A Halloween Warning from My Plumber Heating and Air

Sir or Madame please be aware, for your garbage disposal, a danger is there
It's time to carve pumpkin and many have learned,
An expensive lesson, from the blades that did churn.
Pumpkin mess to gelatinous mass, there is no way around it,
Twill leave you aghast.

So take heed Fair Ladies and Gents,
Your garbage disposal and pumpkin don't mix.
Cook the Flesh and Toast the Seed
Compost the rest, if that is your need.

But please sweetest ladies and burley, strong men,
Don't grind up a pumpkin in your kitchens sink drain.
pumpkin will fool you, all sweet and pretty,
Your drain it will cling to and clog up to fiend you.

So finest people
Heed my dire warning,
Don't feed your grinder with Halloween Pumpkin.
O.K., So no pox will fall on you,
Just an extensive plumbing pipe haunting.

Winterizing Your Outside Plumbing System

Northern Va. and Suburban Md. - "If the cool, crisp days of autumn are upon us," said Mark Presgrave of My Plumber Heating and Air recently, "it stands to reason that freezing rain, sleet and snow will soon follow. It is time to winterize your outside hose bib to protect your home from a burst water supply pipe."

There are frost-proof hose bibs and non frost-proof hose bibs. The easiest way to identify the difference is by the location of the handle. If the handle is on top of the faucet, it is probably not frost-proof. If the faucet continues to drain for a few seconds after it is truned off, it probably is frost-proof. Both types of hose bibs need to be winterized for full protection against a burst pipe causing a plumbing leak, during a hard freeze.

First, disconnect the hose and any timer or other device attached to the hose bib. Then locate the shut-off valve (inside the house) for the hose bib and turn it off to interrupt the water supply. Back outside, simply open the faucet and let it drain completely. This simple act of prevention, which takes just a few minutes, can protect a home from serious water damage caused by a frozen, broken water pipe.

For more information regarding this plumbing alert or further information about My Plumber Heating and Air, please visit their website at www.myplumber.com. To contact My Plumber Heating and Air, e-mail myplumber@myplumber.com.