Salmon Plumbing Guarantee to ARRIVE ON TIME to your scheduled appointment.
In the rare instance that your plumber has been delayed due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, we promise to give you a MINIMUM 30-minutes notice of ANY change in arrival time and will offer to reschedule, if that’s more convenient for you
If we don’t give you at least 30 minutes notice in advance, we will happily give you a FREE Hour of Service on your plumbing job.
This offer is not to be used with any other offer.
Does not apply to quoted jobs.
Discounts will not be applied to overdue amounts.
Deposits
Deposits are not refundable however partial or total refunds of deposits may be made at the sole discretion of Salmon Plumbing.
Cancellations
Salmon Plumbing reserve the right to charge for lost time as a result of cancellations and or postponement made less than 2 business days from the scheduled appointment time.
Warranties
Salmon Plumbing offers a 6 and half year warranty as per the Queensland Building & Construction Commission (QBCC).
Old galvanised pipe was used to plumb water into homes fifty years ago. Unfortunately, many homes still have these pipes as the source of their water lines to their home. Without a doubt, there can be issues within the plumbing of the home due to not updating these pipes to copper.
Galvanised Pipes are a bit gross
Brisbane is jam-packed with antiquated galvansied pipes. After more than thirty years as plumbers in Brisbane, we have seem some truly disgusting galvanised water pipes. Would you drink water sitting in a rusty bucket overnight? Probably not. But this is what many of us are doing when we drink tap water that has been through old galvanised water pipes in our homes. Older and exposed plastic pipe is also not great for our health. Old pipe work can cause long term issues in other areas of the home too. It’s time to ditch your galvanised water pipes, here’s why.
1. It will improve the taste and odour of the water
Rusty water has a metallic taste and odour. Sure, Brisbane water isn’t exactly reputable for its sweetness but you might be drinking water that’s extra flavoured by rust particles. Regular ingestion of rust particles can lead to health complications including hemochromatosis. This is a condition where iron builds up in your body. The cure? Regular bloodletting. Sounds sooooo good right?
2. It will remove the probability of legionella bacteria
Around 30% of homes with galvanised or old plastic piping in their home have tested positive for legionella. To avoid the growth of legionella bacteria, replace your water pipes.
3. Can prolong the life of your dishwasher and washing machine
The rusty water used through the dishwasher and washing machine (and plumbed in fridge, water filters and other appliances also being supplied by old galvanised iron pipes). Rust and mineral buildup can affect the effectiveness and life expectancy of your appliances.
4. Will avoid build-up of scale and sludge in hot water system
Hot water units can also be affected by rust-contaminated water from galvanised pipes. Hot water units are expensive to replace. If you want to prolong the life of your hot water unit too, consider changing your water pipes.
5. You will have clear water
This is the best benefit of all after replacing your galvanised water pipes. Brown water from your taps if often rusty water, not dirty water. This water can stain clothes, leave a film on crockery and glasses and can cause the water to be brown through the tap faucet. A brown bath anyone?
If you want to protect your belongings and avoid a brown bath, upgrade your water pipes. Clear water is healthy and vital for washing, hygiene and general wellbeing. It will also eliminate the need for a higher than normal reliance on detergents and cleaners to keep your items clean because of the brown water. This can help save money and the environment.
For help replacing the old galvanised water pipes in your home, contact Salmon Plumbing for an inspection.
Updated 2024 by John Salmon. Flood prevention is a hot topic in Brisbane. Summer is our wet season in Queensland and spring is the ideal time to check the external plumbing around your home. No one wants a moat around their house when the storms and rains inevitably hit. Proper backyard drainage is key to preventing water inundation inside your home, but the process starts with your roof!
Here are some checks and maintenance tips you can do around your house to ensure the water flows where it needs to go.
1. Clean your roof and remove debris
The roof is the largest surface area of your home, and it’s the first surface to be hit by rain. Ensure your roof is clean and debris-free so that when the rain does hit, it doesn’t wash accumulated debris through your gutters or downpipes, causing a blockage.
2. Empty gutters of leaf debris
Cleaning your gutters is step one in flood prevention. Crack out the ladder every spring and spend a Saturday making sure there is no leaf litter preventing the water from flowing through each channel to the stormwater drains. Leaf matter can break down and congest downpipes. This can cause a back-up of water when it storms or rains, and this water has nowhere to go except overflow the edges of the gutters, falling around the house often causing an external flood.
3. Inspect rusty gutters and down pipes and ensure correct fall
Every spring, your gutters and down pipes should be inspected for rust and openings which can cause a water to fall through, instead of being directed away from the home through the existing storm water drainage. Have rusty gutters and downpipes replaced as soon as possible to avoid the drama of an external flood during storm season.
Also ask your trusted Brisbane plumber to check for backfall of gutters. The correct fall ensures the water flows towards the downpipes, not away from them.
4. Flood prevention and stormwater grates
Often significant rain events can wash sand and dirt down storm water grates. This needs to be emptied to ensure a free channel of water to flow through when the next rain event hits. Click here to read more about storm water.
