Signs Your Water Heater is Going Bad

Signs Your Water Heater is Going Bad

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , , /by

It’s the height of summer, and with the heat we try to think cool. Cool rooms, cool drinks, cool showers…they all help to keep us from roasting in the high temperatures. The last thing you’re probably thinking of this time of year is taking a hot shower!

But hold on…fall is coming soon, and with it comes cooler temperatures and an increase in hot water usage. Is your water heater up to the challenge, or is it on its last legs? If you want to be able to enjoy a nice hot shower on chilly mornings throughout the fall and winter, you need to make sure your water heater is still working properly.

6 Signs Your Water Heater Is Going to Fail

Luckily there are warning signs of impending water heater failure that, if heeded, can help you avoid a worst-case scenario (i.e. no hot water at all!). If you see any of these signs, call a water heater professional who can diagnose and fix the problem, or replace the water heater altogether, if needed.

  1. Water is leaking from the heating tank – If you see water dripping from the tank or pooling under the water heater, you’ve got a leak. (You may also see water dripping from nearby pipes.) Sometimes it’s an easy fix – a valve may need closing, or a connection may need tightening. If there’s an actual leak in the tank, however, you’ll need to replace your water heater.
  2. You’re running out of hot water quickly – There’s nothing worse than having the hot water run out on you right in the middle of your shower. If you keep running out of hot water when bathing, doing the dishes, or washing your hands, that’s a sign that your water heater cannot keep up with the demand.

    One problem may be an accumulation of sediment, often due to having hard water (which Colorado is known for). The buildup of sediment leaves less space for hot water in the tank, thus causing you to run out of it quickly. Regular flushing of your water heater can help (done every other year or so), but if it doesn’t solve the problem, you may need to look into getting a new one. A plumber can make a recommendation for the best option.
  3. The water temperature is inconsistent – If your hot water runs hot, then cold, then hot, then cold…, that’s another sign of a failing water heater. Sometimes it’s just the thermostat that needs fixing, but if the heating elements are broken, you should think about just getting a new water heater, especially if it is older than 7 years.
  4. You see discolored water from the faucets – Seeing murky brown or rust-colored water from the faucets in your home? That’s a sign that the interior coating of the water heater tank is beginning to thin, causing rust to form inside the tank. Replacing the anode rods and/or flushing the unit can help, but if it doesn’t, that means the tank is probably shot.
  5. You hear strange noises in the water heater – If you hear weird noises coming from your water heater, that probably means the water heater element is going bad. This may be caused by any number of issues, so it’s best to have a professional come and take a look at it to see if it can be fixed or if you need a new unit.
  6. Your water heater is over 10 years old – Water heaters don’t last forever – in fact, they typically have a life of 10-15 years. Yes, it’s going to cost you some money, but newer units are more energy-efficient than older ones, and can save you money in the long run.

If you see any of the above signs of a failing water heater, call Garvin’s – water heater repair and water heater replacement are just a couple of the many plumbing services we offer. We’ll make sure you have plenty of hot water for the cooler months ahead!

Three Reasons Your Home Needs Water Filtration

Three Reasons Your Home Needs Water Filtration

/0 Comments/in , , , , , /by

What’s in your water? Do you know?

Usually we like to inject a little humor into our blog topics. But this time, we won’t dwell on funny cultural references about things lurking deep beneath Colorado’s reservoirs and rivers, like the Loch Ness monster or the Creature from the Black Lagoon. 

Your drinking water is serious business.

Unless your home taps into well water, your drinking water likely comes from a city water source. While municipal water purification plants work hard to clean our drinking water, more and more pollutants are ending up in city sources.

According to UNESCO, an international environmental watchdog, a whopping 90% of sewage in developing countries is released untreated directly into our bodies of water. Whoa. Yuck.

Furthermore, pollutants from agriculture and urban areas, including industrial factories, often ups the amount of pollution in our water UNESCO said.

