Garbage Disposal Dont’s

As the holidays get closer many of us find ourselves spending more and more time in the kitchen. Whether you are preparing the turkey for Thanksgiving dinner or baking cookies for Christmas, your garbage disposal can prove to be a very handy companion. However, you want to make sure that you are keeping your handy companion healthy through all the holiday hustle and bustle. That’s where we come in!

Below we have compiled a list of objects that will surely decrease your disposal’s life span. Remember, it’s a garbage disposal, not an in-sink trash bin.

• Rice, Pasta, Potatoes, and Beans- The main issue with these substances is swelling. Even the smallest particles of these items will swell when in contact with water. This will eventually gather, swell, and clog your trap.

• Animal Bones- Your disposal is not as strong as you may think. It can not break the bones down small enough to fit through which will ultimately cause a jam.

• Grease- This one is simple, the grease will solidify and end up clogging a portion, if not all, of your drain.

• Egg Shells- A common misconception about egg shells is that they help to sharpen your disposal’s blades. However, they ultimately do more harm than good. They do not sharpen your disposal’s blades but they will gladly clog the line.

• Fibrous Foods- This means celery, asparagus, lettuce, corn husks, carrots, onion skins, potato peels, etc. The strings of these items have been known to wrap around the blades and cause an issue with motor function. Your disposal can probably handle these substances in small doses but it is always better to be safe than sorry.

• Non-Food Items- As I stated before, this is a garbage disposal, not a trash bin. This means that things like cigarette butts, twist ties, rubber bands, plant clippings, etc. should not be what you are sending down the drain. As is the common theme of many of the substances previously listed, non-food items are another sure way to clog you drain.

We hope that this list will help to ensure a wonderful holiday season for you and your family. Be sure to follow this advice so you can save money for Christmas gifts rather than garbage disposal repairs!

If you have any further questions do not hesitate to give us a call at 303-465-1900.

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Happy Hanukkah from McAdams Plumbing!

Tonight, December 16, 2014 after sunset marks the first night (first day being December 17th) of The Festival of Lights: Hanukkah!

For those not familiar with the holiday, Hanukkah commemorates the Jewish people’s successful rebellion against the Greeks in the Maccabean War in 162 BCE. A ritual cleansing and re-dedication of the Temple occurred after the Jewish people’s victory. It is believed that there was only enough consecrated oil to keep the lamp burning for one day but the small bottle of oil miraculously lasted for eight days. Hanukkah, also known as Chanukah, is referred as the Feast of Lights or Festival of Lights for this reason (timeanddate.com).

The celebration lasts for eight days and normally consists of ritual readings, prayers, distribution of gifts, the lighting of the menorah, and the sharing of traditional foods and unleavened breads. Most Hanukkah celebrations include song and dance and large feasts with family, friends, and neighbors. Personally, I’m all for the potato latkes!

I recently married into a Jewish household and have had a wonderful time learning the customs, celebrating the holidays, and participating in the religious ceremonies. The Jewish customs and traditions are steeped in history and are very interactive. The generous use of wine with the ceremonies is a big plus too!

So for all of our Jewish friends, family, and customers out there we wish you a happy Hanukkah and hope that your holiday season is filled with love and prosperity.

Cheers!

-Chris

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It’s cold outside, snow flurries are popping up all over the place, and the malls are getting crowded; that can mean only one thing: The holidays are here!

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or Boxing Day, it’s exciting to see all the festivities and decorations brightening up our city.

With the holiday season also comes family traditions. We all have different traditions in our families that help remind us of when we were younger and times were simpler. Within my family we still follow several traditions throughout the month of December.

For instance, we prepare a huge batch of homemade hard candy on the first weekend of December to share with friends, family, and to give as gifts. This tradition goes back 3 generations now which is very exciting.

My wife comes from a Jewish background so we also celebrate the eight days of Hanukkah with traditional hebrew prayers and the lighting of the menorah. This is a practice that I love because as I had very few Jewish friends growing up so I had little opportunity to learn about their customs, which are beautiful.

On Christmas eve, the family gets together in the evening and exchanges one small gift, just for fun and as an excuse to sit and have drinks together. On Christmas morning my father-in-law prepares fresh cinnamon rolls and we all delight in those before getting a nice tall cup of coffee and assembling around the Christmas tree.

These are just a few of the fun traditions our family holds on to. How about you? Do you still keep traditions alive in your family? Or are you starting new traditions this year?

We’d love to hear all about it. Tell us your holiday traditions on Twitter and Facebook with the tag #MPTraditions.

Cheers!

