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New homes offer many new water saving features which older homes in Bergen County tend not to offer.  Water saving in a new home can be quite simple, considering all the new technologies which are available to home builders.  Make yourself knowledgeable about these options and when you purchase a new home watch for these.  If you are building a home, it is good to communicate to the builder which of these options you want in water efficiency.

Indoor Water Saving Solutions

Up to 70% of water usage in residences happens indoors.  A number of items that new homes tend to provide save water usage and money in the long-run.

  • Fixtures such as toilets, bathroom faucets, and showerheads offer low-flow options
  • High efficiency and low energy use hot water heaters
  • New appliances such as dishwashers and clothes washers
  • Install a tankless water heater close to the most used hot water usage areas
  • Use of an on-demand style recirculation system in combination with a high efficiency water heater
  • Check for leaks regularly to ensure there is no waste

Outdoor Water Conservation

Anywhere from 30% to 70% of water usage of homes is used outdoors for yard landscaping and pool upkeep.  When designing an outdoor space, it is important to keep in mind how much water will be used for upkeep, as well as to ensure that water is saved where possible.

Landscaping:

  • Properly plan and design the landscaping
  • Limit grass and lawn to 40% or less of landscaped areas
  • Choose plants and flora which are regionally appropriate
    • Group plants according to similar water usages
    • Use native plants and those which have low water needs
  • Schedule efficient irrigation
    • Use fixed-spray sprinklers on lawn
    • Use drip or micro irrigation on plants, flowers, and bushes
    • Water during cooler times of day to ensure little evaporation due to heat
    • Do not over-water, it can harm plants just as much as not watering enough
    • Use mulch to prevent evaporation of water near plants, and to keep weeds away
    • Keep the yard properly maintained and the soil healthy with fertilizers

Pool:

  • Use a pool cover when the pool is not in use; this can save 30% to 50% of water which is wasted through evaporation
  • Keep the pool temperature a few degrees lower, the higher the temperature of the water the more evaporation occurs
  • Plant a windbreak of tall foliage to prevent wind from whipping water out of the pool
  • Check and fix leaks regularly
  • Clean pool and pool filters regularly to prevent backwash

Whether indoors or outdoors, water saving in new homes is quite easy, and while some options mean spending some money initially, the long-term savings on water month over month and year over year are quite significant and worthwhile indeed. For more information about how plumbing upgrades can improve your Bergen County home, give BZ Dependable Plumbing & Heating a call!

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If you have ever taken a look at the base of your toilet where it meets the floor, you may have noticed a bead of caulk sealing the base of the toilet to the floor. While this watertight seal is important, there is actually a more important seal hidden within the base of the toilet.

Inside, your toilet sits on a wax ring that serves to keep sewer odors from wafting into the room, seal water from leaking from the bathroom plumbing and provides a degree of stability to the toilet installation. You may need to replace that seal if:

  • You notice leaking water at the base of the toilet.
  • You smell sewer odors in your bathroom.
  • The toilet is unstable or rocks side to side at all.
  • The toilet was removed temporarily for any reason, such as replacing it or putting down new flooring.

As it happens, replacing the toilet seal is a fairly simple and inexpensive operation. Here are the steps your Bergen County plumber will take:

  1. Shut off the water supply.
  2. Empty the bowl and tank by flushing the toilet.
  3. Get the bowl and tank completely dry by soaking up any remaining water with a sponge, rag or towel.
  4. Remove the bolts that attach the base of the toilet to the floor.
  5. Disconnect the supply line the leads into the toilet.
  6. Gripping the bowl, rock the toilet gently back and forth to break the seals.
  7. Lift the toilet free from the floor.
  8. Remove all the remnants of the old wax ring.
  9. Place the new seal in place of the old one, centering it exactly, with the rounded side up.
  10. Replace the toilet over the seal and flange.
  11. Have a seat! No, really; this helps to create a new seal between the ring and the toilet.
  12. Reattach the nuts removed from the base.
  13. Reconnect the water line.
  14. Turn the water supply back on.
  15. Flush the toilet, looking carefully for any leaks.
  16. Apply a new bead of caulk to the bottom of the bowl to complete the sealing job.

If you need any help with your Bergen County bathroom plumbing, give BZ Dependable Plumbing & Heating a call!

