Hiring Unlicensed Contractors

I recently had to go to the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) to look up some information on a contractor. I have been there before, but it is a very interesting site. There is a lot of good information here with ways to check to see if your contractor has a license in good standing.

I have heard people ask, “Why do I care if my contractor is licensed? If the guy can do the work, isn’t that the most important thing?” Well, yes and no!

Yes, it is definitely important that your contractor is able to do the work, and do it well. That is actually one of the reasons to hire a licensed contractor. In order to get a license, the contractor has to be able to demonstrate that he has enough experience in his field (electrician, plumber, carpenter, etc.) to meet the state requirements. I am sure there are ways around this, but no one is looking to see if the un-licensed contractor knows how to do the work!

A licensed contractor is much more likely to have spent the time learning his trade. He had to spend a lot of money setting himself up in business and you don't do that unless you can do the work that keeps you in business.

Also, did you know that hiring an un-licensed contractor opens YOU up to all kinds of liability?

When you hire your brother-in-law to put a new roof on your detached garage, and he’s not a licensed contractor, but (maybe) he works in that field, you have just hired an employee in the eyes of the state! This means that YOU are now responsible for payroll taxes, social security and workman’s compensation insurance! If you don’t take care of these, the state may end up fining you for the taxes and, if he falls off your roof, you could end up paying him for the rest of your life!

Take a look at this link on the Laguna Niguel city website. There are three actual cases outlined here.

Another reason to only hire a licensed contractor is that he can pull permits. If you have work done in your home that requires a permit be pulled, and you do not have a permit pulled, you, as the homeowner, are subject to fines from the city. If the licensed contractor does not pull the permit, he is usually liable. If it is an unlicensed contractor mot only are you on the hook for the fines, but see above! Take a look at this notification from the CSLB.

To sum it up: you might pay more up front to have a licensed contractor do work for you, but you might pay a lot more in the long run for an un-licensed contractor. It’s your money, and therefore it’s your choice.

Noritz vs. Navien; Round 2!

Well, at least I know that SOMEONE is reading some part of this blog!

I received an anonymous comment about the blog I posted (was it only yesterday?!) entitled "Noritz vs. Navien". The commenter was not happy with my blog.

He or she (it was anonymous, after all) told me that, for him (I will make this assumption), the site loaded right away. He also told me that Navien is located very near to us and that we obviously didn't know this (I am paraphrasing).

Let me say that we were not trying to offend, just report an experience that we had. If the person who commented would like to respond... what's the opposite of anonymously?

(I looked it up and the opposite of anonymous is identified.)

Anyway, if you will give me a place where I can e-mail you, or even call you, I will do so, and we can discuss this issue. I was only reporting an experience that we actually had, I was not saying that Navien stinks and Noritz is great.

I appreciate someone telling me what they think, pointing out when they disagree, etc. That's called conversation, and I enjoy it. If you wish to continue the discussion, either through commenting on this blog, or any other method, I would invite that.

I hope this came out friendly and inviting. I was not trying to chastise or insult in any way.

Take care!

Rebates from the State of California

Splash Plumbing has recently learned that you can now get a rebate from the state of California for installing high-efficiency fixtures in your home.

The rules are strict, and it is for a limited time, but here is the gist of it.

- You have to go to http://www.bewaterwise.com/
- Click on “Rebates” at the top of the page
- Click on “Residential Water Customer Rebates”
- Click on “Qualifying Products” to see a list of products

We have included a link to this page here, for your convenience.

- You have to fill out the proper form
- You have to send in the form, the sales receipt, and a copy of your water bill
- You have to have it postmarked on or before 5/31/10
- Your purchase must have been made between 9/21/09 and 5/31/10

Some of the items that qualify are:
* High-efficiency clothes washers
* High-efficiency toilets
* Weather-based irrigation controllers
* Rotating irrigation sprinkler nozzles
* Synthetic turf

As a plumbing company, we will focus on the toilets.

Click this link to see the 18-page list of qualifying toilet models.

If you wish to buy it yourself, we can install it for you. Or, we can do all the work. Just contact us and we can buy it, bring it to you, and install it!

According to the website, rebates for toilets start at $50.00!

So, the benefits are:
- You save money on having a new toilet installed
- You save money on your water bill
- You have a brand new toilet that looks good and works well
- You have a brand new warranty!

