Main water service to homes in Illinois with lead pipes can cause serious health risks

Just recently 341 homes in Naperville, IL were found to have lead water pipes in their homes. You can learn more here.

What are the health risks associated with lead water found in homes?

Findings have found that lead in water can affect children permanently. You can learn more here.

A major source of lead in drinking water within our homes usually comes from lead water service pipes. Today many towns and villages mandate that anyone replacing their existing homes water service, or adding new water service must install copper piping from the city’s main water line to the home. Towns are advising residents that any construction activity such as water main replacement and / or repair, water meter replacement or homes having partial lead service lines to have these lead pipes replaced with copper pipes. Lead piping was banned nationally in 1986. However, many homes still have not been changed to copper water service pipes.

Due to the health risks, many towns and villages offer residents rebates to help offset the costs associated with replacing their lead service lines. The CDC – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention talk about the fact that – “Lead found in tap water usually comes from the corrosion of older fixtures or from the solder that connects pipes.” You can learn more at the CDC here. You can also learn more about the dangers of lead from the Lead and Copper Rule by the EPA.

In conclusion, New Illinois Environmental Protection Agency rules mandate that all property owners must be notified of any potential amounts of lead in drinking water which can cause brain damage in children, increasing the potential for learning disabilities and may cause violent tendencies.

How To Find A Local Plumber That Does Good Work

Most people when starting a search for a professional services business will reach out to family, friends and neighbors for a recommendation. Hiring a home services professional like a plumber, garage door guy, or a chimney cleaning or repair service, etc. is an infrequent purchase that in some cases can span years between use or need. Due to the infrequent use of these service providers your network may not have a recommendation that is top of mind.

When it comes to keeping your life running well and feeling as little stress as possible, one of the most important things you can do is to keep your home as well maintained as possible. When our homes are running well, they can serve as a sanctuary from the rest of the world. When they are poorly maintained, however, they can serve as a source of incredible stress. One of the most stressful issues that can pop up in our homes is a plumbing issue. Plumbing is one of those things that we tend to take for granted, but it can affect many different aspects of our daily lives. Washing dishes and keeping your home clean, for example, can become a nearly impossible task when your drains are clogged. The same is true for your bathroom pipes, which can create unsanitary issues that are disrupt your entire day.

When you experience a plumbing problem, it is important that you take the time to find a plumber. While you can attempt to fix the issue yourself, the fact of the matter is that there are only a few problems that are truly simple enough to be effectively handled by an amateur. If you are experiencing anything that could significantly impact your home or your pipes, it’s time to call in a plumber. It’s truly a good investment that will help keep your home generally well maintained.

How should I pick a plumber?

In today’s world, information is increasingly digitized and organized for easy access via any number of smart devices or laptops. For this reason, you should probably begin your search for a plumber online. You can start by searching for plumbers within your area. Once you have found a selection of potential options, you can then do a more thorough search in order to find any online reviews left by previous customers. These can be invaluable in helping to determine whether or not a plumber really can deliver on their promises.

In the event that you need to find a local service business or plumber on your own, the below are some tips to help you research what to look for in a company or contractor to hire.

RESEARCH, RESEARCH & RESEARCH

First, find three companies to interview and ask questions regarding your issue. When talking to companies, do they seem interested in your job? Can they help you fix your issue? Are they quick to respond? Do they seem professional? Do they seem to know what you are talking about? Often times your gut and intuition can help you during this initial stage.

Do your homework – check reviews and look for complaints

A simple Google search will often times reveal any past issues with the company. You can check / read reviews online from online directories like Angies’s List, Yelp and Google, you can also check the better business bureau for reviews and complaints on the business.

How long has the company been in business?

Obviously a company that has years of experience is more likely to be stable and reliable. We all know experience and past results do matter.

Is the company licensed and insured – this is very important to verify?

A family friend recently hired a chimney cleaning service and repair company. When the business was located onsite and was asked about insurance, the company representative said “yes they had insurance, just call the office”. The homeowner took the representatives word that the company and business was insured. The contractor went on to install a metal chimney cap to prevent water and wildlife from entering the chimney. A few weeks later a wind storm blew the cap of the chimney and the roof. The heavy metal cap landed on the home owners backyard deck. Luckily it did not hurt or KILL anyone. When the homeowner called the company back to have them fix the issue, they also inquired about the insurance they were promised they could get from the company. The office representative told the customer that they have insurance, but they don’t provide it in writing!! It was a lie!! Had the metal chimney cap hurt or killed someone on their property – the home owner would have been liable! Plumbers and many other contractors are required to be licensed and are required to provide insurance in the towns they serve in order to receive a permit to perform the work. Requirements may vary on the need for professional licensing bonds, but all plumbers should have insurance to cover accidents that may happen while on your property.

Where is the company located? Are they local?

