Tag: improvement

home improvement

7 Signs You Have a Plumbing Emergency ( & Who to Call)

Plumbing emergencies can cause major headaches and property damage if you don’t know what to do about them, but they’re not too difficult to handle if you know what you’re doing and can get the right help. According to Home Advisor the average cost for a plumber is $175 to $480. A small price to prevent tens of thousands of dollars in damages if something major happens. To make sure your plumbing stays in good shape for years to come, you’ll want to call in the professionals when you start experiencing any of these seven signs that you have a plumbing emergency on your hands.

Luckily, we’ll always have a West Hartford emergency plumber on-call to deal with these plumbing emergencies. All information in this article is provided by our experts at West Hartford Plumbers.

1.   Is It Leaking?

If your pipes are leaking, call a plumber right away. A leaking pipe can cause serious damage to your home and personal belongings if left unchecked for too long. Not only that, but water leaks can cause mold or mildew growth inside your walls or ceilings, causing health issues over time. If you see any signs of flooding—even very small amounts—have a professional handle it right away.

2.   Has Water Pressure Decreased?

Run your water at full blast in several locations around your home, including in kitchens and bathrooms. If you notice any areas where pressure is lower than normal, contact a plumber right away. This might mean that you have larger issues with leaking pipes or small cracks in your plumbing system that will need to be taken care of quickly before more extensive damage occurs.

Not all plumbing issues are emergencies, but water pressure that is significantly lower than normal should be taken care of quickly. If you notice areas where your pressure is low, let a professional plumber know right away.

3.   Is There Water Behind Walls/Ceilings?

If you notice water coming through your ceiling, you’re likely dealing with one of two issues: cracked or damaged pipes or leaking fixtures.

If water is coming from your ceiling, it’s time to call a plumber. More often than not, a cracked or damaged pipe is behind these leaks and if you continue to ignore them, they will only get worse. Fixing them as soon as possible could prevent structural damage and long-term water damage in your home.

If you smell sewer gas or notice wet spots on your floors or ceilings, your sewer line might be leaking sewage into your walls or ceilings. This is a very serious problem and one that should not be ignored. Sewer leaks can damage your home’s foundation and can cause mold to form in just hours—that’s why it’s critical that you get them taken care of as soon as possible.

4.   Has Water Discolored?

One of the most common indicators that you may have an issue with your plumbing is that your water has turned brown or yellow. Don’t ignore discolored water coming from … Read More...

housing tips

5 Tips for Segregating Your Waste at Home

Why Is Waste Sorting Important When Recycling? | Greentumble

Waste segregation is an action so important, that an effective practice of it would not only be realized to be beneficial to the occupants of the home in question, but would also be advantageous to environmental health.

Where waste is not segregated as it should, it may result in a poor disposal of certain wastes, which would reach the landfill and contribute to the pollution of air and water.

On UK.collected.reviews, many have shared their experiences with waste segregation, and what role the solar panels, one of the green energy providers, play in the correct disposal of wastes.

Below are five factors instrumental to the segregation, which aids in the correct disposal of waste at home:

Separate Bags, for Separate Waste:

There are certain types of wastes that are of a dry nature, just as there are the ones that are of a wet nature. If a proper segregation is to be had, these wastes must be ‘stored’ properly. Plastic and glass materials should be disposed of in a dry bag. Clothes are of a dry nature, as well as shoes and food containers. Where these are made clean, they may be recycled, or given to organisations that collect them, thus reducing the wastes that get to the dump site.

Compost the Wet Waste:

Kitchen waste like vegetables, fruit peels, egg shells, fish insides and scales, cooked food, would qualify as wet waste, and it is best that these types of waste are composed. There are different processes by which wet waste may be composed, and when done properly, rich compost will be had, and it can either be used at home, or sold as manure.

