by Gary Mays | Jul 13, 2012 | Bathrooms, Climate Change, Consumer Issues, Drain Odours, Health Issues, Leaking Pipes, Plumbing Maintenance
Mould is a common problem in bathrooms in South East Queensland due to our sub-tropical climate. Like most problems prevention is vital and often very simple.
Black mould on bathroom tiles
Because your bathroom and especially the shower area are the wettest areas in your home it is not uncommon to see black mould growing in the grouting and silicon sealants. Mould loves your bathroom because it is the perfect atmosphere to create the ideal conditions for mould growth in the cracks and gaps in the tiling. Consequently black mould grows in behind and through the grout joints on the tiles. As can be seen on the photo on the right black mould loves getting in behind the silicon seal on the internal corners whether it be the wall or the floor.
The most common area to find mould is in your shower where it is nourished by your body oils, shampoo and soap residue that are left behind every time the shower is used.
Poor air circulation actively assists mould growth as the warmth and moisture created in the enclosed area of a shower offer further ideal conditions for mould growth in the dark areas of the shower around the internal corners and the shower floor drain. Poor air circulation is easily resolved by ensuring you install a good quality bathroom extraction fan above the shower that turns on automatically to remove all of the steam and water particles while you are using the shower.
If you are suffering from black mould growth in your bathroom then Whywait Plumbing recommend that you act early to remove it before permanent stains are created. To get rid of early mould growth the best solution is to use a paste of baking soda and vinegar. Simply mix one cup of water with white vinegar and water to create a smooth paste. Then apply the paste to the areas where mould is growing, gently scrubing it with an old soft tooth brush until it starts to turn white and then leave it. After half an hour rinse off all the paste using your shower spray and if any mould still is visible you will need to repeat applying the paste and scrubbing it until all of the mould has disappeared.
The paste above will work perfectly on mould that is detected and removed early but if you have a real infestation then use a 50/50 mix of water and bleach in a spray bottle. Ensure you have adequate ventilation in the bathroom before you begin lightly spraying the mould. Once again spray then leave for half an hour, rinse off and spray again until all of the mould has disappeared.
Mould behind the silicon sealant on the internal corners will require more thorough work. First use a utility knife to scrape off all of the silicon and you may need to use a blade to scrape the remnants clear off the tiles. Once all of the silicon has been removed spray the mould with the 50/50 bleach until it has all disappeared. Once the mould has gone rinse the area clean and dry it thoroughly with a hot air dryer to ensure there is no moisture trapped in the open joint. Finally reapply a good quality mould resistant silicon to the joint which is specifically designed for high moisture areas.
If mould reappears within a few weeks then you may have problems with leaking pipes or fittings that require a thorough investigation by Whywait Plumbing to ensure you are not damaging internal frames and wall linings.
Remember mould is only a sympton of a bigger problem and ignoring will not make it disappear. If in any doubt call Whywait Plumbing for advice on how to deal with mould in your bathroom.
by Gary Mays | Jul 3, 2012 | Bathrooms, Consumer Issues, Health Issues, Plumbing Maintenance, Sustainable Plumbing
Traditionally toilets flushed 11 litres or 3 gallons of water every time they were flushed with the water all flowing along through a drainage system that was designed for large flows of water. Unless a drain was broken or roots entered the drain it was not common for a drain to block. That was of course until the advent of reduced flow dual flush toilets.
Now that toilet only flushes 4.5 litres of water on a full flush and 3 litres of water on a half flush into the drainage system. Coupled with reduced flows from every other tap this has produced a situation where drains designed for large flows of water have had the water flow reduced by 60% in most cases.
The increase in blocked drains due to the reduced water flows has been a big boost for plumbing companies such as Whywait Plumbing with drains clogging up for no other reason than lack of water flow. Often there is a dual problem of incorrect fall on the drain which creates high spots in the pipe leading to the drain becoming clogged at that point.
In Singapore scientists at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have invented a new toilet system that will reduce the amount of water needed for flushing by up to 90 per cent compared to current toilet systems. Dubbed the No-Mix Vacuum Toilet, it has two chambers that separate the liquid and solid wastes. Using vacuum suction technology, similar to those used in aircraft toilets it uses 0.2 litres of water for urine and 1.0 litres of water for solids.
