Keep It Quiet

Common Cures for Nag ging, Noisy Pipes

Pipe noises range from loud hammering  sounds to high-pitched squeaks. The causes may be loose pipes, water-logged air chambers  or water pressure  that’s too high. If the pipes in your home are annoying or embarrassing you with their own brand  of noise pollution, try some of these remedies for the symptoms  listed below:

Banging

Pipes are usually anchored  with straps every 6 to 8 feet for horizontal runs, 8 to 10 feet for vertical.  If your pipes bang when you turn  on the water,  you may need to add straps,  cushion the pipes with a rubber blanket,  or both. Leave room for expansion at every anchoring  point, especially with plastic pipe. Note:  Don’t use galvanized straps on copper pipes.

Squeaking

Only hot water  pipes squeak.  As the pipe expands,  it moves in its strap,  and friction  causes the squeak. Cushion it as you would  a banging  pipe.

By Steve Grohn
Fast,  Fair and  Honest
When I was young, we always took the family cars to the samemechanic.  He was an old, crotchety fellow with a small, one-bay garage on the other side of town. Every timethe car needed service, I would ask my father why we traveled past other shops in order to patronize  this run-downplace clear across town. His answer: “Son, he’s an honest man.”It wasn’t untilI owned  my own vehicles that I fully appreciated the value of an honest mechanic. Anytime a consumer lacks the technical knowledge  to fully understand what a service technician  is saying, it gives the technician  the upper  hand. Unfor- tunately,  some service “professionals” use it as an opportunity to exaggerate  problems or charge to fix problems  that  don’t exist.To most people, plumbing systems are a bit less mysterious than auto- mobiles. Nonetheless, many of them are out of sight and, therefore, out ofmost homeowners’ minds. Plumbing either works  or it doesn’t, and when it doesn’t work,  the consequences  are felt right away. Still, our plumbers often notice problems  that  are just waiting to happen  and they’re obligated  to notify the customer.  Having  us fix potential problems  on the spot will save you money – and time or major headaches  –compared to waiting  until trouble strikes. Rest assured  that  if a BenjaminFranklin  plumber  diagnoses  a problemin your home’s plumbing,  the problem is real and deserves real attention.If you’re reading  this issue of Punctual Post, it means you’ve been our customer  at least once. I want  to ensure you’ll call on us again. That’s why we guarantee fast, fair and, most importantly, honest service. Best of all, you don’t have todrive across town  to get it.

Tools  of the  Trade
Our plumbers  carry a vanload of tools to every job, and there are plenty more back at the shop if needed. Professional plumbers never know what  kind of work  they’ll encounter  in a day, yet many jobs call for nothing  more than the standard plumbing  tools. If you’re an aspiring do-it-yourselfer  or just want  to be prepared for common tasks,  start building a toolbox with the following:
Pipe WrenchesAdjustable,  toothed  jaws are designed to grip and turn  threaded pipes and fittings. You’ll need a pair – one to grip the pipe, the other  to turn the fitting.

Adjustable  WrenchesThese adjust  to fit a range of nuts, bolts or fittings that  have flat sides. A 10-inch  wrench,  which can open up to a 1 1/8-inch  span, is a good.
Rib-joint PipersA pivot  slides along as lot and engages in channels at various  positions  so the jaws will firmly grip objects from small to large.
Locking PliersLocking pliers offer a clamping action  that  locks on to a bolt, pipe or other  object. The knurled screwmounted in the bottom handle adjusts the size of the grip.
HacksawA hacksaw  will cut nearly all types of pipe, from steel to plastic.  For tight corners,  use a “flush-cut” type, in which the blade protrudes straight out from the handle.
ScrewdriversHave two or three sizeseach of standard and Phillips screw- drivers. A “4-in-1” driver is a handy option; it has a removable  shank with interchangeable Phillips and standard tips in two sizes each.
Drain Clearing ToolsToilet and sink plungers  and manual drain  augers (“snakes”) are necessities.
With the above tools on hand, you’ll be well equipped for a range of household plumbing  jobs. If the job calls for more tools or technicalexpertise,  give our professionals  a call. They carry a lot of both, whereverthey go. It’s a Fact
• Copper piping,  by far the most common material  used for modern plumbing  work,  is the same material  that  ancient  Egyptians  used some3,000 years ago.
• Archaeologists  recovered  a portion of a water  plumbing  system from the Pyramid  of King Cheops  in Egypt. Evidence of indoor  plumbing  in palaces dates back to 2500  B.C.
• Since 1963,  more than  28 billion feet or about  5.3 million miles of copper plumbing  tube has been installed  in U.S. buildings.  That’s equivalent  to a coil wrapping around the Earth  more than  200 times. The current  installa- tion rate now exceeds one billion feet per year.
• In the tomb  of a king of the Western  Han  Dynasty  in China  (206 B.C. to24 A.D.), archaeologists discovered  a 2,000-year-old “toilet,” complete with running water,  a stone seat and even a comfortable armrest!  It remains  the earliest-known existence of toilets in the ancient  world.