We all like to do business with companies that are local for a variety of reasons. Be cautious of service professionals that give you a post office box with no physical street address or office location. We all want to hire someone that we can trust to do the job right.

Ask for references to call

Depending on the size and costs associated with the job – this can be very important. If a company can’t provide you with other happy customers to contact, something is more than likely wrong.

Make three appointments with the companies you found in your research stage

After finding and locating three companies that you feel comfortable with, have each company come out and inspect your problem. What do they recommend should be done? What are the costs associated with fixing the issue? Are the three quotes wide ranging in cost? Why? Do they all have very different recommendations? Why? By getting three opinions from three different professionals or companies – this insight will often times help you understand what options you have, and what needs to be done to address or fix your issue. Think beyond price – value is important, and price is important. However, most important is to have the job done right.

Tips To Winterize Your Home

Here in Chicago winter temperatures can get bone-chilling cold. It is important to winterize your home not only to avoid a plumbing catastrophe, but also to make sure your home is as energy efficient as possible. These tips can save you time, money and hardship.

Make sure you change your furnace filters on a regular basis. This is easy to forget, and often forgotten. It is important to replace or clean furnace filters once a month during the heating season. Dirty filters will restrict airflow and require more energy therefore increasing your energy costs. In addition, this increased “wear and tear” can take a toll on your furnace causing you to repair or replace a furnace sooner than you should have to.

Winterize your outdoor hose spigots and hoses. Be sure to shut off the water supplies inside your home that lead to the spigots that go outdoors. This is a common mistake people in Chicagoland make according to local Chicago plumbers – Morning Noon Night Plumbing & Sewer. Often time people fail to disconnect their homes hoses and shut off their homes water supply lines. Water left in hoses will freeze and expand causing connecting faucets and pipes to freeze and rupture. In addition, it is important that you know where your home’s main water shut off valve is located and where the water supply line shut off’s are located for all your outdoor spigots. In the event of a plumbing emergency the quicker you get the water shut off to prevent further damage the better.

Insulate your homes water pipes. This is especially important for any water pipes located near the elements. Pipes located in a garage, crawlspace, or near the exterior of a basement foundation should be properly insulated to help avoid the chances of these pipes freezing and possibly bursting. You can get pre-slit pipe foam at most hardware stores. Cut it to size and fasten in place with duct tape.

Manage your thermostat. It’s easy to forget to turn down the heat when you leave the building, but by doing it, you can save energy and money. For example, if nobody is typically home from 9AM – 3PM during the day – set or program the thermostat to a lower temperature. The same can be done at night during normal sleeping hours.

Use Caulk, Weatherstripping and plastic when needed. For just a few dollars, you can buy a window insulation kit and any hardware store. This can a add a buffer against drafts and can give a nice boost to your home’s ability to hold heat. Home leaks can hurt your homes energy efficiency according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Use caulk and weatherstripping to seal and holes, cracks or gaps in the exterior walls of your home.

Keep Your Home Safe this Winter

Owning a home can be an incredible experience. Many people look forward to moving in and personalizing their homes, for example, and find the process of turning a building into a sanctuary that meets all of their needs to be an enjoyable one. It is important to keep in mind, however, that owning a home is about a lot more than just finding the right decorations for your kitchen or living room. Indeed, owning a home comes with all manner of responsibilities. This can be especially jarring if you are coming from a background of renting, where landlords were typically in charge of most of the upkeep of the building and grounds.

When you own your own home, you are now the person in charge of maintaining it. Let’s take a look at how to keep your home safe from wear and tear during the winter!

Winterize Your Home

Winter is one of the most damaging times for a home. Depending upon where you live, the constant dampness mixed with the extremely low temperatures combine to create one big headache for homeowners. Luckily, there are some things that you can do to help ensure that your home remains undamaged by winter’s harsh and unforgiving weather.

Remove Your Hose from Your Outside Faucet

Leaving your hose hooked up to your outside faucet might seem like no big deal, but that’s only because you haven’t been on the receiving end of the damage that occurs when this goes wrong. What typically happens in that homeowners forget that they never disconnected their hose. Water eventually becomes trapped inside and freezes. You won’t know there’s a problem until spring rolls around and you turn on your faucet for the first time. All of that newly unfrozen water will come pouring out and flood your basement. This is incredibly damaging, and can do as much as $5,000 of damage in ten minutes of time.

Properly Insulate Your Home

This is particularly an issue with older homes that were built when codes were very different from today’s norms. These buildings tend to have areas with little to no insulation at all, which can result in pipes freezing during especially cold weather. As you might imagine, these can in turn lead to some significant damage to your property. If you cannot afford to properly insulate your home this winter, there are a few things you can do to help prevent pipes from freezing and bursting.

If you need help winterizing your home or have found yourself with a disaster on your hands, it is important to find an experienced local plumber to help as quickly as possible. Morning Noon & Night can HELP!