Why World Water Day is Such a Great Concept

World Water Day will be celebrated on March 22nd of this year. This day stands to focus attention on the planet's freshwater, and how humans can develop a healthier relationship with this precious resource.

With the increase in urbanization and the resulting changes in lifestyles, our consumption of water has steadily bloated, as well.
 

Is Our Water Supply in Danger?

If the over-consumption of water doesn’t slow in the coming years, our supply of healthy and usable freshwater will be depleted. Already, tensions are building within in countries where borders share a large supply of freshwater with others. Water used for irrigation purposes, industrial areas, and domestic households is steadily increasing. Other factors have created a water crisis, including:

Environmental Crisis: Deep effects of water pollution and over-usage have detrimental effects on aquatic ecosystems and the species which exist within them. When low levels of water and pollution affect these ecosystems, natural balances can no longer be regulated.
Agricultural Crisis: On top of freshwater that is used for irrigation purposes, factory-farmed meat production is using unprecedented amounts of water.

How Can We Save Our Water?

Thankfully, scientists and activists alike are spreading the word, along with developing methods, as to how we can preserve and maintain a healthy water supply worldwide. Now, more than ever before, are humans wasting water in large quantities. There are several beneficial methods that benefit the conservation process, including:

• Avoiding polluting our water at all costs by creating regulations to maintain water quality.
• Improving the management of water usage that focuses on beneficial use for large populations, rather than wasteful usage by a small population of people.
• Reducing water waste, and use, with technological advancements and government regulations.

Do Your Part in Preserving Our Water

There are many small, beneficial changes that individuals can partake in both at home and at work. Taking shorter showers, limiting usage of water for dishes, and turning off the tap while brushing teeth or washing hands are just a few simple ideas to limit water usage.

Technological advancements in plumbing have created opportunities for any business or homeowner to conserve water from key access points – pipes and drains. Here is a selection of affordable plumbing technology to consider when choosing to save on water, and your water bill:

• Dual-flush toilets. These toilets have two levers to control the amount of water being flushed, and use up to 67% less water than their conventional counterparts.
• Garden hose nozzles, to disturb the flow of water when not in use.
• Faucet Aerators. These easy-to-install tap heads work to break up the flow of water into particles rather than a straight stream, allowing for the same wetting effectiveness, but using less water.
• Low-flow showerheads, which are also known as energy-efficient showerheads.

Protecting the planet's water starts at home. Celebrate World Water Day by making a few affordable changes to your home or business. For installation assistance in the Lansing, MI area, or to chat with a plumbing expert, call The Meridian Company at 517-339-6300.

Quick Guide on How to Plan for a Healthy New Year

With the New Year’s arrival, families across the country are considering how to develop their strategies for staying healthy in 2017 and beyond. As with most self-improvements, this work begins at home. To help lead you in creating a happy and healthy home environment this year, we’re offering our quick guide to a healthy home in this latest post.

Flush Your Water Heater

You rely upon your home water heater to provide you with access to hot water on demand. This can be critical on those cooler winter days. And so, it’s important to work to protect the water heater and ensure its performance for the coming months.

Flushing the heater regularly is a critical maintenance process. The flushing process will remove the sediment build up that might otherwise damage the interior of the system and cause component breakdown.

Clean Home Drains

By following a drain cleaning regimen, you can help prevent the spread of foul odors and bacteria across your home. Mold spores and bacteria thrive in dark, confined environments and that’s why you’ll often find a large number of these household contaminants in the average drain area.

By having your home drains expertly cleaned, you can remove many contaminants and help prevent the spread of dangerous bacteria.

Install Water Filtration Systems

The latest water filtration technology, including reverse osmosis systems, carbon filtration, and water softeners can help ensure that your family members have access to safe drinking water throughout the year.

By having the systems installed by professionals, you can minimize integration challenges and make sure your family begins on the road towards optimal health at the earliest possible time.

