Happy New Year!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

It’s been a great year at Russo Bros. & Co. and we would like to wish all of our friends good health, prosperity and peace in the coming year.

Thank you all.

Even pipes outside of the home can clog

• Leader drains remove rain water from your gutters and deposit it away from the home. Many a flooded basement was caused by a clogged leader drain.
• Keep the sewer pipes from the house free of tree roots that may invade them. If roots are a particular problem in your yard, you may need to call in professionals once a year or so to clear the pipes. Russo Bros. & Co. is equipped with electric augers capable of cutting tree roots from pipes.
• Flush the drain-waste and vent systems whenever you go up onto your house roof to clean out downspouts or gutters. Run water from a garden hose into all vents, giving them a minute or two of full flow.

Visit our web site at www.russobrosplumbing.com for additional tips on plumbing, heating and drain cleaning, or to see a virtual view of all your home's plumbing.

Keep those bathroom drains clear and clog free;

Last week we looked at keeping the kitchen sink drain lines clear. Now lets look at some tips to keep your bath drains clear:

• Clean pop-up stoppers in the bathroom sink and the tub regularly. Lift out sink pop-ups once a week and rinse them off.
• Tired of standing in water when you take a shower? Every few months, remove the overflow plate on a tub and pull up the pop-up assembly to reach the spring or rocker arm. Remove accumulated hair and rinse thoroughly.
• Treat the sink and tub/shower drain lines monthly with an organic drain cleaner such as Drain Maid™ featuring BioSmart®.

Visit us on the web at http://www.russobrosplumbing.com/ for additional tips, specials and coupons.

Tips to keep your kitchen and floor drain lines clear:

• Don't pour grease down the kitchen sink.
• Don't wash coffee grounds down the sink. Throw them out.
• Clean floor drain strainers. Some tubs, showers, and basement floor drains have strainers that are screwed into the drain opening. You can easily remove these strainers and reach down into the drain with a bent wire to clear out accumulated debris. And be sure to scrub the strainer.
• Treat slow drains with an organic drain cleaner such as Drain Maid™ featuring BioSmart®.

For more tips, specials and coupons visit us on the web at:

www.russobrosplumbing.com

How good does YOUR tap water taste?

The quality of the water entering any home or business may vary greatly due to many factors such as the age of the building’s plumbing system and whether the water is supplied by a municipal authority or from a well. Russo Bros. & Co. can supply you with a professional water analysis and recommend steps that may be taken to improve the quality of your water. We install Water Softeners, Water Filters, Neutralizers, Reverse Osmosis filtration and the Nature’s Miracle whole house filtration system. Click the link below to view a quick time video about the Nature’s Miracle and you’ll NEVER need to haul salt bags or cases of bottled water again!!

http://www.russobrosplumbing.com/waterquality.htm

11/26/07
Sump pumps don’t work when the power fails:

It’s something most people with sump pumps don’t think about, but when you need the pump the most – during a fierce storm – it will be useless if your home loses electricity.

The solution is a battery back up sump pump system. This system is powered by a marine battery that only runs when electricity is unavailable for the main pump. With a battery back up sump pump your home is protected during an emergency.

From sump pumps to French drains, Russo Bros. & Co. can design a system to keep your home dry in any weather.

Visit our website at www.russobrosplumbing.com for more info, tips, specials and coupons!

To keep garbage disposals operating properly follow these tips:

• Never pour fats or cooking oils into the disposal, they can solidify and choke drains.
• Wipe grease from pots with paper towels before washing.
• Don’t put poultry skins, celery, fruit or potato peels down the garbage disposal.
• Run cold water for 15 seconds before and after using the disposal to flush waste to the main sewer.
• Run the disposal when you put food debris into it. Don’t wait until it’s full to turn it on.

Dangers from high water pressure:
· Excessive water pressure in your home can damage your plumbing
· Reduce the life of water softeners, toilets and plumbing fixtures
· Have a trained Russo Bros. Technician test your water pressure and show you how the installation of a pressure reducing valve can extend the life of your plumbing fixtures and safeguard you plumbing system.

A typical house spends 14% of their energy bill or about $200 a year on hot water. Tips to lower this cost include:

• Installing a low-flow showerhead. It can cut water usage by as much as 50%.
• Keep showers under 5 minutes.
• Attach low-flow aerators to kitchen and bathroom faucets. The faucet will flow stronger while using less water. For a family of four this can save thousands of gallons of water per year.
• When going on vacation, remember to place your water heater in vacation mode.

More Tips on Conserving Water

• Match your washing machine’s load selector to your load size. Try to wash only full loads and use cold water to save energy.
• Limit dishwasher use to full loads.
• Choose a car wash that uses recycled water. At home, wash you car in small sections and use a shut off nozzle on your hose.
• Replacing an old shower head can save up to 7.5 gallons of water per minute without sacrificing spray action or high water pressure.

Conserving water

Conserving water is good for the environment as well as your pocketbook. To help conserve water follow these tips:
• Don’t use the toilet as a wastebasket. Every flush you eliminate saves between two and seven gallons of water.
• Test toilet tanks for leaks by placing a few drops of food coloring into the tank. If it’s leaking the coloring will appear in the bowl without flushing.
• If you don’t have a low flow toilet, use plastic bottles filled with water and pebbles to displace water in the tank. Be sure not to obstruct the float and never use bricks.
• Don’t run the water while brushing your teeth or shaving.

10/15/07 To keep your drains running smoothly follow these tips:

• Wait 10 minutes between showers to give drains time to do their job.
• Provide a trash bin in bathrooms so toilets are not used as garbage cans.
• Never flush swabs, cotton balls, baby wipes, feminine hygiene products, hair or facial scrub pads down a toilet.
• Use fast dissolving toilet tissue.
• Treat slow drains with an organic drain cleaner such as Drain Maid™ featuring BioSmart®.

Visit our web site at

http://www.russobrosplumbing.com/

for additional tips, specials and coupons.

Remember to winterize underground sprinkler systems

• Properly winterized underground irrigation systems are “blown out” using compressed air.
• This ensures there is no water left in the system which could freeze and cause costly repairs.

• Russo Bros. & Co. offers sprinkler service agreements providing:
o Turn on and full inspection of your system in the spring
o A mid season controller adjustment; we inspect the system to ensure proper coverage and operation
o Winterization

• To learn more about sprinkler service agreements visit our web site or email sprinklers@russobrosplumbing.com

Keeping your heating system operating at peak efficiency. Tip of the week for the week of October 1, 2007

To keep your heating systems operating at peak efficiency follow these tips:

• Have your home heating system serviced prior to winter each year by a qualified trained technician to avoid any unpleasant surprises once the cold weather hits.


• Change the furnace filters at least once a month during the winter for safety and energy efficiency.


• Have your chimney flue, space heaters, water heaters and fireplace checked annually.


• Your furnace or boiler needs air to work properly and efficiently, make sure it is unobstructed.

Visit

http://www.russobrosplumbing.com/

for additional safety tips, monthly specials, coupons and more!