Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. Blog: Archive for August, 2014

Why Install Both Low-Flow Fixtures and a Tankless Water Heater

Wednesday, August 27th, 2014

Most people would love to save money every month on their utility bills, but many do not know that there are some simple ways to do so. Many homeowners waste water and energy with inefficient appliances that increase water, gas, and energy bills. Installing new appliances and fixtures may decrease your bills and help the environment in the process.

Two things you may choose to install in your home to help manage your utility bills are low-flow fixtures and a tankless water heater. In this guide, we’ll detail these items, showing you how they waste less hot water than your current fixtures and how you can save money every month by making a simple change.

Low-Flow Fixtures

If you replace your current showerhead with a low-flow showerhead, or if you install a faucet aerator for your sink, you can save a significant amount on your energy bills, up to sixty percent according to the U.S. Department of Energy. These relatively inexpensive fixtures reduce the amount of water produced per minute, as do low-flow toilets.

Tankless Water Heaters

With conventional storage tank water heaters, water is heated and stored in a large tank. Water fills the tank through a dip tube which leads to the bottom. A burner or electric heating element heats the water, and it naturally moves to the top of the tank where it exits through a smaller pipe. The problem with this type of heater is the standby energy loss that comes with leaving the water heated at all times. A tankless water heater heats water immediately as it passes through, eliminating the need for a tank. When combined with a low-flow fixture, you’ll use significantly less energy and water whenever you turn on a hot water tap.

Other Ways to Save

Installing low-flow fixtures and tankless heaters is not the only way to save hot water. Switching to energy-efficient washing machines and dishwashers can also reduce your bills. You should also be sure to call a plumber for professional repairs at the first sign of water leaks in your pipes. For water heater installation and other plumbing services in Winter Park, save money every month by calling the professionals at Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. (MPI) today!

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How Backflow Preventers Protect Your Water Supply

Wednesday, August 20th, 2014

When you turn on a tap in your home, you should see the clear, clean water you rely on for cooking, showering, or cleaning. Access to clean water is expected by most homeowners in Apopka, so we tend not to think much about the quality of our water when we turn on a faucet. However, it’s important to know that your water supply may be at risk for contamination at any time, particularly if a backflow prevention device is not in place or is not tested regularly.

Your water supply is kept at a high pressure so that water can easily flow out of any tap in your home. The sewage system, however, is not pressurized, relying instead on gravity to remove waste from the home. If anything happens to increase the pressure of the exit drain or to decrease the pressure of the water supply, backflow may occur.

Backflow can be defined as the unwanted reversal of flow causing non-potable, or unsafe, water and other substances to enter the water supply. Backflow occurs when the pressure of the non-potable system is higher than the pressure of the potable water. This may happen for any number of reasons including a breach in the mater main or a sewer line blockage.

The best way to protect your water supply from contamination is with a backflow prevention device. Backflow preventers provide an air gap or physical barriers that prevent wastewater from polluting the freshwater. Although there are multiple types of backflow preventers, they generally prevent backflow with check valves that only allow the wastewater to flow in one direction.

Many homes already have backflow prevention devices installed, but these should be tested regularly to check for worn out parts and to prevent sudden failure. Any source of contamination puts your health at risk, so you should allow a plumbing professional to inspect and test this portion of your system during an annual plumbing maintenance visit.

Don’t put the quality of your water supply at risk. For maintenance, questions, or to install a backflow prevention device in Apopka, call on the professionals at Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. (MPI).

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How Hard Water Can Lead to Pipe Replacement in Sanford

Wednesday, August 13th, 2014

Have you noticed a metallic taste to the water from your taps? Is it difficult to work up a lather of soap in the bathroom or kitchen? Have you noticed flaky white deposits along fixtures like sinks and bathtubs?

You probably have hard water in your home.

Now don’t panic…hard water is rarely detrimental for your health. However, it can lead to problems with your plumbing, causing damage to appliances and reducing the volume in pipes. It’s not uncommon for hard water to lead to a need for pipe replacement in Sanford, FL.

Fortunately, you have Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. (MPI) on your side: we can handle all the plumbing repairs necessary to combat the effects of hard water. And we can eliminate hard water as well with the installation of a whole-house water treatment system. Call us today for help combating problems from hard water.

What is “Hard Water” Exactly?

“Hard water” is water that enters your home from the municipal system that has a high concentration of minerals suspended in it. The most common minerals are magnesium, gypsum, and calcium. It isn’t harmful to drink, although you will notice the taste of the minerals, and it makes it more difficult to develop soap lather.

Why is Hard Water a Problem for My Pipes?

The main trouble from hard water is that it leaves mineral deposits along the inside of plumbing. Imagine the flaky yellow-white material you find on your fixtures building up along the inside of the pipes. That’s what will happen over time due to hard water. As the calcium deposits accumulate, they will reduce the water volume inside the pipe, which will cause a spike in water pressure. If the water pressure rises high enough, it will cause pipes to begin leaking and require replacement.

Is There a Way to Prevent Hard Water?

Yes: a whole-house water softener. These water treatment systems attach onto your water main and add sodium ions to the hard water that enters your home from the municipal system. The sodium ions counteract the minerals in hard water and balance them out. You’ll have “softer” water, noticeably better tasting and no danger to your plumbing. Installing a water softener requires the work of a professional plumber.

If you need to have pipe replacement in Sanford, FL because of hard water deposits, take a serious look into installing a water softener. You can expect more plumbing repairs in the future if you allow the hard water to continue.

Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. (MPI) offers a variety of whole-house water treatment systems to make sure you have water entering your home that is healthy for both your pipes and you.

Contact us for water testing that will help you find out what sort of water treatment you need.

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How Does a Tankless Water Heater Work?

Thursday, August 7th, 2014

The development and spread of tankless water heaters has given homeowners the advantage of always having enough hot water to meet their needs. Where the standard storage water heater keeps a standby tank of water ready for use that can run out before more water can heated up, a tankless system is an “on-demand” water heater that heats up water as it is needed, and therefore has no supply that can run out. Tankless systems also use less energy and will pay for their installation after a couple of years.

Despite all their advantages, tankless water heaters will not work ideally for all household. Call the Maitland, FL water heater experts at Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. (MPI) to schedule an appointment to learn more about how well one of these advanced home comfort system will work for you.

The Operation of a Tankless Water Heater

People often initially find the concept of a water heater without a tank to be strange and hard to understand. But tankless water heaters are not terribly complicated.

The basics of a tankless system is a heat exchanger that transfers heat from a power source (either electric or gas) to the water in the pipes. The exchanger in the tankless water heater turns on whenever water starts to flow through the heater. A whole-house tankless water heater is connected onto the water main, so all water entering the home must pass through the system. Whenever your turn on a hot water tap, water begins to flow and the heat exchanger comes on, heating up the water as you need it.

There is one drawback to this, which you might have noticed from the description: there is a delay between the when the water receives heat from the heat exchanger and when it reaches the tap. For larger houses, the lag can be greater for a tankless water heater than it would be for a standard storage system.

Tankless systems are also available in point-of-use models, smaller units that attach to individual taps. They have little lag time, and in some cases are more cost-effective.

Tankless water heaters need professional installation. When you call up the experts at Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. (MPI), we will help you determine if a tankless water heater in Maitland, FL, whether whole-house or point-of-use, is a good choice for you based on your hot water needs, the number of people in your home, and your budget plans. We will also assist with selecting the best power source for the system, and then install it so you will receive a steady supply of hot water to keep you and your family comfortable for many years.

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