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By [company_name]

A water softening system is a small, yet effective, system. It reduces the mineral count in water to prevent scale buildup which, over time, damages plumbing and appliances.

But, what is a water softener? How does it work? And is it really worth the investment? When you consider it will work hard to protect major investments – like your dishwasher and washing machine – we think it pays for itself in huge dividends.

Let’s explore the ins and outs of these systems, their benefits, and proper maintenance.

What is a Water Softener?

A water softener system treats what’s known as “hard water.” Hard water has high mineral content that, over time, causes scaling and damage to pipes and appliances.

Some of those minerals include calcium and magnesium. You might’ve seen this type of buildup before. It has a chalky, white consistency that’s difficult to remove from glassware, utensils, pots, pans, faucets, and sinks.

The best water softener will easily remove buildup by exchanging mineral ions for sodium ions. It breaks up some of those damaging minerals and prevents the buildup of scale.

There are three main parts to a water softening system.

1. Resin Tank

This is a tall tank where the softening takes place. At the base, there’s a bed of microbeads, resin, and sodium ions. The sodium ions work hard to break up some of the harmful minerals.

2. Head Valve

Next, there’s an ahead (or control) valve that sits atop the resin tank. These is considered the “brains” of the operation. It controls the water flow direction and rate, putting the system through various cycles.

3. Brine Tank

As you shop for the right system, you’ll also notice a shorter tank. This is the brine tank; it’s where the salt is stored. Some tanks can hold up to 300 pounds of salt or more.

There are other important components, like the valve motor, flow meter, riser tube, and fill tube. But, these three are the heavy hitters in any given system.

Benefits of Water Softeners

A water softener system can have positive benefits on your hair, skin, clothes, and dishes. That’s a lot of territories for one small system to cover.

Also, remember that water with a lot of buildup or sediment from too many minerals can clog pipes and ruin appliances over time. Let’s explore each of these benefits.

1. Hair and Skin

A water softener will allow you to see tangible differences in your hair and skin post-shower. It won’t feel so dry because, with the water softener salt, the water won’t strip away all the natural oils in your hair and skin.

Beyond dryness, hard water can also cause skin irritations and rashes for some people.

2. Clothes

Likewise, your clothes will come out of the wash a little softer. You’ll feel all the materials in your shirts, t-shirts, jeans, and other articles of clothing are now much softer to the touch.

3. Dishes

With those hard minerals removed before the water even sprays your dishes, you’re also going to enjoy cleaner, streak-free dishes.

4. Pipes and Drains

We’ve said this before, but it’s worth reiterating. A water softener will save your pipes because it prevents some of that harmful build-up.

Over time, too much residue can cause major damage to your plumbing. It can also reduce the efficacy of your favorite showerhead.

5. Appliances

Of course, if all that hard water isn’t making its way through the pipes and into your appliances, then water softeners will also work to save your dishwashers and washing machines.

Hard water affects the performance of these machines and drastically reduces their lifespan. Dishwashers and washing machines are costly to replace and, without question, two of our most valuable appliances in the house.

How to Choose the Right Water Softener

The size and type of your water softener depend on how many people are in your household. Monitor your water levels for a few days because what you’ll want to do is multiply the number of people in your house by the number of gallons your household uses every day.

On average, people use about 80 gallons of water per day. So, if you have a family of five, then you’re looking at 400 gallons of water per day.

You’ll multiply that number by the grains of hardness in your water. Let’s say the hardness of your water is 10 grams per gallon. Then, 400 x 10 = 4,000 grains. This tells you how many grains need to be removed on a daily basis.

As you begin to research water softeners, you’ll see manufacturers mostly post units of 24,000, 32,000, 48,000, and 64,000 grains.

With the example above, your daily water requirements are 4,000. So, you will need a water softening system with a capacity for 28,000 grains because 4,000 x 7 = 28.000. To be safe, you’d opt for a system with 32,000 grains.

Maintaining Your Water Softener

Water softening systems are wonderfully low-maintenance. When you first have one, you’ll have to enter your water hardness level and regenerate timing parameters.

After that, the main requirement is refilling the salt. But, aside from these small tasks, they mostly just hum along quietly and do their job.

As you conduct your research, you’ll see there are three different types of water softener salt: evaporated, rock, and solar. We like evaporated salt because it’s the purest form of salt at 99.99% sodium chloride.

But, solar salt is also quite soluble. Rock salt tends to be the least soluble of all. It’s known to leave a lot of residue in the tank. But, it’s also the most affordable option.

Improve Your Water Today

Water softeners are a wonderfully simplistic system that carries out some deeply scientific machinations.