The rebates are first come, first served, so don’t wait too long. As soon as they run out of the money they allocated to this program, they will no longer be paying rebates.

If you need a new toilet, or have any other plumbing needs, contact Splash Plumbing today! We service all of Orange County, 24-hours a day. We handle residential, commercial, industrial, and restaurant plumbing. We say:

"If Water Goes Through It, We Do It!"

888-HEY SPLASH

The Name Game!

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

Ah, Shakespeare! You gotta love him! He really summed it up in this line from Romeo and Juliet!

So, why am I quoting Shakespeare? Because AB&R Plumbing is changing to Splash Plumbing!

It's only a name change, though. We still have the same great people, the same excellent service, the same affordable prices. We still offer 24-hour a day service to all of Orange County, CA.

So why did we change our name? AB&R Plumbing stands for Advanced Backflow & Rooting Plumbing. It's long and cumbersome, and it makes people focus on the backflow and rooting part, instead of the plumbing.

With Splash Plumbing, you'll think of plumbing - ALL plumbing - not just one or two things we do, it's a little more catchy, it looks better on our trucks, you'll be able to remember our toll-free number more easily (I can't even remember the one for AB&R!!).

C'mon, if you see a big white truck roll by, with Splash Plumbing on it, and it says
888-HEY-SPLASH

aren't you going to remember that?

And giving someone my e-mail address was terrible with AB&R...
"It's A-B, then spell the word "and", a-n-d, then R, Plumbing, dot com".

Now, with Splash Plumbing, it's, "at Splash Plumb dot com." Easy!

We're still making changes, so the website and this blog will say AB&R for awhile. Soon, though, it will be Splash Plumbing all the way! (And, if you go to http://www.splashplumbing.com/, it will take you to the AB&R website, until we change it!)

So AB&R Plumbing is now Splash Plumbing. Same great people and services, just the name has changed.

Noritz vs. Navien

Hey …. It’s “Dan the Plumber” blogging again!

Here at Splash Plumbing, you know we are fans of Noritz tankless water heaters, and have installed many of their models in Orange County cities like Laguna Beach, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, and Costa Mesa.

Splash Plumbing is a full service “affordable plumbing” company, and we pride ourselves on keeping up to date on plumbing technology, especially when it comes to tankless water heaters. But, when I received a phone call from a potential client in Laguna Beach, asking for a Navien Tankless Water Heater, I was stumped. I never heard of them... how embarrassing is that?

Here I thought we were one of Orange County's best tankless water heater installers and I did not even know of this manufacturer… What a shot to my ego!

As I spoke with the caller, I explained that we only install Noritz Tankless water heaters and while I was doing so, I looked up Navien Tankless Water Heaters on the internet. Indeed, I did find them at http://www.navienamerica.com/, and thought I could surf their website while talking to the caller… at least that is what I thought (with good intentions).

It literally took 3 minutes to load their HOME PAGE! What do you think I was doing while the remainder of their site was loading? Yeah that’s right, I opened a new tab on my browser and went straight to http://www.noritz.com/ and directed MY NEW CLIENT to do so as well.

The Noritz website loaded in 3.5 seconds, I was able to show my client the model I had picked out for her Laguna Beach home, and an agreement was made!

Well the deal was made, Splash Plumbing has a new client, and there is another Noritz tankless water heater installed in Laguna Beach. Whatever happened to http://www.navienamerica.com/ you ask? Honestly, their website did not fully load and from what I saw, I was not impressed.

Here are the primary reasons why we select Noritz Tankless Water Heaters for all of our clients in Orange County:

- HUGE selection
- Versatile installation
- Availability
- Stainless Steel tankless water heaters
- Direct contact to our manufacturer
- Outstanding customer support
- Gi-nor-mous (yes… it’s a word) showroom for our clients to visit!
- Fast, clean and informative website

There you have it. As far as we are concerned, Navien Tankless Water Heaters still seems to have a lot of work to do in comparison to Noritz Tankless Water Heaters … but then again, that’s only my opinion.

Oh, how is my personal Noritz Tankless Water Heater, that I installed in my Mission Viejo home working? With 4 women in my house, I still have lots of hot water!

