that can be a little overkill for many as valves won’t typically corrode in a year but better safe than sorry. i do mine around every 2-3 if i remember
If it’s an old gate valve I’d just replace it with a ball valve or quarter turn . Turning a gate valve to often can break it and have it stay on and off and now your in a bigger pickle
Not really. This is about destroying other things in your house if you let the water keep running. Like what he said it might ruin your cabinets, carpets, and other things that doesnt go well with water. Why you have to turn it off first and then proceed to call someone fix it. Bcus some people wouldnt or doesnt know how to turn their valve off and it may take days before they even get a plumber to fix it due to them being busy or something and they just let it flow.
Everyone should try and figure out how to be able to work on their own toilets. They are some of the most common service calls, and are some of the easiest things to replace parts in or install new ones
Yep! I did all the seals in mine myself with no help when I bough my house. I was 21 and only had some Walmart wrenches. Crazy anyone would call over a toilet!
@@KekeeBlack If you're not capable of fixing it then you definitely need to call someone to fix it. No shame in that, take your Walmart wrenches and go strip something
@@KekeeBlackmeh. Time is money. I’d rather someone else do the dirty work even though I do it every day at my job. I can spend my time off the clock doing other things instead of fixing household items and saving 20 dollars while losing hours.
Im good even though it gets cleaned regularly i still would rather pay someone to play with it than do it myself. That’s where all my human waste over the years has been put. It looks brand new but you never know what invisible bacteria is there
I completely agree…2nd thing is learning to keep your primary drain for your A/C clean and flowing. To add to his advice…if your main water shut off is a gate valve, replace it with a ball valve.
These are the type of things people should be learning. We have advanced to all this new stuff and in the process we’ve left a lot of the things our fathers and grandfathers know as their version of common sense behind.
Water shut off, electrical breakers & where the main breaker is, how to put out various types of fires without making them worse, how to find studs and properly anchor objects to walls, how to clean your sink's aerator so water doesn't spray all over when you turn the sink on, cleaning and greasing your garage door and track. There's honestly so much, and a lot of it will come with time and age if you don't actively seek the information out. Edit: I know this got away from HVAC/plumbing but these skills are important for all homeowners to know.
The lights were not working for all the bathrooms in my house. Called electrician and he pressed a button on the downstairs bathroom socket. $80 for knowledge lmao
$80?? Thats cheap. U got off easy. I charge $120 to press that button, especially if after I try to walk you through it yourself on the phone and you still can’t figure it out.
As an HVAC technician there are 2 things i wish customers knew. 1.That turning the thermostat to a colder temperature doesnt make it blow cooler and 2. That when your system isnt working correctly dont just leave it running until a tech gets there.
Absolutely true. We have people that complain that it's not cooling and instead of turning it off since something is wrong, they turn the temp down to like 55.....like guys, it's not a car, stepping on the "gas" ain't gonna make it go faster. We've also had people say their drain lines are backed up and the unit is leaking water on to the floor, and it's been doing it for days. The kicker is that they don't even turn it off. They just leave it running and dripping everywhere. So many idiotic people
Clean your inside and outside A/C units. If you don’t replace your filter or clean the outside coils on your condenser unit you’re likely to run into issues. Because the lack of airflow increases the pressure that the refrigerant has to run at and can cause your unit to freeze and be less efficient. Also, if it gets bad enough the particles will pass through your filter and get into the EVAP, which can be insanely expensive to clean. I saw a quote for $3,600 dollars for an EVAP clean this morning.
I sold mobile homes for years. The whole house shut off was the first feature I would show people. 2. Was the furnace filter 3. Was the bathtub under the sky light. I used to tell people they put those in mobile homes to catch the water from the skylight.
HVACR worker here. Shutoffs and disconnects. Know where those are. Also change your filter. We know and we talk. Doing basic maintenance helps prolong the life of a system.
Replace gate valve with ball valve. I had this done both at the main for my home, as well as the main for my irrigation. Plumber recommended this. Another tip he told me that I never considered was if youre gonna be gone for a while, turn the main off. That way if theres a leak while youre gone, it doesnt continue undetected while youre gone.
That’s not quite as important as changing air filters once a month for forced hot air and ac. Also draining your hot water tank twice a year and replacing the sacrificial anode.
