Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
All right, back here we go at Home with Gary Sullivan,
out and about checking things around your home. I hope
the sun is out hopefully in your neighborhood. In mine,
it is bright. Join us now is Paul Abrams. He's
director of public relations for Rotro Ruter and Paul, welcome
again to at Home with Gary Sullivan. How you doing.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
I'm well the sun is shining here too, and it
feels great.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Yeah, yeah, I'm ready to go. I'm sure you are.
I know it's roto Ruter plumbing and water clean up.
How the water clean up people go?
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Oh, they have been busy, and you might imagine with
all this rain in the Midwest, we have seen just
the phone ringing off the hook as they.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Say, yeah, yeah, I'm sure there was certainly an abundance
of water. As we in our homes as homeowners and
we cycle out of winter in the spring in the summer,
we're maybe our maintenance and care around our home wasn't
the best it should be. Is there a couple of
(01:08):
things we I guess one of the things we should
everybody is taking a look at that some pump. I
just Ron Wilson and I we were just talking. He
was like, uh, I think I need a new some pump,
And I said, why is because I think it's old. Yeah, well,
I didn't say anything mean to him, but anyway, some
(01:29):
pumps last like ten years, right, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
That's right. I mean the way you know, and I've
had I'm on my third house, and I can say
that in my first two that some pump seemed like
it ran every thirty seconds to a minute, even in
July when it was dry. And if that's your case,
you need to replace that some pump every five years.
Now my current home, it's it's one of those sleepers.
(01:53):
It only comes on when when we get just a
real downpour, and that pump's probably gonna last me to years.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Ye, well, I gotta check mine because I think mind's
in about that age too, So you know, being a
little ahead of the curve here might be real important.
There is there ways that we need to check that somepump,
you know, just the test, did I guess? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (02:17):
And this is the right time to be doing it.
If if you haven't had a downpour in your area,
that is, you know, force that pump into action, then
what you need to do is either get a hose
through the basement window and down into the pit, or
a five gallon bucket of water and pour it down
into that sump pit. And if it's working properly, that
pump should turn itself on, remove most of the water
(02:40):
from the sump pit, and then turn itself back off again.
And you'll want to hear that check valve slam. You
hear those sounds, that's when you know it's doing its
job and it's working for you. If it isn't, you
need to get in there and find out why it isn't.
The most common thing to wear out on a sump
pump is the float switch which turns it on and off.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Mm hm.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
And you want to get in there, Gary and look
down in that pit. And if there's a bunch of
gravel and you know, pebbles and debris in there, you
should should reach in there, put a glove on, reach
in there and sweep that stuff out of there. Because
the intake on most some pumps, the water intake is
up the bottom, and if it sucks that debris up
against that intake screen, it can block water off and
(03:26):
prevent it from doing it. I had that happen in
one of my basements years ago. And it sucked a
piece of plastic. Well, pay a Kroger bag or something
up against that screen, and that pump would maybe working
at ten percent of its capability. So the basement still
got water in it because it wasn't doing it wasn't
able to work one hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Sure, Sure, I know rotor Reuter installs some pumps, and
ron Ad asks is that something you can do? And
people always ask me that is you know there you
can do a lot of things. Some pump is something
that can be installed if you have some mechanical ability.
(04:06):
But another thing to consider, whether you do it or
you have rotor Ruter do it, is a backup pump.
I think that's becoming critical anymore.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Oh, you are so right, Gary, the backup some pump
because you think about the nature of storms. Sometimes you
get the thunder and lightning and it knocks out power. Well,
if you don't have power, your some pump can't work.
So there are battery backup options, and they're pretty smart
these days. Some of them will send notifications to your
(04:38):
smartphone to say, hey, pump isn't working, or as a
battery backup some pump. I just turned myself on and
I'm working in your basement now, and that's when you
need to spring into action. But we also have water
powered backup pump so often called venturi pumps. Sure that
use water pressure from your city water supply, which is
(04:58):
very reliable, and it sort of creates a siphon effect.
