It’s Time for Your Annual Drain Cleaning!

Benefits of Annual Drain Cleaning

Annapolis Plumber Better Showers

Have you ever noticed a gradual decline in your shower or bathtub drain’s ability to function? If not, it can seem as though your drain suddenly developed problems.

Soap and other bathroom products can build up in your drain. Do not wait what seems like years for your tub to drain (if it succeeds at all), and avoid having your feet submerged in spent water for the entire duration of your shower. By having your drain cleaned annually, you are also less likely to experience problems with your tub or shower drain when it is occasionally exposed to large amounts of hair or other quickly clogging substances.

Easier Dishwashing

What about when you finish washing a sink full of greasy pots and pans? Even if you only washed a few every week, it is easy for saturated fats or pieces of food and other debris to accumulate over time in your drain. Not only is a clogged sink usually smelly, but it makes cooking and washing produce or dishes nearly impossible. Not just clogs, either.

If your sink’s drain is taking longer than usual to do its job, your task is probably taking longer too! It is important to have your drain cleaned every once in a while to renew its vigor and maintain a functioning and healthy plumbing system. By doing so, you can also avoid a smelly scenario in your kitchen and a late-night run to the store to attempt to get your drain under control.

Less Toilet Overflows

If you have seen a toilet overflow, you most likely understand why an annual drain cleaning is essential for your home. Even a partial plug in your toilet’s drain can result in a poor flush. Combine that with solid waste, and it spells out a recipe for disaster. Who wants to ruin a pair of shoes or a bath mat by stepping in sewage?Annapolis Drain Cleaning

How about spending precious time, energy, and money re-sanitizing most surfaces in your bathroom? If not, you can benefit from making sure your toilet’s drain is clear, before you flush, with a drain cleaning.

Get The drains of your Annapolis home cleaned and inspected before it’s an emergency! Call Heidler Plumbing at (410) 268-7191 to schedule an appointment. 

Tune-Up & Heat It Up

Heating System Tune-Up

house energy efficiency conceptSigns Your Heating Unit Needs A Tune-Up

You will need your heating unit to work properly throughout the year, even if it’s not cold outside. You want to be able to turn your heating unit on when you need it, so that you don’t have to wait too long, for your home to warm up.

Sometimes, a heating unit may begin to misbehave, and you may not know the reasons why. If your heating unit is acting up, then you’ll need a tune-up.

A tune-up should be performed on the unit, if it has not had one in a while, or a unit that’s showing signs of problems. Certain signs that there are problems with your unit, is if the unit is making loud noises.

Of course, any unit is going to make noises when it’s on, but if the noises are unbearable to listen to, and they are extremely distracting, then a tune-up is necessary. You’ll also want to check to see if your heating bills are skyrocketing. Just because you’re using your heat, doesn’t mean that the bill will go up extremely high.

If your bill is much higher than the amount of heat you feel you’re using, then a tune-up may be necessary. Also, look for excessive dust, or bad smells coming from your heating unit, because this can be signs that there is a build up in the unit, and it needs a tune-up.

When To Get A Tune-Up

If you look for the signs that your unit is giving you, in order to tell you that it needs a tune-up, then you’ll know when it’s time. If your heating unit is not turning on it all, then this is a major sign that you need a tune-up. You’ll also want to look for other signs that your unit needs a tune-up, including if you’ve never had one performed. If you’re in a new or used home, you may want to tune-up your heating unit, if it’s a used unit.

Annapolis Heater Maintenance
How To Maintain Your Tuned Up Unit

Depending on the unit you have, you can do some maintenance on your own, in order to keep it running smoothly, after it’s been tuned up. You’ll want to change the air filters, clean the grill’s, clean floor registers, as well as other types of maintenance. The maintenance required on the unit, depends on the type you have.

Is the heater in your Annapolis area home not working  quite like it used to? Call Heidler Plumbing at (410) 268-7191 for a professional tuneup! 

A Garbage Disposal Could Save You Time and Energy

Top 10 Reasons to Have a Garbage Disposal Installed

 

Annapolis PlumberHaving a new garbage disposal installed by a local plumbing company will benefit you, your family, and even the environment. While you might be aware of a few reasons to consider having a new one installed in your kitchen, here are the top 10 reasons to have a garbage disposal installed today.

