The last thing any homeowner wants is a backflow of contaminated water, whether into the home or the home's water source. An innocent-looking garden hose can turn into a source of contamination.

A drop in water pressure in the home or municipal water system can allow water from the hose to flow backward into the system. This can be caused by a leak, by a system pump failure, or by a sudden heavy demand elsewhere in the system. Even the expansion of sun-heated water in a hose can cause backflow.

This might not seem problematic, but garden hoses are often connected to devices to disburse soap, pesticides, or chemical fertilizers, or are left with the open end inserted in contaminated water. The hoses themselves might be made of material that can break down and contaminate the water.

A hose bibb vacuum breaker is a simple spring-loaded valve that allows water to flow out normally, but vents into the atmosphere in the event of a pressure reversal. Many can be purchased at home improvement stores and screwed on externally between the bibb and the hose.

Any homeowner with concerns about the possibility of backflow can contact a qualified home plumbing specialist such as All About the Pipes Plumbing Inc. for a consultation and help with installing, inspecting, or changing a vacuum breaker.

Going on vacation this summer? Want some quick tips to safeguard your home so you don’t come home to an underwater house?

Turn the water off at the main whole house shut off valve. If you can't find your valve or don't have a whole house emergency shut off valve give us a call at 704-559-5288. With the water off open a faucet for a few seconds to relieve pressure then turn back off. This will relieve any pressure and may prevent potential flooding while you are away. Turn  your water heater to away mode or turn off all together. http://www.ehow.com/how_4906355_turn-off-hot-water-heater.html

A common source of flooding is from your ice maker supply line and laundry supply hoses. This is a great time to visually inspect your laundry hot/cold hoses, they tend to get stress cracks over a long period of time.

While you are at it, consider turning off any other non essential devices like your television, computers, HVAC etc. Just know that things like your refrigerator are obviously going to need to stay on.

These are just some helpful hints to prevent costly and catastrophic leaks while you are away on vacation. Bon Voyage!

All About the Pipes is a plumbing company located in Charlotte, NC that as been gradually gaining notoriety within the community since 2003. Chris Vigna, owner of All About the Pipes Plumbing, began his business with one van and the tools in his own garage. Over the past seven years, this Charlotte based plumbing company has flourished under Chris' direction, leadership, and vision. Evidence of All About the Pipe's successes include Chris's invitation to participate in a television show, accolades from high quality consumer reviewers, and the indelible impression left on those in the community with whom Chris has interacted both professionally and socially.

Chris and his company are going to be featured in several episodes of the PBS show “For Your Home.” With 15 years experience under his belt, Chris is a skilled craftsman that can offer assistance to homeowners with plumbing projects around the home. For episode air dates and times, check out Chris' blog at allaboutthepipes.com/blog. Video links and information about the episodes to air on PBS will be posted on the website as well once they become available. More about this For Your Home episode can be found at the picture link below:

*** Update, the first show will be featured tonight at 6:30PM on PBS station, WTVI. *** 

Angie's List is devoted to compiling consumer reviews of local service companies in order to help those requiring assistance to find the best companies available. One of it's members, Timothy Shinn, had the pleasure of appropriating plumbing services from All About the Pipes. According to Mr. Shinn, Chris' work was efficient and thorough. Instead of cutting corners, Chris worked in earnest to ensure the job was carefully completed. Even at the request of Mr. Shinn to do less work in an effort to save time and money, Chris refused. Chris and his staff understand the importance of a job well done - whether big or small. Read more about this article at the image link below:

 

One of the truly entertaining and highly educational home improvement shows is the PBS series 'For Your Home'. The hosts of the PBS show,Vicki Payne and Sloan Payne-Rutter, are a vivacious mother - daughter team featuring helpful and informative advice and techniques for improving the quality of life in and around your home. Vicki and Sloan are not shy about getting involved in various hands-on projects inside and outside the home and they bring in some of the most knowledgeable experts and craftsmen to help them with the various weekly projects they feature.

