Garburators/Garbage disposals definitely get rid of food waste easier. Instead of scraping your dishes into the garbage, you can simply flush it all down the drain, run the garbage disposal and it disappears – like magic !!

Your garbage disposal has a motor attached to rotating blades which are located in a chamber below your sink that is attached to your drain. When you put food down the garbage disposal and turn it on, these blades shred the food into small enough pieces that it can pass safely through your drain pipes and out into the sewer system. The shredded food then runs with the water back into your main drainage system and passes out of your house. They provide an environmentally responsible alternative to transporting food waste to landfills. They can also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Important Fact: NEVER reach into the garbage disposal when it is running. If you need to reach in, make sure the unit is switched off. It is even a good idea to shut off the power to the garbage disposal entirely so that it cannot be turned on by accident while your hand is in there.

Smells funny? A foul odor could develop from the garbage disposal after a period of time. This is common and easy enough to fix, but you will have to get down into the garbage disposal to get rid of the smell. The smell simply comes from residue of the food you have put down the garbage disposal and that needs to be cleaned off so the smell will go away.  Make sure you have the garbage disposal turned off completely before you reach in to take parts out to clean them.

You can also put baking soda, vinegar or half a lemon down the garbage disposal and run it in order to combat a persistent smell or to keep one from developing.

Papa Plumbing, Heating & Drainage Ltd commonly supplies and installs Badger 5 garburators with the following features:

• 1/2 Horsepower Heavy Duty Motor (Quiet Dura-Drive® Induction Motor).
• Rugged Galvanized Steel Construction (For Disposer Durability).
• Space-Saving Compact Design.
  
  

Don’t ever worry as Papa Plumbing is able to diagnose any issues with your garburator / garbage disposal. Just give Papa a call 604-437-7272 and we will sure to be send a technician over.

You will never have this problem:

Looks like its going to be a beautiful week in Vancouver !! Enjoy your long weekend and Happy Back to School !!

See the full gallery on Posterous

So my week continues in my hometown of Calgary ! Checked in today with the technicians and Big P aka Boss and everything is running smoothly. Seems to be the regular jobs: pipe bursts, furnaces breaking down and drains backing up. September should be a very busy month, and it will continue until at least Feb. Papa is ready ! We are so going to rock it !

If you know me, you will know I love social media. I tweeted our dear friend Erin Ireland that I am in Calgary and she immediately replied back that I must try Pulcinella !! So out we ventured to Kensington. I Loved the decor of the restaurant ! The staff was so attentive and very helpful ! Our hostess explained to us that the pizza is authentically made in a 1000 degree oven for 60-90 seconds. Wow HOT !!
The Pizza: Fresh ingredients, thin crust, fresh made dough, fresh tomato sauce – priceless !! They also don’t cut the pizza and it’s supposed to be eaten authentically – like a sandwich the hostess said !
This is surely a must in Calgary ! Pulcinella – a jewel of Kensington !

Here are some more details of Pulcinella :

Sunday 1130am – 10pm Monday to Thursday 1130am – 11pm Friday & Saturday 1130am – Midnight
1147 Kensington Crescent NW | 403.283.1166
http://www.pulcinella.ca/

Thank you Erin Ireland for the excellent recommendation !

Papa’s Poll is 5 stars !!

“You ever go to a big party, go in the bathroom, flush the toilet and the water starts coming up? This is the most frightening moment in the life of a human being. You’ll do anything to stop this. You’ll lose your mind and start talking to the toilet. ‘No please, don’t do this to me!’ ” Jerry Seinfeld

 Yikes.. has that ever happened to you? Here is a tip if it ever does: if you flush once and the water rises dangerously high, DO NOT flush again! You should quickly remove the tank lid and push the tank ball down to close the flush valve.

Once that’s under control, lets explore the different drainage cases that could be happening:

Scenario 1:  If the bathroom sink does not back up but the toilet is backing up then the blockage is somewhere in the toilet or drain line.The clog may be the result of an object dropped into the toilet, such as a toy or a washcloth, then it is best to try to fish it out, rather than force it farther along. Other clogs resulting from normal flushed waste may be cleared with the use of a plunger or closet auger. First lets try to use a plunger to dislodge anything that may be trapped in the toilet bowl drain.

