Boy, we’ve been talking about toilets lately, haven’t we? Well, it only makes sense; as your local plumbers, we’re dealing with the water coming into and leaving toilets all the time.

Most toilets in America are very similar. They consist of the bowl, the tanks, and the plumbing that’s associated with them. Sure, the valves might be a little different, but they all share the same basic design.

One way that some toilets differ is with bidets. We talked about them a little in our last blog, but we figured we’d let you know why they’re becoming more popular and why we’re seeing them more often. (Most bidets we see are aftermarket devices that are attached to existing toilets) Here are three distinct advantages to bidets.

It Uses Less (Or No) Toilet Paper

Now here’s something that your local plumbers can get <ahem> behind! One of the biggest reasons that toilets get clogged and need drain cleaning the first place is that people are using too much toilet paper. Less waste is fewer clogs!

It Uses Less Toilet Paper!

We hope you don’t mind if we repeat this fact, but using less paper of any sort is a good thing. Using less toilet paper means using fewer trees and less bleach to make the toilet paper oh-so-white. Americans use around 37 billion rolls of toilet of toilet paper a year (about 20 billion the day after Thanksgiving alone…no, we’re lying about that). So bidets use a little bit more water but a lot less paper.

It Uses Less Toilet Paper!

We might have failed to mention this before, but using a bidet means you’ll be using less toilet paper! What does that mean? You don’t have to buy nearly as much, which is good for your wallet. Think about how much money you can save! And think about the space you can save in your house if you only have to buy toilet paper by the 4-pack instead of the 24-pack.

It’s More Septic System Friends (because it uses less toilet paper)

If you have a septic system and aren’t part of the city’s sewer system, a bidet might be a good option. When septic systems work, they’re wonderful. But when old ones clog easily, you might be looking for any reason to send less down the toilet paper.

It Cuts Down On Hand / Germ Contact

You can probably guess what we mean by that. A hands-free bidet can get you cleaner before you even have to dry yourself off. Oh, and some bidets have fans (or blowers) than get you nice and dry!

It Feels Nice

As we mentioned before, using thick, ultra-soft toilet paper is one of the main reasons that toilets and sewer lines get clogged. Toilet paper is getting softer because people demand them…thin toilet paper can make your cleaning job disgusting, and scratchy toilet paper can make your rear end hurt. Bidets are often recommended by doctors who have sensitive skin down below, or for those who have hemorrhoids.

Sure, bidets sound great, Garvin’s Plumber, but does it use less toilet paper? We’ll look into that and get back to you. In the meantime, we hope we’ve opened your mind to the possibility that a bidet might be in your future.

In our last blog we went into detail — and let’s just admit it, too much detail — about the history of pre-flush toilets. Digging a hole, digging a latrine, feeding it to the…no, let’s not bring that back up (lest it bring up our last meal).

We’re proud of what we do as plumbing contractors, and we certainly enjoy the intricacies of the modern flush toilet that help us all live more sanitary lives. So where exactly did this marvel of modern engineering come from? Here’s a quick history.

A New Discourse of a Stale Subject, Called the Metamorphosis of Ajax

What we think of as a modern flush toilet started in 1596, when Sir John Harington wrote A New Discourse of a Stale Subject, Called the Metamorphosis of Ajax. We would have called it Poop B’ Gone: Baking It Be Gone, but Sir Harington didn’t ask us for our opinion.

With the publication of ANDOASSCTMOA, the basic idea of having water leave the bowl while an elevated tank full of water replaces it had been born. After his own home, the first person for whom he installed a toilet was Queen Elizabeth I. It’s unlikely that it was hooked up to any official sewer system.

The S-trap

Of course, when you do start using flush toilets with a sewer system, you need a way to prevent the smell from the sewer system from escaping back into the home or business. Alexander Cumming invented the s-trap in 1775, which collected water in an s-shaped pipe. This water then created a barrier to the gas, and such traps, whether they are S, U, J. or P, are still an integral part of your sewer service today.

Even More Advances

As cities grew and the need for a dedicated sewer system became more necessary, toilets started to become what we know today. Old homes were fitted with “water closets,” while new ones were built with dedicated bathrooms. Advancements were constantly being made to make toilets more efficient and less prone to clogging. By the late 1800’s, toilets were becoming more and more popular thanks to toilet barons such as Sir Thomas Crapper. Yes, that Crapper.

When you think of a toilet, it really is an amazingly elegant design, using no electricity and only gravity to move your waste away from you. We hope you’ve enjoyed our little trip down toilet memory lane (that’s a Beatles song, right?) and, when you need drain or sewer cleaning to make your toilet work again, contact Garvin’s Sewer Service!

Because we’re a plumbing company, we deal with water every day. Lots and lots of water. Maybe we’re performing basic plumbing services and fixing a leak in someone’s freshwater pipes, or perhaps we’re taking care of their drain cleaning so that the water can go on its merry way.

But where does all that water come from, and where does it go? Glad you asked.

Mountains, Rivers, and Reservoirs

Here in Denver we’re very fortunate to be very high up on the “water chain.” Snow falls on the mountains, and the snow melt becomes the South Platte River, Williams Fork River, and Blue River. Denver also gets it water from Ralston Creek, Bear Creek, and South Boulder Creek. Of course, the largest supplier of water for Denver is Dillon Reservoir, which provides 40 percent of the water used by the Denver area.