“Nowadays, everyone has something to say!”

I overheard this complaint the other day, while drinking my coffee. I was lucky to have the time to sit and listen to the explanation that followed.

To sum it up, apparently, this man’s complaint was that everyone talks, but very few people actually say something! As I thought about it, I realized that it was true.

Everyone you hear, whether on the news, award shows, American Idol, or anyplace where people are saying things live, they all seem to be talking in sound bites. They are all saying something that can be quoted.

When was the last time you saw someone interviewed and they said something that you thought came from the heart?

When was the last time a politician said anything that didn’t sound like a speech writer wrote it?

Most of the people whe see and hear on TV and radio either seem to be attacking justifying or making an excuse. (At least, that's what it seems like to me.)

It’s so hard to listen to people who talk, who aren’t really saying anything.

So, why did I bring this up? I’ll tell you…


On our website, we have a page for “testimonials”. I really like that word, because it has the same derivation as the word “testimony”. It always seemed to me that, when you give a testimonial, you need to tell the truth.

Not very many people go to our website and give us a testimonial, but some do. It’s much more likely that someone will call to tell me if they liked – or disliked – our service, but I have also received e-mails and, once, an actual letter!

So, what are people saying about our service? Here are a few examples:


“Our company has depended on the honest diligent work of AB&R Plumbing, Inc. many times over the last 6 years. We find their service to be exact, dependable, and they have always made themselves available to help us when emergencies erupted.I would best describe AB&R Plumbing, Inc. as being of excellent work ethics, knowledgeable and trustworthy”

That one is right on our website. Another says:

“AB&R Plumbing is phenomenal. After suffering through numerous bad plumbers who performed shoddy work and less-than-perfect repairs, AB&R was a savior. Its plumbers have consistently proven to be skilled, reliable, honest and professional in all aspects of my plumbing issues.
From menial tasks to difficult-to-repair problems, AB&R has always come through for me. Odd as it may seem to be so effusive about a plumbing company, I’m sure I’m not the only super satisfied customer to sing praise. This company deserves all the accolades.”

Again, this one is on our website.

Some testimonials that are not on our website are:

“Just wanted to let you know that Juan M. is the man! He did a fantastic job fixing the plumbing issue on our rental property. Coming out on a holiday and crawling through mud so our tenants could have water was commendable. We really appreciate the fine job he did!”

That was a homeowner in central Orange County. We went out just after midnight on Thanksgiving morning!

Another one that is not yet on our website…

“AB&R plumbing was recently referred to me by one of our material vendors. They did an amazing job of installing a Noritz tankless water heater at my Anaheim Hills home. They were friendly, tidy and efficient. I have already referred them to friends for after hours emergencies and they have also been impressed by AB&R’s clean work. We will definitely be using them on our projects in the future.”

This one came from a construction company VP.

One of my favorites, that will soon be on our website is:

"I have been in building maintenance for many years and have worked with many plumbing companies. I have found AB&R to truly be the most helpful, responsive and reasonably priced company out there. They listen to me and my needs, they have responded quite well in emergency situations. I have full confidence in their abilities and their professionalism. I won't use anyone else."

Can you tell why this is one of my favorites? This is from the head of maintenance at a retirement community in south Orange County.

So, have people ever said bad things about us? Sometimes, but even when they do, we can usually discuss the situation with them and make them happy. Our philosophy is that it’s all about the relationship. Our customers are a huge part of our business (because, if we didn’t have them, we wouldn’t be in business)!

At AB&R Plumbing, we can handle almost anything that has to do with plumbing. From clogged drains, to leaky pipes, to backflow tests and repairs, to gas leaks, to water heaters… We even install and service softeners and reverse osmosis systems!

We have spent many hours working on our price book, trying to give you the most “bang for your buck”. We didn’t cut quality, just costs!

If you need a plumber, anywhere in Orange County, give us a call today. We will make the right repair, at an affordable price, and you will like our plumbers!

Plumbing During a Recession

Yes, I used the "R" word! Recession!

The recession is happening to everyone; not just Southern California, not just the United States, everyone! Jobs are being lost, stocks are losing value, people are losing their homes and so much more.

In the last year, I have noticed the trend. Some of our customers started holding off on small repairs, or having their own "maintenance" personnel make them. Then the questions about the bills started - from customers who had never questioned a bill!