I was taught growing up how to manage our home pipe fixing to electrical to building a house. People should learn to do basic things that a house requires. It will save you a ton of money and you will hand down this experience to your kids
I don’t do service calls very often but the number of times I’ve showed up to a house and just tightened an angle stop, supply line or p-trap is way to high. There is still a charge for showing and I hate the piddly jobs that only take 5 minutes, yet somehow make the day feel like an eternity then the the customer gets a bill in the mail that they may feel is unfair. If you are willing to perform basic maintenance, investigate a problem and determine if it is something you can do before you make a phone call, you will save money.
Keep your filter clean. To get technical, the best filter is polyester media white on the air entering side, orange on the air leaving side. Have frames built, the media comes in a roll. There are services that cut the frames and precut all your filters or you can do it yourself. People not changing their filters kept me in business as an hvac tech for 40 years.
Make sure to have valves on every fixture and a main valve for the house. If you don't, have them installed. It's extremely easy to install valves on PEX pipes, but it's alittle more difficult (and requires more tools) to replace them on copper and galvanized. You should also be able to fix and replace the parts inside of a toilet. They're pretty basic, cheap, and not difficult to replace. Replacing fixtures is also fairly easy. Knowing how to remove and replace p-traps is important too (and again, pretty easy to do). Most of your sink clogs will be in the p-trap. It's easier to unclog sinks by pulling out the p-trap than it is to plunge a sink. And if you drop something valuable down a sink drain, it will probably stay in the p-trap. For HVAC, you should know how to replace all of the air filters. Most of the time they are in the house in the air return, but some are located in the air handler under the house. It's also a good idea to know which breakers are which, and know how to check. And that means you should own a non-contact voltage tester, unless you like the idea of getting shocked, or worse, getting electrocuted.
Take the time to understand the unit you have in your home. It’s most likely a split system heat pump which isn’t hard to understand. Just know general stuff like that
That right there shows how much u know man, the average household in the United States does not have a heat pump I can assure u. Down south? Maybe, Up north? No. Too many variables to just say yes your home probably has a split system heat pump lol
Go with the tandem and single, maybe stage a photo as a tri-drive and use the photos for promo material. You can keep the customers happy and have a proof-of-concept for the model that lays down the big numbers to impress potential customers.
Agreed, I have had so many customers not know how to shut off local valves at toilets or under sinks let alone the main. I had an emergency call once where water was flooding a condo unit. I get there and the toilet is overfilling in the tank. Water is everywhere. The lady is running around freaking out and throwing towels out into inches of water. I immediately turned the angle stop off. I showed her how to do it herself in the future if need be.
Not a plumber im a body tech but I believe everyone should know how to change there oil,breaks,radiator,battery,airfilter and bulbs don’t pay for regular maintenance
Literally sitting in my plumbing truck right now eating food at a call, because someone didn't know how to shut their water off and flooded the place until i showed up. They are currently shop vaccing water up.
Change your hvac filter regularly. Locate where the drain line for the system comes outside, put a shop vacuum on it for 1min or so to clear and stuff that could eventually clog the pipe. Could save you a service call in the middle of summer on 100 degeee day
Cutoff valves, main water cutoffs, circuit breakers are labeled, where the Fire Extinguishers and baking soda boxes are. Clean outs too and how the feed and drainage run so you don’t get roots in your pipes.
My husband and I run a plumbing company. It's so shocking to me how many people we tell to shut the water off and they have no clue. Home owning 101 you should know!!!
I had to go to a call about water dripping onto ceiling tiles in an office. The property managers assumed that the A/C was leaking. Its crazy for a couple of reasons. 1) my personal immediate thought is that leaking water is a plumbing issue or a sprinkler pipe issue. 2) the building A/C was entirely package units on the roof, no a/c units above the ceiling, 3) the office was in the basement of the building with another floor above. As soon as we relaized all of the above we knew immediately that it was stupid as hell and definitely plumbing and yup, sure enough, there was a drain line leaking
Flush your hot water tank once a year and keep your filters cleans for your heat pump or furnace. Water shutoff definitely important as well as knowing your electrical panel.
As a residential energy specialist for the DOE. I would say that most homeowners aren't even aware of replacing their air filters regularly.. or at all.
A good plumber installs accessible isolation valves too… as a homeowner you should know where they are. Have a clearly labelled electrical panel also that you should be familiar with. Knowledge of furnace switch next to basement light switch. You get a lot of “my grand son was in the basement yesterday and the furnace hasn’t worked since” calls lmao And know where your manuals are for furnaces, AC’s, PRV’s, water softeners/filters, pool pumps… whatever. Keep it organized.