-Chris

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Merry Christmas from McAdams Plumbing!

This week McAdams Plumbing would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

As a family owned and operated company we feel that spending time with family is of the utmost importance, especially on Christmas day. For that reason McAdams Plumbing will be closing at 7pm on Tuesday, December 24th, and not re-opening until Thursday, December 26th. During this time all associates will be unavailable so please plan ahead for any foreseeable plumbing needs.

If you need any drains run, leaks repaired, or toilets inspected, do so on either Monday or Tuesday to ensure that you have an uneventful (plumbing wise at least) Christmas day. Otherwise, McAdams Plumbing will be open during normal operating hours (7am-7pm) on December 26th.

Thank you all for your understanding and continued patronage.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

-The McAdams Family

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A Precious Gift Program

McAdams Plumbing is happy to announce that we are once again involved with A Precious Child‘s holiday gift program Precious Gift!

The Precious Gift program provides gifts to children who otherwise would not receive any during monumental times in their life such as birthdays and holidays. It is our goal to provide more than 6,000 children with a gift during the 2013 Holiday Season, and we cannot do it without your support!

During the holiday’s, APC collects the top three wishes of children in need and they partner with various churches, organizations, and individuals to fulfill each child’s wish!

Throughout the year, providing a gift during a child’s birthday can be difficult for a parent who is struggling. APC is able to provide children that come through our resource center with birthday bags that include cake mix, icing, candles, and a few gifts to help celebrate their special day!

There are a several ways you can get involved. You can make an online donation, individually sponsor a child to donate gifts (call APC at 303-466-4272), volunteer your time at the A Precious Child’s Giving Tree, which is located at the Flatirons Crossing Mall during the holiday season, or stop by McAdams Plumbing (6343 W 120th Ave Ste 102, Broomfield, CO 80020) to get a card from our Giving Tree, which gives the information of a child and their gift wishes. Gifts can be purchased and brought back to McAdams Plumbing and we will deliver the gifts directly to APC on December 6th.

Click here for a list of alternate drop off locations.

However you decide to get involved, know that your contribution will help bring joy to a less fortunate child this holiday season, and what better gift is there than that?

Thanks for all you do Colorado!

The Proof is in the Plumbing!

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Grease: Your Drain’s Worst Enemy

Thanksgiving is around the corner, which offers us this week’s blog topic: grease in your drains. It’s important that you remember after that big meal full of sleep inducing turkey, not to pour grease and food scraps down your drain. Most people are under the impression that you can put some food in your garbage disposal, I mean, that’s why it’s there right? Wrong! Even though your garbage disposal may be able to handle small, non-fibrous food scraps, your drains are not designed to. Food waste, grease, and debris builds up in your drain pipes and causes blockages.

The best way to avoid this problem is to ALWAYS brush all of your food scraps into the garbage before you wash your dishes. This will ensure you keep your drains clear and clog free and your garbage disposal free of performance reducing grease. In order to properly dispose of grease and oils, especially if using a turkey fryer, follow these steps:

• Once cooled, pour cooking oil and grease into a non-recyclable container; add kitty litter or coffee grounds, seal the container, and place in the trash.
• Scrape food scraps from dishes into trash. Minimize the use of your garbage disposal because even cooked foods contain oil and grease that can clog sewer lines.
• Remove oil and grease from dishes, pots, and pans with a paper towel or napkin.
• Pre-wash dishes, pans, and pots with cold water before putting them in the dish washer. Hot water does not remove oil or grease but rather liquifies them. Once they cool they return to solids and can clog the sewer lines.

For additional information about how to care for your drains in a safe, natural way, please take a look at this article from our friends at Networx.com:

http://www.networx.com/article/care-for-your-drain-the-natural-way

Hope you enjoyed the blog. If you have any questions or comment please leave them in the comment section below or call us at 303-898-0851. Remember to follow us on Facebook and Google+.

The Proof is in the Plumbing!

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“Credit Kipp J Schoen Photography: http://schoenphoto.zenfolio.com“

For this weeks blog McAdams Plumbing wants to make sure our friends and patrons are prepared for the upcoming holidays and all that they can bring.

First off, we need to let you know that like most businesses, McAdams Plumbing will be closed from Sunday, December 23rd, through Christmas day, Tuesday the 25th. We will re-open with our normal business hours (7am-7pm) on Wednesday, December 26th.