Now, we get the bargain shoppers; the ones who call ten different plumbing companies trying to find the cheapest. In many ways, this is a good idea, but I think there are times when it can come back to haunt you.

About 14 months ago, my boss and I sat down and went through every line item in our price book. Since we have well over 1,000 items in our price book, this took quite a bit of time. What we were trying to do was find places where we could cut our prices, without cutting our throats financially. I mean, you have to make enough money to stay in business!

We managed to cut almost every price in the book and, when we were done, we felt pretty good about it. We have always believed that we charged a fair price for a good job, but now we can say that we have cut our prices even further to help get us through the recession.

I am rambling a little bit here, but I wanted to give you some background in order to pose a question.

Is the lowest price always the best price?

I am sure that most of you know that the answer to this is a resounding "NO!"

You have probably heard the expression, "Buy cheap, buy twice". If you buy the cheapest dishwasher (for example), it will probably not last as long as the more expensive models, and you will probably have to pay for repairs more often. You may end up paying more for the cheap one (with all the repairs, etc.) than you would have it you bought the more expensive model.

Another example is tires. I recently bought a set of 4 tires for $300.00, including mounting, balancing and disposal of the old tires. I thought this was a great deal and was very excited to get it. Well, the tires run very rough and make a lot more noise on the road than my old tires. They don't seem to hold the road as well (this could just be my imagination). I have to add air to them a lot more frequently than I have ever had to add air in the past. One of them blew out while I was on the 55 the other day and completely shredded, and it only had about 8000 miles on it. I think I will buy better tires next time.

The same holds true for services. You can hire the cheapest electrician, auto mechanic, or plumber. You may get lucky and find someone who is both good and cheap. It is much more likely that you will find someone who is cheap because they are not very good. Either they won't be on time, they will take too long, they will have to go find parts (for which they will charge you more for the extra time) or something will probably come up. I have heard horror stories about people being ripped off by service people who come to their home. Here are a couple of ides to help keep this from happening to you.

1) Make sure they have a license. All plumbers, electricians, carpenters, etc, anyone who does work on your home, has to be licensed by the state. Ask them for their contractor's license, then you can go to the Contractor's State License Board website and check them out. If they do not have a license, you have basically hired an employee! This sets you up for a whole different set of problems.

2) Make sure they have insurance. All licensed contractor's in California are required to have insurance. Ask to see proof of both General Liability and Workman's Comp. insurance. Don't take the risk that if they get hurt on your property, they will sue you!

3) Get a written estimate or contract up front. I will grant you that I do not know everything there is to know about every contractor's business, but I do know that - in most cases - they should be able to give you a price before they start. If nothing else, they should be able to give you a "Not To Exceed" (NTE) price. An NTE price says, we will do this exact work and we will not charge you more then this amount. If we find anything that will cause our price to go up, we will stop and inform you. At AB&R Plumbing, we always give a written price up front.

4) Ask questions. This sounds like a no-brainer, right? Of course you will ask questions! The problem is, many people do not ask. They think they will offend the guy or that he will end up charging them more if they ask! (I am guessing, I really don't know why people don't ask questions, it's your money!) You don't have to be antagonistic and get in the guy's face! Just ask! "What is this charge for?", "Are you offering any sort of discount right now?", "Is there a way we can get this done for less money?", "I can't be home before 4:00PM, can you come then?" ASK!

There are other things to look for, but you get the idea.

Good luck and, if you need a plumber, we have already cut our prices to allow for the recession. We didn't cut our service, the quality of our work or our concern for our customers, just our prices.

Time’s Almost Up!

I know that most people like to wait until the last minute for things, but I don’t recommend it here.

On January 1st, 2010, a new law (AB1953) takes effect in California. It changes the amount of lead that is allowed to be in plumbing materials that come in contact with water. A little more specifically, if the part has more than 0.25% lead in the “wetted surfaces”, and the water that flows through it will be for human consumption, then it will be illegal to sell or install in California.

So angle stops (the valves under your sink), kitchen, bathroom and bar faucets (but not laundry faucets), all brass fittings and valves (but not shower valves) will all fall under this new law. (Other stuff may or may not, these were just some examples.)