I have a great Iowa "Shut The Water Off" story. 10 years ago I was in Davenport assisting a clown operation out of Chicago with the Deconstruction of the Figge Mansion. While I was gone one afternoon they removed all the toilets in the house. They shut the sketchy toilet valves off but not the MAIN WATER VALVE. I returned around 7pm to what looked like heavy rain in a tropical forest. Water was raining down from the ceiling everywhere. I was like WTF a monkey would have the sense to turn the MAIN VALVE OFF.....Moral of the story DONT ASSOCIATE WITH IDIOTS.........Side Note - Davenport and the people there are awesome.
this made me laugh my ass off. my grandpa passed in february & i moved into his house…huge house, sits on 13 acres & was built in the 50s…well my papa didn’t buy SHIT that was new, so nothing is newer than the 70s or 80s, so i won’t lie, i struggle w Identifying the basic things sometimes 🤣🤣
For HVAC, I would say to routinely check your filters, and to remove panels to see if the indoor unit needs attention. Also, give your condenser a bath once in a while. 😊
If your AC or fridge stops getting cold try giving the fins your not supported to smoosh a solid clean before tossing it. A lot of the time makes it good as new.
I love this because YES! When I taught all my kids to drive, I made them prove to me, they could STOP before they could go forward. Yes! Know how to Shut OFF your water, gas, electricity (and how to use a fire extinguisher).
Get a good shop vac. You can vacuum out sink drains , shower drains, ac condensate lines, clean ac coils, duct vents, heating elements, dishwasher drains, heck even a plugged toilet. I've had to use mine when the laundry washing machine pump went out with a full load in it. Just vac the water out and get to fixing.
This is how I know my grandfather taught me right, because I was expecting some cool trick or something and now I’m like isn’t that a basic 101 thing to know 😂
And spray behind the handle where it rotates with a little grease here and there to keep it movable. So it doesn't just break one day when you go to turn it
HVAC technician here. Please change out your filtees regularly. How often depends on lifestyle (how often you go out, how much you run your system, etc.) Once it looks about light grey, you wanna change it. Also keep up with thermostat batteries
Subscribed this is valuable information even looking at a new place Scare a couple of property managers & landlords with these kinds of questions lol & you’d be able to read on their face what kind of person they are
We remodeled recently. I had the plumbers move shut off valves to locations that are wheelchair accessible. And put in shut off valves for the tubs/ showers, too.
Also there’s usually quarter turn shut offs under every sink or toilet. So if you have a leak at a specific sink or toilet, you can just turn it off at it’s own shut off, so you can still use water elsewhere. As well as minimizing the time it takes for the leak to stop.
As a contractor and a homeowner what I’ve noticed the most about homeowners is that they let little problems turn into big problems. The small leak under the sink grows and ruins the cabinet, the drywall and the floors instead of just taking the 5mins or the $10 to repair the small leak in the first place. Educated folks are the least handy most times. College only teaches you to do the one thing you went to college for. It’s a joke.
The other thing is prevention prevention prevention. If you were leaving home for any reason and there doesn't need to be any water on turn off the main valve. You need to know where kill all the electricity to everything in the place. You need to know where the HV AC disconnect is because it may not go through the main fuse box. You need to know where the valve is on the gas. If there's any way you can leave something turned off if you're going to be gone for a while do so.
as far as air conditioning just cleaning your coils aka the radiator... extremely carefully so you don't bend the fins with water pressure or a brush go with the grain not against if you compare to woodworking and rhe more cotton wood seeds and leaves ya stop from plugging the airflow the more efficient it gets... even on a hot day spraying some clean cold water on the coils can have huge evaporative benefits as long as the humidity isn't overwhelming outside the knowing hoe to shut the water pr has valve off is a must for every homeowner and don't block it full of boxes so you can't even get to that valve you never use except needs to be there for such emergencyies
How to change a filter. Or batteries in a thermostat. Or having a hose hook up outside (that actually works) for cleaning the a/c. As for mentioned resetting breakers ( important to know when your ac is frozen so you can run the fan in cool and have the condenser off to unthaw it.) how to change a light bulb (too many unlit work areas). How to drain a water heater. How to not store stuff in your mechanical room. How to not build walls around your mechanicals that are closer than 18”. How to ask for help from a professional and not RUclips when dealing with things they have no concept of.
Pull the dryer out. Clean out the trap. And then take off the back plate to clean out any excess lint. Dryer will work better, and keeps your house from being covered in fire.
I work HVAC. People should just know physics. The number of times people are confused as to why it’s hot upstairs and cold in the basement is unacceptable.
