Last Chance to Prepare for Winter! [Resources]

Can you believe November is only a day away? October was a wonderful month with warm weather and sunshine, so hopefully you were able to get your winter preparations done while the weather was nice! If you haven't, you still have a little time, but you don't want to wait much longer. It's getting cold out! Preparing your home for winter is extremely important in order to prevent frozen pipes and costly drafts.

---

In this post, we've compiled a list of resources to help you get your home ready for winter. Don't wait!

10 Things You Must Do Around the House This Fall - Popular Mechanics
Here are some of the essentials for preparing your home for winter.

More Safe, Less Sorry - HouseLogic
This one covers everything from house preparation to tips on beating the winter blues.

Preparing Your Home and Car for the Blast of Winter Cold - Nationwide
No harm in being completely prepared! This article provides ways to prepare your home and car for winter, as well as safety tips in case of a winter storm emergency.

Prep Your Home for Winter With These 16 Low-Cost Tricks - MoneyTalksNews
Winter preparation doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. Here are some inexpensive things you can do.

---

If you'd like a professional to handle the plumbing side of things as you prepare for the winter, call Universal Plumbing & Sewer at 586-459-0040. And just to be safe, keep our number on hand just in case your pipes freeze in the coming months. We're here to help you!

Don't Put Pumpkin Guts in the Garbage Disposal!

Jack-o-lanterns are a Halloween staple. They're great decorations, and carving them can be a fun activity for the whole family. But if you dispose of the pumpkin's pulp and seeds the wrong way, your Halloween could turn out to be much less fun.

A common misconception is that garbage disposals can grind up anything, but that simply isn't true. Pumpkin pulp gums up garbage disposals, sometimes to the point of rendering them unusable. And once the pulp gets into the pipes, it hardens and creates a nasty crust that even chemical drain cleaners like Drano can't get through. Your only option at that point would be to call a plumber and have them snake the drain to cut through it.

Instead of throwing those pumpkin guts down the disposal, carve your pumpkin on a newspaper so you can easily collect all the pulp and throw it out in the trash or compost. It doesn't require any extra work, and your plumbing (and wallet) will thank you. You can either throw the seeds away too, or you can set them aside and roast them for a delicious healthy snack! Click here for a recipe!

Universal Plumbing & Sewer's technicians are drain cleaning experts. If you find yourself with drain problems of any kind, don't hesitate to call us at 586-459-0040!

Why We Recommend Bradford White Water Heaters

When you call us to have us supply and install a fixture or appliance, we know you're trusting us to provide only the highest quality. We believe (and have experienced) that Bradford White makes the best water heaters on the market. Here's why.

Made in Michigan

Bradford White is an American-owned company, located in Middleville, Michigan. That's pretty close to home! Purchasing their water heaters means creating American jobs and supporting the American worker.

Corrosion-Resistant Lining

Hot water is extremely corrosive and can eat through a metal tank with ease, but Bradford White tanks are lined with an exclusive enamel called Vitraglas. The unique compound expands and contracts with the metal tank so it's very durable and long-lasting. It effectively protects the tank from corrosion and extends the life of the water heater.

Hydrojet System

A buildup of sediment in water heaters is never good - the burner has to work harder to heat through the sediment layer, reducing efficiency and overheating the bottom of the tank (which damages the tank and shortens its life). Bradford White tanks have a special kind of cold water delivery tube inside that uses jets of water to prevent the accumulation of sediment in the bottom of the tank.

Defender Safety System

Bradford White's gas-powered water heaters are equipped with a safety mechanism that automatically shuts off the burner's operation if flammable vapors are detected in the incoming air. If flammable substances are spilled nearby, you can rest assured that your water heater will not ignite them.

If you need a new water heater before the winter, don't risk your home's safety or efficiency by going with a lesser-quality brand. Call Universal Plumbing & Sewer today, and we will install a top-of-the-line Bradford White water heater that will last you many years. Don't wait until it gets too cold outside! 586-459-0040

How To Prevent a Frozen Sump Discharge Line

Sure, it's only mid-October, but a month from now will be mid-November, when freezing temperatures are definitely possible. Now is the time to make sure your home is ready for the winter.

One of the dangers of freezing temps is a frozen sump discharge line, especially if the pipe is exposed outside your home. When a sump discharge line freezes, it causes all kinds of destructive problems - the water in the sump can't escape so the basement will likely flood, the sump pump motor will burn itself out, and the pipes themselves can crack or even burst. An efficiently working sump pump system is so important in the winter, when snow seeps into the ground and threatens to flood your basement!

