are starting to think about their air conditioners.  With warm weather on the way, the AC will soon be used quite a bit. This makes it important to ensure that your central AC is in top working condition. Increasing electricity bills, inconsistent temperatures, loud noises, and leaking are all signs that you need AC maintenance or repairs.

Greater Boston Plumbing and Heating offers full service maintenance and repairs to home air conditioning.  We can handle all of your service, maintenance and upgrade needs on your central air system or mini split unit. With the most qualified professional technicians you will have peace of mind when your AC is serviced by us.

It is always highly recommended that checkups for air conditioning units are scheduled before the summer heat starts. This ensures that your central AC system will be fully operational and that it iwill run efficiently before it is used daily. Proper air conditioning maintenance also helps you savings on electricity bills which can be the largest expense in your home.  

To schedule your AC service appointment or for more information, contact Greater Boston Plumbing and Heating.

It may be April, and it may be cold, but this is the time in Boston and Worcester to make sure that your air conditioning system is ready for the warmer weather. You know how it works around here, we are cold and then we are hot. You don’t want to find out that your AC doesn’t work when you turn it on to use it for the first time.
 
When the weather gets warm your air conditioning is all of a sudden the most important possession in your home. But, more than 3 million AC systems fail every year. Now is the time to maintain, repair or replace the air conditioning system in your home.

The air conditioning is one of your largest expenses every year in your home. It is important to maintain such an expensive system to ensure that it runs properly and efficiently. Even if your system is running and cooling your home, if it has been serviced, it could be running poorly, in turn costing you more money than it should.
 
Air conditioning is a big investment in your home. Keeping it well maintained and keeping up on repairs keeps you comfortable all summer long. Whether you have a central air system or mini split unit Greater Boston Plumbing & Heating can handle all of your service, maintenance and upgrade needs on your cooling system. Contact us.