You don't have to shut the main valve off for a leaking sink. All faucets have a straight or angle stop valve inside the cabinet. If you have a leak in your ceiling or walls, then you'd want to shut the main valve off.
Old water heaters let go of all their water and can destroy your basement. Put a moisture sensor down there and if you really wanna be smart proactively, replace cold water heaters. Boilers in hot water heater, relief valves can leak at any time put a bucket under the downspout with a water sensor in the bucket.
So I moved into a new house, and the tub's handle broke off and shot water EVERYWHERE. I was under the house for around 2 HOURS looking for the damn thing. Turns out 1) It was completely covered in insulation and duct tape. And 2) It was one of the new plastic blue ones I never seen before (I only seen the metal ones when I was younger). Most painful water-related experience I've had yet.
In addition, know what the breakers in your breaker box do. You’d be amazed at how quickly you could resolve an electrical problem simply by turning off the breaker. Also learn and understand how GFI’s work.
Funny true story. I once got new washing machine delivered and when I went to hook it up, I forgot to shut water off, and I had water spraying out of the faucet all over my laundry room as the delivery guys stood there watching. 🙃 😅
check your water shut off. my valve didnt have a handle when i needed to shut it off yesterday. buy a t handle tool to shut off the water. even if you live in a rental with rental insurance.
Depending on how old your house is the shut-off doesn't always work so you have to go find the meter. So it's not as easy as just turning the water off because the shut-off valve doesn't always bumass
Wow, I pause this short one second an enlisted about 10 things and the first thing that came to my head was obviously knowing how to shut your water off. Am I a jack-of-all-trades?
Furnace filters. I’ve had to replace blower motors because people didn’t know that they had a filter and it got sucked in and destroyed a bunch of shit.
Once every year, turn each valve off and on to keep them operable.
that can be a little overkill for many as valves won’t typically corrode in a year but better safe than sorry. i do mine around every 2-3 if i remember
If it’s an old gate valve I’d just replace it with a ball valve or quarter turn . Turning a gate valve to often can break it and have it stay on and off and now your in a bigger pickle
Jesus here's the dad comment giving advice no one asked for
@@takingafatdump overkill once a year for a 10 second task? Jesus this generation is getting lazy.
@@takingafatdump bruh, overkill? One turn? Jesus, this gen is lazy as fucj
Felt like I just got the plumbing version of, "turn your PC off and on again". Dammit if it ain't true though.
Nah you got the “turn off your PC till you pay to have me fix it”
Not really. This is about destroying other things in your house if you let the water keep running. Like what he said it might ruin your cabinets, carpets, and other things that doesnt go well with water. Why you have to turn it off first and then proceed to call someone fix it. Bcus some people wouldnt or doesnt know how to turn their valve off and it may take days before they even get a plumber to fix it due to them being busy or something and they just let it flow.
@@midnightfun1277 yup. I watched the video also. Thanks.
And nothing for the ac
Doing water remediation it amazes me how many people don’t shut the water off when going out of town. Specially winter visitors here in AZ
Plenty of people have animals and/or family that stays there. Not everyone always goes on every trip.
I have never! Thought to do that
Everyone should try and figure out how to be able to work on their own toilets. They are some of the most common service calls, and are some of the easiest things to replace parts in or install new ones
Yep! I did all the seals in mine myself with no help when I bough my house. I was 21 and only had some Walmart wrenches. Crazy anyone would call over a toilet!
Some people don't even know how to properly use a plunger, or that some plungers work in 2 different ways.
@@KekeeBlack If you're not capable of fixing it then you definitely need to call someone to fix it. No shame in that, take your Walmart wrenches and go strip something
@@KekeeBlackmeh. Time is money. I’d rather someone else do the dirty work even though I do it every day at my job. I can spend my time off the clock doing other things instead of fixing household items and saving 20 dollars while losing hours.
Im good even though it gets cleaned regularly i still would rather pay someone to play with it than do it myself. That’s where all my human waste over the years has been put. It looks brand new but you never know what invisible bacteria is there
I completely agree…2nd thing is learning to keep your primary drain for your A/C clean and flowing. To add to his advice…if your main water shut off is a gate valve, replace it with a ball valve.
These are the type of things people should be learning. We have advanced to all this new stuff and in the process we’ve left a lot of the things our fathers and grandfathers know as their version of common sense behind.
Maybe they should've taught us then lol
I REALLY love the sensibility of this channel
My hats off to you all ❤
Water shut off, electrical breakers & where the main breaker is, how to put out various types of fires without making them worse, how to find studs and properly anchor objects to walls, how to clean your sink's aerator so water doesn't spray all over when you turn the sink on, cleaning and greasing your garage door and track.