Manufacturers are already getting rid of their inventories; selling them at discounts or pushing them into other states (only California and Vermont are affected by this new law). Our suppliers are offering deals, but we’re letting our inventory dwindle so we don’t get stuck.

This is the time for you to save some money, and you don’t want to wait until the last minute. Remember, the “last minute” is right around Christmas, so you’re not going to have any money!

If you wait until next year, you will end up paying more because the manufacturers are going to charge more. They had to spend money coming up with new processes or materials, which means new ways to make their items. If they have to spend money, it means they sell the item for more money.

It could also mean that the “new” item could have more plastic in it. If they could not find a way to make the item from metal that would meet the requirements of the new law, they may have made some parts plastic. Plastic is easy to make without lead, but it isn’t always as sturdy as metal.

So, to sum up…

- you could save money now because suppliers are selling their inventory at a discount.
- You will pay more later due to the increased cost of manufacturing.
- The part you get later may not be as sturdy as the parts currently available.

If you are thinking of having some plumbing work done, now is the best time to do it. And if you’re worried about lead content, just remember that California already has some of the toughest laws on lead in the country. It has been said that this new law won’t make an appreciable difference in the lead content in our water, but it will still be the law.

Still have questions? Call AB&R Plumbing today or visit our website.

South County - 949-642-7900

North County - 714-641-3200

Toll Free - 800-645-2689

Get your work done now to save money and “avoid the Christmas rush!”

Don’t Ignore Your Drains!

The drains in your house are the 2nd most important part of your plumbing system. Without them, we might as well go back to washing dishes in buckets and using the outhouse! Yeah, it’s great to have running water, but if you don’t have a place to get rid of the water when you’re done with it, you will start to agree with my first statement!

Most people don’t even think about their drains until they are ankle deep in nasty water. They see that their sink (bathtub, shower, toilet, etc.) drains slowly, but as long as the water eventually goes down, they don’t do anything about it. This can be a BIG mistake!

The drains in your house can be compared to your arteries: you can get a buildup of materials on the walls of the pipes that can effect the “health” of your house. Unlike your arteries, AB&R Plumbing can clean out your drains and prevent this buildup from giving you problems.

When you actually have a clog, the most common device to use is called a “snake” or drain machine. This uses a blade on the end of a flexible cable to cut through whatever is causing the clog. The cable rotates and pushes the blade into the pipe, so it can be very effective. It can usually cut through soft blockages, small roots, and other problems. Sometimes, though, the blockage is too severe, or you are trying to do preventative cleaning. For this, you need a jetter.

A jetter shoots high pressure water forward to cut through the clog. It also shoots water backward at an angle so that it hits the walls of the pipe. This high pressure water scours the walls of the pipe clean

AB&R Plumbing has 2 different types of jetters. We have electric “mini-jetters” that operate at as high as 1200 PSI. These are great for smaller pipe sizes and when jetting inside buildings

When you need more muscle, we also have a diesel-powered hydro-jetter that can operate as high as 4000 PSI! This machine can cut through just about anything, it emulsifies grease, pushes rocks, cuts roots! It’s so strong that, with one of the nozzles, it can cut a 2” x 4” in half in about 4 seconds!
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If your drains are slow, you might want to think about having them jetted before you have a backup. You know that backups always happen at the worst, most inconvenient, time. If you have your lines jetted, you can schedule it, instead of having to deal with an emergency.

So, save the hassles and extra expense of having a backup. Call AB&R Plumbing and ask about preventative drain cleaning with our hydro-jetters. We can perform this service (and have) in your home, office, condo complex, office park, etc. It doesn't matter if it is your sewer, area drains, storm drains, or almost any other type of drains.

Give us a call today, you'll be glad you did.

South County - 949-642-7900
North County - 714-641-3200
Toll Free - 800-645-2689

Changes to Plumbing Code Can Save You Money!

Do you know about the new law that goes into effect January 1st, 2010? It is a change to the existing plumbing code that says that anything installed in a potable water system, where people are going to drink the water, has to be almost completely lead free!



This is even more restrictive than the existing law, that went into effect some years ago. You can read the text of the new law here, but basically it says that, if the water is for human consumption, anything you install as part of that system has to have less than 0.25% lead in the surfaces that get wet. So, a kitchen faucet or bathroom faucet has to meet this requirement, but a shower valve or laundry sink faucet does not have to.