If the bowl is full, put on some gloves and bail out water until the bowl is only half full. 

If the bowl is empty, add water to fill it to half full. Make sure to have some towels around the area to avoid a mess !

 Place the plunger in the bowl and completely cover the drain opening. With the plunger completely under water, press and pull it rapidly for 15-20 seconds. If you see something stuck in the drain opening, you can use a stiff wire to drag it back into the bowl. If you dislodge the item, pour a gallon or so of water into the bowl before you flush.

The water should drain to its normal level and stay there.

Scenario 2: If the sink (or some other bathroom drain) is backing up, then the clog is farther along in the drain line. A cable/auger would need to be used in this case. You can try yourself by renting one from your local Home Depot or call PAPA to come in. We have cables of all sizes, and if need be a high pressure hydro jetting machine.

Scenario 3: If drains elsewhere in the house are backing up, then the problem is likely to be somewhere in the sewer line. The best thing to do in that case is to call PAPA ! 

I leave you with this plumbing song by Weird Al.. he is hilarious !!: 

“B-b-b-baby, I can tell you’ve got a big problem

When I flush the john, then your shower goes on

(Baby) Now watcha gonna do?

If Drano’s a joke and your plunger is broke

Baby, call the mensch with a monkey wrench

(Baby) He’ll be there for you”

“Got a problem with plumbing?

Gotta blame it on something

Blame it on the drain it was cloggin’, cloggin’

Blame it on the faucet that drips all night

If hairballs, grease and goo

Won’t let the water through

Blame it on the drain, yeah, yeah”

ENJOY YOUR SUNDAY VANCOUVER !!

In the Lower Mainland? You can basically use these coupons anywhere in the Lower Mainland, from Hope to Horseshoe Bay !!

Hope your Monday went well Vancouver !

Richmond.pdf Download this file

SurreyDelta.pdf Download this file

VanEast.pdf Download this file

This question is a fairly common one that comes through the call centre. Surprisingly, it involves a very simple answer using a common house hold item: Vinegar !

That pesky white substance is actually mineral deposits. To remove the mineral deposits from the shower head, pour a cup of vinegar into a plastic bag and then place the bag over the shower head fixture and leave it in place overnight. Make sure to secure the bag around the head with a rubber band, tape, or a twist tie. The next day, remove the bag and use an old toothbrush to scrub off the deposits.

That should clear it up, if your still having problems with your shower head, please call Papa 604-437-7272 and one of our certified Papa’s can surely help you !

We have had 2 online commercials produced for us by Canpages.

Here is the latest one:

Hope you all enjoy it !

Have a nice Sunday !

I really should be writing part 2 of my blog about hot water tanks, but instead I thought I would write a post about the events that happened this week in Vancouver.

It all started on Monday. Monday, I was doing paper work like usual in the evening.. and I read a tweet from our favorite CTV reporter Keri Adams on her twitter account

saying that Chef Dale MacKay WON Top Chef Canada ! She had the tweet right but Chef Dale’s twitter name is actually @ChefDaleMackay ! Thats okay Keri, one day you will follow Papa Plumbing but we understand.. we will await your follow !

Keri Adams (@Keri_Adams) 11-07-04 8:14 PM A #Vancouver Chef has won Top Chef Canada! His reaction when he won, and how his big night will help kids. @ctvbc at 11:30. @dalemackay

Well Papa loves Chef Dale (& his plumbing fixtures)

so I immediately messaged all the technicians and we were glued to the TV and google. Actually I was glued to Twitter. It was so cool watching Chef Dale’sTwitter followers sky rocket! Then the hash tag #topchefcanada started trending ! It was so amazing seeing Chef Dale go viral ! I love Social Media !

So a heartfelt CONGRATULATIONS TO CHEF DALE !

His winning dish:

Quebec Brie cheese as the amuse, salmon prepared two ways, a main dish of black cod with BBQ pork consomme accompanied by a plate of roast lamb, and a lemon custard topped with a strawberry sorbet for dessert.

Here is Chef Dale MacKay’s winning tweet:

The Papa crew will be visiting Ensemble on Wednesday for dinner.. looking forward to it,  as I am sure everyone in Canada is !

Looks like we are in for some real fine dining !

Papa Dale took this during his last visit to Ensemble:

In the next day or so I will cover the rest of the exciting PAPA week.