Store the Hazardous wastes separately:

Cleaning agents, paints, insecticides, and other combustible and flammable materials would qualify as hazardous and what is best done to them is that they are properly disposed of. This may be by keeping the materials in their original packaging before disposing of them, donating them, or dropping them off to specific facilities that cater to hazardous materials.

Dry before you Dispose:

Before these wastes are put in a bag, it is necessary that they are properly dried. The cake and pizza boxes are dry waste, and they should be cleaned and dried before being disposed of. Where they are bottles that contain a sauce or flavoring, they must be washed clean and dried before getting added to the bag of dry waste.

Dispose Properly:

Where it is an item that may not fall under the category to be donated or composed and would simply be thrown away, the disposal of such item should be done properly. Broken furniture, glass, sanitary wares, or simply debris should be stored properly till they are ready to be picked up.

The amount of waste generated at home is a lot, and it is for this reason important that it is disposed properly because when it isn’t, the wastes would prove hazardous to the environment, which would in turn negatively affect … Read More...

building tips

Why You should Test Your Businesses’ Fire Alarm System

6 Important Reasons to Test Your Business' Fire Alarm System

You don’t want to lose your assets and properties to a conflagration due to negligence so testing our fire alarm system is a great idea. To start with testing and ensuring every system is functioning properly and optimally on a regular basis is a good tip. So, installing fire alarm systems from a professional and reputable company implies the system will always be properly tested and maintained so it functions on the advent of a fire outbreak.

Regular inspection from licensed professionals might seem like overkill but you don’t want to have an emergency and your fire alarm systems are down. This would cause you to spend more money than you would have if the right thing was done. You can look up more information on this topic from ReviewsBird.com as they provide a different perspective on this issue.

Benefits that accrue from testing and inspecting your business fire alarm system

Fire alarm systems are preventive measures but business insurance on fire-related challenges may also be important as things can get dirty and out of hand.

Regular testing can save your business money

That sounds counterintuitive but most property insurance companies offer discounts if the business provides proof of inspection of the fire alarm system. If your business fire alarm system stops working on the occasion of a fire outbreak, the business could be liable to lawsuits due to injuries suffered by employees or customers.

Regular testing can save lives

If regular inspection of the fire alarm systems is done, in the occasion of a fire outbreak the fire alarm system would be triggered, therefore ensuring people safely evacuated from the environment forestalling any occurrence of injuries or death.

Regular testing and inspection are required by insurance companies

Insurance companies would not pay for damages incurred by the business if they fail to provide proof that the fire alarm systems were regularly tested before the occurrence of the fire incident. Insurance companies require documented evidence the fire alarm system was functioning optimally at the time of the fire outbreak.

State and local laws require testing

State and local counties have different legislation when it comes to testing and inspection of fire alarm systems. The defaulter may pay huge sums if found wanting.

Regular testing and inspection forestall nuisance alarms

When a fire alarm system is faulty it triggers when there is no fire outbreak, so properly testing and inspecting fire alarm systems are required to prevent alarms from coming on when nothing is happening. Nuisance alarms can also lead to business being charged by the fire department due to false alarm.

Regular inspection and testing lower legal costs

If you need to protect your business from a lawsuit then you’ve got to ensure your fire alarm system is properly tested so, at the onset of an emergency, the system should allow everyone to exit the property safely.

It is in the best interest of business owners to ensure they entrust their business safety to reputable fire alarm companies … Read More...

gardening tips

5 Tips to Encourage Gardening in the Family

5 Health Benefits of Gardening and Planting

Gardening has been a therapeutic and connecting activity when the entire family comes together. When we were kids, our parents always reminded us of the planting day via calendar invites to have a day spare for planting together.

Since childhood, we knew that gardening was a family activity that beautifies family bonds and the house alike. So whether you have an acre of land or a few pots on a rooftop: you will all be happier! 

Gardening is a simple activity to enjoy, and you’ll reap the benefits in addition to the fresh produce, beautiful flowers, and aromatic herbs you grow. You don’t even have to linger for your seeds to grow to reap the benefits. Some of them are almost immediate (such as stress relief).

