Whole House Humidifiers

Protect your family and your home from the unhealthy and damaging effects of over-dry air. Have you been experiencing sore throats, dry and itchy skin, aggravated allergy and asthma symptoms, painful static shocks. Or have you seen chipping paint and plaster, splitting or cracked wood floors, furniture, trim and molding.  Would you like to take care of these problems? Well you can, by adding a humidifier to your Heating system in your home.

Did you know that many viruses thrive in areas that have low humidity, increasing the likelihood of catching colds, flu and upper respiratory problems.  Using your shower, doing laundry, and cooking do not produce enough moisture to keep the air in your home from being to dry.


Having a whole house humidifier installed, will deliver the perfect amount of moisture to your air making you feel more comfortable at lower thermostat settings. EPA records state that adding a humidifier can save up to 4% off your energy expense.


If you are awakening with a sore throat, dryness in your nose, or even a nose bleed , then you may be experiencing the results of low moisture content in your homes air. It is time to install a humidifier.

Thinking Tankless

     Tankless water heaters provide hot water at a preset temperature when needed without storage, thereby reducing or eliminating standby losses. Tankless water heaters can be used for supplementary heat, such as a booster to a solar hot water system, or to meet all hot water needs.

     Throw away your water heater tank and shave ten to twenty percent off your water heating bill. That savings results from elimination of standby losses -- energy lost from warmed water sitting in a tank. And, since water heating accounts for about 14 percent of the average U.S. household energy budget, this can be a significant loss.

     Tankless water heaters have an electric or gas heating device that is activated by the flow of water. Once activated, the heater provides a constant supply of hot water. The maximum flow rate at a desired temperature will be determined by the capacity of the heater. Gas tankless water heaters typically have larger capacities than electric tankless water heaters.

     Large units intended for whole house water heating are located centrally in the house while, in point-of-use applications, the water heater usually sits in a closet or under a sink.

     Tankless water heaters are rated by the maximum flow rate at which a desired temperature rise is met. Special features may allow the user to set the delivery temperature. Efficiency is higher than an equivalent tank type water heater because standby losses are virtually eliminated. Electric tankless water heaters require a relatively high electric power draw because water must be heated quickly to the desired temperature. Residential gas models can heat more than five gallons per minute by 60°F, generally more than enough for two showers to be run simultaneously. Whole house electric units typically have a capacity closer to three gallons per minute.

Green Plumbing

Going Green

How to reduce your home energy use

So you want to save money.  Doesn't everyone?  Some changes that can help you right away, is to update your plumbing system.

Insulating your water pipes— Insulating your water pipes can help reduce the heat loss on your water lines.  Specifically when the lines are on an exterior wall. 

Remove Plumbing from Exterior Walls—If you have a choice, choose to keep your lines from being installed in an exterior wall.  Along with insulating the pipes, you will dramatically cut the heat loss, which occurs in these situations.

Install an On-Demand Hot Water Circulation Pump—These pumps send hot water to your fixtures in a matter of seconds, saving you money on two fronts. For starters, you won't lose heat as hot water unnecessarily sits unused in the pipes, and since you won't have to run water at the faucet while you wait for hot water to arrive, you'll reduce your water usage, as well.


Install a New Hot Water Heater—Heating the water can add up to 15% or your energy expense.  Replacing your water heater with a high efficiency one can help cut your cost.  Installing a tankless water heater can help cut the costs even more. 

Some helpful tips to save water

• When washing your car, use a spray nozzle which can be shut off when not in use.  You could save 100 or more gallons.
• Time your shower to keep it under 5 minutes. You'll save up to 1000 gallons a month.
• Soak your pots and pans instead of letting the water run while you scrape them clean.
• A leaky faucet could waste up to 140 gallons a week!
• Don't let the water run while you brush your teeth and you could save up to 4 gallons a minute - 200 gallons a week for a family of four.
• Put food coloring in your toilet tank. If it seeps into the toilet bowl, you have a leak. It's easy to fix, and you can save more than 600 gallons a month.
• Never put water down the drain when there may be another use for it such as watering a plant or garden, or cleaning.