Less Indoor Trash.

When you dump food scraps in the kitchen garbage, those bags fill up much more frequently. Using the garbage disposal means less trash and less need for new expensive plastic bags.

Improving Air Quality.

While you may be nose blind to the odors from that rotting food in the trash can in the kitchen, it is in fact causing the air quality to diminish. Anyone walking in your home will instantly smell those odors.

Less Time Doing Dishes.

Clearing off each plate and dish in the trash is time consuming after every meal. The garbage disposal frees up that time by letting you rinse everything and then wash in the same place.

Keeping Pest Out.

When you put that food in the kitchen garbage, you invite rodents and insects inside the home to get a meal. Once it goes down the drain, it is out of the house instantly.

Keeping the Road Clean.

If you are throwing away food rather than putting it in the garbage disposal, outdoor critters will be trying to get in those trash cans at night. A cleaner can means less raccoons, bears, cats, or dogs trying to tip over the trash.

Less Landfill Trash

When you utilize the garbage disposal, you send less trash to your local landfill. Every year you could be saving hundreds of pounds of trash from piling up at the landfill.

Reduction in Carbon Monoxide.

As the food decomposes at the landfill, it emits carbon monoxide. The less trash means the less carbon monoxide per household.

Eliminate Clogs

The garbage disposal liquefies all that food and sends it down the drain, helping to eliminate any clogs in the pipes.

Lesser Taxes Each Year.

When the garbage trucks pick up less trash per household, they use less fuels to do so. This can help keep you taxes from increasing each year.

Return on Investment.Annapolis Garbage Disposal

When you buy the best quality garbage disposal today, you will certainly recover your money when you sell your home. Any buyer will gladly welcome having a disposal already installed as part of the house package.

Smelling a stink in the sink of your Annapolis home? That means you need a garbage disposal. Call Heidler Plumbing at (410) 268-7191, and have an expert install one today!

Don’t Let Your Heater Run Cold, Schedule Maintenance Now!

The Many Benefits of Preventative Heater Services

Annapolis HeatingThe time to take care of your heating system is long before you experience any signs of trouble. Not only it is less expensive to fix the heater during the off-season, you will not put your family at risk of living in a home without heat while the technician determines and tries to make the repair in a timely manner.

Now is the time to make an appointment for a preventative maintenance check. Here are just a few of the reasons your home, your heating system, and your family will benefit in the end.

How Do I Determine if I Need a Heater Maintenance?

The easiest way to tell if your heater needs maintenance is to determine how old it is and how long it has been since it was last checked by a professional. If the answer to the question is over a year, it is time for a maintenance check.

In only that short amount of time belts get worn or lose, and moving parts need lubrication to continue to run efficiently. The sooner the system is checked the sooner any signs of trouble can be repaired.

 

Why is Heater Maintenance Important?

The reason heater maintenance is so important is small repairs can be spotted quickly by the trained eye. These minor repairs can often be fixed with small adjustments or parts replacement. If these little signs of trouble are ignored in the early stages, they eventually turn into full-blown repairs and possibly heating emergencies.

This is where the cost of the repair escalates quickly, especially if it happens in the middle of the night during a severe winter storm. Keeping your family warm and getting a heating professional to the house is now a serious challenge.

 

What are Some Signs of Needing Heater Maintenance?

Some of the signs your heater needs maintenance are longer running times to heat the home. Noises coming from the heater that are louder than normal could be signs of trouble with parts in the system. An increase in dust and dirt coming from the air vents is an indication that the filters are full and the system has been working much harder to push air through the system. If the heat is not as hot as you remember, it is time to make the call to your local heating repair company.Annapolis Heater Maintenance

Having maintenance done on the heating system even once a year will save you a significant amount of money and keep your family warm when frigid weather arrives.

If the heater in your Annapolis area home is not working so hot, it’s high time you call Heidler Plumbing at (410) 268-7191. We’ve got you covered from installation to repairs and everything in between! 

Does Your Faucet Need Repair?

Faucet Repair and Replacement

 

Fillig glass of mains water, drinking waterFaucets and sink fixtures tend to be items that a homeowner will forget about until they are no longer working properly. Unfortunately, even minor leak on an old faucet could be wasting hundreds of gallons of water every single year. This is why our plumbers think that all homeowners should know some signs that their faucet is damaged, when it is time to considering replacing these fixtures, and how to help their next faucets last even longer.

