Tips for Home Drain Cleaning in Vancouver or Port Coquitlam

The drainage system is one of the most important pipe networks in your Vancouver or Port Coquitlam home. Without this simple, often-ignored facility, the whole human race will be taking a step back to pretty much the dark ages. It is, therefore, important that your plumbing system be inspected, cleaned out and repaired as needed. Here are useful pointers on drain cleaning in Vancouver or Port Coquitlam.

 

Kitchen Drains: Cleaning Solutions

Allow very hot tap water to flow into your sink drain every few days to get rid of odors. Put baking soda in the kitchen drain and slowly apply a quarter cup of vinegar or lemon juice. Let it sit for about thirty minutes, then run hot water through the drain. Do this about once a week. You can also use a strong brine solution to eliminate grease buildup.

 

Bathroom Drains: Drain Stick

One of the common things that clog your bathroom drain is the collection of hair that falls off whenever you shower. To remove this, use a drain stick, a tool that typically looks like a long plastic stick with a four-sided comb-like object at the end. Simply place the stick into the drain, rotate a few times, and pull out the hair strands that attach to it.

 

Toilet Drains: Plungers

When your toilet begins to clog, you need to remedy the situation before things worsen. To get the best results, buy a heavy-duty plunger instead of the typical small suction-cup type. The larger the plunger, the more force can be applied to suck out the stuck material in a drain. Insert the plunger into the toilet bowl, making sure that you're completely covering the hole, and press down firmly but slowly.

If you think your drains need more work than the conventional cleaning, don't hesitate to call a contractor for plumbing in Port Coquitlam or Vancouver. There might be internal damage in certain pipes or drains that will cause leaks when not repaired. Many plumbing professionals like Milani Plumbing, Drainage and Heating can help you maintain and repair your drain system.

Your home's drain system delivers your daily waste as far from your home as possible. Hence, if this system fails to perform its functions, you might find yourself disposing liquid waste or drain garbage the old-fashioned—and messy—way. Never take your drain plumbing for granted; it's one of the privileges of modern living.

 

 

Furnace Installation in Vancouver: When You Need Something New

When you have just settled into a new house in the greater Vancouver area, you’d want to be prepared for cold spells that could occur without warning, considering the various microclimates in the area. A check of the house can reveal, for one, that its stock furnace may have seen better days. Since spring time is underway, it is the opportunity you need for a Vancouver furnace installation job.

Pick-a-boo

When you are committed to having a new furnace set up at home, start by checking the British Thermal Unit (BTU) ratings, and the machine’s Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) grade. The final heat output can be determined by the BTU rating factored into the efficiency rating. However, determining the actual size of the furnace your house needs depends on factors such as the number of insulated windows and doors present and the quality of the sealing. A contractor such as Milani can evaluate the house and recommend the proper set up.

Furnaces run on a variety of power sources depending on the system preferred. Take your pick from models linked to gas, heating oil and electric-powered heaters. In Canada, gas-fed furnaces still dominate because of the energy efficiency they offer. Such systems need to be hooked up to gas utility lines, though, as having home heating gas periodically delivered is rather impractical . Oil furnaces are less costly to set up than gas furnaces, but are not as efficient. Electric furnaces are more convenient, and less expensive to purchase and install; but incur high power bills.

Drains

It can be easy to overlook the drainage system of your house while having the furnace set up. For instance, are all the lines freeflowing? Is there a danger of backflow during critical moments of the day? Anything is possible, especially if a check reveals blockages in certain sections of the piping grid.

A North Vancouver drainage team from a noted plumbing company like Milani will be ready to address related problems in the house. These include fixing up the leader drains and storm drains, the piping for the kitchen and bathrooms, and laundry tubs. The firm can even throw in a long-term maintenance plan for sheer value.

Moving into a new house carries with it an entirely new set of challenges. Taking care of the place’s drainage and HVAC systems early on will avoid serious problems in the future. 