What you’re left with is protected appliances, softer skin, and softer clothing. If you live in the greater San Antonio, Boerne, or New Braunfels area, we can get you set up with your own water softening system.

We’ll help you answer all those questions about grain levels and salts. Feel free to schedule your service today and we’ll look forward to meeting you!

The average person visits the toilet between six to seven times a day.

But what happens if that toilet stops working? You’ll only have a few hours to figure out and resolve the problem before you need to set yourself back on the porcelain throne.

If you’ve found yourself with a clogged toilet, don’t panic! You might be able to get rid of it on your own. Even if you can’t, you can call a plumber in your area; they’ll show up at your home as fast as possible so your toilet is ready for use when you need it.

We’ve put together this article to show you how to unclog your toilet and to help you learn when you should go ahead and call a professional plumber.

Let’s get started!

Stop Flushing!

If your toilet doesn’t flush properly the first time, the last thing you want to do is try flushing again. The clog will prevent the water from going down the drain, meaning it will overflow the toilet and get all over the floor. This can create a much bigger (and must smellier) mess.

You should never flush a clogged toilet more than once.

Instead, take the lid off the back of the toilet and close the flapper. This will prevent any more water from running into the toilet bowl while you’re working.

Try Fishing Out the Clog

Sound gross?

It could be. You should only try to fish out the clog with your fingers if it’s a foreign obstruction, such as one of your child’s toys.

Put on some gloves and try to pull the object out of the toilet. If the item is so far down you can’t see it, this method won’t work. Don’t stick your hands into your toilet unless you can see the obstruction–and only if you’re wearing proper protection.

Never try to plunge your toilet if you know a foreign object is causing the block. All plunging will do is push the object further down in the drain, which can make the problem much more serious.

Give the Plunger a Few Pushes

If you don’t see any foreign objects, it’s time to grab your plunger.

Be gentle with the first push. At this point, the plunger is still full of air, and if you push too hard, the air bubble can push the water out of the toilet, splashing you, the wall, and the floor with messy toilet water.

After the first few shoves, you can apply more pressure. You might have to keep plunging your toilet for 10 to 20 minutes before you notice a change, so stick with it. Don’t give up until you’re sure the plunger isn’t doing the trick.

Plunge and Flush at the Same Time

There is one last strategy you can try before picking up the phone and calling a plumber.

Start by opening the flapper in the back of the toilet again. Then, while the plunger is still in the toilet, flush the toilet and keep plunging as the toilet flushes. Try this a few times if you can (without overflowing the toilet).

If it still doesn’t work, you should have the professionals take a look.

When to Skip the DIY and go Straight to the Plumber

There are a few instances where you should get in touch with a plumber right away instead of trying to solve the problem on your own. This might seem like more hassle, but it will get your toilet flushing again as fast as possible and ensure nothing goes wrong in the process.

A Forgein Object was Flushed

Always call a professional if you (or a family member) accidentally flushed something down the toilet that doesn’t belong there. Even if this object makes it down the toilet at first, there’s a high risk of it getting stuck lower in the pipe, and that will be a much more expensive problem to fix later.

Letting a plumber remove the object right away will keep the clog from getting any worse.

You Smell Something Unpleasant

Did your toilet clog and start to stink at the same time? That’s not a good sign.

Your toilet might have sprung a leak somewhere you can’t see. If left on its own, this leak can lead to mold growth, and unhealthy living environment, and an expensive water bill. A professional plumber will be able to take care of the clog and find and repair the leak at the same time.

Leaks tend to form in toilets that get frequent clogs, so keep an eye out for this problem if you find yourself unclogging your toilet often.

The DIY Didn’t Work

Of course, you should also call a plumber if you tried all the DIY methods and they had no effect. A plumber has more experience and better tools than you do, so they’ll be able to remove even the toughest clogs.

Don’t Live Your Life with a Clogged Toilet

You shouldn’t put off dealing with a clogged toilet—even if you have another bathroom in your house. Not only is it inconvenient, but it can also make the clog worse.

Not sure where to find the right plumbing help?

We’ve got you covered. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team at [company_name]. You can call us (or text us if you’d rather!) to set up an appointment or ask us any questions.

We can get your toilet cleared out right away!

So, it’s been three years since my son Paul started [company_name]. Tons has happened and I retired last year from 41 years of civil service to help him full time. I’ve learned so much that I could write every day now. It was hard to decide where to start but I’ll start by telling you what it takes to be a plumber in the State of Texas.

These guys are awesome – because they have to be. You let them into your homes, and you trust them with the health and safety of your family.

In Texas, plumbing is regulated by the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners (TSBPE). These folks set the standards by which a person becomes a licensed plumber and that means some aspiring plumbers don’t make the grade.