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Everyone, at one point or another, wants to upgrade their Teaneck plumbing, and your bathroom showerhead is a great place to start. Showerheads in all their glory are actually a quite wonderful invention: giving us a hot, relaxing time of quiet, a sort of respite from the worries which bombard us outside their steamy spray.  Consider this your guide for all you need to know about showerheads, and possibly some information you never even thought of!

Prior to 1994, showerheads had a flow rate of 5 ½ gallons per minute, but since then with the involvement of the EPA the flow average rate per showerhead has decreased to an average of 2 ½ gallons per minute, thus conserving half the water which used to be wasted in this one area of the home.  Don’t be misled by price: the highest price-tag is not always the best; some of the top-rated showerheads are quite reasonably priced.

Showerhead Types

There are a number of showerhead types which offer a variety of functionality, some with incredible water-efficiency.

  • Multi-Setting Models:  Provide adjustable flow patterns up to as many as twelve settings such as massage, mist, wide stream, narrow stream, pulsing, and even a water-saving trickle while applying soap or shampoo.
  • Single-Setting Models:  Provide one setting and tend to cost considerably less than their multi-setting counterparts.
  • Multi-Head Models:  Provide a spa-like experience in your own home with a fixed or handheld showerhead as well as several body jets mounted on a vertical tower.  However, with such comfort comes a higher price tag.  These are the most expensive to purchase, install and run, oftentimes using as much as 10 gallons per minute of water.
  • Custom Models:  Modern showers are created with unique showerhead designs, from luxury panel showers, to artistic expression through showerheads with special lighting, to pocket showers which can be taken on the go and are in essence a waterproof reservoir which holds enough water to have an outdoor shower while camping.

Showerhead Features

  • Aerating Showerheads:  Mix air with water, producing a misty spray which makes the water-flow feel more substantial, and they don’t create as much steam and moisture.
  • Handheld Showerheads:  Leave it in the holder or remove it to focus the spray on a particular body-part, allowing for quicker cleaning and rinsing.
  • Rain Showerheads:  Large heads and wide spray patterns provide a soft, soothing flow of water.
  • Low-Flow Showerheads:  Features can include a pause button to start and stop water during the shower, a shower timer to manage the time spent in the shower, a temperature gauge which keeps water-flow to a trickle until the desired water temperature is reached, and water volume controls to let you manually adjust the gallons per minute.

From showerhead types to showerhead features, this should give you all you need to know about showerheads in order to make an informed decision on what type of new showerhead is right for your home and lifestyle. For even more information, talk to the Teaneck plumbing experts at BZ Dependable Plumbing & Heating!

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Here is a common and yet seemingly complex Tenafly plumbing problem for you. You turn on your shower, flip the switch to go from tub faucet to shower head and the tub faucet continues to leak. Not only is it rather irritating, but it draws from the water pressure in the shower head. Let’s take a look at why this happens and how to quickly fix it.

Why the Leak?

There is a valve in your tub’s faucet that diverts water from the tub to the shower head when the switch or lever is pulled to turn on your shower. Because the valve is not a perfect seal, the tub faucet will drip a small amount during a shower. However, if a large amount of water is coming out of the tub faucet and very little is coming from your shower head, it is likely a problem with that valve.

In some cases, the only way to know the root of the problem is to take apart the assembly and check all of the valve parts individually for damage. The specifics of the repair process will depend largely on the type of shower and diverter valve you have.

Fixing the Problem

To fix this problem, you can either replace part of or the entire shower diverter valve. Start by removing the faucet and pulling the screw that holds the shower diverter valve in place. Once the screw is removed, take out the rubber washer and replace it. Many times, this is enough to fix the problem.

If it is not, however, you may need to replace the entire shower diverter valve. There are some situations that make it hard to reach the shower diverter valve, such as when you have a shower handle instead of a faucet knob. If this is the case, you may need special tools or professional assistance in removing the knob to access the valve.

If you find that this does not fix the problem or that you are uncomfortable attempting this repair, contact a Tenafly plumbing professional who is experienced in removing and replacing shower diverter valves. We have live operators answering our phones 24 hours a day, so never hesitate to call BZ Dependable Plumbing & Heating for any plumbing repair!