 

 

Heat Pumps in Vancouver – Some Like It Real Hot

If you recently settled in the greater Vancouver area, you will realize soon enough how quickly it could get cold. Weather experts say the average highs in the Couv can top 14 degrees Celsius. The average lows usually reach 4°C; but freak conditions can send the mercury dropping a bit below zero.

The rainy days also present problems for those who like things hot. Since the weather can turn on a dime in the Lower Mainland, you will need to stabilize the temperatures at home. This is best done through heat pumps, which are large machines that transfer heat accordingly to either warm up or cool down a home. A provider of heat pumps in Vancouver such as Milani can make it happen.

You might have seen heat pumps if you spotted large gray box-like structures with grills situated outside some houses. The most common model, an air-source heat pump, consists of an electric motor, a duct fan on top, and a bank of liquid refrigerant coils. These are connected to an air-handling system in a secure location, usually the basement. The device, in turn, has a blower linking the machine to the various ducts throughout the house.

A command panel in the house dictates the operations of the heat pump. When the pump is in heating mode for example, it attracts cold air through the unit’s refrigerant coils and out the fan while the refrigerant is converted into hot vapor. The compressor’s reversing valve sends the vapor as a hot gas into the air-handler, where a bank of heating coils course the heat through the blower to be channeled into the home’s ductwork. The refrigerant is then returned to the pump’s coils to continue the cycle.

There are many things to consider when you are committed to having a heat pump installed in the house to augment or supplant your HVAC system. These include your ideal room temperatures, sensitivity to allergies, and the complexity of existing HVAC ductwork. Call in professionals from a Surrey heating company such as Milani to look over your home. Their skill and expertise will help map out the optimum solutions for the place.

Heat pumps have been touted as workable solutions for heating and cooling a home’s interior. Having these systems installed with the help of skilled professionals is sure to increase the value of any home.

Heat Pumps for Vancouver Households: A More Energy-Efficient Option to Heat or Cool Homes

Since spring in Vancouver means warm temperatures, locals engage in outdoor festivities, and when they get tired, they retreat to their homes to relax. However, they can't unwind if their current heating and cooling systems are defective. If this is your current situation, consider having heat pumps installed instead. There are two major types of heat pumps in Vancouver:

Air Source Heat Pumps

An air source heat pump takes heat from the air and boosts it to a higher temperature. The unit is typically placed outside the property, either on the side or at the back. An air source heat pump is effective in warming up radiators, underfloor heating systems, and even water. This type of heat pump can be further broken down into two varieties.

All-Electric Air Source Heat Pump Systems

This kind is equipped with a built-in electric back-up system. The back-up source provides supplementary heat as needed, to maximize the equipment's efficiency. In warm seasons, an all-electric air source heat pump system works the same way as a central air conditioner, since it removes heat and humidity from the interiors of a home and transfers it outside.

Dual-Fuel Air Source Heat Pump Systems

In cold temperatures, this type is paired with a forced-air heating system (which can either be fueled by natural gas or propane) to provide back-up heating as needed. The dual-fuel air source heat pump system is connected to a furnace in Port Coquitlam homes and, like a central air conditioning system, also transfers heat from the inside to the outside when needed. By working in tandem with a furnace, the heat pump makes household temperatures more consistent.

Geothermal Heat Pumps

Geothermal heat pumps—or what are sometimes referred to as ground source heat pumps—extract heat from the ground through buried pipes. The heat is then absorbed into fluid and passed through a heat exchanger. As ground temperatures are constant under the surface, this type of heat pump can be used throughout the year.

The heat pumps mentioned above are known to do a better job than traditional heating systems in maintaining desired temperatures in your home. Have the unit installed by reliable heating and cooling specialists like the ones from Milani Plumbing, Drainage, and Heating, so they can optimize the unit's energy efficiency benefits. This will help you reduce energy costs.