September 4th, 2010
All plumbers know that apart from looking after our hands, our feet are equally as important. No feet, no action!
Last week, as the major players on the Australian political scene were making their final pitch to the electorate as the federal election drew closer, I was out doing some canvassing of my own.
I was busy pitching to the smart Real estate property managers of Bondi Beach the benefits of having a great plumbing team like The Lone Drainer and Pronto, look after their emergency plumbing repairs and the benefits of using Vaporooter sewer root control.
As I walked down Gould street I came across the Running Company Bondi. The owner Chris Chapman had a smile as big as Bondi and it was only minutes before he had me on his walking treadmill, filming my walking/running gait with some simple, but powerful video tools.
Buying shoes from someone who actually knows about running shoes makes a huge difference. Chris’ advice was so professional and made so much sense. Chris had me on his treadmill in each different shoe I tried on, to check how my feet were landing with his video equipment. Buying running shoes from a runner and shoe expert makes a lot of sense and since suffering a bad lower leg injury about 14 years ago I’ve suffered with knee and hip pain whenever I run. So when Chris showed me the running analysis he uses I realized why.
As with plumbing advice, if you’re wearing the wrong pair of trainers you could be setting yourself up for all sorts of problems in a few weeks, months or years from now. It seems most sales people at the big chain stores just don’t know this stuff, which is why it’s important to get checked now before you get injured. If you suffer from any sort of knee pain or shin splints when you run, or want to prevent future problems I highly recommend you spare an hour of your time and come along to meet Chris at The Running Company Bondi.
The importance of getting the right advice about plumbing repairs or your trainers is self evident. Oh, I made a decision about my new runners pretty quickly.
Two weeks later we are still without a new Government.
We live in very interesting times and you have to keep moving forward or consider the alternative…
Tags: emergency plumber, Fresh flowers Coogee, Great service, Plumbing Services, The Lone Drainer And Pronto!, The Running Company Bondi, Think Differently
Posted in Emergency Plumbing, Plumber Sydney, Plumbing Hints and Tips, Plumbing Services, Plumbing Videos, Uncategorized | No Comments »
August 3rd, 2010
Blocked drains in Sydney happen everyday and all the plumbers on our team love getting out there to help people clear their blocked drain, clean up any mess from an overflowing sewer and get on with their lives.
We track the most common cause of blocked drains and apart from the very unusual, like a small puppy as seen on a previous post http://thelonedrainerandpronto.com.au/blog/plumber-rescues-puppy/ there are only a few reasons why drains get blocked.
Hair, make sure to remove it from hand basins, shower grates and drains
Sand and soil usually gets washed into the sewer from low lying surcharge gullies and stormwater.
Foreign objects like dental floss, toilet deodorisers , kids toys or even underwear will block up sewer pipes very quickly.
The most common cause of blocked drains in Australia is tree roots, they grow into the pipes for many different reasons, but todays theory has been raised by a colleague who believes the full moon causes trees to do “something different” every month, search for more water or just “flex their muscles”, thus causing more sewer blockages.
It is a very interesting theory and we have been tracking it for about 18 months.
Every month, two or three days either side of the full moon we have a 10-15% spike in requests for help on blocked drains caused by tree roots. This month the full moon fell on July 26th 2010, and it was no exception.
Of course this only a theory, but we will keep tracking it!
If you see or hear of emergency plumbers and blocked drain specialists acting and looking a little weird around the full moon………….let me know!
Tags: Blocked drains, Blocked sewer pipes, blocked toilet, dental floss, emergency plumber, full moon drains, toilet deodorisers, tree roots
Posted in Blocked drains, Emergency Plumbing, Plumbing Services | No Comments »
July 19th, 2010
In previous blog posts on urinals and toilets, I showed you a field goal in a urinal to reduce spillage as well as the infamous fly in the urinal at Schiphol Airport. So once again, courtesy of Exponential Growth Strategist (http://www.ExponentialPrograms.com) Dr Marc Dussault (http://www.MarcDussault.com) here is another photo, this time of an unknown location in Amsterdam. This is just another example how we can all take life a little less seriously and enjoy ourselves a little more.
The next time you come across an interesting bathroom or other plumbing related installation, please take a picture and forward it to me - this blog is a collaborative effort from people travelling all over the world to bring you a mosaic of photos, articles and facts that are curious, intriguing and fun.