Freezing Pipes

When water freezes, it expands. Have you ever put a soda in the freezer, and then forgot about it?  Only to find it later after it exploded. When water freezes in a pipe, it expands the same way. If it expands enough, the pipe bursts, water escapes and serious damage results.

When a pipe freezes, it does not typically break where the ice formed. Continued freezing and expansion causes the trapped water to increase in pressure.  This pressure can be in excess of a thousand pounds.  Usually because of this increased pressure the pipe will fail where there was not any ice formed.

Pipes inside a house within the building’s insulation, insulation on the pipe itself, or heating, are generally safe.  Any openings in an outside wall, such as television cables, telephone lines, a/c lines, electrical, and gas pipes, can allow the cold air to penetrate and harm the water lines.

Different pipe materials and the size also have a bearing on how fast they can or will freeze.  But without any heat access, this does not affect the outcome of  frozen pipes.

Electric heating tapes and cables are available to run along pipes to keep the water from freezing.

These must be used with extreme caution; follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully to avoid the risk of fire.

Tapes and cables with a built-in thermostat will turn heat on when needed. Tapes without a thermostat have to be plugged in each time heat is needed, and may be forgotten.

Another method to protect the pipes is to allow them to drip.  Running water will eventually freeze as well.  Allowing a faucet to be open reduces the chance of pressure build-up at the faucet.  Running a faucet does waste water so only open the ones that are partial to freezing.  This would be a water line that does not get enough heat to it to stop it from freezing.

If you are planning to go away for an extended period of time, turn off the water and turn on all the fixures, both hot and cold, to allow the water to drain out.  Remember to turn off the water heater.  This will save your fuel or electric and protect the water heater from over heating.  Keep your temperature setting on your heater at a low setting.  Keep it around 50 degrees ferenheit to avoid freezing.  Also open cabinet doors to expose water lines that may be on an outside wall.

If you do encounter a frozen pipe, do not use an open flame to thaw it out.  This could cause a fire.  Use a hairdryer or even a heating pad.  Be careful with electric around water.  Start at the faucet, with it open, and work your way back to the frozen area.  This will allow the pressure to escape as you heat it.

Leaky toilets flush away $$

     Did you know that a toilet that runs constantly can waste up to 100 gallons a day?  It's true.  A lot of people just let it go.  Not a good idea.  If you are on municiple water, this could add to the cost of your water and sewer bill.  If you are on a well and septic system, then your well pump and drain field are getting their workout. 
     There is a simple test that can be done to see if the water is leaking out of the toilet tank into the bowl.  Take some food coloring and add a couple drops the the tank in the back.  Allow it to sit for 10 to 15 minutes.  Check the bowl after this time and see if the color of the water in the bowl has turned to the color you used in the tank.  If so, you have a bad part in the tank.  Majority of the time it is the flapper.  There are several different types.  This is the part that allows the water to exit the tank and enter the bowl by pushing the flush handle. 
     To replace the flapper: Turn off the water to the toilet at the valve that is located below the tank on the left.  Flush the toilet and allow the water to drain out.  Hold the handle down longer to get more water out.  Different manufatures use different styles.  We will use the standard flapper with the ears on the side.   Now that the water is out, you can look in to see what the flapper looks like.  I would suggest removing the flapper and taking it to the local hardware store and match it up.  The flapper will come with installation directions on the package.  Follows these directions and install the new flapper. 
     After the new flapper is installed, you can turn the water back on.  You may have to adjust the chain to get it to the correct length.  Too short and the flapper will not close.  Too long and the flapper will not lift right.  Now flush the toilet when the tank is full. 
     There are other items that can go bad and create this effect as well.  A fill valve that does not shut off, or a flush valve that allows the water to seep under the washer.  These will be discussed on another post.

http://www.smsplumbing.com/