Water filtration could safeguard and protect your family for three reasons:

  1. Your drinking water could contain lead, chlorine and other contaminants that a good filtration system could remove.According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), “research showed that 186 million people in the country—a staggering 56 percent of our population—drank water from systems with lead levels exceeding that recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics to protect children.”
  2. Pathogens and other contaminants in the water could be making you sick. 
  3. Sand and silt could be part of your water supply.

Our local water supply

You may have seen articles on the web or in the paper about local fires possibly affecting our Colorado water supply. Basically, burned vegetation means more sediment can end up in our water. More sediment in our water means more chemicals may be used to make our water less cloudy, according to the Denver Channel.

In addition, many people in Colorado may be worried about lead in their water supply. 

Up until the 1950s, lead was used in some Denver water pipes. Though the city pipes have since been replaced, there’s no way to know which home building contractors were using them when they constructed new neighborhoods. If your house was built during the 1950s and before, there is a chance that you still have lead freshwater pipes. We’d recommend having your water tested if you live in an older house. 

The good news? You can get your water tested. Commercial tests are available. You may also qualify for a free lead test from your Denver water supplier here.

How we can help

While most people simply view us as a plumbing repair service, Garvin’s plumbing contractors of Englewood can install whole house or sink filtration systems to safeguard your family’s drinking water supply.

Denver’s water is pretty clean, but is it 100% contaminant free? No. 

If you’re the type of person who buys pesticide-free, non-GMO food, then that one extra step of filtering your water might put your mind at ease. 

A filtration system can remove pathogens, contaminants and sediment. If you sometimes experience discoloration in your water, a good filter can help your water run clear and pure. Plus, filtering your water, whether it is from a well or a city source, can make your water taste better.

Contact Garvin’s Sewer Service of Denver and Englewood today. We would love to talk with you about how a whole house or sink filtration system can deliver the safest, best tasting water for your entire family.

(We are proud to partner with local Denver based ClearView Water for water filtration services.)

Sources:

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-protect-yourself-lead-contaminated-water

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/colorado-wildfires-could-contaminate-drinking-water

Garvin’s Sewer Service Core Values: Safety

Garvin’s Sewer Service Core Values: Safety

/0 Comments/in , , , , , /by

At Garvin’s we created a Code of Conduct that includes 6 Core Values. Today we want to explain Safety and what it means to us.

We define Safety as:

Creating and maintaining a safe environment for both employees and customers

Garvin’s Real-Life Examples of Safety

For our technicians: 

Our technicians, depending on their tasks, either attend a general safety training or attend an OSHA 10 course. They also compete a 3-hour defensive driving course to help them stay safe on the road (they do a lot of driving during any given day.)

Every week, each of our technicians receive a Safety Information sheet that deep dives into a specific safety topic relevant to their job. Some of these topics have included:

  • Avoiding chemical burns from liquid drain cleaners
  • Treating pest and insect bites/stings
  • Foot, eye, ear protection
  • Slip and fall safety practices
  • And more

Quarterly we conduct a safety audit of every technician’s vehicle to make sure they have first aid supplies, accident kits, and that their Personal Protective equipment, supplies, and machinery are in good working condition.

Employees know that they never have to do work in an unsafe environment, and because they are at customer’s homes, we can’t always control the work conditions. They mitigate conditions to the best of their ability and they always maintain the right to refuse service due to unsafe conditions.

The health and safety of our technicians is important so they can get home each and every day to their families.

For our customers:

Without our customers, we wouldn’t have jobs, and keeping them safe is our priority. Plumbing in its general purpose was designed for sanitation and health. The steps we take to ensure customer safety include:

  • Using tarps, mats and shields to protect personal property
  • Wearing appropriate gloves, masks, hard hats or other PPE when on property to protect both you and the worker from injury
  • Proper training on high-risk tasks, such as using flame retardants when soldering
  • Cleaning up after ourselves
  • Refraining from using drugs or alcohol before and during working hours
  • Using safe driving practices

Where Would We Be Without Plumbing?

Plumbing brings clean water in our homes and allows waste to be flushed away. Without it, we could be facing a sanitary issue. Countries without clean water and sanitation systems experience more disease and even death from preventable bacterial conditions.