There's honestly so much, and a lot of it will come with time and age if you don't actively seek the information out.
Edit: I know this got away from HVAC/plumbing but these skills are important for all homeowners to know.
The lights were not working for all the bathrooms in my house. Called electrician and he pressed a button on the downstairs bathroom socket. $80 for knowledge lmao
$80?? Thats cheap. U got off easy. I charge $120 to press that button, especially if after I try to walk you through it yourself on the phone and you still can’t figure it out.
A person needs their card revoked if they made it out of their teens and still didn't know something as simple as what a GFI is?
Bigger concern here is why the heck lights are being fed off a GFI lol.
@@erikvanegas7109they’re not. No one above you knows anything lol mr $120 for a breaker reset doesn’t get many repeat customers or references.
I work with people who didn't know how to shut the water off at the sink or toilet until I showed them😂.
Did they just come over the border? That’s some basic stuff 😂
Well let's be positive at least you showed them
I mean, there’s nothing wrong with not knowing something. It’s about the willingness to learn.
@@zGINGERbreadtwo you were born knowing how to?
@@drunkenmasterii3250 ya actually I was
HVAC tip I learned was to change your furnace filter monthly or more if you have pets.
As an HVAC technician there are 2 things i wish customers knew. 1.That turning the thermostat to a colder temperature doesnt make it blow cooler and 2. That when your system isnt working correctly dont just leave it running until a tech gets there.
And change the damn filter lol that’s my biggest gripe
Couldn’t have said it better myself
Absolutely true. We have people that complain that it's not cooling and instead of turning it off since something is wrong, they turn the temp down to like 55.....like guys, it's not a car, stepping on the "gas" ain't gonna make it go faster. We've also had people say their drain lines are backed up and the unit is leaking water on to the floor, and it's been doing it for days. The kicker is that they don't even turn it off. They just leave it running and dripping everywhere. So many idiotic people
Clean your inside and outside A/C units. If you don’t replace your filter or clean the outside coils on your condenser unit you’re likely to run into issues. Because the lack of airflow increases the pressure that the refrigerant has to run at and can cause your unit to freeze and be less efficient. Also, if it gets bad enough the particles will pass through your filter and get into the EVAP, which can be insanely expensive to clean. I saw a quote for $3,600 dollars for an EVAP clean this morning.
I sold mobile homes for years. The whole house shut off was the first feature I would show people.
2. Was the furnace filter
3. Was the bathtub under the sky light. I used to tell people they put those in mobile homes to catch the water from the skylight.
HVACR worker here. Shutoffs and disconnects. Know where those are. Also change your filter. We know and we talk. Doing basic maintenance helps prolong the life of a system.
Replace gate valve with ball valve. I had this done both at the main for my home, as well as the main for my irrigation. Plumber recommended this. Another tip he told me that I never considered was if youre gonna be gone for a while, turn the main off. That way if theres a leak while youre gone, it doesnt continue undetected while youre gone.
People should know about their A/C unit fuses they can buy at a box store.
That’s not quite as important as changing air filters once a month for forced hot air and ac. Also draining your hot water tank twice a year and replacing the sacrificial anode.
If your fuses are blowing there’s another problem. Get your ac checked out if it’s blowing a fuse or tripping the breaker.
AC fuses don't blow without cause.. and how would you know if they were blown without a meter and knowing what to look for
@@jrmills2468 once a month? Decent air filters will last at least 60 days.
@@joshhardy5646 The better the filter, the less time it lasts
I love learning things like this for real 😅
I was taught growing up how to manage our home pipe fixing to electrical to building a house. People should learn to do basic things that a house requires. It will save you a ton of money and you will hand down this experience to your kids
These are the podcasts I love. Real working men just having open discussions.
Incredible how common knowledge like this isn't so common anymore
I don’t do service calls very often but the number of times I’ve showed up to a house and just tightened an angle stop, supply line or p-trap is way to high. There is still a charge for showing and I hate the piddly jobs that only take 5 minutes, yet somehow make the day feel like an eternity then the the customer gets a bill in the mail that they may feel is unfair. If you are willing to perform basic maintenance, investigate a problem and determine if it is something you can do before you make a phone call, you will save money.
Keep your filter clean. To get technical, the best filter is polyester media white on the air entering side, orange on the air leaving side. Have frames built, the media comes in a roll. There are services that cut the frames and precut all your filters or you can do it yourself. People not changing their filters kept me in business as an hvac tech for 40 years.
