530-272-9120

Call Now for a Free Appointment

Archive for March, 2010

50 Thing You May Not Have Know You Can Recycle

Monday, March 29th, 2010

1. Old bricks, worthless? No, those bricks can be recycled, and are very valuable to some people!

2. Use reclaimed wood for your next project at home. Use your own, or find some on freecycle, Craigslist, at your local transfer station, or recycle.net.

3. There are many places you can exchange or recylce your old electronics.

4. Sell off or post an ad for free metal scrap to be recycled.

5. If you have enough, your old VHS tapes can be recycled

6. Packing tape and stickers cannot be recycled, so use these sparingly in the first place.

7. Tools are very valuable items on eBay. Try selling them in lots to save time, shipping waste, and energy.

8. Empty propane tanks may be able to be taken as scrap metal, or properly disposed of at hazardous waste facilities. Reuse these whenever you can!

9. Even large items like BBQ grills can be recycled as scrap metal once the propane tank has been removed.

10. Kids toys have a new life when they’re donated to thrift stores like Salvation Army or local churches.

11. Recycle your old prescription bottles, they have a million uses.

12. After they’ve been used up, recycle your old batteries.

13. How about other plastic numbers, what do those mean? You may be able to recycle some of them.

14. Flip flops can be recycled and repurposed a number of creative and unique ways.

15. Can’t figure out what to do with your old lamps, wall decor, or knick knacks? If you can’t eBay them, donate them to a thrift store for charity purposes. Craigslist and Kijiji are good alternatives, too.

16. Recycle your shipping styrofoam or reuse it.

17. Window treatments have the chance to live again as you recycle your curtains into pillows.

18. Carpet can be recycled if it is clean and usable.

19. Donate it, sell it, or recycle your television.

20. Stop by an Aveda location to recycle your bottle caps.

21. The rumor has been floating around that aluminum can’t be recycled. While the rules may differ per town, you can still reuse it a few times by giving it a cleaning.

22. Reuse your old jeans in these 25 ingenious methods.

23. Why trash it? Your shower curtain is a great drop cloth or apron.

24. Your ink cartridges are accepted at many different locations online and in person, like Staples.

25. You might be able to trade in your old printer for a credit on a new one. They’ll recycle it for you. There’s always earth911, too.

26. Tires are a must to be recycled, and it’s very easy.

27. Learn how you can recycle your roof shingles to become part of our roads.

28. Make sure when installing a new car battery that the mechanic will recycle it.batteries

29. Cardboard boxes can be taken at your local recycling station, or sent curbside if they’re small enough in most instances.

30. Save your old packing peanuts and recycle them by giving them to your local shipping company. They will gladly take them off your hands.

31. Your gently used clothing can be resold on eBay, or donated.

32. Good news! #5 plastics can be recycled at many Whole Foods locations.

33. Potato chip bags and those other foil packaging that often are used to wrap up junk food can be recycled at Terracycle.net.

34. Used (many times) ziploc containers and similar disposable plasticware can be recycled usually as #1 plastics.

35. Shaving cream metal cans are accepted in most recycling facilities with other metal cans.

36. Can tabs can be recycled with your cans. Don’t pull them off, that kidney dialysis machine time rumor is false.

37. You couldn’t have enough options to recyle your cellphone

38. Blankets can be recycled by donating them to animal shelters (if clean).

39. Recycle your own scrap wood and furniture by reusing it, or donate it.

40. Save that box and make some Pizza box art, or maybe just recycle it if you follow these instructions.

41. Mattresses, aerosol cans, even washing machines can be recycled.

42. Bread twist ties will be your new best friend after you read these creative uses.

43. Reading glasses can be recycled and donated, and are always in demand.

44. Old books can be sold on Amazon, or donated to thrift stores. There’s always the yard sale option, too.

45. Freecycle your old sports equipment.

46. Did you know your old aluminum siding could be worth a lot of money?

47. Your old greeting cards can even be recycled creatively.

48. Wrapping paper is just paper and has many ways to be reused or recycled.

49. Don’t forget all types of glass bottles can be recycled — wine bottles, jelly jars, colored glass… these are all accepted at most recycling facilities.

50. Your old screened doors have many ways that they can be recycled.

Stinky in Grass Valley, CA

Sunday, March 21st, 2010

Dear  Andrew,

Every once in a while when we go down stairs to our guest room there will be this really foul sewer smell. It mainly happens in the winter. There is a sink down there that we don’t use that often. We have spent hundreds of dollars on plumbers trying to figure this problem out. Any help you can give us would be greatly appreciated.

 

Stinky,

Grass Valley.

 

Dear Stinky in Grass Valley,

   This could be real easy. First look at the sink and see if there is any water in the p-trap. The p-trap is that “U” shaped pipe under your sink. It provides a great service. It fills with water and forms a gas tight seal to the main sewer system. Many times I’ll go out and find a shower or a sink in an area that is rarely used and the trap will be dry. I’ll turn the water on, fill the trap and the problem is solved. So obviously that is where I would start.

 If that doesn’t work, it can become more of a challenge. If you have a toilet in the area it could be a broken floor seal or perhaps it could be an open pipe in the wall. There are a few things to check. We have a tool that helps with locating these more difficult problems. We pump smoke in to the drain and vent system and see where the smoke comes out. Easy as that, then of course we fix the sewer gas leak. Like always, look at the most obvious and easy stuff and then move to the more difficult and expensive stuff. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone out to a call for something that isn’t working only to find a valve off, or an appliance unplugged, look for the easy solutions first.

Filter Water Don’t Bottle It.

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Filter Water Don’t Bottle It.

Banging Pipes in Grass Valley, CA.

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Here’s a question that came to me from a client in Grass Valley Ca;

For a few months now, the water pipes in our house have been making this terrible noise like someone is beating on them with a hammer. It only happens when we use the sink in the guest bathroom. It’s driving my wife and I crazy, my wife is ready to sell the house and move

Banging Pipes,

Grass Valley, Ca.

 

 

Dear Banging Pipes in Grass Valley,

  This can be tricky. There are a couple things that can cause the water pipes to hammer. First I would check to see if the house has a pressure reducing valve on the water main. It would be installed somewhere along the main line either outside or just inside where the pipe enters the house. A pressure reducing valve uses a rubber diaphragm to regulate the incoming water pressure. Sometimes this diaphragm can become loose or worn and when water runs along it, it will vibrate like a reed on a wind instrument. The easiest way to solve the problem is to replace the pressure regulator with a new one. If this doesn’t solve the problem or if you don’t have a regulator you’ll want to install what’s called a pneumatic hammer arrester into the plumbing system. A hammer arrestor is a little shock absorber for your plumbing. You’ll want to install it as close as possible to the fixture that’s causing the problem. If the fixture is on the second floor you may need to open the drywall to get access to the piping. You’ll also want to take a look at the piping in the area around the problem fixture. There may be some loose pipes that will need to be strapped down. Hopefully this will help; water hammer can be a difficult and frustrating problem to solve. A lot of times I will start with the easiest thing and work my way through to the more difficult and expensive things. Sometimes solving difficult plumbing problems is just a process of elimination.


Our Primary Service Areas and Specialties:

Auburn, CA Plumbing     |     Auburn, CA Electrical     |     Auburn, CA Heat & Air

Grass Valley Plumbing     |     Grass Valley Electrical     |     Grass Valley Heat & Air

Penn Valley Plumbing     |     Penn Valley Electrical     |     Penn Valley Heat & Air

Click here for a list of all the towns and cities in our service area.

Copyright 2009 ABT Plumbing, Electric, Heat & Air