In the US, we also have the opportunity to not only have clean water delivered right into our homes, but we also are able to use plumbing in an aesthetically pleasing way. From water fall shower heads to trough or bib sinks – we can have the latest in interior design when it comes to water supply and waste systems.

When plumbing is functioning at its optimum, it controls pests (thank you p-traps), mold (thank you no leaks), sanitation (thank you toilets), and supports homes designed the way we want and need, (thank you water heaters, sump pumps, hose bibs, garbage disposals… ok, you get the point).

Truly, indoor plumbing is remarkable and we take it for granted until it isn’t working properly. This is what makes plumbers and drain technicians so important in our world, and why keeping them safe is critical. Maybe you never thought of plumbing in such a way – but it’s true, plumbing is a modern wonder and maybe, just maybe, that makes plumbers superheroes!

Do you have questions about safety for you or our technicians as they perform work in your home? Drop us a comment, call, or e-mail. We are happy to answer any of your questions relating to drain cleaning or plumbing.

The Miracle of Modern Plumbing

The Miracle of Modern Plumbing

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

We hope you had a restful Labor Day! Perhaps you even went camping? There’s nothing like a fun stint in the woods with family and friends to celebrate the holiday. 

Until you encounter a pit toilet or a “Luggable Loo” and then, suddenly, you really appreciate home and… plumbing. 

In honor of this time of year when we take a rest from toil, let’s quickly survey the history of one of our most incredible labor-saving systems—modern plumbing. 

Before we begin, if you play Scrabble, take notes. The story of plumbing is full of cool words that might just pump up your score.

Persia

Ancient Iranians or Persians built Qanats or Kariz to supply their communities with fresh water. Qanats were constructed of vertical channels dug from the surface of hillsides deep into the earth and connected to a horizontal channel engineered to carry water where it was most needed. The Persians connected the qanats to Ab Abnars or big, tower-like cisterns to hold water. Many quanats are still in use today.

Ancient Iranians understood that removing waste water from their communities helped their people to thrive. They conceived systems for sanitation in the city of Zabol which is on the border of modern Afghanistan.

China

The Chinese are known for inventing paper and noodles. But, few people know that the Chinese dug deep, complicated wells for drinking water up to 7000 years ago! 

The ancient Chinese not only knew how to establish long-lasting sources of water, they knew they needed to take care of them. The I-Ching, an important Chinese text written in 1000 BCE, advises readers how to maintain and protect sources of drinking water. Archaeologists found evidence of plumbing from the first imperial dynasty which dates to 221 BCE.

Pakistan and Northern India

Modern-day Pakistan and Northern India comprised the Indus Valley in ancient times. In the city of Lothal in the valley, people had their own indoor covered toilets which were routinely emptied and cleaned as early as 2350 BCE. Nearby cities contained bath houses which were emptied into pipes that flowed into common drains. 

In what is now Pakistan, houses drew water from wells and drained waste water into covered drains in the street.

Greece

Travel to Knossos today on the Island of Crete and you can still see the ruins of the ancient Minoan civilization. The paintings etched on the walls there look slightly Egyptian and their colors are still vivid.  Minoans were some of the first people to use underground clay pipes for carrying and eliminating waste water. Later, Cretans engineered some of the first flush toilets on Earth. 

A Greek inventor named Heron invented a system in 62 ACE to put water under pressure and use it to fight fires in Alexandria, Greece, a city of over 5 million people desperately in need of such ingenuity.

Rome

The ancient Romans built an incredible system for sanitation called the Cloaca Maxima which drained overflow water around Rome into the Tiber River. They built public toilets (from photos, they look like stone, open-air pit toilets) over the Cloaca Maxima and the sewage was carried away by the river. 

The Romans also developed a huge, intricate system of aqua ducts that carried water into the city from the nearby mountains. Parts of the aqua ducts and associated piping were constructed from clay, stone and lead. In fact, our modern word “plumbing” comes from the Latin word for “lead,” plumbum. 