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When we think of clogged drains and other common Teaneck plumbing problems, we most frequently think of toilets and kitchen sinks, but one of the most common drains to cause problems in a home is the bathtub. To avoid drain problems and to help fix any problems that might crop up, here are some tips for how to handle your finicky bathtub drain.

  • How the Bathtub Drain Works – A bath tub drain works the same as the other drains in your home with a simple trap that ensures the safe transfer of water out of your home and blockage of sewer gasses from getting into your home. The drain itself is frequently open with a small crack – roughly a quarter inch – beneath a larger drain plug that can be lowered when you fill the tub. While the space is not large enough for objects like a bar of soap to enter, it is plenty large enough for hair, soap scum, and other small objects from a bath or shower to enter and start clogging that trap.
  • Cleaning the Drain – To cut down on how much hair and gunk actually gets into the drain you should take off the entire drain mechanism once a week and remove any excess hair. You should also use some form of wire device like a bent coat hanger or scrubber to reach in and remove any hair you can reach. There are specific plumbing devices to help with this as well, but a hanger works just fine assuming you do not have a heavy clog. It is also a good idea to run boiling water through your drain once every week to clear out any soap and hair build up. While most soap is water soluble, it can create a thick, greasy clog when combined with hair. Hot water can help to remove it before a clog occurs.
  • If a Clog Occurs – If a clog does occur, you should use the hot water method along with a plunger to try and clear out as much of the clog as possible. Avoid chemical use at all costs. Bathrooms are usually small rooms and even with the fan on, the fumes can be dangerous and the chemicals caustic on your pipes and tub. Baking soda and vinegar often help for small clogs, but otherwise, you should move on to a snake for physical clog removal.

If you have a clog deeper than the snake can reach or that you simply cannot affect with the tools listed above, it may be necessary to call a Teaneck plumbing professional who can track your clog into the pipes and find where the root of the problem is. It might be just too deep in your drainage pipe or it could be a completely different area of your plumbing system.

If you have having any trouble with your home’s plumbing, give BZ Dependable Plumbing & Heating a call today!

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A leaky faucet is obnoxious for more than one reason. It is incessant, it represents a problem that will probably only grow worse, and it can cost you money on your water bill. Beyond all of that, it wastes a lot of water, putting undue stress on the environment. But, how much water does a leaky faucet actually waste? It may not seem like much, but when added up over a period of time, take it from your Englewood plumbers – leaky faucet’s impact can be fairly substantial. If you have a leak, call now for service. If not, keep reading to learn more!

(201) 837-6700

Okay, so a single drip every couple seconds may not seem like a lot of water. But, think about it this way. If you let your faucet drip every day, twenty four hours a day, it is definitely going to add up. Imagine what would happen if every faucet in your home was dripping or every faucet in your neighbourhood. It would not seem like such a small amount of water anymore.

In terms of how much water is actually wasted, it is impossible to tell for certain. After all, every drop of water from a faucet is a different size and falls at a different rate. But, for the most part the water coming from a faucet (according to the US Geological Survey) is between 1/5 and 1/3 of one milliliter. Using those calculations and 1/4 of a milliliter as an average, the USGS estimates that roughly 15,140 drips from a faucet equals one gallon of water.

It may not seem like much. After all, fifteen thousand drops is a LOT of drops. But, if your faucet dripped once every second every day, all day, it would only take four and a half hours to reach one gallon. Every day you would waste 5 gallons of water or 2,082 gallons per year. That is 10% of the average water used by a standard 3.5 gpf toilet on a daily basis. Now, imagine what happens if you have more than one drippy faucet, or if your bathtub leaks which will drip more water at a time or if the leak is larger than the average size.

In short, the cost of a leaky faucet may not seem like much, but as time passes, it can really add up and if it is not taken care of, the cost will only grow as the leak gets bigger and potentially new leaks start in other parts of your Englewood plumbing. Do not let it drip forever – take action now and cut down on the environmental impact you have, as well as your bill.

If you suspect that your plumbing is leaking, call a reliable plumber in Englewood from BZ Dependable Plumbing & Heating today! We’re proud to be your Bergen County plumbers, serving Englewood and the surrounding areas.

(201) 837-6700
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