Hands-Free Faucets and Fixtures
Every cook knows how difficult it is to turn the faucet on when your hands are covered in turkey guts and you desperately need to wash your hands but don’t want to get germs on the handle of the faucet. Touch-free faucets and fixtures are becoming increasingly popular in homes around the world for exactly this reason. The hands-free bathroom and kitchen features have been popular in public spaces for years because of the sanitation benefits, but in recent years homeowners have begun taking advantage of these other benefits as well.
In addition to reducing the spread of germs, and easing hand washing during cooking, these faucets also prevent water overflow with many offering automatic turn off. This keeps the water from running down the drain should, for example, a child leave the water turned on after walking away. This could be extremely helpful in the bathroom especially during teeth brushing with little ones. In fact according to the manufacturers of these systems, it’s estimated that these faucets pay for themselves in 3-6 months from the reduction in waste water. After 30 seconds the water will simply turn off. If you need the water to run longer just move your hand past the sensor a second time.
Another benefit for households with children is the ability to preset the temperature, and thus prevent the potential for scalding should a child turn on the hot rather than cold water. This can also be helpful in group homes for people with disabilities as well as homes for older adults. Any situation where determining hot vs cold water can be difficult or confusing.
These new faucets come in a variety of styles and designs with a look that’s sure to fit any home. Improvements over the years are easing the installation process, but most manufacturers still recommend that the installation be completed by a professional plumber. The touchless faucet does require a power supply as the sensors need electricity in order to work. In addition, the installation process is different than that of a traditional faucet. Contact the plumbing team of All Star Plumbing and Restoration to have us take care of it.
As prices continue to come down on these hands-free faucets and fixtures, they will certainly be the desired look of the future when potential buyers look for a house that’s been updated. If you’re working on a bathroom or kitchen renovation, you’ll definitely want to consider adding one to give your home the most modern look available.
Is demolition really a DIY job?
While doing demolition sounds like the fun part of any remodeling job, it may actually not be the best area to decide to go it alone. There are substantial safety concerns when tackling the removal of old building supplies. Of course when attempting to take down an older structure there’s always the concern about its stability. Certainly if it were to unexpectedly collapse the risk of serious injury would more than outweigh any potential benefits from doing it yourself. In addition to the obvious danger of something falling on you, is the risk of inhaling dangerous chemicals that may be released during the demolition process. If you don’t have enough experience with demolition you may not even realize that you’ve got chemicals in the air that you could be breathing in and causing substantial damage to your respiratory system. Neither of these potential health risks offset saving a little bit of money.
Saving money – the primary reason people decide to try and handle a demolition job themselves. Unfortunately in many cases the homeowner ends up spending more than they save. There are often special tools and dumpsters required which have to be rented, thus adding cost. In addition, these projects typically take longer than expected, which also adds to the expense. If your kitchen or bathroom is torn up for several extra days you’ll end up eating out more or staying in a hotel longer. You may also have to take additional days off of work to free up enough time to complete the project, which again will cost you in lost earnings.
Another potential financial risk of attempting a demolition job is the risk of making a mistake. Lack of knowledge and experience can easily lead to an expensive mistake. If you accidently take down the wrong wall, or take out an important part of your piping system, you could find yourself increasing the cost of your project substantially. Bringing in a professional can help protect you from unexpected calamity by preparing you for unexpected hazards that could lie below the surface. While a professional won’t be able to predict every potential problem they can certainly mitigate the majority of them.
All Star Plumbing and Restoration has years of experience helping homeowners complete their demolition projects and get their renovations off on the right foot. Our team can take a look at your job, make an assessment of potential issues, and give you an accurate estimate of the cost to get it done properly. For many of our customers the savings in time and money, as well as the peace of mind for safety and protection of their property, is well worth the cost.
Eco-Friendly Plumbing
Many homeowners are interested in improving their environmental impact, which can be easily done through some small changes in plumbing and water usage. One of the most obvious, and high impact, changes that you can make is to begin by installing low-flow shower heads and faucets throughout your home. This simple change can dramatically reduce the amount of water used through every day operations such as flushing toilets, taking showers, and washing dishes. In one visit All Star Plumbing and Restoration can help you minimize your water consumption and become more eco-friendly. One common concern that we hear from customers is that these new systems won’t get the job done. Rest assured that new technology for things such as toilets allows for minimal water usage, without a loss of efficiency. Your low-flow home will still get the job done.
One other area that you could consider is the installation of a whole home water filtration system. These systems are designed to lengthen the life of your plumbing while simultaneously removing pollutants from household water. With just a minimal investment of a few hundred dollars, the water filtration system could save you thousands by extending the life of your existing pipes. This home improvement will not only save the earth, but will save your pocketbook as well.
Another popular environmental improvement option is the addition of a solar water heater and the use of insulated hot water pipes. Our plumbing team will carefully choose new pipes for your home with the goal being to select well insulated pipes to prevent the loss of heat and energy, protect against freezing, maintain water pressure and reduce the chance of future leaks. The solar water heater can reduce environmental impact by minimizing your power consumption, but also by changing your home over to on-demand hot water. This will make a major difference in the amount of wasted hot water that your home generates.
One final option to consider is reclamation of water on your property. You might be surprised to know that you could drop your home’s demand for fresh water by as much as 80% simply by taking advantage of the water that would normally run into the sewer system or be allowed to sink into the ground. By collecting rain water and by reclaiming grey water, water drained from bathtubs and showers, you could save thousands of gallons of fresh water. Things such as watering the garden, flushing toilets, washing clothes and cleaning the floors can all be done through the use of grey water or collected rain water.
Marshmallow Gun
Looking for something fun and different to make the kids for Christmas this year? Here’s a great idea. Make them each a marshmallow gun and let them go crazy customizing it with spray paint or colored duct tape before they start shooting each other with mini-marshmallows.
Supplies
½” diameter PVC pipe – 28” total required per gun
2 elbow joints without threading
2 T-shaped joints without threading
2 caps
Use a hand saw to cut the PVC down to the correct sizes. You will need 5 pieces that are 3” each, 1 piece that’s 5”, and 1 piece that’s 8” long. Next lay out your pieces in the shape of the gun with the 8” piece as the barrel of the gun feeding into a T-shaped joint. From there place a 3” piece out the back of the T and another 3” piece from the bottom of the T. Put a cap on the bottom of that piece to create one of the handles. From the back of the 3” piece on the top of the T connect another T joint pointing up. Again add 2 3” pieces from the other openings on the T. To the 3” piece on the top of the T connect an elbow joint pointing back towards the shooter into which you will then connect the 5” piece for the shooter to blow through. On the other remaining 3” piece connect another elbow joint this time pointing down. Connect the final 3” piece with a cap to create the 2nd handle.
After the parts are laid out as described above simply connect them all together and you’re ready for some fun. Place a marshmallow in the top of the gun and give it a good blow to start shooting!
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