You use a lot of water, but your basement won't flood,
and it's probably the most reliable backup. Some pump you
can buy.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Yeah, yeah, all right, So then the other thing, how
about floor drains and things. I'm sure with all the again,
you don't have to have flooding around your house to
have this problem, but a lot of times that's what
precipitates it because of wastelines and stormlines tied together in
older neighborhoods. Can we do anything inspecting floor drains?
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, you know, we talked about Gary, you know, pouring
a five gallon bucket into a sumpit you don't need
that much. Get a half gallon or gallon milk jug
and fill it full of water and pour some into
each of your floor drains and make sure that the
water doesn't back up or bubble up onto the floor.
If it's doing its job, it should handle you know,
a pretty steady flow of water, and if it isn't,
(05:54):
then that drain's got some sort of a blockage in there,
maybe something to breathe that needs to be cleaned out.
And you know, if you've got some sewer smells in
your house and you're wondering where they're coming from, but
you haven't filled those traps. It's like that U shaped
trap beneath your kitchen sink. There's one of those under
your floor drain too, and when those get empty, they
allow that sewer gas to come up into your house.
(06:17):
If you've got a musty smell in your basement, laundry room,
even you know, some garages have these, go around and
fill those traps up, and you know, test the drain,
make sure it's carrying water away quickly. And then you're
doing two things at once. You're filling that that that
block there, and you're preventing that sewer gas from coming
into your home.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
That's a great tip, especially now. I know a lot
of people. You know snowbirds, they go to Arizona, they
go to Florida, they're gone through in four months and
they come back. You know, if you didn't do anything
as a precaution there. I'd certainly get that jug of
water and start doing bet ub drains and floor drains. Yeah,
for that matter, any drain right. Some it depends on
(06:58):
your house, but in a lot of cases those can
dry out over the course of three or four months
in your home can smell like it, you know, a
bunch of sewer guests, so.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Sure can Yeah, a guest bathroom, or maybe the kids
are off college and that bathroom doesn't get used much,
and those sewer gases can come up through those sink
drains and tub drains the same way.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Yeah. One of the things I'm always cautioning people in
the fall is to disconnect that hose to the outdoor
faucets because I'm sure there's a lot of people in
the next probably four weeks that are going to be
surprised because they're gonna go out and they're going to
turn that faucet on and they're going to find a
(07:38):
leak on the inside of the home. Do you run
into that at Rotoruter?
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Oh? Yes, you know, Gary, You're so right, and it's
important I'll describe this, folks so that that you do
this the right way because a lot of homes have
an interior shut off now down in the basement, or
sometimes it's in a you know, a closet or something.
If you've got a slow home, and what happens is
you turn that valve off and that prevents your water
(08:05):
supply from feeding the outdoor faucets. So what you do
is you turn those off in the fall, and then
you go outside and you open the faucet and you
drain that water out so it can't freeze and damage
your pipes. But if you forget to or you've left
your garden hose connected to that outside faucet and that
water inside is frozen, it carries that freeze up into
(08:26):
the faucet itself and into the connecting water supply line.
So what happens is you do damage on the inside.
And when people come around in the spring and they
a it's ton of turn things on and you hook
up the hoses and everything. They turn on that and
they don't see it until they go back down into
the basement. But there's a water leak down there because
that pipe is burth. So folks go back and forth,
(08:48):
go and if you're turning that water on down in
the basement, go outside, test the faucet outside and then
go back into the basement and make sure nothing's leaking
because it only takes a few minutes before water damage occurs.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Well that's great. And if you got a buddy in
a partnering crime here, get them downstairs in the basement
and when you open up that hose bib outside, they
can give you a big old holler if there's leak,
because you don't want to ignore that. I mean, I
guess that's why Rotor Ruter ended up doing water cleanup
(09:20):
is because people ignored that. Correct.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Yeah, yeah, you know we were always having here.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
People said, oops, you there.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
We just lost him.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
I think we lost him, all right, Uh, Paul, if
you're listening, no panic again. The website is roto Ruter
dot com. He's at the ballpark right now. His son's
a wonderful Oh he's back. I was just going to
say goodbye, Paul. No, I tell him you're at the
(09:55):
ballpark today. Aren't you your son playing today?