Identify Home Leaks

A leak in your piping structure could be a clear indication of a safety risk in the home. It might also mean that the home is without access to fresh water until a plumbing specialist is available to address the issue.

This means that home leaks should be identified at the earliest possible opportunity. Make sure you watch for water spots on the walls and for water settling in basement spaces. Then call for a plumber the moment the problem is identified. They can then mitigate any home leaks and protect your home water supply for the coming months.

Don’t wait to begin improving the safety of your home space! To discover more tips for creating a healthy home environment, call our team at The Meridian Company in Lansing, MI now at 517-339-6300.

Follow These Tips to Stay Warm in the Winter

As winter settles in for the long haul, you need your home to be heated comfortably and reliably. It’s not enough just to have a warm home to retreat to. Given the high cost of heating, homeowners everywhere should take note of how they can actively reduce their heating bills.

You’ve got to make sure that your home is airtight and that you take advantage of all the tools that you have. You can even try out some low-tech options that mean that your furnace doesn’t have to work so hard.

Humidifier Installation

Yes, you definitely need your home to be heated adequately in the winter, but you also need the air quality to be high. Some unique problems are presented in the winter because of the heated air.

It’s very dry and can cause dry skin and respiratory irritations. To combat against this, install a whole-home humidifier that will put moisture back into the air as it heats it.

Upgrade the Thermostat in Your Home

One of the most useful tools at your disposal is a programmable thermostat. If you don’t have one, the cost saving in heating bills can be significant, so you should consider upgrading.

Simply, you save money because you aren’t paying for heat that you don’t need. You are programming the heat to be on when you need it - and where you need it. Many thermostats offer the opportunity to program heat by zones in the home.

Also, a programmable thermostat is convenient. It lets you be comfortable immediately when you get home from work or holidays, rather than waiting for the home to heat up when you arrive.

Schedule Your Furnace Tune Up

Another energy saving feature is to change the filter in your furnace. That’s just one of the many services that you’ll receive when you get a furnace tune up. Additionally, you’ll get your system cleaned and inspected. It’s great to have that kind of peace of mind during the cold weather.

Winterizing Tips

If you take on these simple tasks, you will keep a lot of the warm air from escaping, which will make your furnace happy. Seal cracks around windows to keep warm air from seeping out. Apply film over top. It’s easy to do with some tape and a hair dryer.

If you don’t want to put on film, hang insulated drapes. Leave them open during the day to let the sun heat your rooms. Close them when the sun goes down.

For doors with gaps, raise the threshold by putting in weather stripping. A quick fix for doorway gaps is simply to put a pool noodle if you have one against the space. Don’t forget about other escape routes for warm air, like through your fireplace flue. Keep it closed when not in use.

Do you want to save even more money on your heating bills? Call The Meridian Company in East Lansing, MI at (517)-339-6300 to learn more about your heating options.

Avoid These Common Plumbing Problems and Enjoy the Holidays

There is never a good time to have a plumbing problem, but the busy holiday season is a time that you really don’t want that kind of unwelcome distraction.

It is worth its weight in gold to be able to take a few minutes before the season gets in full swing to inspect some key components of your plumbing systems to make sure that they aren’t vulnerable.

Given the harsher weather of the winter, there are additional considerations to take.

Foam Insulation Makes a Difference

You understand the role that insulation plays in keeping cold air out and warm air in, which is why you take care to insulate your roof and walls. You’ve got to do the same thing to your pipes during the winter season.

Keeping your pipes warm can prevent freezing. It’s that simple. Wrap pipes that might be more vulnerable to the cold, like those installed in exterior walls or those in areas of your home that tend to get less heat (i.e. the basement or crawl spaces).

Warm up Your Water Heater

What’s the first thing you do when you’re cold? Reach for your jacket, perhaps? Help keep the source of your hot water (your water heater) warmer by applying a water heater jacket.