Let us see how you can encourage your kids, no matter the age, to be up for this natural therapy.

1. Time With the Family

When parents and children work with each other to plant and maintain a garden, everybody benefits. Gardening is an entire process of preparation, seeding, and maintaining a family garden to provide physical exercise with a common goal.

If you are kids are busy and out of town or house, you can also send them calendar invites to have everyone on board.

Plus, gardening instills discipline in children and provides a feeling of achievement. It gives you all a foundation to build on—and appreciate—as a family, which strengthens your relationship.

2. Better Mood, Less Stress

Gardening is a fantastic stress reliever for a variety of purposes, including openness to fresher air and sunlight, calming and repetitive activities, and even interaction with benign soil bacteria, which helps the brain release serotonin.

3. Amazing Outdoor Activity

Because of the insane interest of kids in online games, they tend to spend a lot of time in the house, which can negatively impact their attitudes and well-being. In such a case, gardening becomes essential. Also, a family garden allows your kids to get outside and experience the natural environment.

4. Restful Sleep

Physical exercise decreased stress, and getting outside is among the top factors that will help everyone get more and better sleep. Good sleep, in turn, may enhance a child’s behavior and academic achievement. It does work for us, and I am sure it will work for your kids too.

5. Better Physical Health

Educate your kids from the very start. Tell them how gardening and lawn work are low-intensity workouts that we all need on a daily basis. When our kids are provided health benefits, they do like to participate. 

Although caring for your family garden does not require the same level of physical exertion as running or singles tennis, it is still beneficial to your health. Besides this, it helps to develop and stretch fine motor skills.

There are, of course, a lot more benefits that you must tell your kids about and enlighten them about gardening and its natural effects. Convince them with science and biology, and you will see … Read More...

home repair

Tips on Hiring a Handyman Service for House Repairs

You love your home. But that cracked shower tile, clogged gutter, or leaky faucet is driving you crazy. Who are you going to call? A handyman service. Your local handyman is the go-to professional for repair and maintenance jobs that you don’t have time to do, don’t want to do, or simply cannot do. You don’t want to hire just anyone for repairs around your house. Like a babysitter or housekeeper, a handyman has access to your home. The right one is more than just a guy with a toolbox. It is someone with whom you may build a trusting, long-term relationship.

Following are some tips that will help you find the best handyman for repairs around the house:

Determine the Scope of The Work

Before you start your search for a reliable handyman, it is highly recommended that you determine the scope of work required for your job or jobs. Not all handymen are capable of completing larger projects. Because of this, it would be a good idea to hire a specialist for a larger, more complex job. Keep a handyman in mind for small repair and maintenance tasks that you don’t have the proper tools/skills for or you are too busy to complete.

Do Your Research & Planning

You can find a local handyman for repair services by asking family and friends for recommendations, searching on the internet, and seeking referrals from other trusted sources. The internet is an excellent source for conducting your research to find and hire a reliable handyman. You can find a local handyman on Google since the search results there are all about local. Search by your city and by the type of handyman. During your search, don’t forget to read reviews and also be sure to check references and take a look at some of the work completed for previous clients.

Consider the Cost Of Your Project

When you are hiring a handyman, keep in mind that some will charge more than others. There are costs that are involved with being a professional, so keep in mind that the best handymen for the job will likely charge more. However, this does not mean that you should break your budget. Talk to your potential local handyman about what you can afford and see if they are able to meet your financial needs.

Clarify Their Communication Style

If you hire a handyman for repairs around your house, you will need to communicate effectively with them, and this needs to be one of their key skills. A handyman should be able to explain their jobs to you, listen carefully to all your requirements, and be professional in all of their communication types.

Verify License Number and Insurance

Unfortunately, some handymen lie about their license numbers. While such verification is not required by some states, it is surely required by others. So, check with your relevant local authorities to see if your state requires it and if they do, ask the handyman for license … Read More...