Make sure to have valves on every fixture and a main valve for the house. If you don't, have them installed. It's extremely easy to install valves on PEX pipes, but it's alittle more difficult (and requires more tools) to replace them on copper and galvanized.
You should also be able to fix and replace the parts inside of a toilet. They're pretty basic, cheap, and not difficult to replace.
Replacing fixtures is also fairly easy.
Knowing how to remove and replace p-traps is important too (and again, pretty easy to do). Most of your sink clogs will be in the p-trap. It's easier to unclog sinks by pulling out the p-trap than it is to plunge a sink. And if you drop something valuable down a sink drain, it will probably stay in the p-trap.
For HVAC, you should know how to replace all of the air filters. Most of the time they are in the house in the air return, but some are located in the air handler under the house.
It's also a good idea to know which breakers are which, and know how to check. And that means you should own a non-contact voltage tester, unless you like the idea of getting shocked, or worse, getting electrocuted.
Customer: Shut my water off? MYSELF?!!! How dare you!!?
Take the time to understand the unit you have in your home. It’s most likely a split system heat pump which isn’t hard to understand. Just know general stuff like that
That right there shows how much u know man, the average household in the United States does not have a heat pump I can assure u. Down south? Maybe, Up north? No. Too many variables to just say yes your home probably has a split system heat pump lol
As a homeowners adjuster, I give a hearty "AMEN!!!!" to this!
Agreed. Know where your water shutoffs are, especially the main valve that leads into the house.
Go with the tandem and single, maybe stage a photo as a tri-drive and use the photos for promo material. You can keep the customers happy and have a proof-of-concept for the model that lays down the big numbers to impress potential customers.
Agreed, I have had so many customers not know how to shut off local valves at toilets or under sinks let alone the main. I had an emergency call once where water was flooding a condo unit. I get there and the toilet is overfilling in the tank. Water is everywhere. The lady is running around freaking out and throwing towels out into inches of water. I immediately turned the angle stop off. I showed her how to do it herself in the future if need be.
Not a plumber im a body tech but I believe everyone should know how to change there oil,breaks,radiator,battery,airfilter and bulbs don’t pay for regular maintenance
Literally sitting in my plumbing truck right now eating food at a call, because someone didn't know how to shut their water off and flooded the place until i showed up. They are currently shop vaccing water up.
Change your hvac filter regularly. Locate where the drain line for the system comes outside, put a shop vacuum on it for 1min or so to clear and stuff that could eventually clog the pipe. Could save you a service call in the middle of summer on 100 degeee day
He's so right ...the consequences of that valve not working or not knowing where it is
Cutoff valves, main water cutoffs, circuit breakers are labeled, where the Fire Extinguishers and baking soda boxes are.
Clean outs too and how the feed and drainage run so you don’t get roots in your pipes.
My husband and I run a plumbing company. It's so shocking to me how many people we tell to shut the water off and they have no clue. Home owning 101 you should know!!!
I had to go to a call about water dripping onto ceiling tiles in an office. The property managers assumed that the A/C was leaking. Its crazy for a couple of reasons. 1) my personal immediate thought is that leaking water is a plumbing issue or a sprinkler pipe issue. 2) the building A/C was entirely package units on the roof, no a/c units above the ceiling, 3) the office was in the basement of the building with another floor above. As soon as we relaized all of the above we knew immediately that it was stupid as hell and definitely plumbing and yup, sure enough, there was a drain line leaking
Flush your hot water tank once a year and keep your filters cleans for your heat pump or furnace. Water shutoff definitely important as well as knowing your electrical panel.
Even more so though if you don't have softened water like monthly backwash to drain because the calcium and mineral buildup can be insane
As a residential energy specialist for the DOE. I would say that most homeowners aren't even aware of replacing their air filters regularly.. or at all.
A good plumber installs accessible isolation valves too… as a homeowner you should know where they are. Have a clearly labelled electrical panel also that you should be familiar with. Knowledge of furnace switch next to basement light switch. You get a lot of “my grand son was in the basement yesterday and the furnace hasn’t worked since” calls lmao
And know where your manuals are for furnaces, AC’s, PRV’s, water softeners/filters, pool pumps… whatever. Keep it organized.
As an HVAC technician, just change your filter regularly. Systems can overheat or freeze up if your filter is significantly dirty.
