Walker Plumbing Tips and Tricks
Our fully licensed and insured plumbing company wants to help you identify possible plumbing problems.
A Family Owned and Operated Plumbing Business
4355 Dow Road
Melbourne, FL 32934
Monday – Friday 7am – 3pm
How to Find Hidden Plumbing Leaks
Plumbing leaks can be surprisingly damaging and expensive to repair. It’s not just the floor, ceiling, wall, carpet, or floor damage you should be concerned about. The mold and mildew that grow inside moist walls as a result of a hidden leak can be hazardous to your health. Sometimes you can hear that telltale little drip, other times you won’t know anything at all until someone starts sneezing – or worse.
One of the ways you can discover a sneaky leak is that your water bill is higher than usual. An unexplained rise in your bill may indicate something is leaking somewhere. Check outside hoses and bibs, look under sinks and in cabinets, behind toilets, and check any appliances that are connected to water including your refrigerator, dishwasher, washer and dryer. If you see a puddle somewhere, a soft wall, or floor or ceiling damage, or if you smell something rank, you’ll know where the problem is. If there’s no visual indication of a leak, turn off anything that’s using water, and watch your water meter. If your meter is still spinning, there may be a tiny leak inside your walls or in your slap. In that case, it’s time to call Walker Plumbing.
How to Choose a Tankless Hot Water Heater
Does your family fight for hot water in the shower every morning? Your hot water heater can only hold a limited amount of hot water before it needs to refill and heat up again, a process that can take an hour or more. With virtually endless hot water from a tankless hot water heater, this problem is solved. They also solve some other problems. Since there’s no tank, it frees up floor space. Since they don’t have to continually heat water to keep stored in a large tank, they use less energy. And since there’s no indoor tank that’ll rust or burst, no more disastrous garage or basement floods. A tankless hot water heater heats ground temperature water with a gas burner or an electric element as it passes through the water heater. Most are lit electronically, so there’s no pilot light to contend with. It only heats water when needed, and doesn’t require a storage tank. This saves a tremendous amount of energy while providing an incredible convenience. It’s the best of both worlds. Gas tankless water heaters are able to produce a higher temperature rise per minute than electric models, so they’re much more efficient. They do require adequate ventilation, and are always safely mounted to the outside of a home or building.
When choosing a particular model for your home or business, you’ll need to do some minor calculations. Don’t worry – Walker Plumbing can help with our special worksheets. Basically, you’ll need to determine the maximum number of hot water units – including kitchen and bathroom faucets, showers, bathtubs, washing machines, and dishwashers – that you’d like to run simultaneously, and calculate their total flow rates in gallons per minute. Always opt for the worst case scenario – picture a house filled with people over a holiday season, and everyone is running hot water at once. Then, add up all of their flow rates. This is the desired flow rate you’ll want for your tankless hot water heater. It’s always better to overestimate your needs rather than overwork a heater.
Next, you’ll need to figure out the temperature rise your tankless hot water heater needs to provide. In Florida, it’s usually fairly warm, so it won’t take as much energy to get your water heated up to 105 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit as it would in a more northern climate.
Since this is a potentially dangerous gas and electric unit, it’s mandatory to have a professional, properly trained and licensed plumber install your tankless hot water heater. Walker Plumbing has installed many of these units over the years, and we’re qualified to install yours. Please call us for more information and details and let us help get you into… well, a lot of hot water!
Call the professionals at Walker Plumbing today at (321) 652-0149 for more information about our Melbourne, Florida based drain cleaning and plumbing services.
Serving Brevard County plumbing needs for over 20 years, Walker Plumbing is proud to be a family owned and operated small business. Our entire team guarantees you’ll be satisfied with our plumbing services. Plus, we make sure our plumbing services are done right the first time, which will save you money in the long run. We realize things happen, and that’s why Walker Plumbing makes warranty calls a priority. Our plumbing company promises:
Flat rates
Licensed technicians
Fully-stocked service vans
Proven solutions using the latest technology
Free estimates on select services
Call the professionals at Walker Plumbing at 321-652-0149 for more information about our Melbourne, Florida based drain cleaning and plumbing services.