"Well, that's very interesting!" You say, "But how does that save me money?" There are two ways: read on!



Manufacturers have to find new ways to make their faucets, valves, etc., and it will cost them more money to make these changes. This means that the cost of the part is going to go up come 1/1/10! If you have the work done now, with the existing parts that cost less, you will save money.



As we get closer to January 1st, plumbing supply houses will be cutting prices to get rid of the inventory that they cannot sell next year (maybe!). Just as with most other plumbing companies, at AB&R Plumbing, part of the cost of a job is based on how much the parts cost us. If we pay less, you pay less! (And don't forget to check out our coupons section!)




If you have been thinking of changing your kitchen faucet or replacing the fixtures in your bathroom, you can do it now and save money. If you are worried that your angle stops (the valves under your sinks that shut off the water to the faucets) might be old and corroded, you can save some money by changing them now, rather than waiting until next year.


So, why am I telling you this? Well, if you do the work now, you will save money. We are always trying to drum up more business, but we don't want you to spend money you don't have to. One of the saying we use around here is, "Pigs get fed: hogs get slaughtered!" All we want to do is get fed. If we charge you too much, we will quickly run out of customers willing to get ripped off. That is why we tell you about things like this, that's why we have a coupon section on our website, that's why we are constantly reviewing our price book to see if we can make changes that will save you money.

If we save you money, you will tell your friends and neighbors. If we rip you off, you will tell everyone you know! We'd much rather have the positive advertising, thanks!


As always, if you have any questions, you can contact us at the office. Our numbers are:

North County - 714-641-3200

South County - 949-642-7900

Toll Free - 800-645-2689

Repair or Replace?

Right now, everyone is feeling the pinch. Whether you have lost your job, had your hours cut back, or just can't get as much overtime as you used to get, no one has as much money as they used to.

Even if this were not the case, no one wants to throw away money when they can get the same results and spend less. That's where this blog entry was born: is it better to repair it or replace it?

If you are talking about a very expensive item - a car, for example - you would obviously want to look at repairing it first. It may cost thousands to make the repair, but it will cost tens of thousands to buy a new one!

What about plumbing? Do you spend the money to repair that toilet, or just replace it with a new one and get the warranty and the other benefits of new?

I recently got a call from someone who had broken the lid on their toilet. The toilet was more than 10 years old, and of a very obscure brand. We looked it up on the internet, and replacing just the lid on his tank cost as much as $200.00!!! For a toilet tank lid!!!

When we discussed replacing the toilet, we determined that he could go buy a toilet at Home Depot and have us put it in for about $250.00. With the price he paid for the toilet, he gets a brand new toilet - that does not have 10 year old parts in it - for about $350.00. it will have a warranty and be professionally installed for less than twice what he would have paid just for the lid.

This seemed a no-brainer to him (and to me) and we set the appointment. But what about other problems?

It all comes down to weighing the cost versus the benefits. Is it worth the money to have the problem solved for less money, or pay a little more and get a warranty and all new parts? If you make this cheaper repair now, will you be making another repair next week, and the week after that? Will you end up paying more for multiple repairs that you would have if you had replaced it in the first place? It's hard to say.

You can always call us here at AB&R Plumbing, to run something like this by us. Check out our coupon page and see if you can't save a little bit of money off our already affordable prices.




Can we discuss the baseball All-Star game now? How did I miss it? When did this become only a popularity contest?

It was always favorite players, but they used to be favorites because they were good, not just because they played for your team! I mean, even if you hate the Yankees, you have to like Derek Jeeter! Don't like the Red Sox? Well, you have to be impressed with David Ortiz!

And why would anyone want Manny Ramirez at the All-Star game? he was suspended for 50 games for using a banned substance! Not only is that not All-Star behavior, but he hasn't even played enough games to be considered an All-Star this year! Let's get real!

Just my opinion. What do you think?

Saving Even More Money with a Home Reverse Osmosis System!

Daniel from AB&R Plumbing here again, and I decided that, since I was saving so much money with my new tankless water heater (see the previous blog entitled “Well, I finally did it!”), I decided to save even more on my drinking water.