When is it necessary to replace my faucet?
Outside of purely aesthetic reasons, families should know when it is time to consider replacing the faucets throughout their home. One of the best times to replace a faucet is any time that major mechanical work is done in the bathroom or kitchen.
Installing a new faucet when pipes are replaced or old tiles are removed and redone will ensure that the faucet will continue to work flawlessly.

Owners may also want to consider changing their faucet if there are any signs of physical damage or certain components such as the handle are no longer functioning properly.

What are some signs of damage?
The two most common forms of damage on a faucet are rust and mineral deposits. Rust takes place when the finishing material on the faucet has becomes worn down and exposes the metal underneath. Mineral deposits can also become problematic depending on what kind of water is coming into a home.

Those with particularly hard water may notice that the finishing material, metal, filters, gaskets, and flanges all become damaged quite often. Finally, owners want to keep an eye out for any drips or signs of water damage around the base of the faucet or underneath the sink.

How Can I avoid my faucet from being broken in the future?
The easiest way to keep a faucet running smoothly is to have the plumber give them a quick check any time that they are in the home doing any other work. If a family does have hard water or water with a high content of sediment, they may want to invest in a water softener.

These devices could help to increase the lifespan of all sink fixtures and appliances such as dish washers. Anyone that wants to keep their faucet running smoothly while avoiding harsh chemicals can clean away most rust and hard water spots with vinegar and lemon juice.Pure water drop

Fix those unsightly fixtures and faucets to give your Annapolis area home a quick update. Don’t let that leaky faucet ruin your home and your wallet, call the experts of Heidler Plumbing at (410) 268-7191

Does Your Home Need a New Furnace?

Everything You Need to Know About Installing a New Furnace

 

new_furnace_360Installing a new furnace in your home can have benefits both today and long into the future. They key to selecting the right furnace however should be left to your local HVAC professional. They have the ability to choose the appropriate sized unit based on the heating space inside the home, as well as offering you models that are energy efficient and could qualify for a homeowner rebate.

Why Install a New Furnace?
One of the main reasons to have a new furnace installed is that you are going to save money month after month in lower home heating costs. The newer furnaces have utilized modern technology, making them run less but still providing the same amount of heat. This means that the heating costs will not only drop, less wear on the moving parts means less in repairs over the life of your new furnace. Many new model furnaces come with manufacture warranties, ensuring years of uninterrupted service.What are the Benefits of a New Furnace?
The new furnace will be able to heat the home more efficiently, cleaning the air much more effective than older furnaces. The new model furnaces utilize filtration systems that are designed to capture more of the airborne particles that make their way inside the house by way of the air handle. The new furnace will generate more heat in less time, allowing the system to shut down more frequently and helping to limit the time the system is running hard. The less your furnace runs, the longer it will take for all the moving parts to wear down and need replacement.How Do You Choose the Right Furnace?heating_720
Choosing the right furnace is all about picking one that can adequately heat each room in the house. Getting a unit too large will cause the system to not cycle properly, and a unit too small will be running nonstop trying to reach the temperature setting within the house. The best thing you can do when choosing a new furnace is to call your local HVAC professional and let them determine the sized unit that will work most effectively in your home. They can show you all the latest Energy Star rated models, as well as the ones that do qualify for warranties.Although this may feel like a costly expenditure today, choosing the right furnace will in fact save you money over the life of the system.

Is the furnace in your Annapolis area home not pushing out the proper heat? Get this taken care of by Heidler Plumbing. Call (410) 268-7191 today to get your furnace replaced.

If It’s an Emergency, Call the Plumbers Today!

Emergency Plumbing 101

heidler plumber Experiencing a plumbing disaster can be just as costly and painful as a natural disaster. If a pipe bursts or toilet overflows your beautiful residence could be turned into a lake or sewer overnight. Not only will you be wet and angry but you will likely have some major financial damage to your home.

However for many people the monetary damage pales in comparison to the destruction of treasured heirlooms, relics and mementos of the lives of you and your family. Luckily there are a number of ways to prevent an emergency plumbing incident.

If an unfortunate circumstance regarding your plumbing were to occur there are also talented, professional emergency plumbing services available who can help to get your home plumbing up and running again.