Bowling  for Cleanliness

Even the cleanest toilet bowl can be an eyesore if stains,  hard water buildup or scratches  mar the porcelain  finish. Such blemishes always seem to appear  below the water  line, which can make cleaning or patching  the bowl an extra-difficult task. After all, who wants  to get their hands wet down there?

Before working  on stains, hard  water  scale or porcelain  scratches,  the first thing to do is drain  the toilet completely. Shut off the angle valve and flush the toilet until it is almost  empty. If there is still too much water  in the bowl above your target,  dump  about  a gallon of water  into it. This should  leave the bowl with little or no water  in it.

To clean stains, first try a liquid cleanser that  contains  bleach and apply it with a coarse sponge or scrub brush. If that  doesn’t do the trick, use a powder  cleanser along with some liquid bleach.  Repeat  until the stains fade away. Bring plenty of elbow grease. For hard  water  stains, try the same tactics above, but keep a small, plastic- bladed  scraper on hand,  which you can find in any paint  department for a dollar  or less. Don’t use metal scrapers  or wire brushes, which will scratch  the porcelain  finish. As for scratches,  buy a do-it-yourself porcelain  patch  kit. Application is relatively easy and will restore  the luster of the finish once the components  are dried and cured. Make sure to note how long the porcelain takes to dry, and don’t turn  the water back on until the patch  is completely  dry. If the above measures  fail to solve the problem,  you can always have the toilet refinished. This requires taking  the toilet out and having it out of commission for a while. If you do decide to do this, make sure you contact a professional  and have a back-up restroom  available.

The First (and Last) Line of Defense

When that  rusty pipe above the washing  machine finally gives way, would  you know  how to keep the entire basement from flooding? In a plumbing  emer- gency, knowing how to shut the water  off can prevent  a problem  from becoming  a disaster.

The most important valve in the home will shut off the main water supply for the whole plumbing  system. This valve is often situ ated on the same side of the house as the water  meter and may be found under the kitchen  sink or in the basement. All able members  of the family should  know  where shut-off valves are and in which direction they should  be turned. To ensure that everyone knows  which valves to use, paint  the handles  in a visible color or identify them with a colorful  hang-tag. Because the valve is not in frequent  use, it’s a good idea to lubricate  around  the valve handle one or twice per year. This will prevent  it from corroding  and becoming  difficult to turn for older  or younger members  of the household. In addition to the main shut-off valve, many houses have separate stopcocks  for individual appliances like water  heaters  and washers. These will be located near the appliance  on the supply lines below and allow for easier repairs without affecting the plumbing  in the rest of the house.

Put a Coat on Your Pipes

By Paul Gavic

When contractors compute  heating  and cooling loads, they tack on 10 or 20 percent for losses from ductwork or pipes. You can prevent  most of this loss by insulating  pipes that run through a basement,  garage or other  unheated area. Heat  escapes from bare hot-water pipes, so the water  sitting in them cools down  between  uses. Then you have to run extra  water  to get hot water  out of a faucet. Wrapping hot and cold water  pipes will reap big dividends,  including some added  insurance  against  frozen pipes. Excellent insulation can be obtained with 3-foot-long plastic foam, wool felt or fiberglass pipe jackets. The thick insulating sections are split so they can be slipped over straight  pipe runs. Several versions of self-sticking insulating tape also work  well. The putty-like tape is wound  spirally around the pipesand is easily formed  around fittings where jackets are difficult to install. Regular blanket insulation can also be cut in strips, wrapped around the pipe and secured with tape.