Sinkhole Swallows 3 Cars in Chicago – How did this happen?

(Chicago Tribune photo)

I’ve talked about wasted water before but here is a dramatic result of a water leak that got out of hand. Chicago pumps 1 Billion gallons of water out of Lake Michigan every day. 25% of that, 250 million gallons is lost every day to leaks. Yesterday there was a leak under the street on the near south side and the leaking water had eroded the ground under the street so much that the hole grew to 40 feet across in no time. The hole enveloped 2 unoccupied cars and a third that tried to drive around it, as captured in this dramatic video. On a smaller scale water leaks in homes all across Chicago also contribute to wasted water. If you are a homeowner it makes sense to have a qualified, licensed plumbing contractor inspect all of your plumbing annually. The money that you could save from the inspection could easily pay for the cost.

2 Family Members Die and Others Hospitalized by Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

In response to the Chicago Tribune article: “CO Leaks Cause 2 Deaths”, January 28, 2013 

This is yet another sad story of what can happen when a combustible fixture, like your furnace or water heater, leaks carbon monoxide into your home. Over the weekend a homeowner found his elderly mother unresponsive but alive in her room. They took her to the hospital but she died. He later found his daughter in the same state, she also died. He was then able to get the rest of the family out of the house and to the hospital and fortunately, although they all became sick, they all survived.

In a quote to the local news this man mentioned, “We have not had any work done to our boiler recently.”  So what does that mean? Right away people want to look for what was most recently done to find the cause of a tragedy like this. My question is “What was not done?”  Many times as equipment ages things can happen that cause the equipment to fail or become dangerous. Something as simple as an animal falling into a chimney can cause all the carbon monoxide from a fixture to be released into a home. There are literally hundreds of things that can be caught during a preventative maintenance inspection of a piece of equipment. A skilled and licensed technician might even find that the equipment was installed improperly from day one. The most difficult thing about carbon monoxide, or any other defect, is that the symptoms may not be constant.

In the above story the first responders tested twice and they found no carbon monoxide in the structure. It wasn’t until they tested a third time near the equipment that it was discovered. You may ask how could this happen? Very easily, actually. When the first responders arrived, the occupants had already been in and out of the structure (ventilating the inside atmosphere). The first responders did the same thing by going in and out many times. Typically carbon monoxide is the result of poor combustion and venting and is magnified by the eventual reduction of oxygen in a space.  When the equipment is creating the carbon monoxide it is at the same time reducing the oxygen available for further combustion and this continues until it hits a tipping point and the carbon monoxide levels literally explode. This entire process can be masqueraded and missed if during the process someone opens a door, turns on a bath fan, anything of that sort.

Okay, so am I safe if I have a carbon monoxide detector? Not necessarily. The family above had one in the mechanical room. The problem with an off-the-shelf detector is that it will not pick up low levels of carbon monoxide. In fact, the parts per million needs to be in excess of 100 for a lengthy time before it will even alarm. That means that if a space is periodically ventilated by say opening a door, you may never know you have a carbon monoxide issue. The levels are reduced too quickly. The best way to protect yourself is to first have a low level monitor. A low level monitor will detect carbon monoxide as low as 5 parts per million and will notify you of anything over 9 parts per million. This is important because the negative health affects start as low as 9-15 parts per million. Secondly, you should have the carbon monoxide monitor on every level of the home and immediately adjacent to the bedrooms. Having a monitor on every level and having your equipment maintained by a qualified, licensed professional at least once a year will go a long way to keeping you and family safe and healthy.

saving water by detecting and fixing leaks

Fixing water leaks can save homeowners more than 10% on their water bills.  Today’s helpful suggestion is how to test your toilet tank for leaks.  Simply remove the lid from the tank and place carefully to the side.  Next, drop 2 drops of food coloring into the tank water.  You need to let that stand for about 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes, look at the water in the bowl.  You should not see any color, but if you do, you now know that you have a leak and will likely need to change the tank seal. Tank seals can be purchased at any home store and changed out relatively easily. For help or advice, just call or email us at 773-276-5430 or info@BaethkePlumbing.com.

Why do homeowners NOT use legitimate Plumbing Business’?

The answer probably seems obvious.  Plumbing companies have the potential to be far too expensive. I agree that professional plumbing work can be very expensive, but for legitimate licensed plumbing contracting companies like ours, we do everything within our power to keep costs under control and fair to the client.  The problems arise when customers try to save money by working with a plumbing contractor who does not have the proper licensing or knowledge to complete a job to the appropriate standards.