In the following article we will go over some of the devastating effects plumbing emergencies can wreak, some of the advantages of emergency plumbing services, and how to prevent an incident from happening in the first place.

What Are the Consequences of a Plumbing Emergency?

First and foremost the worst part of a plumbing accident is the fact that you may have access to little or no water for basic daily needs. Water is one of those things that is essential but usually goes unnoticed by most folks. Without an adequate or clean water supply basic needs like bathing, brushing your teeth, using restroom facilities and cooking and cleaning are nearly impossible.

Resorting to using dirty or contaminated water can lead to sickness or even death. Less serious but also costly can be the enormous physical cost of a water pipe explosion or other accident. Your home may be flooded and valuable possessions may be damaged or destroyed.

You may even be left without a place to live and may have to spend even more money checking into a hotel or imposing on others by staying with them

Advantages of Using an Emergency Plumbing Service

Emergency plumbing services can help you during a plumbing emergency in two major ways. The first is preventative care- checking out a problem and servicing and fixing it before it becomes a major issue.

This can save thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars as well as countless amounts of lost time. A professional emergency plumber will be able to Annapolis Emergency Plumbing 1diagnose and help to stop even the worst plumbing issues.

An emergency plumbing service can also help clean up the fallout from a problem with your plumbing by helping to limit the damage that a burst pipe or frozen water system may result in. Most importantly they can help get your water running again.

How to Prevent a Plumbing Emergency

The best way to prevent any sort of plumbing related mishap is to have qualified plumbing professionals regularly check your pipes and home water system.

If you sense problems like low water flow, dirty water, or anything similar it is absolutely imperative that you give a call to an emergency plumbing service immediately.

This will prevent monetary and emotional heartbreak and give you a great deal of piece of mind regarding your home plumbing.

For an Emergency Plumbing job in the Annapolis area, Heidler Inc. is the company for you! Call (410) 268-7191 and get the experts on it.

Get the Purified Air You Deserve

How Does An Air Purifier Help My Family and Home?

 

Healthy Living

Most homes have allergens in the carpet, blowing through the ductwork and in crawl spaces and attics. Older homes may have loads of bacteria and molds blowing around inside that come from damp areas inside ceilings and walls, around leaking windows and even coming up through old flooring from crawl spaces. Let us help with our air quality services.

If you are a child has asthma, these issues can cause a lot of problems by exacerbating allergy and asthma symptoms. By using an air purifier, you can remove most of these allergens which will create a healthier environment for those with seasonal suffering. You will also reduce the airborne illnesses that run rampant at certain seasons of the year, such as the flu and the common cold.

Additional Benefits

Some things that people do not think about when it comes to using an air purifier are that your home will be cleaner and more dust free. No longer will you have to clean that television screen daily. How many times have you had to clean your computer screen this week only to notice a few hours later that there is dust on it again? If you have household pets, this will cause more and more dust and allergens to be in the air. Your pet simply has to walk through the room and allergens float through the room around them. The more pets that you have, the more issues with dust and debris in the air you will have.

By using an air purifier, you’ll have fewer problems with red eyes, irritated sinuses, sore throats, less colds and such. You will also enjoy a cleaner home, fewer smells and less chances of developing any respiratory issues for yourself, your children or even your pets.

Purchasing An Air Purifier

S
ome things to keep in mind are the size of the unit and how much square footage it is capable of servicing. You’ll either need one small unit in each room or a larger unit that is designed for whole house use.

You will want a unit that has an easy to clean filter and purchasing a model that also uses water to add some moisture into the air in your home will create a healthy environment that doesn’t promote the growth of bacteria, germs and sickness.

Want the fresh purified air in your Annapolis home? Call Heidler Inc. at (410) 268-7191 and breathe in the purified air you deserve.

Read This Before Your Next Furnace Purchase

What is the Importance of a Properly Sized Furnace?

Having a properly sized furnace system in your home is more important than most homeowner’s realize. A furnace system that is too large or too small can create problems in any home.