Speaker 2 (09:57):
I am, yes, good an. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
It looks like he's enjoying it and so are you.
So that was really the one. Two three things I
wanted to talk about was the faucets and the sump
pumps and the water clean up. Of course, rotor Router
offers full plumbing services. We all know about the Rotor
Router and the drain cleaners and everything, but also regular plumbing.
(10:23):
You got a very comprehensive website where you help people
with their plumbing projects. I mean, you got some great
videos there.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
We do. And you know, we got something brand new Gary.
We just introduced the first roto Router mobile app and
all that stuff, those videos you talked about, DIY information
is all on the app and you can keep track
of your service histories and go when did we put
that water heater in? Oh we Rotor Ritter put that
in the you know twenty sixteen. We carry all your
(10:53):
service information from the past into that app. Nice and
you'll have it at your fingertip. So that's just introduced it.
We're going to be doing regular updates to it, and
even better than having to go to the website, you'll
have it all on your smartphone.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
So yeah, I see right now, all I got is
my sharpie pen and I marked it on my solar pump.
So when I get off today, I'm gonna go see
how old my some pump is. I may be calling
you your year old school.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Like I am, Gary. That's what I do. I take
a silver sharpie and write it on the pump and
on the water heater and those things. But yeah, now
you can do it in the app if if that
makes it easier for you, you can download at the
app Store, Google Play. And it's a lot of fun.
We've had a lot of fun designing it and making
it as useful as possible.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Very good, well, Paul, thanks for joining us. Get us
a wind today. Okay, we sure well.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Thanks Gary, have a great day.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Take care, bye bye, all right, Paul Abrams, he's a
public relations guy. I wrote a ruder and a great
guy and a driving force, said, wrote a ruder to
get this information out in people's hands. And again with
the different technologies of and all your files in there,
I see more and more companies doing that. It's a great,
great idea. All right, let me give you the phone
(12:07):
number you can grab a line. We're talking about your
home projects and also giving you a little knowledge about
things to check around the home. It's eight hundred eight
two three eight two five five your calls next you're
at home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
Help for your home is just a click away at
Garysullivan online dot com. This is at home with Gary Sullivan. Well,
(12:46):
they say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound
of cure, and that's true when it comes to preventing
a basement flood. Hey, Gary Salvan here from my friends
at rote Ruter Plumbing and Water clean Up.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
They're the some.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Pump experts and can install back up some pump that
will prevent basement flooding even during a power outage. And
if your primary pump is getting up in the years,
well Roto Ruter can replace that too. Trust me a
lot cheaper than a flooded basement called Roto Router at
one eight hundred. Get roto today. Rust ruins everything it
touches vehicles, furniture, tools, toys. Rust doesn't know how to stop,
(13:20):
but Blaster knows how to stop rust. Stop it, bust
it up, clean it off, and prevent it from ever
happening with pbe Blaster the number one product to break
free rusted or stuck parts period. Then use Blaster's surface
shield rust protected to protect from rust from ever forming
in the first place. It's simple, Blaster knows rust, So
get to know Blaster products at a home, auto or
(13:42):
hardware store near you and always work it like a pro.
Spring is here and so the Jaws Spring Cleaning Caddy
Packs just in time to tackle your spring cleaning jobs.
This all in one cleaning solution features five high performance
Jaws cleaners, including my favorite streak free glass cleaner, plus
refill pods, microfiber towels, and Jaws dishs spray, all neatly
(14:03):
packed in a convenient caddy. With Jaws just add water system,
you'll clean smarter and faster. This limited time spring cleaning
caddie pack won't last. Order now at jawscleans dot com.
Enjoy free shipping on orders over thirty five dollars. Dirty patio,
don't scrub it, wet and forget it. Wet and forget
the easy outdoor cleaner. Wet and forget. Works overtime with
(14:25):
Mother Nature to eliminate unsightly blackened green stains on your
patio or deck with no scrubbing, power washing or bleach.
Use wet and forget on all your outdoor surfaces, including driveways, siding, roofs,
and fencing. Wet and forgets available and concentrate or extreme
reach hose en purchase wet and forget in store, online
(14:45):
at Lows, Minards or Ace