By Bill Aldridge

Aldridge & Sons Plumbing Contractors, Inc. strongly encourages you and your family to be prepared each Hurricane Season.

When was the last time you remember hearing of a storm developing in early May or a storm being named in May, let alone hitting Jacksonville, FL? It took me some time to think, but there was Tropical Storm Beryl which developed back in 2012. Yes Beryl, packing winds up to 70 miles per hour made landfall near Jacksonville Beach on May 28, 2012. Before Beryl do you remember the name of the storm from 2008? It did not hit in May but I remember this storm, it was Fay. I remember Fay more than Beryl, because we were without power for 4 days and some of our friends were out power for a week.

Knowing where your water shut off valves are in and outside your home is an important aspect that every homeowner should know.    

Usually within homes there are three types of shut off valves: Ball Valve, Gate Valve and Stop Valve. The ball valve is commonly used and found at the main cut off to the home. It is also found on the water heater to isolate the hot water heater and hot water piping. Gate valves are also found on main line cut offs. If you do have a gate valve on your system, we recommend it be replaced with a ball valve, as ball valves are more efficient and last longer.  Stop valves are located under every sink and behind toilets so you are able to isolate the fixture for maintenance or replacement.

Maintaining and properly using a garbage disposal is just as important as any other appliance in your home. Improper use can lead to costly expenses for repairing, unstopping and at times replacement of the garbage disposal. At the request of our customers here are a few simple tips and our “how to video” to help you, the consumer, keep your disposal clean, drain cleared, sink smelling fresh and hopefully help you maintain your disposal so you are able to get your full money’s worth out of it.

First and foremost is Safety; NEVER place your hands in the disposal and be sure the power switch is off when trying to clear an object from your disposal.  If something accidentally drops in to the disposal that needs to be removed, try using tongs instead of your hand.  Also never pour drain cleaning products into a disposal. However if you did place a drain cleaner in your disposal allow the liquid to drain / seep out. Once it has drained down flush it with water. Also advise any service technician if drain cleaner has been used.

Now on to our helpful tips:

Being a homeowner, at times we face expenses that are necessary to maintain or repair our properties. It is a normal reaction to get several estimates and look for the most affordable contractor to do the work. While searching for a contractor, whether through word of mouth and or friends or relatives, a homeowner may come across an unlicensed person posing as a contractor. This unlicensed person may provide a bid that is appealing to the eye and like most people, the motivation behind hiring an unlicensed person has to do with saving money.