Some historians theorized that the fall of the Roman Empire started after much of the city was retrofit with lead pipes. However recent scientists think that the Roman water was so full of calcium it formed a protective layer inside the pipes and the Roman water was never in full contact with lead.

Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages, cleanliness rituals were often tied to religious or philosophical practices. In Nepal, constructing a drinking fountain for others to use was considered a virtuous act. The Nepalese built a drinking water system made of hiti, or stone fountains that funneled water from deep underground sources, as early as 550 ACE. 

As far back as the 7th century, Islamic purity practices required ritual washing and bathing which fostered an entire industry to build bath houses throughout nations that practiced Islam.

Europeans in the Middle Ages were not as concerned with cleanliness or hygiene. Waste water sometimes ran in open channels down the middle of streets. This lack of fastidiousness and poor sanitation led to the spread of the Black Plague. The first closed European sewer wasn’t constructed until 1370 ACE. 

In the 16th century, Sir John Harington of England invented his version of the flush toilet for Queen Elizabeth I and waste from the device sluiced into a cesspool. Lucky Sir John—many people in the English speaking world still refer to him when Mother Nature calls.

Modern Era

By the year 1535, politicians began to enact legislation in England to keep the central river in London, the Thames, free of waste. The legislation was ignored and construction of an actual sewer system didn’t begin until the mid-to late-1800’s, meanwhile cholera ravaged London in a series of epidemics.

By the end of the 19th century, many large cities in Europe and the U.S. established underground sewer systems. Studies in the UK and Germany led to an understanding that disease could be transmitted by contaminated water and eliminated by water treatment and filtration.

Today modern water and sewage pipes are made not from wood, stone and lead, but of steel, copper and plastic. The modern materials are more durable and easier to install than their ancient counterparts. 

Galvanized steel pipe can last up to 50 years though it can sometimes corrode. Copper pipe is clean and efficient, but extremely expensive today. Plastic piping comes in seven different varieties for various uses from PVC to PEX-AI-PEX which contains a layer of aluminum between layers of plastic. 

In the United States, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates sewer utilities and monitors the safety of drinking water. Our nation passed the Clean Water Act in 1972 which improved the treatment of waste and began to protect our natural water resources. We passed the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1974 to monitor major contaminants in our drinking water. 

At Garvins, we care about you, your water and your sewer system. We do sewer cleaning, drain cleaning, sewer camera inspection and preventative maintenance. Contact us today for a Speedy Fast Quote or call us anytime.

Sources:

History of water supply and sanitation – Wikipedia
https://www.hydratelife.org/the-qanat-an-ancient-technology-still-delivering-water-today/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumbing
Water supply and sanitation in the United States – Wikipedia

 

 

Why clay sewer pipes may cause issues in some homes

Why clay sewer pipes may cause issues in some homes

/1 Comment/in , , , , , , /by

Grab your swimming suit

We’re going to take a trip in the hot tub time machine! 

What? Ok, we’re referencing the 2010 sci-fi flick where four friends wind up in the past after time travelling in a damaged Jacuzzi. Not an Academy Award-winning flick, but it is fitting for a plumbing company to travel in a hot tub.

We’ll use our own tub to cruise through some famous cities to understand the history of clay pipe before we talk about why these pipes may cause issues in your home.

It will be interesting, we promise. And you’ll get to relax in a hot tub!

A quick trip through time

Stop one, Babylonia: Let’s look over the shoulders of tired archaeologists as they discover the first clay pipe in a small city in what is now the region of Iraq and Syria. They have been laboring to unearth baked clay pipe that snaked through a truly ancient temple constructed in 4000 BCE. Hard to believe pieces of the hardy pipe survived to the early 1900’s to be catalogued and photographed by this team!

Next, let’s blast to the year 2000 BCE to Ephesus (it’s now Turkey). Here, if we take a peek beneath the houses in the rich section of town, we can see hand-formed clay pipes that carry cold and hot running water and sewage. Posh, no hauling from the river! 