The No-Mix Vacuum Toilet installed in a standard public toilet which is flushed 100 times a day, is expected to save 160000 litres of water a year. The NTU scientists are now looking to carry out trials by installing the toilet prototypes in two NTU public toilet facilities. This trial is important due to the issues that plumbers are already aware of with the drains blocking at 4.5/3 litre flushes so a 1.0/0.2 litre flush is expected to exacerbate this problem in existing buildings.
The No-Mix Vacuum Toilet with it’s two chambers that separate the liquid and solid wastes also will turn human waste into electricity and fertilisers. The No-Mix Vacuum Toilet will divert the liquid waste to a processing facility where components used for fertilisers such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium can be recovered. At the same time, the solid waste will be sent to a bioreactor where it will be digested to release bio-gas which contains methane. Methane is odourless and can be used to replace natural gas used in stoves for cooking. Methane can also be converted to electricity if used to fuel power plants or fuel cells. ‘Grey water’ (used water from the laundry, shower and kitchen sink) can be released back into the drainage systems without further need for complex waste water treatment, while leftover food wastes can be sent either to the bioreactors or turned into compost and mixed with soil, resulting in a complete recovery of resources.
The No-Mix Vacuum Toilet uses will be limited in traditional buildings but will be useful for eco resorts, new housing estates, hotels, resorts, and especially communities not linked to the main sewerage system or unable to be connected and so require their own sewerage facilities.
Associate Professor Wang Jing-Yuan, Director of the Residues and Resource Reclamation Centre (R3C) at NTU who is leading the research project, said that their ultimate aim is not only for the new toilet system to save water, but to have a complete recovery of resources so that none will be wasted in resource-scarce Singapore. “Having the human waste separated at source and processed on-site would lower costs needed in recovering resources, as treating mixed waste is energy intensive and not cost-effective,” Prof Wang said. “With our innovative toilet system, we can use simpler and cheaper methods of harvesting the useful chemicals and even produce fuel and energy from waste.”
The development of a No-Mix Vacuum Toilet has great potential for use on the Gold Coast in the development of tourist facilities in environmentally sensative areas where traditional sewerage systems cannot be installed.
by Gary Mays | Apr 17, 2012 | City of Gold Coast, Consumer Issues, Gold Coast Plumbing, Insurance, Marketing, Plumber Brisbane, Plumbers, Plumbers Gold Coast, Plumbing Emergencies, Plumbing Maintenance, Whywait Plumbing
Credit card payments to pay accounts is now the most common method of payment our clients use to pay for the plumbing services we provide at Whywait Plumbing. Yes we accept the following credit cards:
- American Express
- MasterCard
- Visa
And NO we don’t charge you any form of surcharge.
Unlike many companies Whywait Plumbing do not charge you a surcharge on credit card payments
From our perspective the fees the bank charges us to accept a credit card are negligible, with the benefits of same day payment far outweighing the bank fees.
This policy is unlikely to change as we continually see other companies charging excessively their own clients to make payment via a credit card. It is increasingly the norm with businesses that charge a surcharge for using a credit card to charge double what the bank charges them. This is disguised as administrative fees that would be incurred whether you pay by credit card, cash or cheque. Far too many companies are making additional profit from their own clients using a credit card.
At Whywait Plumbing we bank with Bendigo Bank and the fees they charge us for processing Visa and MasterCard is 0.72%. Unlike other banks Bendigo Bank deposit credit card payments into our bank account same day. With American Express it is slightly different as we have to pay 1.8% and it can take up to 48 hours for the money to be deposited into our bank account.
Put simply the installation of a toilet suite for a service partner costs $758.02 and if they pay by Visa or MasterCard the cost to us is $5.46. Even if they pay by American Express the cost is still $13.64. Either way you look at it those fees are much less than the administrative cost of sending out an invoice, then waiting for payment to arrive.
At Whywait Plumbing we guarantee we will never charge clients for the convenience of using a credit card to pay. We urge you to challenge the validity of businesses that frequently charge you 3-5% for using a credit card when it is highly unlikely they are paying anything like that to their bank.
by Gary Mays | Nov 15, 2011 | banging pipes, Consumer Issues, erosion and corrosion in plumbing pipes, Gold Coast Plumber, Gold Coast plumbers, Gold Coast Plumbing, Health Issues, Insurance coverage of water leaks, Leaking Pipes, PEX pipes, Plumbers, Plumbers Gold Coast, Plumbing Maintenance, water damage insurance claims, Water Filtration, Water Hammer, Water Leaks, water pipe pressure
Traditionally most homes used copper pipes to circulate hot and cold water. Since the 1970’s plastic pipes have increasingly replaced traditional copper or galvanised steel pipes.