 

I consult with over 20 home inspection firms and often times their clients call me with questions about plumbing problems that are discovered during their home inspections. Just this week a selling party called me to find out why she would have sewage in her catch basin. The first question I asked was “Did you have a sewer back-up recently?”  Her answer was no. The next question I asked was “Have you had any remodeling done recently?  Maybe a basement bathroom added?”  To this she responded very defensively and asked why I would ask that specifically. I shared with her that in my experience there are two reasons to have sewage in your catch basin. The first and most common reason is a backed up sewer caused by waste and paper that overflow into the basin and the second is that someone added a basement bathroom and ran the plumbing the wrong way depositing sewage in the catch basin. I thought she was going to cry. She bought this home less than a year ago as an investment and was going to have it remodeled and then put it on the market and resell it. The contractor that she hired seemed to be very honest and sincere. It wasn’t until she was well into the project that she saw some problems. The subcontractors who were there each day didn’t seem very good. Shortly thereafter she realized that even the general wasn’t very good. The problem was that by this time she had so much time and money invested that she felt she didn’t have much choice but to just finish it.

 

Fast forward.  The contractor is long gone and her home is on the market. A very interested party has a home inspection performed and the inspector has over 20 pages of issues.

 

Back to the plumbing problem. This one issue of the basement bathroom going into the catch basin is likely to cost in excess of $10,000.00 to fix. The finished basement floors need to be removed, the walls need to be opened, the concrete has to be removed, excavated and poured again, and of course all this just to fix what the pseudo plumber did wrong.

 

This homeowner is having a hard time seeing it right now, but it could have been so much worse. If her house sold and this was discovered later, she would have been sued and surely that would have cost even more.

 

What’s the lesson? No one knew the plumbing was wrong: not her, not the general, and not even the pseudo plumber. Only a licensed plumber would know this.  Additionally, if a “side jobber” made this mistake, he surely wouldn’t care enough to fix it, and if he is doing it “on the side” he doesn’t have the insurance or bonding to guarantee that if he screws up, it will be made right at his cost.

 

I feel sympathy for this homeowner and I didn’t even bill her for my diagnosis. My only hope is that in the future she is wiser in how she hires contractors.  Too many of our customers have come to us after having a plumbing job botched by an unlicensed plumber who didn’t do the work properly.  My goal is to help homeowners in Chicago make the right choice the first time. I’ve done this by becoming a member of The Plumbing Council of Chicagoland, a group organized to educate the public about this sort of thing.

 

If ever you have a question about anything in your home, plumbing or otherwise. Please just call or email me and I’ll help however I can.

 

Happy New Year!

The importance of water heater maintenance for your safety

Most people think that you have a water heater installed and then you just forget about it. Although you could almost get away with that in the past, you will get yourself in trouble if you try that now. The temperature and pressure relief valve has always been a concern. The manufacturers of relief valves recommend that they be tested at least once a year and that they be replaced every 3 years. The danger of a relief valve not working can have disastrous results as captured in this video produced by the Myth Busters

Other concerns are mostly around the maintenance as they relate to efficiency and carbon monoxide safety.

When you drain and flush a tank type heater you are removing debris that collects at the bottom and creates a barrier between the heating source, the fire, and the water. The debris kills the efficiency.

As it relates to carbon monoxide safety there are many things to consider. If the chimney is not adequate you could have a back draft situation. When the chimney back drafts, the exhaust enters the building instead of leaving and that can cause sickness or death. The venting could also be undersized or over sized, also causing drafting problems. Another concern is the quantity/quality of air around the area of the water heater that can greatly affect the creation of carbon monoxide. Too often people want to cram the water heater into a very small space and kind of lock it away. With residential water heaters consuming anywhere from 40,000-200,000 BTU’s of gas, you need an adequate quantity of oxygen or make up air to mix with the gas for proper combustion. When the very little oxygen that is available in the room gets used up, the combustion becomes very poor and this creates incredible amounts of carbon monoxide as well as the destruction of the equipment.

The bottom line is to make sure that you are hiring a qualified, licensed, bonded and insured contractor, PLUMBING contractor. In the state of Illinois it is state law that any plumbing, including the installation of a water heater, be performed by a licensed plumber.

Health Risks Associated with Home Renovations: How to Avoid Exposure by: Brian Turner

Health Risks Associated with Home Renovations: How to Avoid Exposure

Renovating a home can be an exciting venture for any homeowner, but there may be hidden dangers lurking around the corner. Asbestos, lead, and mold are all serious issues that can pose health risks to an individual if exposed to these conditions, so it is important to heed certain precautions when remodeling and disturbing any hazardous materials.