This is especially important if you have an older tank. Newer tanks tend to already be insulated, but every little bit helps. This is an energy efficient move. Also, making sure you’ve got warm water flowing is one way to prevent frozen pipes.

Winterize Your Outdoor Faucets

First off, if you haven’t removed your hoses from your outdoor faucets, you need to do that straight away. Drain the faucets of any remaining water. Pooling water, even though it is on the exterior of the home can freeze and then end up flooding the inside of your home.

That’s why, in addition to draining the faucets, you’ve got to activate the shut-off valve as an extra safety measure. If you want to be really thorough, you can buy a faucet insulation kit and wrap them tight for the season.

Warm Your Home Adequately

By all means, turn your thermostat down if you are away for an extended period of time over the holidays, but take care to make sure that it’s not lower than 55°F. Any lower than that and the risk of water freezing in the pipes rises. It’s not worth the risk.

Don’t Forget the Sump Pump

If you should experience flooding as the result of a frozen pipe that has burst, you need your sump pump to kick in and mitigate the damage from the flooding. You don’t want to realize that your pump isn’t functional when you really need it. That’s why it’s recommended that you get it inspected regularly by a professional.

To quickly test it yourself, clean the sump pit out of debris. Pour buckets of water into the pit. The sump pump should kick in automatically.

Test Your Faucets

After you’ve been away, and especially if you know that there was a cold snap while you were gone, turn all of your faucets on when you get back. If you discover one that isn’t flowing, the problem may be pipe damage sustained due to freezing.

For more help with your holiday plumbing preparations, call The Meridian Company today. Call (517) 339-6300 today for trustworthy service in East Lansing, MI , and the surrounding area.

 

Fall & Winter Heating Costs: Ways to Save

It’s no secret that the high cost of heating your home in the fall and winter months can drain out your bank account. As the cost of living continues to climb, you’ve got to be proactive to save on household expenses wherever you can.

We’ve put together a list of low-effort cost saving measures that can get you big results when it comes to reducing your heating costs.

Use the Ceiling Fan

Even though the temperatures are dropping, keep that ceiling fan circulating, although in a clockwise direction. Hot air rises and the ceiling fan is a cost-effective tool to help your rooms heat evenly. This makes your furnace have to produce less heat, which is a bonus for your heating budget.

Time for Furnace Maintenance

Your furnace has been switched off for months, and now is working hard to keep you comfortable at home. It only makes sense to ensure that all of its parts and components are in good shape. Your furnace functions by converting energy (gas, electricity, etc.) to heat and regular maintenance can boost your system’s efficiency.

Stop the Drafts

Make sure your windows are airtight by checking the seals around them. You can easily repair any growing cracks with a caulking gun. Don’t let them grow; you’re literally letting money fly away by letting warm air escape.

Another option is to apply film on the windows. One of the most effective and inexpensive methods is to use a heat shrink film. You attach it to the window frame with double-sided tape and then adhere it directly to the window itself by using a hair dryer to heat it.

 

Stop Warm Air from Flowing out the Chimney

Your fireplace can be a huge source of heat loss if you’re not careful. A chimney balloon traps warm air as it rises, sending it back down into your home while preventing cold air drafts from entering. Another effective method is to make sure that the damper is securely closed when your fireplace isn’t in use.

Pull Back the Drapes

Harness solar power simply by leaving your curtains open during the day. That sunlight streaming in will help boost the temperature in your room quite a bit.

Raise the Threshold

Is there a gap between your exterior doors and the threshold? This happens over time because of the elements, shifting of the foundation or because of renovations. You can close the gap simply by installing a piece of adjustable threshold, making the doorframe flush with the threshold.

How old is your furnace? There have been many advances in the last few years with energy efficient heating systems. It might be the right time to invest in an upgrade to save you money on heating. Call The Meridian Company, in East Lansing, MI, today at (517)-339-6300 for more information.