Over the last ten years, pipe-in-pipe systems have been commonly installed to circulate water in most newly constructed homes. The inner pipe for drinking water is made of a plastic called cross-linked polyethylene (PEX).
Since the advent of plastic plumbing systems, there have always been questions regarding the effects on health and do they affect the taste and odour of drinking water. International studies have shown that plastic pipes can release substances that give drinking water an unwanted taste and odour. It has also been suggested that some of these substances may be carcinogenic.
Several investigations worldwide on health issues have been conducted, and most are inconclusive or positive. The Norwegian Institute of Public Health has just released a new study on whether leaching or leakage products from these pipes harm health and if they affect the taste and odour of drinking water. The potential leakage products consist of residues of additives used during manufacture to give plastic pipes their desired properties and any subsequent breakdown products.
The Norwegian study results indicated:
- There are no health risks associated with drinking water from PEX pipes
- A few types of PEX-pipe may cause prolonged undesirable taste and odour if the water remains in pipes over time
- Although the taste and odour usually dissipate with use, water from two PEX types still had an unpleasant smell and taste after a year.
- The volatile organic compounds that leaked from new PEX pipes were generally low.
- The level was further reduced with the use.
- No correlation was found between manufacturing methods and leaking products.
This study was undertaken far more scientifically than many tests or studies in Australia. It is common in Australia for international products that have undergone extensive testing to fail AS4020 based on a highly subjective taste test from a panel of 5 – 7 people. The Norwegian study tested ten different PEX pipe types for leaching products in a standardised laboratory test. The water was in contact with the tubes for 72 hours.
Three different manufacturing methods produce pipes known as PEX-a, PEX-b or PEX-c. These methods use slightly different additives, but this study found no correlation between production methods and leakage products. Two of the most commonly occurring substances detected in the experiment’s water were 2.4-di-tert-butyl-phenol and methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE). For three new pipe types, MTBE was detected in higher concentrations than the US government’s recommended limits for the taste and odour of drinking water (USEPA). Still, the values were reduced to below this limit after the tubes were used for a while.
This study confirms what the plumbing technicians at Whywait Plumbing frequently observe: no matter what type of pipe, there can be a taste or odour in new piping systems or where a house has been unoccupied. The taste and odour soon disappear once the water is in use in the house and is in constant circulation.
by Gary Mays | Jul 20, 2011 | Blog, Leaking Pipes, Plumbers, Plumbing Maintenance
Have you ever thought about what would happen if your washing machine or dishwasher hose broke when you were asleep, at work or on holiday? Imagine putting a hose in your lounge room, turning it on and leaving for work. The water damage would be devastating.
Unfortunately this is a scenario the plumbing technicians at Whywait Plumbing Services confront every week. Almost always it is a hose from the dishwasher or washing machine that has burst or broken. The hoses to our dishwashers and washing machines are on the most neglected but potentially most damaging maintenance items in a home.Refe
Whether we are at home or not the water supply to our homes and businesses is almost always turned on. We all know how much a mess a glass of water dropped on the floor makes so how much water will discharge from a burst hose?
Taps to the dishwasher and washing machine are seldom flow restricted in the same manner as taps on your shower, sink or basin. For this reason a burst hose discharging 20 litres of water a minute will do major damage to a home within 1 hour. Frequently a hose will burst at night due to the increase in pressure originating through the water supply company water mains.
- in 1 hour 1200 litres of water will be discharged
- in 8 hours 9600 litres of water will be discharged
- in 1 day 28800 litres of water will be discharged
- in 1 week 201600 litres of water will be discharged
To reduce the risk and damage of burst hoses there are a few simple precautions that can be taken:
- ensure you have a pressure reduction valve installed at your meter to ensure your incoming water pressure cannot never exceed delivery pressure of 500kpa in compliance with AS3500
- have floodstop valves installed to your washing machine and dishwasher
Whywait Plumbing has service partner annual inspections that ensure your hoses are checked for any sign of deterioration and that pressure reduction valves are correctly calibrated. These annual checks can save you the drama of ruined carpets, ruined wooden floors, ruined furniture, phoning your insurance company, filling out multiple claim forms and so much more.