First, a person must apply to the TSPBE to get an Apprentice License. While this is the easiest license to obtain, there are still very strict rules about any serious criminal activity which could result in not getting a license. At [company_name] we take your safety seriously and make sure our plumbers meet this standard.

With an Apprentice License, they work under the supervision of a Master Plumber learning their trade. It will take 4000 hours of on-the-job work and specific training courses approved by the TSPBE before they can apply to take a test for a Tradesman License. When an apprentice is ready, the TSPBE will schedule them for a written and hands-on test in Austin. As evident by our staff returning from taking the tests with short nails, the test is a real nail biter! Once an apprentice passes the test, they become a licensed Plumber in the State of Texas and must be renewed each year.

We just went through this with my grandson Dakota. It was worse than studying for the SATs and even Dakota’s Tradesman License Celebration attended an extra prep class. On top of the pressures of preparing for the test, he had the added pressure of trying not to disappoint his Dad even though we told him “no pressure” or “just do your best”—it is just the way he works, always trying his best. His father and I were online with TSBPE refreshing the screen every 30 seconds to see if he passed his test. We go through this again next summer with the other grandson! Oh yeah, he passed – the video taken of that moment is awesome–you can laugh out loud for real as I did! This is better than that baby-in-the-bathtub picture parents keep for teenage bribery.

Tradesman Plumbers continue their progression to the next level by working another 4000 hours on the job before they can apply for their Journeyman license. It’s a “rinse and repeat” of the above scenario. Take the required courses, apply, test in Austin, and pray it all goes well.

A Journeyman must hold that license for 4 years before applying for a Master Plumber License. The tests get progressively harder and fewer and fewer folks make it to the next level, but once you become a Master Plumber, you have reached the pinnacle of your trade that from now on is further honed only through work experience and high work ethic.

A Master Plumber can also start their own business which requires yet another specialized course to get a Responsible Master Plumber License.

With each level up it is cause for a great celebration with coworkers and within the greater plumbing community because they all know how hard it was to achieve those dreams.

As a homeowner or customer, you can ask to see their plumber’s license. You can also go online to TSBPE and find your plumber’s license.

The sitcoms have not been kind to this honorable trade and many a joke has been made at a plumber’s expense. Mike Rowe, a strong advocate for the trades and host of “Dirty Jobs” laments that “If you see a plumber on TV, he’s going to be 300 pounds with a giant butt crack”. We laugh all the same, but the day you realize you need a plumber it’s no longer a joke and we all experienced that relief when we heard those words that “we’re on our way to you” from the plumber you just called for that huge leak. In any event, I just thought you should know that these guys didn’t just learn how to turn a wrench but worked and studied hard to be the best they can be at what they do. They are trained professionals.

As I was sharing with Paul what I had written here, he told me that more and more, they have to “break down a wall” of distrust with new customers caused by past experiences with disreputable companies that resulted in a bad impression of plumbers and the trades in general. Clearly, licensing and training are not the only element that makes a plumber successful, but also fully standing behind any work done and making sure a customer is always satisfied are steps in the right direction.

Rest assured that the State of Texas and the awesome team at [company_name] has your back with trained and licensed plumbers you can trust and depend on to fix any plumbing problem.

The Plumber’s Mother

Yvette

“We have this hope as an Anchor for the soul” Hebrews 6:19

By Yvette Arguijo

Hi, my name is Yvette and my son Paul is the owner of [company_name]. Here’s my attempt at sharing the plumbing wisdom I learned from my son. Since this is the first one, it is rather long.

Paul began as an apprentice plumber 19 years ago, and I’ve watched with great pride as his hard work and knack for plumbing earned him the respect of his peers and a well-deserved Master Plumber’s license. Along that sometimes-hard-fought road, being a plumber’s mother was not always easy but worth the journey. Along those lines, I thought I would share some of that journey and experiences with the [company_name] friends and family who might benefit and maybe enjoy a story or two about their favorite plumber.

A few years ago, Paul was at my house and noticed my thick, plush, soft, double-quilted toilet paper in all the bathrooms. His plumber’s Spidey-sense kicked in and he proclaimed that I was using the wrong toilet paper! Now, one thing we all just take for granted and never give a second thought is that there might be something wrong with the kind of toilet paper we prefer. Having your own kid call you out on it didn’t make it better, but did drive me to ask exactly what toilet paper should I be using? His short answer back was “Angel Soft,” to which he added that it dissolves quickly and helps prevent clogs in the pipes. He said that folks using the wrong toilet paper kept him very busy. My well-thought-out response was that my pipes were fine, and even if they did clog, my son was a Plumber. Bazinga!