I broke down and had a new Reverse Osmosis drinking water system installed in my Mission Viejo home.

AB&R plumbing has installed quite a few Reverse Osmosis systems recently, in both homes and offices. We have installed them in Irvine, Aliso Viejo, Trabuco Canyon, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Mission Viejo and many other cities in Orange County. I decided it was time to “take the plunge” and start saving money on buying bottled water.

A home Reverse Osmosis system basically gives you an endless supply of purified water that you can use for anything. For cooking, giving it to your pets, watering your plants, using it in the steam iron (or my new garment steamer – still not sure what this is!), making coffee or tea, making ice cubes, almost anything that you would want to make sure and use the cleanest water available.

If you are buying bottled water now, you have a few problems to consider.

- The cost – It can cost you more than $6.00 a gallon to buy bottled water. Sure you can pay less than this, but then you get into the next problem.
- Quality – how good is that water you’re buying? There is an internationally sold brand of water that says right on the label that it has 309 ppm of dissolved solids. This is almost as bad as your tap water!
- Convenience – With bottles, you have to go buy them, carry them home, they take up space to store them, and what happens to all of those bottles? Even if you recycle them (and most people don’t), it still is a lot of plastic! This means that a Reverse Osmosis system is “green”!

With a home reverse osmosis system, you will take the TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) of your water down to less than 25 ppm (in Orange County, it usually starts at around 450 ppm). You have the system installed at your kitchen sink by a trained professional, we remind you when your filters need to be replaced (usually once a year), and it can usually be connected to your ice maker to give you purified ice!

My wife and kids love it! I had a line run to my ice maker, so it took an extra 40 minutes, but he was done in under an hour-and-a-half. It is very convenient (and pretty cool) to be able to get a drink of pure, clean water, right at my kitchen sink, anytime I want.

There are all kinds of options and add-ons: you can get an undercounter chiller or heater, you can get custom-finished faucets, there are pumps to increase your pressure (and they don’t use electricity), and more.

Give AB&R Plumbing a call and ask about having a home Reverse Osmosis system installed in your Orange County home today. You’ll save money, save time, and cut down on your use of plastic – which is very “green”.

I guess you could say you will save some green by being “green"!

Our Jetting is Better Than Their Jetting

We have customers who pay us more for quarterly jetting of their drains than they used to pay “someone else”, and they are happy about it.

How does that work?

Our jetting service is better than their jetting service for three reasons.

1)Experience: We have over 20 years experience in jetting drains. This means that we know how drain systems go together, what kind of “creative plumbing” we might run into, and – most importantly – what to do about the challenges we find.

2)Our jetter: We use a 4000 PSI diesel-powered jetter with a 500’ hose. This is a powerful tool (from US Jetting) that, unlike the over-glorified pressure-washers that most jetting companies use, will actually emulsify grease and wash it away. Less powerful jetters break off chunks of grease that float down line and become a problem further down.

3)Thoroughness: Most jetter companies just jet the drain mains. This is why they can charge so little; they come in, jet one or two lines, and are gone. It takes them very little time, but it is not nearly as effective as what we do.

At AB&R Plumbing, we jet from every floor sink, every cleanout, every floor drain, and every other access point we deem necessary. We jet the trap arms, laterals, mains; basically we jet everything we can reach. Just jetting the mains and not doing the trap arms and laterals, is like sweeping your hallways and not cleaning the offices.

So, we charge more for our quarterly jetting (or monthly or semi-annually), but you end up paying less in the long run. Since we are jetting as much of your drain system as we can reach, you will be less likely to need to call us out between quarterly visits because something clogged up. All of your lines will be getting cleaned during each jetting visit, instead of just the ones outside.

We have contracts with customers all over Orange County for quarterly and semi-annual jetting. We do restaurants in Newport Beach, Anaheim Hills, and Costa Mesa. We do Office Complexes in Orange, Costa Mesa, Tustin and Lake Forest. We do a couple of small malls, a few strip plazas and even a branch of the US Post Office.

Are there other benefits to using AB&R Plumbing as your jetting company? Yes!

Our technicians drive trucks that are well stocked with both tools and parts, and they have years of knowledge and experience to apply to almost any plumbing problem you may have. From clogged drains to leaking faucets, from no hot water to faulty mixing valves, from a toilet that won’t flush to installing a water softener, AB&R Plumbing is the one to call for all your plumbing needs. Residential, commerical or industrial...