One of the most serious health hazards to identify before renovating a home is the presence of asbestos. Exposure to asbestos can lead to a whole slew of health problems, most notably mesothelioma and other lung diseases. Asbestos may exist in any older home, as asbestos was used in home construction up until the late 1970’s. If the existence of asbestos is suspected, it is important to get the home inspected and have these hazardous materials removed before completing any renovation projects. Luckily, asbestos can be easily removed, though it is recommended to employ a professional to perform this work.

In addition to asbestos, the presence of lead-based paint in older homes is another dangerous concern to address when renovating. Lead-based paint was used in many homes up until it’s banning in 1978, so it is definitely a prevalent issue among homeowners. The most common way to become exposed to the lead in paint is through its existence in dust, so it is important to follow certain guidelines when remodeling or to hire a professional to remove the paint in order to avoid any health risks. If hiring a professional is not feasible, it is recommended to always dampen or mist the walls before attempting to remove any paint and to remove or cover all furniture with a thick plastic sheet before scraping or disturbing the paint in any way. In addition, turn off all heating and air conditioning to decrease the occurrence of air-borne particles and to always relocate any family members and pets to another location before performing any renovation work in these conditions.

Mold is another substance that can cause harm to an individual when renovating, so it is important to identify any mold growth and take the appropriate steps to remove the mold before performing any remodeling work. Mold may exist in any wet or damp conditions in buildings, especially basements and bathrooms. A bleach solution can kill mold, but the mold material must be removed completely as the dead spores can still pose harmful risks to inhabitants. If the mold contamination is large or spans more than 10 square feet, it is recommended to hire a professional to remove the material safely.

Though the health risks associated with home renovation are serious, there are ways to eliminate danger and take the necessary precautions to keep all family members safe when completing home DIY projects. If there is ever any question as to whether or not a health risk exists in a home, always contact an expert to assess the situation and recommend the proper procedures to follow.

Follow the blog at http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/

Maintaining Your Water Heater

The topic of maintaining your water heater can be very controversial. For the record I have always felt very strongly about properly maintaining your water heater, whether it is a tankless or a tank type heater. I will try to cover here both sides of the debate. A lot of people, including some plumbers believe that it is not necessary to maintain a water heater. The reasoning is simple. On older heaters the only real maintenance to do was to drain and flush the tank and to test the relief valve. When you drain and flush the heater you are trying to get any debris out of the heater so that it will not accumulate on the bottom. The argument against this is that if there is a layer at the bottom of the heater it will only slightly affect the efficiency of the heater and it would hardly offset the cost to actually perform that service. The argument against testing the relief valve is that if you test it, it will likely start to leak. That is true, and that is also precisely why it SHOULD be tested. If you ever read the label on a temperature and pressure relief valve it states very clearly that the valve should be tested twice a year and be replaced every 3 years as needed. The temperature and pressure relief valve is the most important part of the water heater. It keeps the heater from exploding, so I do not believe the importance of testing it can be understated. The argument about draining the heater is somewhat valid when it comes to the increased efficiency but what really matters is that since it takes longer to heat the water the flame is in contact with the steel at the bottom of the heater for a longer period of time and eventually this extra wear will accelerate the possible failure of the tank.

So all of the arguments above are related to the old style of tanks. The importance of maintenance is now non negotiable. Since about 2003, water heaters began to be designed very differently. All water heaters now have a more sealed combustion chamber and all of the air that is used for combustion must now pass through what’s called a flame arrestor plate. A flame arrestor plate is simply a flat piece of metal with hundreds or even thousands of very small openings that is designed in a manner to allow air in but not allow any combusted gas out. The theory is that if there is gas or any other type of flammable fumes that can be drafted into the combustion chamber, once they are ignited, the openings in the flame arrestor plate are so small that the flame cannot exit and spread a fire into the home. It is a very ingenious design but if you can imagine, those very small holes can become obstructed very easily. This area of the heater must be kept very clean and it must be maintained every year or people will experience many nuisance heater outages.

For almost 20 years John Baethke and Son Plumbing has be performing maintenance on water heaters and all of the homes plumbing in literally tens of thousands of homes. Although our first recommendation is to have a professional licensed plumber perform this kind of maintenance we have had many clients that have observed the procedure and feel handy enough to do their own maintenance on water heater and home plumbing. If you decide to do this on your own please consult a profession al first to insure you are performing the service properly and safely.