Discussion over, but I quickly went to my Amazon Prime account and now there is a case of Angel Soft delivered to my door on a regular basis. Nothing more was said, but as time went by, doubts began to creep back into my mind. So, I logged into my Consumer Reports account (they know everything about everything) and oh my gosh, they didn’t even mention Angel Soft—things were not looking good for my ace plumber!

More research was in order. For these answers, I turned to the oracle—Google, to which an amazing 73,700,000 results came back in less than a second using just “Toilet Paper” as the search filter! One consumer even did an experiment dissolving different toilet paper brands in glasses to see which one would work best. As it turned out, some brands were equivalent to a million thread count Egyptian cotton cloth and wouldn’t have dissolved in a century or so. Folks using that kind of toilet paper had better also have a Plumber in the family! As I continued to read through many various blogs and articles, I had to admit that Paul was right (don’t tell him). I think some of those brands must have also read the same posts because as I clicked through the toilet paper information, many advertised “fast dissolving”. Before you take those claims at face value, do your own research!

I was still having some lingering doubts as to the magnitude of the problem—you flush, it goes down, end of the story, right? Wrong. Toilet paper that doesn’t dissolve quickly can get stuck in pipes. Especially cast iron pipes with nicks or sharp edges in the walls. Maybe a root from a nearby tree has found a weak point in your pipe or septic system. As slow-dissolving toilet paper gets caught in the pipe, it stays there and gathers more… uh, “stuff”. Eventually, as the pipe becomes fully clogged, that “stuff” you hoped was going DOWN begins to come back UP.

Unfortunately, water-friendly low-flow toilets don’t always have the power to flush everything completely out of the drains, where it hangs out and builds up enough to start catching all the other “stuff” coming down. Over the years, the “stuff” we flush has come to include those “flushable” wipes we love so much because they make us feel so clean. Well, they flush alright–right down to meet up with the non-dissolving toilet paper and now you have a real “stuff” fiesta going on in your pipes. These neat little conveniences were maligned by plumbers everywhere, and they recommended bagging and tossing these flushable wipes in a trash can–so what’s the point of “flushable”? Consumer Reports stated some of them took up to a week to dissolve!

So after reading all this, I had to wonder what the warning signs were for a clogged pipe that is about to turn your life upside down. Slow running drains or gurgling in a drain after you flush or wash clothes can be a sign your pipes aren’t clear and they’re telling you something bad might happen… soon. At this point I needed to use one of my lifelines—it was now time to ask a professional. So I asked Paul what would happen if the main pipe started to clog—would I get some warning? He said that warning signs happened sometimes and confirmed that gurgling noise could be an indicator, but then dropped the bomb–sometimes, they just backup with NO warning at all! It really just depends on the amount of water that hits the blockage, i.e. with small amounts you might get some gurgling, but large amounts from a water softener recycle can hit the clog, and boom, your day just got a lot harder. Did I mention that these things always seem to happen after hours or on the weekend?

I Know There’s Nothing More Personal Than Your Own Favorite Toilet Paper…
I’m not advocating that you must use Angel Soft (this is not a paid advertisement). Consumer Reports mentioned several brands that passed their dissolving tests, such as Walmart’s White Cloud Brand and Scott Brand. It’s easy to test your own toilet paper too. Just put a couple of sheets in a glass of water, stir, and wait. You’ll know. Surprisingly, the reports also said that just because it’s environmentally “Green” paper doesn’t automatically make it quick-dissolving. I know there’s nothing more personal than your own favorite toilet paper, but I just wanted to let you know that there may be some risk to what you flush down your pipes. I had never given it any thought before Paul made me aware of those risks, and now I understand more about toilet paper than I ever really wanted to know.

For me, I’m sticking with Angel Soft–because parents should let their kids win one every now and then. This was an easy one!

So, here’s the mother part of this story that’s not related to toilet paper. I told my sons as they grew up what my mom told me: “I don’t care if you grow up to be a ditch digger, just be the best ditch digger you can be”. In other words, be people of good character. I started to question that wisdom when my son left college at 18 to be a plumber, thinking that this was one that I needed to file under “Things Mom Was WRONG about”. But as the years went by, it turns out Mom was right all along. Folks, take the character over the career any day. It really was good advice then and is still good advice today. And if your kids grow up to be the best plumber or ditch digger AND a person of good character, well, it doesn’t get any better than that. So, I will always be the head cheerleader for the [company_name] team. Thankfully, many of you have joined the pep squad and for that, we are eternally grateful and wish you many blessings and clog-free drains. But seriously, call us if they do!

I’m so proud of the [company_name] team. Stay tuned, I have plenty more plumber stories to share!

Be well and have hope.

Yvette

A Plumber’s Mom

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, Hebrews 6:19