Turn up the jets, we’re going to Rome! (Are your fingers wrinkled yet?) Ancient Romans used clay pipe to carry water short distances. In fact, you could fill your water bottle from any modern public water fountain in Rome today and your thirst-quenching quaff likely is being carried by aqueducts constructed in 19 BCE! That’s some infrastructure.

We’re almost done. Let’s take the bubbling tub to the U.S. where savvy engineers in Ohio first made clay pipes by hand in 1849 and then started to mechanize production by the late 1800s. Pipes were made locally because they were very heavy. Eventually, enough railroad systems were built to carry regionally made pipes efficiently throughout the U.S. One such clay pipe was in use for over 150 years in Oceanside, California.

Why so much devotion to clay?

As you can see, clay pipes have been used for a long time around the world. Clay has always been available to be mixed with water, formed into pipes and fired in a wood- or coal-fired kiln to become vitreous or glasslike and impermeable. This process makes the clay pipe sturdy and resistant to chemicals. They can also handle a lot of fluid pressure and the pipes are environmentally friendly. 

The downside of historical pipe

As wonderful as clay pipes might be, they present issues. As we’ve already mentioned, they’re heavy to move. They can crack under pressure. They have to be put together with joints. Tree roots love to grow between those joints, making the pipes break and crumble. Clay pipe can also snap when the ground shifts—especially in Colorado where our soils are laden with ever-expanding bentonite. Material can corrode inside the pipes and cause the area inside to become smaller—the result can be a troublesome backup.

When should clay pipes be replaced?

Sometimes when you call for sewer line cleaning in Denver or Englewood, your Garvin’s technician will discover clay pipe leading into your home. These pipes are most common in homes built before 1980. They can be serviceable or badly damaged. When should you replace your old, clay pipe?

  • Constant backups into a tub or sink
  • Strange smells from your front yard or basement
  • Inspection reveals a sewer pipe is compacted, sagging, or broken beyond repair

How can we help?

Garvin’s provides honest sewer cleaning service and emergency drain cleaning. We’ll thoroughly inspect your line with a video camera snake and provide you with a DVD. We can discuss any issues while viewing the video. If you have a DVD from another company, we can give you an opinion on that too. 

Bottom line: If your line doesn’t need to be replaced, but just needs a good cleaning, we won’t try to sell you a new line. We clean drains, not bank accounts.

If you do need a new line or line repairs, we’ll talk you through it. You can trust our 80 plus years of experience. We most commonly install seamless PVC pipe, or plastic liners so that you won’t have to worry about your sewer line for years to come. 

  • PVC pipes can last up to 100 years and are impervious to sneaky tree roots breaking them apart. 
  • In the right situation, plastic liners can eliminate the need for costly digging and unearthing of pipe. 

Reach out to Garvin’s at 303-571-5114 or contact us online for all your plumbing and drain cleaning needs. Just don’t ask us to fix your hot tub.

Plumber or Plumbing Contractor in Denver?

Plumber or Plumbing Contractor in Denver?

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Remember the Yellow Pages? When you needed a plumber, you cracked open ye olde yellow book and hoped for the best. Those days are gone, and that’s actually a good thing. After all, the internet makes it a lot easier to find a plumbing contractor in Denver so you get the right person for the job and not a plain ‘ol plumber. Yes, there’s a difference, and as plumbing contractors serving Denver, Garvin’s Sewer Service knows that better than most.

What a Plumber Does

Anyone who works on plumbing undergoes years of training. Most start off as apprentices, then progress to the journeyman stage. They’re the kinds of people the average person is thinking of when they think “plumber.” 

You call a plumber for a home plumbing service in Denver If you’ve got a clogged drain, a dripping faucet, a leaking toilet, or you need to install something plumbing-adjacent (like a garbage disposal, an on-demand water heater, or a fridge with a water and ice dispenser), you call a plumber. But that still leaves a lot of big jobs on the table.

What Does a Plumbing Contractor Do?

So what makes a plumbing contractor different? Their experience is broader. They can handle all of the same services a typical plumber would provide, but they can handle more specialized services like sewer camera inspection, water jetting for clogged sewer lines, septic service, and much, much more.

