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The latest sewer notes and history of Venice
Mozarts neighbours get the drains cleared
More S – – T from Venice! The best part about this blog is sharing with so many people and getting your insights into my topic, S – – T.
Our knowledge of the sewers of the world grows.
Basically, we all use our toilets regularly and if you are not, then seek medical advice. Now I’m not going to get into anything unsavoury in this post, but I have a few toilet jokes and stories lined up for you in the future. So stay regular!
Our regular readers would have read about the world famous Venetian Gondolier my friend Giovanni Giudice in earlier blog posts like Holy S – – T. A Gondoliers impression.
Here in Australia, as we drift into the cooler months it’s spring in Venice and Gio has been keeping me up to date with some interesting facts about the sewer movements and the history of his home town.
Here is an excerpt from a recent communiqué:
Mozart slept here!
Yesterday I took these pics of drain boats in the first one you can see how they get the pipes to the house. This house is just in front of the house where Mozart, Wolfang Amadeus Mozart, stayed when he came to Venice in the Carnival of 1771.
This is written on the marble white stuff you see. Probably there is still some Mozart S- -T!!
Drain boat at St Marco square
This pic is of another Drain boat in front of San Marco Square. As you see from the last picture, I have taken all these pics from my gondola. You can see I’m under the bridge and you see the back (stern) of my lady, my gondola.
Take care my friend,
Giovanni
If you are travelling to Venice and need a guide, look for Giovanni, he is the best!
Problems with hot water during the long hot summer?
Welcome to 2010!
Over the Christmas and New Year period we were called to rescue people with all sorts of plumbing emergencies!
Burst water pipes, blocked sewer drains, leaking taps and toilets are commonplace, but, here at the height of summer, calls for help for running hot water is at an all time high!
Ruptured water heaters or burst water heaters happen all the time and we only think of it as a problem in the winter, but we love a warm shower in the summer just as much.
Try telling a family that we can’t replace their particular type of heater over the holidays, because…………..ahhhhhhhh!
So here are a few simple tips that will assist:
1. Know where your water heater is. You would be surprised how many people don’t know where their water heater is!
2. Know how to turn your water heater off.
3. Try turning your water heater off to check that the cold water valve that turns it off works. One emergency water heater job we went to on Boxing Day, could have saved the owner money if they could have simply turned their heater off at the control valve or tap. The tap would not work, so we had to shut down the entire house, cut out the faulty tap valve and fit a new valve. We then turned the water to the house back on, so our clients at least had cold water to flush the toilet, make a cuppa and have a cold shower until we could track down the appropriate new water heater that was needed.
4. Pull the pressure relief valve on your mains pressure water heater, let it run for 5 or 10 seconds. When you let the valve go the water should slow down and then stop. If it does not stop, try it again. The pressure relief valve should be eased at least every 6 months.
5. Make sure its dry and clean around the base of your water heater storage area. Keep it clear of leaf debris, and long grass if it is outside.
6. Don’t store flammable liquids, petrol or paint anywhere near a gas water heater.
https://www.thelonedrainerandpronto.com.au/hot-water-services.html
I can’t turn my water meter off!
If you have a plumbing emergency, or you have water running all over your house, or a split tap washer, or burst water heater and your water meter won’t turn off, you may be in trouble!
If your meter tap has a tee-head on it, turn it off in a clockwise direction as firmly as you can. Firmly; don’t overdo it.
If your meter tap is missing the tee-head, get a large pair of grips and turn it off in a clockwise direction as firmly as you can. Firmly; don’t overdo it.
Open a garden tap to let out the pressure.
Then call an emergency plumber!
Check out this video below that shows what we do to upgrade your water meter control valve.
Great fun on a hot day!
Before a plumbing emergency arises ensure you know where and how to turn off your cold water supply. It’s incredibly simple if you know where it is.
I want you to have our plumbing Hints and Tips, they are free.
Simply fill in the box on our home page to get our Plumbing Hints and Tips.
I know they will help you in a plumbing emergency!
HELP! I’ve got a burst pipe in my bathroom!
This post is relevant to a Randwick plumbing emergency that happened yesterday.
We had an SOS from a long term client “Joan”.
You could hear the panic in her voice. “Come quickly, we have a burst water pipe under our vanity basin and we can’t turn the water off” screamed Joan.
“Is your floor waste drain clear?” we asked. “Yes” Joan replied!
We told her how to minimise the water damage by shutting the cupboard doors and direct the gushing water towards the floor drain, and then putting a towel across the doorway to keep the water flow in the bathroom.
We were at the house within 15 minutes, and with a large pair of grips, we were able to slow down, but not stop the water flow.
Now, a picture paints a thousand words and this short video will actually take you there.
Please watch and learn.
It’s incredibly simple to figure out where and how to turn off your hot water and cold water supply if you know where they are, and avert any plumbing emergency.
I want you to have our plumbing Hints and Tips, they are free. Simply fill in the box on our home page to get our Plumbing Hints and Tips.
I know they will save you thousands of dollars!
Holy S_ _t! A Gondoliers impressions
Today’s post comes courtesy of the World Famous Venetian Gondolier, my mate Giovanni Giudice.
I met Gio in the summer of 07 -08. He was visiting Australia, learning to surf and was escaping the Venetian winter because “business is slow”. Gio was staying in Coogee at the home of a client who funnily enough had a blocked drain. We hit it off straight away; I told him about places to visit along our beautiful coast and Gio in return told stories of the romantic city of Venice, Italy.
Invariably the conversation got back to blocked sewers and blocked drains and how different it would be to deal with a blocked drain in Venice, compared to being a Sydney plumber. Upon his return to Venice, Gio answered my question with a series of photos he took on the way to his gondola one morning.
Below are the photos he sent of a septic boat, pumping the waste from the Palace of the Bishop of Venice.
If any of our readers are lucky enough to be travelling to Venice, ask for Gio’s contact for the best gondola tour of that beautiful city.
Green Loans
Green Loans have been set up by the Australian Government in order to provide subsidised loans to assist in making houses more environmentally friendly. This is a great way to provide financial assistance to households to gain access to the resources they need to invest in energy and water efficient technologies, and hence reduce total greenhouse emissions from domestic households. After undertaking a free “home sustainability assessment”, owners or tenants of eligible homes are allowed to take out a loan of up to $10,000 at zero interest in order to make the changes suggested in the assessment.
The assessment is carried out by a qualified expert assessor and will provide advice from the smallest behaviour change to major investments such as photovoltaic panels or a solar hot water system which can be installed by your local plumber. The assessment itself is also completely free and should only take around 1.5 hours. While only one green loan can be made per assessment, this loan can be used to carry out a number of different projects.
Funding for these loans is obviously limited so those interested should act fast. If you would like to be considered for a loan, book a Sustainability Assessment by calling the hotline on – 1800 895 076.
More information is available at http://www.environment.gov.au/greenloans/
Even Wizards need a Plumber
To be a plumber is to be a Wizard (ace, adept, champion, genius, hotshot, magician, mavin, sensation, star, superstar, virtuoso, whizz, wiz)
This was taken from the Sydney Morning Herald on 26th August, 2009.
SSSSSire CCCCertainly SSSSSounds like a job for The Lone Drainer and Pronto