Tags: Add new tag, The Lone Drainer And Pronto!, toilet, Toilet humour, Urinal
Posted in Plumber Sydney, Plumbing Hints and Tips, Plumbing Knowledge, Plumbing Must See, Toilet Plumbing | 1 Comment »
June 15th, 2010
Our Venetian correspondent is at it again. As you have seen in previous posts Holy S - - T ! A Gondoliers impression and The latest sewer notes and history of Venice
Gio the Venetian Gondolier knows how much our readers love to see how waste water and sewer is moved around Venice.
Hey mate!
I’m so proud to be on the site that I decided to send you more stuff about Venice,
Here is first of all a picture of my lane ” calle del Caffettier” ( the coffee maker lane) while a draining is on the go.
As you see on the first pic our local plumber has the drain hose on the left side of the lane with all the pipe going over the bridge.
Venice pumping waste
Then you see how the pipe goes to the canal where the drain boat is waiting with the plumbers mate.
Venetian drain boat collecting waste
Then a picture of our proud fire patrol just after the draining of a boat that sunk because the owner did not drain the rain out…. shame!
Venice fire team to the rescue
That is all my friend.
See the statue of our Lady on the top of the wall near my house? Isn’t it a corner of paradise?
A special piece of Venice
Yes it is Gio. Thanks for sharing it with us!
Tags: plumber services, The Lone Drainer And Pronto!, Venice plumbing
Posted in How to, Plumbing Knowledge, Plumbing Must See, Plumbing Services | 1 Comment »
June 5th, 2010
- Where is your hot water supply coming from.
- Is it electric or gas? Can you turn off these supplies safely.
- The pressure relief valve, T&PR valve is usually near the top of the heater. It should be eased quarterly, it does drip water under normal circumstances, but not constantly running.
- Turning your water heater off whilst on holidays saves electricity and gas. The unit will heat and cool for 2 weeks wasting energy & your money. Turn it on when you return, have a coffee, unpack, say hi to neighbours etc. The water will be hot before you know it
- Don’t forget to shut off the water valve. Storage heaters are under pressure. My brother in law had his water heater burst, about the time he boarded a jet for the islands. After 2 weeks, the damage to carpet, floorboards, furniture, paint $$$$
- Flexible water connections on the inlet and outlet of your water heater are dangerous. Check if you have them. If you do, I strongly recommend you have them removed and have the connections redone in copper tube and brass fittings. I guarantee these flexis will rupture and if they are indoors the damage they can cause is huge.
- Rusty water coming from the unit is a sign of age and potential disaster. Don’t ignore it!
Temperature & Pressure Relief valves. Dont forget to activate them
Tags: hot water, Hot Water Heater, licensed gasfitter, Plumbing Services Sydney, The Lone Drainer And Pronto!, Water damage
Posted in Gas appliances, Plumbing Knowledge, Plumbing Tips | No Comments »
June 2nd, 2010
St Marco drain boat
Now Giovanni knows his way around the lagoon and the Grand Canal and all the other canals of the beautiful city of Venice.
His impressions of the sewers and sights of Venice along with his images of the way sewer is transported from the grand homes and palaces along the canals is always educational.
Apart from being a wonderful host and waterman, this excerpt from a recent correspondence underlines just how well our correspondent in Venice knows his way around his water bound city.
Hey Dave!
So can you imagine that Sophie the daughter of a friend from Evans Head, came to visit me in Venice.
Yesterday we had a great evening and this morning I had to wake up early ‘cause I had a commitment with a Norwegian novelist. He is writing a novel about somebody escaping from an island in the lagoon of Venice with a gondola, so he had to check out if for somebody was possible to do it without knowing anything about a gondola before the moment of the escape. I took him out on my gondola this morning at 8 for some research and now I’m back. I took these pics on the trip
Godolier at rest
So dear readers, this gondolier knows his S - - T.
Please enjoy some more images of Venice courtesy of Gio
Cruise ship at anchor Venice
Tags: Blocked drain symptoms, emergency plumber, The Lone Drainer And Pronto!
Posted in Plumber Sydney, Plumbing Must See | No Comments »
May 31st, 2010
Winter starts tomorrow and if gas is your preferred method of heating then read on… Natural gas is a great resource to have in any home for ovens, cooktops and hot water heating. However leaks in a high pressure gas line can be extremely dangerous especially if they go unnoticed or are allowed to continue unchecked. The massive explosion in Bondi Junction last year is an example of how horrible a gas blast can be.
If you live in a building with multiple gas meters, it is really important to know where your gas meter is and how to turn your gas meter off. Make sure all the gas meters in your building are labelled or numbered clearly, so that in the event of an emergency, you can turn your gas off safely.
Which gas meter is mine?
