Health Issues Archives - Page 14 of 14 - Whywait Plumbing Services

Plumbing is Health

by Gary Mays | Jul 10, 2011 | City of Gold Coast, Climate Change, Consumer Issues, Gold Coast Plumbing, Green Plumbers, Health Issues, Plumbers, Plumbers Gold Coast, Plumbing Emergencies, Whywait Plumbing

Plumbing is health as plumbing protects the whole community, and individual plumbers protect the nation’s health.

Whywait Plumbing Services has consistently promoted the importance of excellent plumbing practices combined with sustainable plumbing exercises based on plumbing is health. Whywait Plumbing was the first GreenPlumber in Queensland and remained the only fully licensed GreenPlumber on the Gold Coast.

At the 2011 National Plumbers Regulators Forum, Dr Barry Gilbert, a Specialist in Public Health, spoke on the costs of poor plumbing, confirming that plumbing is public health. Issues highlighted by Dr Gilbert were at the heart of future plumbing practice and were:

The complex global problems of scarce potable water, the use of recycled water, global warming and climate change, together with the influence that man has on the environment, all determine the risk to the population. In the future, plumbing will have an even more critical role in mitigating those risks as plumbing is health.
Plumbing is a significant part of the public health solution and always has been.
Plumbing is at risk of being a victim of its past success since the population at large does not appreciate the vital role that plumbing plays in everyday community health.
Just as vaccination protects individuals and the community, plumbing protects the whole community, and individual plumbers protect the health of the nation.
Plumbers are obligated to impart their knowledge and experience to the community and demonstrate the potential impact that poor plumbing will have in the future.
Plumbing is public health, now and in the future.

Ray Herbert CEO of MPMSAA

Whywait Plumbing has always been at the forefront of sustainability so being part of GreenPlumbers was a natural choice when MPMSAA founded it in 2001. Ray Herbert, CEO of MPMSAA, worked with RMIT University to develop the training and recruited Gary Workman to run the courses.

MPMSAA, or Master Plumbers and Mechanical Services Association of Australia, is one of Australia’s oldest Associations, having been founded in 1891 when 57 Melbourne plumbing contractors paid a £5 ($10.00) entrance fee and £1 ($2.00) subscription to enable the establishment of the Associated Master Plumber of Victoria. Therefore, it was only natural that MPMSAA has taken the lead to ensure plumbers are at the forefront of water sustainability and water conservation.

Most of the plumbers at Whywait Plumbing have now completed their GreenPlumbers training of the five basic courses which are focused on plumbing is health:

Climate Care – how to take care of our climate, including gas emissions in homes and businesses that cover hot water heating, energy consumption, heating appliances, and cooling appliances.
Caring for Our Water – an introduction to the water cycle process and the new technologies and behaviours that contribute to conservation through topics like water-efficient products, reducing household water consumption, stormwater runoff pollution and prevention, and household water audits.
Solar Hot Water – the latest information on new technology in the solar hot water industry, rebate information, retrofit sizing and installation.
Water Efficient Technology – an overview of the ever-changing technologies that shape future conservation efforts through the use of Recycled Water, rainwater, Greywater, Septic Tanks/Wastewater Treatment Systems, and Environmental/Public Health/Safety Regulations.
Inspection Report Services – overview of domestic and commercial water auditing, inspections and reporting, assessment and strategies—including water and energy audits, commercial/industrial and residential buildings, and creating a master plan for future improvements.

Whywait Plumbing is the only fully licensed GreenPlumber on the Gold Coast, as we are committed to promoting plumbing is health. As a Licensed GreenPlumber, we differ from an Accredited GreenPlumber as we have committed to requiring all licensed plumbers working for the company to become fully accredited GreenPlumbers to protect your health.

Toilet Paper Is Blocking Your Drains

by Gary Mays | Jul 8, 2011 | Blocked drain, blocked toilet, blocked toilet drain, City of Gold Coast, DIY Plumbing, Drain Odours, Gold Coast plumbers, handyman, Health Issues, Plumbing Emergencies, Toilets

Toilet paper is blocking your drains, and we know it for a fact at Whywait Plumbing. Blocked drain incidences have been increasing every year since 2005.

Whywait Plumbing has noted the upward trend of annual increases in the number of blocked drain occurrences that require clearing with high-pressure water jetting equipment since 2005, with even sharper increases since 2008.

This has generally been attributed to the advent of low-flow dual flush toilets, especially the 4.5/3 litre toilet suites.

Your house drain that connects to the sewer was designed when water flows were much more substantial than they are now. Traditionally a toilet flush was 11 litres, and this flow was supplemented by inflows from the bathroom, kitchen and laundry. Prior to legislative changes in 2007, a shower deluged you with a flow of 25 litres per minute now that is 9 litres. Taps in the remainder of the house all had substantial flow rates of 20 – 25 litres per minute, but now that is 6 litres per minute.

Consequently, it made sense that the 70% reduction in water flows was the cause of this rapid increase in blocked drains. Naturally, this made complete sense in homes and business premises that were new or had upgraded their taps and toilets. But why were we seeing an increase where no such upgrades had occurred? Over the last year, Whywait Plumbing Services, like many other plumbing companies, began noticing, when undertaking a CCTV survey of a drain, large clumps of toilet paper that had not broken down in the water.

This issue with toilet paper has now reached a point where the National Plumbing Regulators have had a NATA laboratory undertaking research on the varying degrees of toilet paper quality and its influence on flow performance down a drain. Results to date are concerning as over 20 commercially available toilet paper brands were evaluated in full performance testing. There were an excessive number of these toilet papers whose performance in the poor break down in water can potentially cause more blockages than others.

It’s interesting to note that none of the toilet paper culprits that have an increased potential to cause blockages is locally manufactured. Its even more interesting that the Federal Government has a committee investigating the dumping of commodities by China into Australia and one of these commodities is toilet paper. It is doubtful whether Coles and Woolworths are too concerned about what happens to this cheap toilet they import once it passes through their checkouts. Who knows what these toilet papers are really manufactured from?

These cheap toilet papers dominate in commercial buildings where contract cleaning companies install the cheapest toilet paper they can purchase. This has resulted in alarming increases in blockages in commercial buildings.

So next time when you pick up that packet of toilet paper that is on special in the supermarket just have a look to see where it is manufactured or you may unknowingly be purchasing a blocked drain at the same time.

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