Garvin’s Sewer Service falls into this more specialized category. We’ve helped more than our share of Denver homeowners, to be sure. But our experience has also allowed us to cater to a wide range of commercial plumbing services, tackling tough jobs for restaurants, auto repair shops, carwashes, medical and veterinary clinics, and a number of other settings where plumbing (and especially drainage) can get thorny.

Specialty Plumbers

There’s another category of plumbers called specialty plumbers. Their focus is even narrower than ours. Rather than being the professionals, you’d call for a new toilet or a particularly bad drain clog, these plumbers often work on larger-scale commercial and industrial applications, or on items like fire suppression systems, that call for a different skill set. 

Choosing the Right Denver Plumber

So what have we learned? As we see it, there are three key takeaways here.

First, there are a lot of plumbers out there, and that’s a good thing since no matter what your plumbing needs look like, there’s someone waiting to help.

Second, your choice of plumber matters. If you’re looking for a Denver plumber who’s seen pretty much everything, you’ve found it in Garvin’s Sewer Service, since we’re more than just sewers.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it’s far more preferable to choose a plumber than to try to do these things yourself. More of our business than you might realize has less to do with fixing the initial problem than it does fixing someone else’s attempt to address a drain clog, leaky pipe, or a root incursion. Those repairs often end up more expensive than they’d have been if you’d just called us the first time. So for your plumbing needs, call Garvin’s Sewer Service today!

Core Values

Garvin’s Sewer Service Core Values: Accountability

/0 Comments/in , , /by

At Garvin’s we created a Code of Conduct that includes 6 Core Values. Today we want to explain Accountability and what it means to us.

We define Accountability as:

Holding yourself and others responsible and accountable for actions and activities. We take immediate and appropriate action, and we own our actions start to finish.

Real Life Examples of Accountability

Here’s an example of this core value at work:

Garvin’s Sewer Service has been in business for over 80 years. In those 80 years, we have made mistakes, however we wouldn’t have our longevity if we didn’t make things right to the best of our ability. This is where accountability is best demonstrated, and I’d like to give two examples.

Hold Harmless Clause

As plumbers, we are often called onto jobs where there is existing water damage and breaks. Because of this, we have a hold harmless clause on all our invoices that says we aren’t responsible for pre-existing or unforeseen conditions such as broken pipes, plumbing code violations, or lead piping.

We had one customer who we serviced for nearly ten years and every year we told her that she had galvanized pipe which needed to be replaced. On the eleventh year, when we cleaned the sink line with galvanized pipe, the pipe finally had corroded and caused a leak. She felt we were responsible for the damages. We disagreed.

We felt it was our responsibility to inform the homeowner, year over year, that she needed to replace the pipe, which we did. But the pipes were never replaced. I tried to explain it this way… if you take your car in to have the tires rotated and the mechanic tells you that you need an oil change, and you never do it, you can’t blame the mechanic when the engine seizes simply because they are the ones who rotated your tires.

We own our part and expect others to own theirs. Here’s a second example:

Drain Line Replacement

We recently had a customer who had just bought a home and three months later discovered the sewer line had backed up and filled her crawlspace with sewage – yuck! Before we could do any work, she had to have a restoration company out to mitigate the sewage.

Once that was done, we sent a plumber out to repair and clean the line. Unfortunately, the repair he made wasn’t sufficient and the cap blew off, resulting in another flooding of the crawlspace. The homeowner called us irate (and rightfully so), I listened to her and expressed empathy because I understood how frustrating and devastating plumbing problems can be. We refunded her money, redid the work, and paid the insurance company for the damages we caused.

We were paid to fix the problem, and when we didn’t do it effectively, we owed it. We don’t like to make mistakes, especially when it causes such a heartache and physical damages to a customer. However, when we do, and it is really because of something we did, we hold ourselves accountable and make it right.

If you are looking for a plumbing in Englewood who holds themselves to code of conduct that includes accountability, Garvin’s Sewer Service would like to earn your business.