Luckily, there are some steps you can take now to prevent a frozen sump discharge line this winter:

1. Make sure the discharge pipe is correctly sized and pitched. If the pipe diameter is too small, it leaves very little room for water to move through and will easily freeze solid. And if the pipe is laying on the ground horizontally without any slope, water will sit in the bottom of the pipe and freeze quickly (water doesn't freeze as easily when it's moving). It's important that the water is able to move freely and quickly through the pipe.

2. If you have a flexible discharge hose, disconnect it in the winter or replace it with hard PVC piping. Flexible pipes have many areas in them where water can settle, so they are prone to freezing.

3. Wrap the discharge line in pipe insulation or outdoor heat cable (only if the line is hard PVC). These can be bought at your local hardware store, and you can install it yourself.

4. The best thing you can do is hire a professional to bury your sump discharge pipe below the frost line and tie it into the storm drain system. The pipe will be safe from the biting cold air or piles of snow, which greatly reduces any risk of freezing. A pro will further reduce the chance of freezing by making sure the pipe is correctly pitched. An added bonus is that the unsightly pipe will be hidden, which will increase your home's curb appeal and allow you to create more attractive landscaping in the warmer months.

Whatever you choose to do, Universal Plumbing is always here to help! Give us a call at 586-459-0040 if you need help with anything sump-related.

The Power of a Good Review

Reviews are our favorite. We'll tell you why.

The capability to write public online reviews is great for both businesses and consumers. Everybody wins. It promotes honesty and allows anyone to get a glimpse of what kind of work the business really does, regardless of what their advertising says. And a truly good & honest company will get mostly good reviews, which helps them get new customers. This is especially true for local contractors, like plumbers. Inviting a stranger into your home to fix or install something can be nerve-wracking, but reviews allow you to read real people's experiences with this person and gain some knowledge first. It makes the process of choosing a company so much easier.

The only issue with reviews is that it is much easier to remember to write a review when you had a terrible experience. Let's say 10 people hire a company, and 9 out of 10 people have a good experience with them. Only 1 out of those 9 will remember to write a positive review, but the 1 who did not have a good experience is sure to write a negative review. Online, that makes the company appear to have a 50/50 split of good and bad experiences, when in reality 90% of customers were happy.

This is why it's so important to write a positive review when you have a great experience with a company, especially if they're a local business and you believe in them! Local businesses thrive on word of mouth - people are generally much more likely to choose a company based on a friend's recommendation rather than an ad for the company. Not only that, writing a good review and mentioning the technician(s) by name is a great way to let them know you're happy with their hard work.

When you leave a positive review for Universal Plumbing & Sewer, you're doing much more than just recommending us to others. You're helping us grow, you're encouraging the whole staff, and you're giving your technician a pat on the back for his quality work. So next time you hire us, if you're satisfied with your experience, take a minute or two to write a review! We're on HomeAdvisor, Angie's List, Yelp, Facebook, and Google, and you can post your review on whichever site you prefer. We read them all and appreciate every one of them!

Here's one of our favorite reviews that we've received:

"Hands down the best service call by a plumbing company that I have ever had. Friendly, helpful, professional, and upfront with all work details. Highly recommend them." - Divna J.

Difference Between Storm Drains and Sewers

Without storm drains, streets and parking lots would easily flood even during a light rain. But where does all that rainwater go? When you think "drain," you might automatically think "sewer." But not all drains lead to the water treatment plant!

The sanitary sewer is what you most likely think of when you hear the word "sewer." Your shower, toilet, kitchen sink, laundry tub, etc. all drain to the sanitary sewer, which takes the wastewater to a water treatment plant. There, the water is thoroughly treated and purified before being discharged to the nearest stream or body of water.

The storm system, completely separate from the sanitary sewer, is there to prevent flooding and is meant for rainwater and groundwater only. The drains you see on streets and parking lots are connected to the storm sewer system, which drains directly to the nearest stream or body of water. This water is not treated, so it's very important to never pour paint, solvent, oil, or anything else into storm drains, or else you risk poisoning fish, birds, and other wildlife.

These 2 systems are separate in order to avoid sewer overflows. The sanitary sewer system is not designed to handle the large amount of water that comes through the storm system during a big rainstorm - if all storm drains and sump pumps led to the sanitary sewer, the water treatment plant would easily become overwhelmed and cause a nasty backup. By keeping these systems separate, street flooding is minimized during storms, and sanitary sewers don't back up every time it rains. (For this reason, it is important that your sump pump discharges into the storm system and NOT the sanitary sewer.)

If you have drainage problems around your home, or if your sump pump is hooked up to the sanitary sewer, get it fixed before winter! Call Universal Plumbing at 586-459-0040. We can help!