Insufficient Size Furnace

One primary wintertime danger in having a furnace of insufficient size to accommodate the entire living space of your home is in maintaining the temperature at a level warm enough to prevent any faucets, drains or water lines from freezing. What many people do not realize is the temperature within a home can fall substantially in the winter, allowing water lines to freeze within walls, floors or in the basement. There is an even higher risk if the home is often left unattended for an extended duration while the owner is at work or out of town. Additionally, both copper and synthetic type water lines can freeze quickly when temperatures begin to drop. Often when the homeowner discovers a water leak, it is not until the plumber arrives and inspects the situation that it is revealed the problem is a frozen water line that cracked or ruptured within the wall of a home. Even if your entire water line does not freeze, your home is still at risk of significant damage from small segments freezing and rupturing within the exterior walls.

Health Effects

Another dilemma created by having a furnace of insufficient size for your home is the effect of the cold temperatures on disabled loved ones, the elderly and children. Often members of this group cannot easily communicate the effects they may be feeling from the cold. Many times they may not even realize how seriously the temperatures are affecting their health. If you are preoccupied, in bed asleep or away for a few hours and you have someone who is dependent upon stable temperatures, having a house that is too cold can create health problems for any member of this group within your family. It is always better to maintain a comfortable and stable environment for everyone to ensure not only comfort, but also safety. For children or anyone with long standing health issues, living in a setting with unwavering temperatures is a must.

Oversized Furnace

Annapolis FurnanceAt the opposite of the spectrum is having a furnace that is too large for the size of your home. In years past, some would actually have a furnace installed that was larger than what was needed for the square footage of the home they owned. This was done to accommodate future plans of adding more living space to the home sometime in the future. Unfortunately however, most learned the higher heating costs created over time by the larger furnace became more than they could afford.

When a furnace is oversized with a higher than needed BTU rating, finding a comfortable temperature zone becomes nearly impossible. You will find that family members are continually turning the thermostat up only to turn it down again within a few minutes. This is due to the overwhelming level of heat being discharged quickly into a home of insufficient size to accommodate a larger furnace. Adversely, with the furnace off, the temperatures quickly become uncomfortably cold again. The inconvenience and added cost of having a furnace too large for any home often becomes a troublesome and expensive dilemma for the occupants.

Your home is likely your largest investment. Having licensed technicians with a heating and cooling company assess, deliver and install a proper size furnace in your home will go far in preventing substantially higher heating costs and the headaches of continually trying to keep your home at a comfortable temperature level for you and your family. Consulting an expert is a wise decision with the potential to save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars each year.

Instead of considering a furnace replacement on your own, leave this type of work to Heidler Inc. Hiring a professional can help you to preserve your property and your money, call us today at (410) 268-7191 for quality services in Annapolis. 

Dealing With a Slab Leak Disaster?

Handling Slab Leaks in Your Home

 

Slab leaks are caused by leaky pipes buried in the concrete slab of your home. While the problem may feel catastrophic, a seasoned professional can asses and repair a leak in your foundation with precision in just a few days.

What Causes Slab Leaks?

The most common cause of slab leaks is the interaction between your copper piping and the water running through it. Your water chemistry plays a role in the longevity of your copper water lines. Low PH, high alkalinity, and the presence of sulfates or nitrates may deteriorate your pipes over time.

At one time, slab leaks were thought to be brought on by bad installation practices, contact with concrete, non-reamed piping, or excess solder flux. Now we know that up to 95% of the time they are caused by the water in your home.

How Do I Know If I Have a Slab Leak?

Symptoms of a slab leak may include things like the sound of water running when nothing is turned on, cracks in your slab, or mold and mildew under your carpet. Your water bill may also sharply increase, although this might be caused by a leaky toilet, or a leak elsewhere in your system.

Finding a slab leak in your home requires exacting technical skill. Allowing a company to excavate your concrete in search of a leak wastes time, and will just leave you with a huge bill.

A trained professional will use the proper equipment to non-invasively locate your leak. Pipe locators and specialized listening equipment will help a trained professional locate the leak without needlessly destroying your property.

How Long Does a Repair Take?
A typical repair will take about two days to complete. The first day will be spent assessing the leak and formulating a plan of attack. The second day will be when the actual repair takes place.

Although most repairs take just two days, some jobs may take longer. A bypass may be installed to ensure full use of water during longer projects.

Don’t let a Slab Leak take over your home! Call Heidler Inc. at (410) 268-7191 right away for the best services in the Annapolis area.