Plumbing Survival Tips

12/14/2011

With extra guests in the home and big family meals, December is a busy month for most home plumbing systems. Last year, ABC’s “Good Morning America” interviewed an expert who provided these plumbing tips:

For the kitchen:

• Don’t pour cooking oils and fat down the drain.
• Don’t put stringy or fibrous material such as potato peels, poultry skin and celery in the garbage disposal.
• Turn on the garbage disposal before putting waste into it, and always run cold water through it while in use.

For more garbage disposal dos and don’ts, please see the Indiana Association of Plumbing-Heating-Cooling-Contractors website.

For the bathroom:

• Allow 10 minutes between showers to sufficiently clear drains.
• Never flush down the toilet cotton balls, hair or facial scrubs, which can’t dissolve.
• Try to keep children from flushing Buzz Lightyear®, or other inappropriate objects, down the toilet.

For water emergencies, we offer 24-hour response service.

7 Things to Do During a Flood

6/10/2011

All of us at ARS are watching Hamburg, Iowa, which is part of our service area, with concern. The swollen Missouri River threatens to inundate Hamburg due to a faltering levee nearby.

The Associated Press says about half of Hamburg's roughly 1,100 residents were ordered on Sunday 6/5 to leave their homes within 24 hours. The evacuation was expected to be completed earlier this week.

If flooding is possible where you live, take these steps:

1. Listen to the radio or television for information.
2. If there is any possibility of a flash flood, move immediately to higher ground. Do not wait for instructions to move.
3. Be aware of streams, drainage channels and other areas known to flood suddenly.
4. Move essential items to the upper floor of your home.
5. Turn off utilities at the main switches or valves if instructed to do so. Disconnect electrical appliances. Do not touch electrical equipment if you are wet or standing in water.
6. Do not walk through moving water. Six inches of moving water can make you fall. If you have to walk in water, walk where the water is not moving. Use a stick to check the firmness of the ground in front of you.
7. Do not drive into flooded areas. If floodwaters rise around your car, abandon the car and move to higher ground if you can do so safely.

See FEMA's website for more information.

Is Your Sump Pump Still Working?

4/21/2011

April showers bring May flowers — and sometimes flooded basements. Yes, a stormy spring can mean standing water if the sump pump breaks. The kids can be culprits if they unplug the pump while playing. But, keeping track of it is still up to you:

1. Find your sump pump in the lowest point of your basement.
2. At least it's a low-maintenance mechanical marvel.
3. Be sure it's hooked into the wastewater drain.

Check out all 8 tips about sump pumps.