Here are some pointers to detect gas leaks early so that appropriate measures can be taken to avoid major damage.
- If you suspect a gas leak, mix some bubbles, detergent with water, and cover the suspect area. If bubbles expand, you have found the leak.
- Don’t ignore a gas leak. Gas can be dangerous! Not to mention your bills will be increased
- Disconnect your plug in gas heater in summer.
- When reconnecting the heater in winter, the bayonet is difficult to plug in, it is probably dusty. Dust and lubricate the connection, then try again.
- Don’t mess around with gas. If you are not sure don’t touch!
If you are not sure when it comes to a gas pipe problem, always call a licenced plumber and gasfitter.
Tags: Damaged gas pipes, emergency plumber, gas room heaters, Plumbing Services Sydney, The Lone Drainer And Pronto!
Posted in Gas appliances, Plumbing Hints and Tips, Safety Tips | 2 Comments »
May 29th, 2010
Today pleasure was to meet Dr “Elliot”… This man is incredibly organised.
We were called to his home to run our drain cleaning equipment, the world famous “Rattlesnake” high pressure water drain cleaner, through his house drains downstream to the sewer boundary trap at the rear of his property, adjacent to the swimming pool.
He has had blocked drains in the past and declared he didn’t want the inconvenience of a blocked sewer pipe during the upcoming holidays when his extended family would be visiting and his old sewer line would be put under pressure.
The thought of having his beautifully manicured garden dug up or even disturbed, inspired this house proud professional to maintain one of his homes main arteries.
He compared our house visit to check his drains, just like a patient having a health check with their Doctor, especially as we get a little older. Pipes and people!
Dr Elliott knew where all the access points to his sewer were located, how to test his sewer and all the symptoms of a blocked drain. It was a pleasure to work with such a professional
An ounce of prevention will keep your drains running. Oh, and if pain persists………… see your Doctor
Tags: Blocked drain symptoms, Blocked drains, Rattlesnake high pressure water drain cleaner, The Lone Drainer And Pronto!, Vaporooter
Posted in Plumbing Hints and Tips, Plumbing Knowledge, Plumbing Services | No Comments »
May 26th, 2010
Mozarts neighbours get the drains cleared
More S - - T from Venice.
The best part about this blog is sharing with so many people and getting your insights into my topic S - - T.
Our knowledge of the sewers of the world grows.
Basically, we all use our toilets regularly and if you are not, then seek medical advice. Now I’m not going to get into anything unsavoury in this post, but I have a few toilet jokes and stories lined up for you in the future.
So stay regular!
Our regular readers would have read about the world famous Venetian Gondolier my friend Giovanni Giudice in earlier blog posts like Holy S - - T. A Gondoliers impression.
Here in Australia, as we drift into the cooler months it’s spring in Venice and Gio has been keeping me up to date with some interesting facts about the sewer movements and the history of his home town.
Here is an excerpt from a recent communiqué:
Mozart slept here!
Yesterday I took these pics of drain boats in the first one you can see how they get the pipes to the house. This house is just in front of the house where Mozart, Wolfang Amadeus Mozart, stayed when he came to Venice in the Carnival of 1771. This is written on the marble white stuff you see. Probably there is still some Mozart S - -T!!
This pic is of another Drain boat in front of San Marco Square. As you see from the last picture I have taken all these pics from my gondola. You can see I’m under the bridge and you see the back (stern) of my lady, my gondola.
take care my friend
Giovanni
Drain boat at St Marco square
If you are travelling to Venice and need a guide, look for Giovanni, he is the best!
Tags: Blocked sewer pipes, Drain blockage, The Lone Drainer And Pronto!
Posted in Blocked drains, How to, Plumbing Knowledge, Plumbing Must See | No Comments »
May 22nd, 2010
As we head into winter, and your heading home for a shower after work or rugby or netball training
Have you ever turned on a hot water tap and the water was cold?
There are many plumbing fixtures around your home, the bath or hand basin, kitchen sink, of course the toilet.
Some homes, offices and small business have multiple toilets, showers and basins.
As we move into the cooler months the average hot water heater becomes more important at all these plumbing fixtures.
Its easy to take this often ignored asset to your home or office for granted. Some simple actions will prolong the life of your storage water heater.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: hot water, Hot Water Heater, kitchen sink, licensed gasfitter, licensed plumber, The Lone Drainer And Pronto!, Water heater
Posted in Gas appliances, Hot Water Plumbing, Plumber Sydney, Plumbing Hints and Tips, Plumbing Services | 1 Comment »