5. Ask your plumber to calculate the right number of downpipes for your roof surface area
Some houses just don’t have enough downpipes to meet the capacity of water fall from the surface area of their roof. Moving water from your guttering and is key to flood prevention at home, and usually where the process comes unstuck. If you think this is a problem at your property, call Salmon Plumbing out to investigate and offer a solution. This could be an opportunity to add a rainwater tank or two to be prepared for drought. If you’ve got an ageing rainwater tank, have your plumber inspect it for signs of cracking and decay. Upgrading a rainwater tank isn’t too expensive or difficult.
6. Flood prevention means the correct-sized stormwater pipes underground
Most stormwater pipes underground around houses are 90mm PVC. Often this pipe is not big enough for the amount of water that flows through the down pipes. Upgrading these pipes can help prevent a moat situation around your house during a heavy rain event. Of course, making sure you have no issues with blocked drains is vital too! If you suspect you may have a blockage anywhere in your drainage system, call us out stat. The next big storm could be brewing.
Keeping gardens maintained and away from
storm water grates ensures water can flow to where it needs to go when it
matters most.
The external plumbing to your home is
vitally important to prevent floods around your house. External floods can
cause damage inside your house, by seeping through window and door openings. It’s
an inconvenience that can be avoided with the right storm water drainage around
your home.
Another health concern to be aware of is any type of pooling of water in gutters and around the home can also attract mosquitoes. The pools of water offer mozzies the the perfect spot to breed. This is a health concern as mosquitoes can spread the Zika Virus and Ross River Fever. Ensuring adequate storm water drainage can prevent mozzies making a home at your home. Flood prevention isn’t just about potential damage to your property, it’s about keeping your family safe this storm season.
If you have a storm water blockage or have
concerns about how rain water is channeled away from your home, give Salmon Plumbing a call. Our plumbers
can offer solutions so you’re better prepared when the wet weather hits this
summer.
We’ve all been there. You’ve just finished dinner and a long day, and you just want the washing up to be done so you can crawl into bed. Or you’re groggily walking into the kitchen the morning after a big night and can’t believe the mess you made.
In these times it can be tempting to wash anything and everything you can down the sink. It’s easy, it’s fast and it means you can have a clean kitchen sooner. So, what’s the harm, right?
Wrong. While we know it’s easier, washing a number of different things down your sink can be dangerous for your plumbing system and lead to cracked pipes, blockages or worse.
Here’s our advice for 10 things you should avoid washing down your kitchen sink.
1. PASTA
The plumbing system that connects to your sink has a fixed width. The semolina in pasta can cause it to absorb liquid and swell which means that too washing too much down the drain can block, or worse, corrode your pipes.
2. BONES
Especially those from beef, pork, lamb or poultry. Bones from these animals are big enough that they can cause a blockage in your sink and leads to overflows that can damage your plumbing system and your property.
3. GREASE
This liquid can stick to the inside of your pipes, and the pipes that your water flows into in the street, causing major blockages over time. If you’re looking for other options, leave the grease to cool first, and then dispose of it in your rubbish bin.
4. FLOUR
Much like pasta, flour coagulates when mixed with water. This mixture when washed down the drain can coat the edges of your pipes and catch other bits of food or debris that is washed down, which can cause a blockage and break down your pipes.
5. UNUSED MEDICATION
Tipping or dissolving unused medication down the sink may seem harmless, but the truth is that the chemicals you’re getting rid of may end up back in your drinking water and the environment.
6. EGGSHELLS
The impact of eggshells down the drain is very similar to flour. They can build-up and cause blockages and overflow quickly and easily. Try putting these in your compost or rubbish bin instead.
7. MILK
This one often catches people off guard. Milk, like all dairy products, is considered a highly polluting substance due to its high oxygen demand. This means that when it is released into environments with sewage, it can deprive other organisms of oxygen to survive.
8. PAPER PRODUCTS
You remember spit balls from primary school? Those things you’d load up into a straw and rocket at a friend? Picture that but bigger and blocking your drainage and causing overflow in your kitchen. Putting paper products down the sink is nothing but trouble for your pipes.
9. FRUIT AND VEGGIE STICKERS
These bad boys belong in the bin. When they get washed down your drain, they can they clog your pipes and also block filters in water treatment plants due to their adhesive being unable to dissolve in water.
10. COFFEE GROUNDS
Everyone loves a good brew in the morning – but what you might not is the blockages that can occur when you tip coffee grounds down the kitchen sink. Grounds can stick together and cause a blockage that cannot be easily moved with water. Instead, try using these grounds as part of your compost.
IT’S TIME TO MOVE YOUR RUBBISH BIN A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE SINK
Disposing of liquids, solids and the in-between properly will help you preserve your pipes for longer and avoid any other damage occurring to your property as a result of blockages and overflow.
If you do find yourself stuck in a mucky situation though, don’t fret! The team at Salmon Plumbing are more than happy to help you. Give us a call on 07 3862 2600 for any plumbing assistance you might need.
To learn more about how you can care for your home’s plumbing system, check out our blog.