If Water Goes Through It, We Do It!

Well, I finally did it!

This is Daniel from AB&R Plumbing here, and I finally installed a new Noritz #0841 tankless water heater in my Mission Viejo home. I can’t believe I didn’t do it sooner!

My wife has been after me for a long time to install a new tankless water heater and we are all glad I finally did. Endless hot water from these Noritz tankless water heaters is really great. Most homes in Mission Viejo, and the surrounding cities like Lake Forest, Laguna Hills and Laguna Beach, are just perfect for new installations. My Mission Viejo tankless water heater installation, however, did present a couple of unique challenges.

Our old 50 gallon gas water heater was installed in the downstairs laundry room, and the gas line was only ½”. The original flue was galvanized and connected to the FAU vent. This does cause two issues because most tankless units require a minimum of a ¾” gas line and you need to install a stainless steel vent. Having to comply with these requirements was part of my original reluctance to complete the renovation. It wasn’t until my wife left for a trip out of town with the girls from www.calvarymissionviejo.com that I decided to finally take the plunge and surprise her with a laundry room make over.

Believe it or not, I hired my own crew to help in the remodel! The boys from AB&R Plumbing completed all aspects of this make over. Everything from demo, tile removal, drywall repair and of course all of the plumbing repairs needed to convert this outdated Mission Viejo laundry room to something more conducive to today’s demands. Even though I decided to remodel the whole laundry room, my main focus was the tankless water heater. We ended up removing the old 50 gallon water heater and rerouting all of the required plumbing for the new tankless water heater outside …. That’s right….. outside, www.noritz.com offers several outdoor models.

Once I was able to move all the plumbing and the water heater outside, this freed up a lot more space in the laundry room. We were able to install more shelves and a garment steamer. (What’s a garment steamer???? I don’t know … but my wife says she needed it and it “irons stuff”. Who knew!!!!)

Even though I decided to install the new Noritz #0841 tankless water heater outside, I could have still installed it inside as well. With some minor modifications, I could have easily utilized the original plumbing system that was installed in my Mission Viejo home. But now that we moved the new tankless water heater outside, I now have room for a garment steamer!!!!!

Life is good.

"Joe the Plumber" vs. "Dan the Plumber"

It’s a “Battle Royale”!
It’s going to be a real knock-down-drag-out!

Who is the better plumber (for Southern California)?

- “Dan the Plumber” has never been on TV.
- “Joe the Plumber” has never fixed a leaky faucet in Aliso Viejo, or cleared a clogged drain in Rancho Santa Margarita!

- “Dan the Plumber” has never been featured prominently in a presidential campaign.
- “Joe the Plumber” doesn’t have a website, advertising his services, for customers all over Orange County, CA!

- “Dan the Plumber” has never been interviewed by a newscaster.
- “Joe the Plumber” is not a licensed plumbing contractor in California (License # 877283)!

Since this is an amateur bout, folks, it only goes three rounds, but I think the decision is obvious!

If you are a Southern California business or home owner, in need of standard or emergency plumbing repairs, “Dan the Plumber” wins all three rounds!

* Does your home in Mission Viejo need a new water heater?
* Does your Irvine business have a clogged toilet?
* Would you like a softener installed in your Laguna Beach home?
* Does your Costa Mesa business need to have the sewers jetted?
* Would you like to have a Reverse Osmosis system installed in your Tustin home?

Only “Dan the Plumber” can do all of these things and much more; “Joe the Plumber” isn’t allowed! (And his response time would be terrible since he lives in Ohio, or Indiana, or something.)

By the way… Who is “Joe the Plumber”, anyway? Does anyone really know? I mean, we have heard him mentioned in a presidential campaign, and then there was the guy on the news, but, is that the REAL “Joe the Plumber”?

“Dan the Plumber”, on the other hand, is a REAL person! He owns AB&R Plumbing (a full-service, 24-hour plumbing company, serving all of Orange County), as well as New Technology Plumbing (A commercial new construction and tenant improvement plumbing company). Some might say he is The Greatest Plumber in the World, but “Dan the Plumber” wouldn’t, he is just too modest.