Consider Our Wastewater Treatment Facility

As we all know, water is a precious resource. That’s why it’s important that anything we send down the drain is able to be dealt with easily by Denver’s Wastewater Management. In a perfect world, all they would have to deal with is human waste and toilet paper. Unfortunately, the water they receive is filled with drain cleaners, medicine, and oh-so-many unmentionables. (Tampons and condoms. We’re talking about tampons and condoms.) Making sure “what should go in the toilet” is the only stuff that actually does go in the toilet makes their job of cleaning and recycling the water that much easier. And it helps keep your sewer service bills lower if they have to treat it less.

Be Kind To Our Downstream Neighbors

So, since we’re so high up on the water chain, we can use all we want and do whatever we want with it, right? Well that’s not a very nice attitude to have, person with whom we’re having an imaginary argument! Keeping the water as clean as possible means that we can send that water down the South Platte, which joins the North Platte to become the Platter River, which joins the Missouri River, which joins the Mississippi, which ends up in the Gulf of Mexico. Keeping water clean here keeps it clean for tens of millions of people along the way, and keeps the entire world’s oceans cleaner.

Now that you know about where your water comes from and where it goes, we hope you’ll have a better understanding of why it’s so important to keep it as clean as possible. You can look for hidden leaks in your home by reading this blog, and you can always heed the advice of your local plumber by not sending anything down the toilet that you shouldn’t. And when you do and need sewer cleaning, give Garvin’s Sewer Service a call!

There’s the old saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Grammatical problems aside, it’s a pretty good maxim. But when it comes to how you feel about your drain cleaning and plumbing situation, it can get you into hot water (or, in this case, up to your ankles in cold water).

Here are a few reasons you should contact your local plumber for preventive maintenance, or at the first sign of anything going wrong.

New Pipes Can Fail You

It doesn’t happen very often, but just because you moved into a new neighborhood doesn’t mean that your pipes are 100-percent reliable. Two main things can go wrong.

First of all, your freshwater pipes or sewer pipes might have been installed incorrectly. After all, unless you have a custom home built, the builders are moving pretty quickly and are on a tight schedule. The most likely scenario is that you’ll find a water leak in one of your freshwater pipes. If you find a leak, contact an emergency plumber before it gets worse.

Second, something could go wrong with your sewer pipes. When your neighborhood was built, the ground was leveled and compacted. If it wasn’t compacted properly under your sewer line it’s possible that the line could be affected by a sinkhole. While this was a bigger problem before the invention of PVC and ABS plastic pipe, there’s still the chance that a piece of heavy equipment rolling over your sewer line could snap it.

Just Because It Goes Down…

Many people believe that just because everything goes down the toilet that there are absolutely no problems. But just because your anti-bacterial wipes flushed doesn’t mean they’re gone for good. Non-degradable items sent down the toilet don’t always make their way into the public sewer system, stopped by roots or grease that’s just waiting to grab something that’s passing by. So stop flushing stuff that shouldn’t go down the toilet, and if you’ve lived in a house for a long time it might be a good idea to have some preventive sewer and drain cleaning performed.

Just because you’re not in an emergency situation right now doesn’t mean you should ignore warnings that your freshwater or sewer pipes are about to cause problems. Contact Garvin’s at the first sign of trouble.

A flooded basement is one of the most devastating home disasters that many of us will ever face. At the very least you’ll lose old books, Christmas decorations, and exercise equipment. At worst you’ll lose everything from the basement bedroom, your home theater, and family photos.

At Garvin’s, we want to make this trying time as easy as possible on you. That means letting you know what to do before we even get there.

1. Identify the problem – If the entire neighborhood is flooded or if it’s been raining overnight, you probably have a pretty good idea where all of that water is coming from. But if it’s dry outside, it’s a good bet that you either have a leaky freshwater pipe or a backed up sewer. Trust us, your nose will tell you which one it is!
2. Shut off the water (if you can) – If it’s a sewer backup, there’s obviously nothing to shut off. But if it’s a freshwater problem, shut off the main water to your home if you have easy access to it. Unfortunately, this can be difficult to do in many circumstances, considering that the main water shutoff valve is usually down in the flooded basement, and we’re about to tell you to not go down there…
   
3. Don’t get in! – The biggest danger with a flooded basement is the chance of electric shock. If the water has risen to the height of the electrical sockets there’s a good chance that the water has become electrified. This could prove deadly, so if you have to go into the basement make sure that the electricity is shut off. Alternately, if the water is backed up sewage, the threat of bacteria should be enough to keep you from wading into the basement.
4. Call an emergency plumber – No matter the time or day, call an emergency plumber. In fact, here’s our number: 303-571-5114, anywhere in the Denver area including Boulder and Longmont. A 24-hour plumber has seen all of this before and will be able to evaluate the problem and respond accordingly. Plumbers will have the right boots and equipment for all situations that will help to expedite the removal of the water.
5. Call Your Insurance – It’s one of the sad facts of life…a basic homeowners insurance policy does not cover flooding. Most don’t cover sewer backups. Even if you don’t think your insurance doesn’t cover flooding, call anyway to inform them of what has happened. Take pictures of the damage, and keep receipts for emergency plumber services like you’ll get from Garvin’s. There’s a chance that the specific form of damage is indeed covered, depending on what caused it. It can’t hurt to ask.
6. Find the right renovators –  When the water has been stopped and the flood has abated, it’s time to find a restoration company. You might be in a rush when it comes to picking an emergency plumber (303-571-5114, in case you missed it), but you’ll at least have a little bit of time to research the right restoration experts. Don’t take too long, though, because you want to get them working before the mold sets in.
   

Basement flooding can be a horrible experience, and that’s why, as emergency plumbers, we try to make it as easy as possible during your time of need. Contact Garvin’s (where’s that number again?
Wait, here it is: 303-571-5114) whenever you need a 24-hour plumber.