Know exactly what each circuit controls....very convenient
And can help in a room that is on fire
I have a great Iowa "Shut The Water Off" story. 10 years ago I was in Davenport assisting a clown operation out of Chicago with the Deconstruction of the Figge Mansion. While I was gone one afternoon they removed all the toilets in the house. They shut the sketchy toilet valves off but not the MAIN WATER VALVE. I returned around 7pm to what looked like heavy rain in a tropical forest. Water was raining down from the ceiling everywhere. I was like WTF a monkey would have the sense to turn the MAIN VALVE OFF.....Moral of the story DONT ASSOCIATE WITH IDIOTS.........Side Note - Davenport and the people there are awesome.
this made me laugh my ass off. my grandpa passed in february & i moved into his house…huge house, sits on 13 acres & was built in the 50s…well my papa didn’t buy SHIT that was new, so nothing is newer than the 70s or 80s, so i won’t lie, i struggle w Identifying the basic things sometimes 🤣🤣
One of my faucets blew up and when i went to go shut the water off the ancient valve snapped too. Listen to this dude 💀
For HVAC, I would say to routinely check your filters, and to remove panels to see if the indoor unit needs attention. Also, give your condenser a bath once in a while. 😊
If your AC or fridge stops getting cold try giving the fins your not supported to smoosh a solid clean before tossing it. A lot of the time makes it good as new.
I love this because YES! When I taught all my kids to drive, I made them prove to me, they could STOP before they could go forward. Yes! Know how to Shut OFF your water, gas, electricity (and how to use a fire extinguisher).
Listened to this podcast today! Great pod super funny, love watching you guys 🫡 keep doing what you’re doing
Whew, I’ve got the tool and it was the first thing I checked when we moved in.
Get a good shop vac.
You can vacuum out sink drains , shower drains, ac condensate lines, clean ac coils, duct vents, heating elements, dishwasher drains, heck even a plugged toilet.
I've had to use mine when the laundry washing machine pump went out with a full load in it. Just vac the water out and get to fixing.
me and my bro replaced our moms hot water heater ourselves, saved $1200 watching a youtube how to in 20 mins.
This is how I know my grandfather taught me right, because I was expecting some cool trick or something and now I’m like isn’t that a basic 101 thing to know 😂
And spray behind the handle where it rotates with a little grease here and there to keep it movable. So it doesn't just break one day when you go to turn it
I love seeing the diversity of people who love Black Rifle Coffee! As a former farmer and now friend of the brand, much love🤘🏼☕️🇺🇸🫡
I agree with that i take care of housrs that flood. Granted i do make more when people dont know where the valve is
Change the air filter every 30 to 60 days
And vacuum out the condensation line 2 time a year
Bro I said it before he did out loud just because I knew I don't know where my valve is and I know it's the number one
If there is a small fire in your home you should turn off all Breakers also keep baking soda on hand you can use it to help put out fires
He's not lying, I had a toilet issue I couldn't figure out and spent an extra 500$ on the water bill before I got it fixed.
HVAC technician here. Please change out your filtees regularly. How often depends on lifestyle (how often you go out, how much you run your system, etc.) Once it looks about light grey, you wanna change it. Also keep up with thermostat batteries
Subscribed this is valuable information even looking at a new place
Scare a couple of property managers & landlords with these kinds of questions lol & you’d be able to read on their face what kind of person they are
That's the first thing I show when I go to a new customer. Next the Main breaker.
Had to leave work once because my wife didn’t know how to shut the water off to the house while a sink was leaking badly.
your fault, lack of training. Hahaha 😆
We remodeled recently. I had the plumbers move shut off valves to locations that are wheelchair accessible. And put in shut off valves for the tubs/ showers, too.
Smart move!
Also there’s usually quarter turn shut offs under every sink or toilet. So if you have a leak at a specific sink or toilet, you can just turn it off at it’s own shut off, so you can still use water elsewhere. As well as minimizing the time it takes for the leak to stop.
I'm a plumber and it's crazy how many homeowners don't know how or where the main water shutoff to their house is
As a contractor and a homeowner what I’ve noticed the most about homeowners is that they let little problems turn into big problems. The small leak under the sink grows and ruins the cabinet, the drywall and the floors instead of just taking the 5mins or the $10 to repair the small leak in the first place. Educated folks are the least handy most times. College only teaches you to do the one thing you went to college for. It’s a joke.
I guess I never realised how valuable being able to change a toilet is, thanks Dad!
AND YOUR GAS!!! These things are sooooooooo important to know! You should know where both these shut offs are!
