It’s tempting to shop at home improvement stores and think that energy efficient ratings are the answer to lowering your expenses. Often they are, but if you ignore minor plumbing leaks in your home around your fixtures or inside your toilet, you’ll really only increase your bills with additional monthly payments, not lower your living expenses. While efficient water heaters, washers and dishwashers are very beneficial over all, don’t make the mistake of neglecting those leaky sink handles. It will take the combined effort of Energy Star and regular maintenance before you will see significant changes to your bills.
If you find yourself continually replacing the washers in your faucet handles or calling a plumber to do so, it may be time to upgrade to a higher quality fixture. Some things can’t really be helped, like if those handles receive a higher volume of use than average, but if under normal use you believe you are experiencing more washer replacements than should be necessary, again, consider purchasing a fixture your local plumber recommends versus a fixture that really only offers aesthetic quality for the dollars spent.
We’d like to hear from you. Are there Energy Star appliances that you either endorse or are unhappy with? Leave us your comments below!
plumbing at home is usually easy, all you need is a little bit of internet research.
That’s great Amos. Thanks for leaving your comments for our readers.
That’s pretty funny Lucas! Although there are several things residents can do for themselves, your comment gives us a chuckle because you’re not in here when we get calls to fix things those who “thought they knew” ended up needing our help with. We don’t ever make fun or belittle their decision to try, if I were them I would too. Just remember who to call if you ever get yourself in a pickle, we’re always happy to help! Remember, you wouldn’t knowingly go to a doctor who got their information from a diagram online. Many people don’t realize the years of extensive training and apprenticeship required to be a plumber, and that type of understanding and know-how you won’t find on a simple online search. I would also advise a do-it-yourself-er to ask a qualified person they know before trusting online fix-its that require repair that isn’t so obvious. It can be easier to take something apart than it is to put something back together again correctly, and that is where most trouble exists.