Water Conservation Tips for Food Service in Englewood, CO

Water Conservation Tips for Food Service in Englewood, CO

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , , , /by

For several decades, Garvin’s Sewer Service has been synonymous with professional plumbing and drain cleaning service near Englewood. So it stands to reason that we know a thing or two about sewer systems and water supply in and around Denver – particularly, how important it is to conserve water and increase the overall system’s efficiency. 

The Case for Water Efficiency

In the last decade, the costs of water and wastewater services have increased considerably nationwide, mostly due to the fact that cities have begun moving away from bygone supply systems and towards state-of-the-art solutions. While in the long run this overhaul should provide an excellent return on investment, there are things we can do right now that will benefit the average business’s water bill. Let’s use the food service industry as an example because water usage – especially hot water – is significantly higher here than in other trades. Energy is required to “create” hot water, and that’s something that restaurants use a lot of. Consider water-intensive equipment such as dishwashers, basins, sinks, and dipper wells, which run almost continuously during business hours. Replacing outdated, inefficient foodservice equipment with water-efficient upgrades is one of the biggest steps a food service establishment can take towards increased water efficiency, especially because the investment in new equipment will soon be recouped via lower monthly water bills. 

Another advantage of implementing water-efficiency solutions in the food service industry is increased customer satisfaction and respect. Consumers want to do business with companies dedicated to green initiatives, and water conservation is an area where food service entities can have a massive environmental impact. 

Tips for Running an Efficient Food Service Operation 

  • Upgrade appliances such as dishwashers, ice machines, and steam cookers to extra-efficient models proven to reduce water and energy use. 
  • Inspect systems such as pre-rinse and food disposal, as well as everything boiler-related, i.e. combination ovens, steam kettles, and steam cookers, to identify where water usage can be decreased. Our local plumber serving Englewood is happy to provide some suggestions. 
  • The impact of proper dishwasher prep and loading is oft-overlooked, which is a shame because executing these steps properly can lead to impressive reductions in water usage. Foodservice managers and owners who make a small investment of time and money to train employees in this area will be more than pleased with the results. 
  •  Toilets, bathroom faucets, urinals, and everything else in a lavatory can be upgraded to more water-efficient solutions. In fact, some independently certified models have shown to be almost 20 percent more water-efficient than previous-generation models. 
  • The automatic sensors found on today’s faucets, toilets, and urinals might be small, but they can be a big obstacle to water conservation when not functioning properly. Check these periodically to ensure they’re operating correctly and not needlessly wasting water. 

Start Conserving Water Today

In the foodservice industry, the vast majority of water usage stems from equipment and the processes followed by employees during daily tasks. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to increase efficiencies in both categories. Contact Garvin’s Sewer Service today and let’s talk further about water conservation, and professional drain cleaning near Denver, and much more.

How To Find The Right Plumber in Denver

How To Find The Right Plumber in Denver

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

Every homeowner needs an experienced, reliable plumber on speed dial, but hitting the mark takes some legwork. For 80 years, Garvin’s Sewer Service has met the plumbing needs of residents throughout the Denver metro area, and we’re happy to provide some tips for how to find the right plumber.

Schedule online »

Read Online Customer Reviews

Online customer reviews are an excellent resource. A great place to start is the Better Business Bureau (BBB), which has over 100,000 reviews for homeowners to peruse. Many of the plumbers listed here are accredited by the BBB, which gives them a leg up on those who are not. AngiesList.com is another useful resource, but there is a monthly membership fee. In return, AngiesList.com prohibits anonymous reviews, which the site believes improves the accuracy and authenticity of its service.

Contact Your Insurance Company

Even if your insurance company isn’t paying for your leak repairs or sewer cleaning near Englewood, they’re still a viable resource for locating a reputable plumber. Many insurance companies have agreements in place with reputable local contractors covering all areas of home improvement, and it’s quite likely that your insurance company adheres to a thorough vetting process. So not only can you trust that your provider has done its homework, you might even get a discount if you work with a plumber endorsed by the insurer.