'For Your Home' brings a very practical and personal touch to the various episodes that air, which is why the show continues to build its viewing audience. One of the experts chosen to appear in several upcoming  episodes of ‘For Your Home’ is Chris Vigna of Charlotte's All About the Pipes Plumbing, Inc.  Chris is one of the best in the business and has fifteen years of experience in all phases of residential and commercial plumbing.   Chris started his company with one truck, some tools, and a commitment to quality work and excellent customer service. His business now features several trucks and multiple employees continuing that company mission of quality work.  For the past five straight years, All About the Pipes Plumbing, Inc. has received an award for superior service which is given to less than 5% of contractors in the greater Charlotte area.

Keep your eyes open for airing dates of the plumbing episodes on ‘For Your Home’ and upcoming video that will be available on our blog.

Water damage is something that you certainly hope never happens to you. But when it does, you need to stop the flow of water as soon as you can to keep damage at a minimum. The most recent available statistics say that families lose over 6.8 billion dollars to flood damage annually. That's an average cost of almost $4,000 per homeowner.

But what if your home or business had a way to detect leaks within moments of them happening? Imagine the amount of possessions and documents you could save and the potential damage amounts that could be avoided.

This type of protection is exactly what Global Management Systems is offering with its WaterSafe residential and commercial leak protection system. WaterSafe places moisture sensors in areas of your home or business that are most likely to leak. These sensors, when wet, do two things: First, they shut off thewaterflow to the leak, often without disrupting the flow of water to the restof the structure. At the same time, the moisture sensing sytem sends an immediate e-mail to the home or business owner, informing them that there maybe a problem.

Imagine the comfort this could bring to you when you're away from home. For example, if the refrigerator starts leaking you could come home to a disastrous situation.The WaterSafe system not only helps to stop the leak, it saves your home orbusiness from expensive repairs and heavy insurance claims.

What's more, the system has a comprehensive warranty that covers up to $5,000 towardany insurance deductible.

All About the Pipes is certified to install the WaterSafe commercial and residential moisture detection systems. We would be happy to set up a FREE appointment with you to give you an estimate on protecting your home from any potential water-based problem. There's no obligation and there's no better time than now. If you're interested and live anywhere in the greater Charlotte area, give us a call at 704-559-5288 or visit www.allaboutthepipes.com.

Have you ever wondered what a tank less water heater actually is? Do you ever wonder how it could be a water heater if it has no tank? Or, why would I want a tank less water heater? Why is it better than the traditional models?

The tank less water heater is the newest technology available for the heating of your household water. It is a green technology with efficiency ratings of 98%. This is 40% more efficient than your standard tank models available today. The tank less water heater produces considerably less CO2 and NOx than the conventional gas or electric tank water heaters. Still not convinced? The tank less water heater produces hot water on demand. It is a small compact unit that uses minimal electric, natural gas or propane as their fuel source the same sources as your tank style heater. It will continue to produce unlimited hot water as long as there is a demand. Multiple appliances and back to back showers can be taken at the same time without a loss of hot water. Not so with the traditional. You can expect, depending on the size of the unit, anywhere from 2 to 19.5 gallons of hot water per minute to be produced from the tank less water heater.

A tank less water heater has a life expectancy of 20 years. Warranties range from 12-20 years on a tank less. This is considerably better than the tank style. While the initial cost to install a tank less is more than the traditional style heater the energy savings and warranties make up the difference. The tank less is a compact and attractive unit. It would compare in size to that of an electrical panel box. With the compact size comes versatility. A tank less can be located most anywhere it can be vented in a home as well as an exterior installation. This will allow you to reclaim that valuable floor space and never have to worry again if a leaking water heater will flood your home.

Because this is such a valuable technology in the saving of our resources and reducing the carbon footprint there are several credits and rebates available to individuals installing a tank less water heater.