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Believe it or not, winter will be here before you know.  And what’s better than jumping into a nice hot—and long—shower or bath on a cold day? Just about nothing!

The only challenge is that with traditional water heaters, that “long” hot shower can turn into a “short” hot shower followed by a cool blast of water. If you have an older or undersized water heater you can relate. And, if you have teenage kids (or just about any age kids) you can probably relate too!  There is nothing worse than trying to get ready for work in an ice-cold shower because your son or daughter used up all the hot water.

So what’s the solution?

You could go the route of standing outside the bathroom with a stop watch and cutting off the water supply after 4 minutes (your kids and significant other might not be too happy). You could install an enormous hot water tank that will send your heating bills through the roof (you probably won’t be too happy when the bill arrives). You could just suck it up and get used to refreshing, ice cold showers (yeah, we don’t think so).

Or, you could invest in a tankless water heater and end the hot water woes.

With a tankless water heater, the water in your home is heated on-demand, without the use of a storage tank. When a hot water valve is turned on, the cold water travels through the tankless unit and is instantly heated by either a gas or electric heating element.

Tankless water heaters have a lot of advantages, including:

Endless supply of hot water.
Because there is no storage tank, you don’t have a limited supply of hot water. Water is heated on demand, when you need it. It starts heating the minute you turn on the tap, and keeps steady until you turn it off! You’re no longer stuck rushing through a shower or staggering your morning routines so everyone gets a bit of hot water.

More energy efficient.
With traditional water heater tanks, you use energy to constantly heat water–just in case it might be used. That uses a LOT of energy. Tankless heaters however, only kick on when you need them. ENERGY STAR found that homes that use an average amount of hot water each day (41 gallons or less), can trim energy consumption by 24-34% with a tankless heater.

Lower utility costs.
While tankless heaters do cost a bit more to install, they are much less expensive in the long-run. ENERGY STAR reported that an average household saves $100 or more each year with an ENERGY STAR qualified tankless heater.

Ready to say goodbye to the hot water woes?

Let TJ’s Plumbing and Heating install a tankless heater today–before the real cold weather kicks in. We are proud to offer the #1 selling tankless water heater in the U.S. The Rinnai units we install are small, energy-efficient, and offer outstanding performance and longevity. If you’re ready for endless hot water contact us today.

And, if you would like to learn more about Rinnai tankless hot water heaters watch this short video:

Picture this … you were treated to a nice thunderstorm last night with the thunder and rain stopping right before it was time to hit the hay. You wake up in the morning and it’s a bright, sunny day and everything smells fresh.

You grab your morning coffee and then remember you need to throw a load of laundry into the washer. You open the basement door, take a few steps down and end up with wet feet.

Your beautiful morning comes to a crashing halt and you’re stuck with a clean-up nightmare!

So what’s the root cause of this catastrophic water back-up in your basement?

For many homes in this area, the root cause is, well … roots!

That’s right, one of the most common causes of sewer line back up and basement flooding is pipes clogged because of roots. In many homes in this region, older clay sewer lines develop micro-fractures that allow roots to creep in. In other cases a tiny crack around pipe junctions provides just enough room for common roots to infiltrate older (and sometimes newer) sewer lines. This causes decreased flow and drainage issues, and in some cases a complete blockage. With no place to go, this dirty water backs up and often ends up in the basement or creates a septic pool in your backyard.

So how can you get to the root of the problem?

Wouldn’t it be great if there was some magic way to see into those pipes to see what the true problem really was? Lucky for you, TJ’s Plumbing has access to some cutting edge diagnostic tools to identify what the problem truly is, and keep remediation costs to a minimum for you.

We start by using an advanced camera system from Spartan Tools. This camera allows us to see exactly what is causing the blockage and where. It also helps ensure that the entire blockage (and in some cases blockages) is cleared so you don’t have to worry about another back-up anytime soon.

Once the blockage is identified, we determine the best approach for clearing. In some cases a power snake and root cutting blades are used. We also have an industry-leading power jet (The Spartan Soldier Sewer Jetter) that is able to deliver a 3,000 psi jolt to clear debris and ensure your sewer lines are clear and free-flowing.

Keep your pipes root-free and your basement bone-dry!

At TJ’s Plumbing, our plumbing experts are trained on the proper use of these cutting-edge tools. We can help you identify and fix problems before they cause a major problem like basement flooding. And, if you do wake up with a flooding emergency, we can usually have a crew onsite shortly to help fix the issue right away.

From routine maintenance to emergency repairs, TJ’s is your trusted plumbing and HVAC contractor! Call us today!