November 22, 2023
Plumber John’s Tips for a Healthier Home in 2023
Sam: With family in town and house guests piling in, it is so important to make sure that your home is both safe and in full working order. So make sure to call the company that has been helping homeowners in the Denver and Boulder area for 50 years. Joining me now is John Murphy, master plumber and service manager for Applewood Plumbing, heating, and Electric. It’s great to have you.
John: Thank you for having us on.
Sam: Yes. So lots of folks in the house, lots of cooking being done. Let’s talk about garbage disposals because you don’t want one of those to kind of freeze up on you during the holidays. Right.
John: We do get a lot of these calls around Thanksgiving and Christmas when the extended family is over and, and you’re enjoying everything and the dishes are getting scraped off. And so many times, too much is put down all at once, right into the garbs disposal. Most of the time, garbage disposals will handle it, but it does end up sometimes with clogged drain lines and we’ll be there for you. Yeah. But we can’t get to everybody, so that’s the reason I’m warning people now in today’s segment that yeah, that try not to put too much down there and run lots of water when you’re doing it.
Sam: Those are some great tips. But you guys can also help provide maintenance if somebody needs that for their kitchen. Right?
John: Absolutely. There’s lots of, lots of different things we can do. Larger garbage disposals, newer drain lines underneath the kitchen sink. Lots of things like that we can offer people. Yeah,
Sam: Definitely. Well, and also with a lot of people in the house and temperatures getting colder, we wanna keep our homes safe. And carbon monoxide can be a real issue, especially with a lot of, you know, the heaters running now. What kind of tips do you have for homeowners to keep their homes safe?
John: You know, I’m glad you brought that up because carbon monoxide is, is a serious matter. And so your gas appliances in your home should be checked at least annually to make sure they’re not emitting carbon monoxide. It is a serious, it’s a tasteless, colorless odors, odorless gas that you can’t tell is there. And unfortunately it can make people sick or worse. Right. And so it’s very important to make sure those gas appliances are venting correctly so that you don’t have this carbon monoxide emitting into your home. Just have ’em checked out once a year and make sure those carbon monoxide detectors are in place and working.
Sam: Right. And where exactly kind of in the home do you recommend that people should be placing those carbon monoxide detectors?
John: Good question. There’s actually a science to that. And they recommend carbon monoxide manufacturers, and that’s why it is Colorado law that they, they be put on one on each level of the home and within 15 feet of any bedroom so that you can get alerted in the middle of the night in case you’re sleeping
Sam: Happen. Right. Especially if you’re sleeping. That’s really great tip there. What other ways can people help just protect themselves and keep their homes safe? With the furnace running and water heaters kicking up a lot these days,
John: As I said, you know, know you should have those things checked out just to make sure that they’re venting properly and that there’s nothing restricting the flu such as bird’s nest, that can happen. Things like that. Many people we experience, many people have roofing work done, and many times those caps don’t get put back on correctly and that can cause a problem also. So a lot of things that we have to check out if we come out to your house that we can help you with, making sure that those appliances are operating safely. Yeah.
Sam: Well, I know air filters are a big one for folks. They probably aren’t changing them maybe as regularly as they should. Can you tell us more about that?
John: Well, there’s a lot of misnomers in the world out there today. Some folks buy some filters that are supposed to last longer. But the reality is, is that in order for the longevity of your equipment, your furnace equipment, your air conditioning equipment, is that you get that air moving across that equipment as efficiently and and freely as possible. And so we recommend, and most manufacturers recommend a 30 day air filter, which you’re changing once a month, obviously, to promote that airflow to grow across for that appliance, and also to make sure that you’re getting these particles out of the air for, for what you’re breathing in the home. There are other things that that can address air quality, but for longevity of the appliance, it’s good to have those 30 day filters and change them once a month, obviously.
Sam: Right. And you have a great deal that you’re offering for viewers today. What is that?
John: We do $50 off any service, any anybody calls in, mentions it today. Any service we provide, it’s $50 off just mentioning the Healthy Home Tips today.
Sam: Yeah. Wonderful. We appreciate you looking out for homeowners out there, keeping everybody safe, especially during this time of year. Johnny, it was such a pleasure having you.
John: Thank you so much. Happy to do it. Thank you so much. Yeah.
Sam: And a great offer for you viewers. Call Applewood Plumbing Heating and Electric today for $50 off any service that they provide. Call 303-232-6611 or visit applewoodfixit.com to schedule an appointment today.