With the holiday schedule in mind we want to make sure that you don’t delay taking care of plumbing problems if you notice them. The last thing anyone needs to worry about over the holiday is having a plumbing emergency during such an inconvenient time. Here’s a list of some of the common problems folks run into during this time (Hint: use this as a check list to be sure none of these are going to sneak up on you!):

Toilets Constantly Running

Many times folks have a bathroom they use infrequently except when visitor come to stay. When the activity in these bathrooms increases it can expose bad fill valves or warped flappers that cause the toilet to run constantly or fill improperly leading to a poor flush. Test your toilets a few times before company arrives to be sure that everything is working properly.

Visitors Flushing Unflushables

Unflushables, get it? Like “Untouchables.” Anyways, as much as we wish they would, guests don’t always follow the same rules of the home as you do. Make sure your guests know that the ONLY things you should flush down the toilet are human waste and toilet paper. Even “flushable” sanitary products can present a problem so avoid it all together and make sure people put trash in the pale, not the toilet.

Clogged Sink Drain

If your sink drains slowly now, it’s only going to get worse as your kitchen activity increases over the holidays. Don’t allow yourself to get stuck in a situation where your drain clogs in the middle of Christmas dinner preparations, have it taken care of in advance. McAdams Plumbing can normally get in and out and have the drain cleaned in less than an hour. Check our Drain Cleaning page for deals!

Clogged Shower/Bathroom Faucet Drains

With the increased holiday activity kitchen drains aren’t the only ones that get clogged. Check your shower and bathroom faucet drains as well. If any of these drain poorly look at getting those taken care of as well. As you’ll see on our Drain Cleaning page if you need multiple drains cleaned MP gives you 50% off any additional drain cleaning with the purchase of a full price initial drain cleaning. That’s a deal you just can’t beat!

Garbage Disposal

Another common problem we run into is broken or clogged garbage disposals. Remember, garbage disposals are meant to handle minor scraps left over from food preparation and cleaning. Do not use it at a garbage can! Too much food can overwhelm the garbage disposal and jam or break it. Also make sure your running cool water down your drain when operating your garbage disposal to keep the motor cool and the waste flowing down.

Shower Leaks

Many times guests using showers forget to close the door all the way or pull the curtain completely closed. More than once have we been called out for an emergency leak repair when it turned out that someone simply left the door partially ajar during a shower and allowed water to seep into the floor. Save yourself the headache (and emergency service fee) and remind your guests to fully close the door or curtain when showering.

Hoses and Sprinklers

We covered this topic in our What About Your Sprinkler Systems? blog but it’s worth mentioning again. If you haven’t already make sure you disconnect your hoses for the winter and have your sprinkler systems blown out right away. This will help avoid major problems with frozen pipes over the winter.

And finally…

Sump Pumps

Sump pumps work to push water from under your home, that could become a problem, out to a safer area. If your sump pump fails and the increased moisture of the winter season raises the water table under your home the result could be a basement flood! Make sure your sump pump is working properly; if you are unsure feel free to call MP at 303-465-1900 and we’ll do our best to answer your questions.

Ok, I think that covers quite a bit! Make sure if you have work you’d like to have done before the holiday break call and get on the schedule. Things tend to fill up last minute and we don’t want anyone to get pushed aside. As always if you have any questions call, email, or leave a comment below. We’re always monitoring our blog so give us your suggestions or questions, we’re here to help!

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Plumb in the Holidays!

So we have all been in the same holiday situation before: you have someone on your list that just seems to have everything! You drive yourself crazy trying to figure out the perfect gift. Well here’s an idea, why not get them a plumbing upgrade?

One thing that is often overlooked but can add great personality to a home are new plumbing fixtures. Maybe that special someone could use a new outdoor hose faucet for their garden. Or maybe you have a foodie in your life that could use an upgrade in their kitchen, something that works with them in their preparations.

With that in mind McAdams Plumbing is offering a unique holiday special. From Monday,November 19th, until Monday, December 31st we will give you $100.00 off the purchase and installation of a Delta Touch20 faucet (Model #D980TSSSDDST). This faucet is very unique in that it is activated simply by touch. This feature is great for keeping the kitchen clean and for preventing bacterial cross-contamination when working with raw meats. The installation includes faucet, shut-off valves, miscellaneous materials, and batteries. Call and schedule you installation today, 303-465-1900!

McAdams Plumbing also has our normal deals running through the holiday season as well, so make sure you stop by the specials page to see if something else might suit the one you love a little better. We can also provide custom plumbing work; so if you have an idea of something you’d like to do give us a call or send an email, we’d be happy to see if we can turn your bright idea into a reality.

So do something a unique this season. Get your loved one something they can get great use of everyday.

Happy holidays everyone! Remember it’s the season for giving so offer a helping hand to someone in need.

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