Flushing anyting other than toilet paper and human waste down your toilet can wreak havoc on your plumbing and the environment. Here is a list of  items that are never okay to flush.

• Paper Towels
• Tissues
• Cat litter 
• Fish
• Disposable Diapers
• Baby Wipes/Hygiene Wipes
• Feminine Hygiene Products
• Cotton Balls/Q-Tips
• Storm Water 
• Medication
• Dental Floss
• Dirt 
• Oil/Grease 
• Garbage 

Everything from our cars to our bodies need maintenance. Your furnace or boiler is no different. Having inspections and maintenance performed on your furnace or boiler by a professional is essential and here are some reasons why.

• You work hard for your money. Don't throw it out the window. The better you care for your furnace or boiler, the less money you will have to spend in the long run. 
• Well-kept heating systems last longer. The longer you can extend the life of your heating systems, the less new heating systems you will have to purchase. 
• Regular inspections by a professional are the best way to catch any small problems before they become big problems. 
• In order to increase efficiency of anything, proper maintenance and care are required. 
• An efficient boiler or furnace = maximum heat for your home in the cold weather months 
• If saving money and maximum efficiency are not reasons enough to stick to a regular maintenance routine, you should consider that safety can occasionally be compromised and should be dealt with immediately to protect you and your family. For Example: If a furnace gets a cracked heat exchanger it will leak harmful gasses into your home. 

Here is a guide to some of pipes commonly found in homes.

• PVC (Plastic)
• PVC pipes are used for drain lines and vent lines. It is a popular type of pipe because it is light in weight and fairly easy to work with. 
• PEX (Plastic)
• PEX is a flexible pipe that is used for water supply lines. Because these are easy pipes to cut and join, they are a popular type to use. 
• Copper (Rigid)
• Copper pipes are used for water lines. While soldering these pipes together may encourage some to go with a different option, they do have many benefits. Copper pipes are very durable, long lasting, and can be used for both hot and cold water. 
• Copper (Flexible Tubing)
• Flexible Copper Tubing is used for final runs to refrigerators and water heaters. This typing of pipe is flexible and easy to cut, but is not a good option for exterior use. 
• ABS 
• ABS, not to be confused with PVC pipes, are used for drain and vent lines. This type of plumbing is not recommended anymore for plumbing. It is suggested that if you have ABS pipes you get it replaced with PVC. 

1. Remove the back toilet tank lid from your toilet. 
2. Drop 10-15 drops of food coloring or 1 dye tablet in the back of your toilet bowl. 
3. Place the toilet tank lid back on your toilet. 
4. (Do NOT flush the toilet.)
5. Wait 15 minutes. ⌚
6. Check the inside of your toilet bowl for coloring. If you see coloring in your toilet bowl, you have a leak and should call a plumber. 

With Spring now upon us, you may not be considering purchasing a heat pump - but you should be. Heat pump usage is not just limited to the cold weather months because heat pumps, despite their name, also offer cooling. Choosing to use a heat pump means choosing to heat and cool your home efficiently. When cooling your home during the summer, you can feel confident knowing that energy consumption can be significantly less than if you were using an air conditioner. During the winter months, your heat pump will not leave your air dry forcing you to also use a humidifier of some sort. Air that does not dry out is not the only benefit heat pumps have on air quality, how about air that is not being polluted? Heat pumps have received a lot of attention for also being environmentally friendly. You may also find peace of mind knowing maintenance tends to be less, life-span is long, and risk is much lower than systems which are combustion based. Also, did I mention that you can save money using a heat pump to heat and cool your home?