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Plumbers across the land – and right here in Sonoma Valley – “fondly” refer to the day after Thanksgiving as Black Friday, and not because we spend most of our time shopping.

As it turns out, it’s generally our busiest drain cleaning day of the year, so with all that going on, who’s got time to shop? Actually, we’d love to and so to help us get our shopping done on time, we’d like to present you with some helpful tips for keeping your kitchen sink drain and garbage disposal running free and clear. Not just on Thanksgiving, but throughout the holiday season when we all tend to cook with more “FOG”: fats, oil, and grease. The stuff that clogged drains usually are made of.

Properly Dispose of the FOG – That last place fats, oil and grease belong is in your drain system where it can and eventually will –with enough repetition – congeal, harden, and stick to the inside of your drain pipes. So to prevent that from happening, pour or wipe FOG into disposable containers you can then place in the trash.

Your Drains Hate Fibrous Foods – Things like lettuce, spinach, and other soft vegetables were simply not meant to be ground up by your garbage disposal. So don’t try! Unless you’re prepared to deal with a disposal that stops disposing of food scraps.

Run Plenty of Hot Water During and After Running Your Disposal – Just in case some fats, etc., do make it down your drain or into your disposal, run hot water to help make sure none of it sticks to your pipes.

Don’t Forget the Baking Soda – If you’re cleaning up after a big meal, throw some baking soda down the drain and garbage disposal once all the dishes are done, and chase the baking soda with about thirty seconds or so of hot water.

Clean Your Drain and Disposal Before the Meal – If you can’t remember the last time you’ve cleaned your kitchen sink drain or garbage disposal, then why wait until after the meal to see if everything drains as it should? Especially when you can hedge your bet by pouring a half cup each of vinegar and baking soda into your drain, followed immediately by about two quarts of boiling water. For even greater cleaning action, close the drain and garbage disposal lids. Then, after about a half hour, rinse both of them with cold water just to make sure things are flowing nice and smoothly.

Still, when all else fails, you can always call the plumbing professionals at Boden Plumbing Heating & Air for a prompt response, and professional results that meet or exceed your expectations. May all your holiday meals be festive and clog free!

Happiness is – a lot of things. But somewhere on your list, no doubt, sits this answer: a heating system that works flawlessly all winter long.

At Boden Plumbing Heating & Air, we get to deliver that kind of happiness all season long with our heating system cleaning and inspection service. You see, with annual preventative maintenance, you can look forward to:

• Fewer repairs
• Longer system lifespan
• Consistent temperatures throughout your home
• Added safety
• Reduced heating costs
• Cleaner indoor air

If that’s not enough incentive for you, consider the flip side of the coin: as in, without annual preventative maintenance, the odds increase exponentially that your heating system won’t perform up to its potential, especially since its average lifespan is only 15 – 20 years to begin with.

So how do we help keep your furnace running without interruption? Here are just a few of the steps involved in our cleaning and inspection process:

• Clean or replace your filter, as needed
• Lubricate all working parts, as needed
• Tighten all electrical connections
• Check for cracks or leaks that could allow carbon monoxide into your living quarters – a major safety consideration
• Ensure that your thermostat is working properly
• Ensure proper and balanced airflow
• Check voltage and amperage to all motors
• Inspect electrical safety circuits
• Run and test system

Before we leave your home, you’ll have a real good idea if your heating system is ready to give you the kind of uninterrupted services we know you expect. And it if still needs a little more work? We’ll explain what needs to be done, and give you an upfront price quote for your approval.

At the end of the day, we can all use a boost on the happiness meter. So contact Boden Plumbing Heating & Air to schedule our heating system cleaning and inspection service, and get ready to worry just a little bit less.

Everyone wants to pay less to heat their homes, partly because there are no bragging rights for paying more than your neighbors do to heat their homes.

“Hey, how much did you pay last year to heat your home? That’s it, are you kidding me? We paid almost double that, and it was darn well worth it!”

Add that to your list of things you are likely to never, ever hear.

Speaking of lists, here are a few things to add to your list on ways to cut your home heating costs. Don’t already have one? Than the following will make terrific first entries:

• Keep shades and blinds open during the day on windows that face the sun, and close them as soon as the sun starts to fade.

• Buy and install a dual-direction ceiling fan and, in the winter, run it in reverse. That serves to force the heat back down into your living quarters, allowing you to feel perfectly comfortable at a lower temperature setting.

• Locate and seal all air leaks. Each house, they say, has enough of these that if they were to be combined, you’d have the equivalent of a hula-hoop size hole in your wall letting the heat escape. Good places to insulate include inside sockets and switches, inside outside facing walls, doors and windows, and your attic.

• Invest in one or more programmable thermostats so you can cut your heating costs while no one’s home but still have your home nice and warm upon your return.

• With whole-house zoning, you can warm those areas where you spend the most time, and turn the thermostat way back in rooms no longer frequently used.

Another sure-fire way to help keep your heating costs in line is with a heating system clean and check from Boden. Ours is a multi-point process that also helps your system run more efficiently and safely. It also leads to fewer repairs and a longer system lifespan. Contact us today for more information or to schedule service.

Even if you’re brand new to the whole home ownership thing, chances are you’ve already dealt with a plumbing “issue” or to. Either replacing or fixing something that was just plain bugging you, or engaging in something more extensive like a kitchen or bath upgrade.

Well, in our experience here at Boden Plumbing Heating & Air, there are two types of home owners: those who don’t even want to think about home repair problems until they happen, and those who want as much advance knowledge and warning as they can get so they can better prepare themselves for the disruption and expense to follow.

By virtue of the fact that you’re reading this blog, we’re going to assume that you’re the “I want to know” type, and we’re more than happy to oblige.

So here you go – a list of common water heater repair symptoms both here in Northern California and around the country:

• Not enough or not hot water at all
• Rust colored water
• The smell of rotten eggs
• Low rumbling or popping noise
• Higher pitched whining
• Water leaking around the base of the storage tank

Even if you’re the handy type, don’t go exploring troubleshooting on your own at least until you do the following:

• Turn off power to your electric water heater. Do this by turning off the circuit breaker or fuse powering the heater.
• For a gas water heater, turn the gas pilot control valve to “pilot” setting.
• Shut off the water supply.

Or, you can simply pick up the phone and give us a call: Boden Plumbing Heating & Air. We’ve been making sure families like yours have all the hot water they need, when they need it, since 1992. Our services include water heater performance and safety inspections, precision repairs, and new installations. Boden: how can we best serve you today?