The other thing is prevention prevention prevention. If you were leaving home for any reason and there doesn't need to be any water on turn off the main valve. You need to know where kill all the electricity to everything in the place. You need to know where the HV AC disconnect is because it may not go through the main fuse box. You need to know where the valve is on the gas. If there's any way you can leave something turned off if you're going to be gone for a while do so.
as far as air conditioning just cleaning your coils aka the radiator... extremely carefully so you don't bend the fins with water pressure or a brush go with the grain not against if you compare to woodworking and rhe more cotton wood seeds and leaves ya stop from plugging the airflow the more efficient it gets... even on a hot day spraying some clean cold water on the coils can have huge evaporative benefits as long as the humidity isn't overwhelming outside the knowing hoe to shut the water pr has valve off is a must for every homeowner and don't block it full of boxes so you can't even get to that valve you never use except needs to be there for such emergencyies
How to change a filter. Or batteries in a thermostat. Or having a hose hook up outside (that actually works) for cleaning the a/c. As for mentioned resetting breakers ( important to know when your ac is frozen so you can run the fan in cool and have the condenser off to unthaw it.) how to change a light bulb (too many unlit work areas). How to drain a water heater. How to not store stuff in your mechanical room. How to not build walls around your mechanicals that are closer than 18”. How to ask for help from a professional and not RUclips when dealing with things they have no concept of.
Pull the dryer out. Clean out the trap. And then take off the back plate to clean out any excess lint. Dryer will work better, and keeps your house from being covered in fire.
I work HVAC. People should just know physics. The number of times people are confused as to why it’s hot upstairs and cold in the basement is unacceptable.
You don't have to shut the main valve off for a leaking sink. All faucets have a straight or angle stop valve inside the cabinet. If you have a leak in your ceiling or walls, then you'd want to shut the main valve off.
That's the first thing that came to my mind.
Plumbing, HVAC, Electricians - these are trending high demand for future
HVAC i would say replacing filters. Easiest thing also turn off AC if it’s not working you can cause more damage then leaving it on.
Old water heaters let go of all their water and can destroy your basement. Put a moisture sensor down there and if you really wanna be smart proactively, replace cold water heaters. Boilers in hot water heater, relief valves can leak at any time put a bucket under the downspout with a water sensor in the bucket.
Same as an electrician, a lot of clients don't know where to turn the power off
Not only where to shut off but all the valves from behind toliet to main.
So I moved into a new house, and the tub's handle broke off and shot water EVERYWHERE. I was under the house for around 2 HOURS looking for the damn thing. Turns out 1) It was completely covered in insulation and duct tape. And 2) It was one of the new plastic blue ones I never seen before (I only seen the metal ones when I was younger). Most painful water-related experience I've had yet.
In addition, know what the breakers in your breaker box do. You’d be amazed at how quickly you could resolve an electrical problem simply by turning off the breaker. Also learn and understand how GFI’s work.
1) If the unit is tripping the breaker there's a reason so dont reset it.
2) keep your condensate drain clean.
Yeah my first thought when I saw this. Always need to know where the shut off is
Funny true story. I once got new washing machine delivered and when I went to hook it up, I forgot to shut water off, and I had water spraying out of the faucet all over my laundry room as the delivery guys stood there watching. 🙃 😅
If youre drilling a hole or hammering a nail into the wall and break a water line. Knowing where to shut the water off will save you a lot of money.
check your water shut off. my valve didnt have a handle when i needed to shut it off yesterday. buy a t handle tool to shut off the water. even if you live in a rental with rental insurance.
Depending on how old your house is the shut-off doesn't always work so you have to go find the meter. So it's not as easy as just turning the water off because the shut-off valve doesn't always bumass
One of the first things my dad showed me when we moved in a house was where the main water shut off was incase anything happened
If you don’t know it, you don’t know. Those who know it, didn’t know before they learn it. Don’t make you a mastermind.
Wow, I pause this short one second an enlisted about 10 things and the first thing that came to my head was obviously knowing how to shut your water off. Am I a jack-of-all-trades?
I cant tell you how many houses i been too in 20 years where the homeowner doesn't know how to shut their water off😅😅
This is super helpful. Thank you!
How to replace the anode in their water heater and when to do so.
Furnace filters. I’ve had to replace blower motors because people didn’t know that they had a filter and it got sucked in and destroyed a bunch of shit.
That really is good advice no joke.
Change your air filter regularly. At minimum 2x a year; every time you switch from heat to cool
I worked for a public water utility for years. Inside & outside water shut off valves. Water damage is the worse.