With 3 growing boys living at home, they eat like there is no tomorrow and playing rugby, cricket and doing patrols at Coogee Surf Club, we have plenty of washing and dishes to wash up every day.
So much so, that both appliances broke down at the same time.
Yes it happens to plumbers as well!
So we had our brightest plumbing apprentice just instal a new diswasher and washing machine and it made me aware of the importance of these water appliances and how we should maintain them.
1. Their hoses are rubber, with hot water they perish and may rupture so check them regularly
2. Many people turn these control valves or taps off at the end of every wash. In our house that would be impossible
3. Turn taps off when going on holidays. Don’t forget to turn them back on
Just recently, our emergency plumbers rescued a young mother who had been to Adelaide for three weeks. The hose feeding her washing machine ruptured causing many dollars worth of damage. Her washing machine shorted out electrically (needs a new machine), the laundry /bathroom was covered in mould from the steam (needs repainting), assorted bits and pieces damaged, carpets in the hallway waterlogged, and the parquet flooring at the end of the hallway had buckled and will need major repairs, then re-sanding and staining. Not to mention the aggravation of removing all furniture and of course the young children from the home for several days whilst these procedures are carried out. The fumes from the floor staining will be intoxicating
Barcelona 2010
To visit Park Guell and see the home and creative brilliance of Antonio Gaudi is a special treat.
Gaudi created Park Guell for the citizens of Barcelona. It has gardens and homes and a view of the city and the Plaza.
The plaza is a meeting place for the people of the city and the brightly coloured mosaic seating around the man made plaza had a secondary purpose.
The dry Mediterranean weather usually meant excess water used on something as soothing as a fountain for the citizens and visitors to the city was a waste of water.
That didn’t phase Gaudi.
The water catchment created by the plaza was a brilliant idea to collect any rainwater that fell and through an underground filter and the storage system the rainwater was then piped to the mouth of a Mosaic dragon lying in a garden with a fish and lily pond at the bottom of the beautiful staircase.
The ergonomic design of the seating around the plaza beautifully decorated in mosaics was incredibly comfortable to sit back and relax, talking with friends and family.
Gaudi’s design allowed any water from those brief showers to fall to the back of the seating and then get channelled off quickly into a gutter on the outside of the seating and then dispersed to the dry garden areas below through a series of “spitters” hand carved in stone.
Absolutely Beautiful
Sydney Water the guardians of our main sewer pipes are constantly waging war against tree roots in our main sewer lines!
Many clients from Double Bay, Rushcutters Bay, Edgecliff, Woollahra, Paddington, Rose Bay, Point Piper and Darling Point, residents with lots of trees and tree roots growing in the sewer pipes around their homes, report Sydney Water are systematically surveying the mains around their neighbourhood.
If you have a tree root problem on the branch to the sewer pipes for your home, they will advise you.
To cut tree roots from your sewer pipes before it becomes a plumbing emergency follow their advice.
To keep the tree roots out of your sewer pipes you should seriously consider Vaporooter.
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.
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?
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
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
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!
It’s Saturday night in the city and we received an emergency call from a long term client, HELP we have a tap over the kitchen sink that is leaking lots of water and flooding our kitchen.
Now on a Saturday night, this sounds like a job for “The Lone Drainer and Pronto“!
We were at the house within 30 minutes!
The kitchen sink mixer tap had exploded, gushing water everywhere, and our clients who were having a peaceful dinner, could not turn the water off!
The 2 valves controlling hot and cold water supply to the kitchen sink flickmixer style tap, and the Water meter at the front of the property could not be turned off.
Both the taps had siezed and the water just kept running out all over the kitchen!
This blog is all about having fun with everything having to do with plumbing, plumbing services and plumbing repairs. If you come across anything that you think my readers would enjoy – please send it to me via a comment on this blog. In advance, I thank you for making this a top blog for plumbing aficionados!