Inquire About Licenses/Bonding and Technical Certifications

No doubt it’s important to hire a plumber with extensive experience and state-of-the-art solutions. However, equally important are aspects such as technical certifications, customer service, and safety. The plumber you choose should be licensed and bonded, and its technicians should have to pass background checks and participate in ongoing training. No homeowner should be put in a position where the plumber they hire lacks the required training and certifications, or even worse is a convicted criminal.

Confirm The Scope of Work

Many plumbing contractors serving Denver offer service guarantees on the work they perform. This provides assurance to the homeowner that the job will be completed satisfactorily. It’s a good idea to confirm with the plumber the estimated length of the job. Also, homeowners are well within their right to ask a plumber for a warranty or a guarantee period on the contracted work.

Apples-to-Apples Estimate Comparison

As with any home improvement service, homeowners should solicit quotes from at least three plumbers. But what sometimes gets lost in the shuffle is how important it is for the homeowner to create a clear, concise brief on which the plumbers’ quotes are based. It’s vital that all three plumbers quote the same job so that the homeowner can do a simple apples-to-apples comparison. This also minimizes the chances of a plumber providing a stripped-down quote to appear as the least expensive option. Plus, if one company comes in more expensive than the others, the homeowner can ask the company about the price and understand what (if anything) is different about their offering.

Contact Our Professional Plumbers Today

Thousands of homeowners choose Garvin’s Sewer Service as their go-to emergency plumber serving Englewood (and beyond) for preventive plumbing maintenance. Whatever your needs – drain cleaning, sewer line location, or video sewer scope – contact us today and ask for our patented Speedy Fast® Quote.

Schedule online »

How to Check if Your Toilet Tank is Leaking

How to Check if Your Toilet Tank is Leaking

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , /by

While Americans use a lot of water every day for drinking and watering flowers and taking showers, a little over a quarter (27 percent) of the water we use comes from our toilets. That sounds like a lot, but that number can rise even higher if there is a leak in your toilet tank that allows wasted water to run for hours at a time. Nobody wants to waste that kind of water, whether that be for environmental or budgetary reasons. How does one make sure they don’t have a leak in their toilet tank? There’s a simple test you can conduct to know whether you’ll need plumbing leak repair in Denver.

Performing the Leak Test

The first sign that something may be wrong with your toilet is the persistent turning on and off of the water in the toilet tank, even when you aren’t using the commode. But even if you don’t hear that water running, you still can perform this test to be sure a leak isn’t running up your water bill.

To get started, you will need a packet of toilet leak detection dye tablets. They are very quick and easy to use and are available through your plumbing contractor in Englewood or at your local hardware store. Here’s how you use them to test your toilet for a leak:

  1. Remove the toilet tank lid.
  2. Remove the blue dye tablets from the package and drop them into the toilet tank. You will immediately find that the water in your tank has turned blue.
  3. Put the lid back onto the tank and give the tablets time to completely dissolve. This usually takes approximately 10-to-15 minutes.
  4. After that time, come back and check the bowl of your toilet. If the water there has turned any shade of blue, it means that your toilet tank is leaking and wasting water.

What to Do If Your Toilet Tank is Leaking

Toilet tank leaks are usually caused by an ineffective flush valve system or a fill valve problem, either of which is something best left to a professional plumber. While you likely don’t need to call emergency plumbing in Denver to correct the problem, it is something you’ll want to have taken care of to ensure the leak is repaired so you can stop wasting water and lower your monthly water bill.

Every day a silent leak goes undetected in your home can amount to as much as 300 gallons of wasted water, which is about three times what the average American uses in an entire day. Not only is that incredibly wasteful, but it can lead to hundreds of dollars flushed away each year for literally no good reason. A quick call to Garvin’s Sewer Service will cost much less than what you’d pay in wasted water, and you’ll be doing the environment a favor by conserving water.

If you’ve run the toilet tank test and need Garvin’s Sewer Service to help you repair it, give us a call and we’ll stop that leaking toilet tank at our earliest convenience.