Advanced Remediation Services (ARS), a subsidiary of Elk Grove Plumbing and Drain, is fighting the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) by disinfecting surfaces with thermal foggers.

ARS, which focuses on fire, water damage, sewer and mold remediation, is certified to use thermal foggers, which fumigate the interiors of buildings with a light mist that the company says is effective in killing this coronavirus.

Linda Fassett, remediation specialist with Advanced Remediation Services, spoke about her companys efforts to help keep the community safe through foggers.

This is a great way to sanitize and disinfect, whether it be hard surfaces, soft goods, whether it be your home office, its an easy, quick and efficient way to go ahead and keep you safe, she said.

Joe Stillwell, co-owner of Elk Grove Plumbing and Drain, told the Citizen that most customers who have called the company for their fogging service have done so as a preventative measure against COVID-19.

So far, most of them have had us come to be proactive, he said. You never know, like property management companies, for instance, or even plumbers will go into somebodys house. They might be infected and dont even know or they find out after we left that they were exposed to somebody that was infected. Well, they would call us.

Stillwell noted that the oil- or water-based solutions used with the foggers are 100% green and can kill viruses within four minutes.

He added that in the case of the novel coronavirus, it can remain on paper products for 24 hours, most other surfaces for 96 hours, and some hard surfaces such as plastics and hardwoods for two to three days.

Fassett, who recently gained further knowledge on COVID-19 through a symposium with the World Health Organization, said that it is important to eliminate the coronavirus from environments.

Thats the ultimate goal is to stop the spread, to minimize it and get us to that level plain, so we can get back to some kind of normality, she said.

Fassett added that disinfecting through smoggers is additionally beneficial due to its ability to reach hard-to-reach places.

But she stressed that the use of foggers alone will not kill the virus, and her company wipes down the oil of surfaces, and fogs a buildings interior twice just to make sure.

Its just extremely important to be detailed, to be efficient and to know your equipment and your products that you are using, she said.

Because the solutions used by Advanced Remediation Services for their foggers are plant-based, customers can safely reenter their buildings an hour or less after their buildings are disinfected.

Elk Grove Plumbing and Drain co-owner Mark Hutchason told the Citizen that his company strives to keep Elk Grove safe.

Of course, were in business to make money, but our number one priority is to take care of our community, he said.

For additional information about this service, call (916) 714-4357 or visit http://www.advancedremediationservices.com.

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Fogging out the coronavirus | News - Elk Grove Citizen

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) Starting today, Tennesseans who are non-essential workers are urged to remain at home.

Governor Bill Lee issued executive order 22, installing safer at home guidelines in every Tennessee County.

The order is not mandatory but recommended.

Local business Owner Daniel Clark tells us about a minor encounter he had with a Chattanooga police officer and why his plumbing trade is essential.

The gas station man had his paper and he was saying that at 11:59 today that all non-essential businesses are shut down. And that only essential travel for people and businesses should move around. You know you cant have the messes in the house. If they have to stop the commode what you going to do let it run in the street? I mean the police around here, they like us theyre just trying to get through.

Trades like plumbing and electricity are considered essential.

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A local plumber talks about whether he is essential - WDEF News 12

Maine service contractors that do house calls are still available to respond to plumbing, electrical and other in-home emergencies, but residents are going to find that routine projects will have to wait until the coronavirus pandemic is under control.

Most heating, plumbing and electrical contractors are still in business despite the sharp cutback in work they can perform. But they are being forced to turn away nonessential work because of rules designed to limit contact among people and reduce the spread of the disease.

And they are taking other steps to keep their workers and customers healthy, from maintaining a distance from co-workers and homeowners to wearing latex gloves and face masks while on the job.

Thats the hard part of being a contractor right now, said Rusty Googins, who runs R.W. Googins Electric in North Yarmouth.

Googins said hes had to talk some customers out of work because of health concerns. Earlier this month, before the state banned nonessential work, Googins said, an elderly couple wanted a ceiling fan installed. He persuaded them to wait because it wasnt needed right away and he was worried his workers might unwittingly expose the couple to the virus, which seems to affect older people most.

He also encourages workers to wear rubber gloves, wash their hands frequently and use the hand sanitizer dispensers hes made sure are in the companys trucks.

Were all kind of working it out as best we can, he said. Its all new for everybody. Im 53 and Ive never experienced anything like this in my lifetime.

Googins and other service contractors are being forced to wrestle with existential questions in the midst of the pandemic.

Many cities and states have told all nonessential businesses to shut down and are asking people to quarantine themselves at home to slow down the spread of the coronavirus, which raises the question for many: Just what is essential?

The owners of Evergreen Home Performance, which upgrades insulation, installs new windows and makes other home renovations that make houses more energy-efficient, decided that, as important as their business is to them, it doesnt meet the definition of essential.

The company, with offices in Rockland and Portland, has laid off more than two dozen workers and is struggling with how to stay in business during what the owners estimate will be a one- to two-month shutdown.

Elise Brown, one of three co-owners and the companys executive vice president, said nearly one-third of customers canceled their projects in early March after they were laid off or lost income because of the pandemic. Evergreen then decided to shutter the business temporarily rather than potentially expose employees or customers to the virus.

Evergreen is applying for a U.S. Small Business Administration loan to keep the ship afloat during the shutdown, Brown said. The company is also sending out a weekly newsletter to the laid-off workers to keep them up to date on whats going on with the business.

The company was formed in 2006, so the pandemic is the second economic upheaval the owners have faced, she said.

We went through the recession and that was pretty painful, but we came through it, Brown said, adding that the experience gives her hope Evergreen will weather another economic crisis, although this one has entirely different roots.

Contractors said customers should still call on plumbers, electricians and other repair people for emergencies. But putting off nonessential work until the pandemic seems under control is essential for the health of customers and the workers, they said.

At Unitil, a natural gas supplier in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, it was a pretty clear call to keep workers on, said Alec OMeara, a spokesman for the company.

He said the company has canceled some projects to convert homes and businesses to natural gas, since those arent needed immediately, but otherwise it needs to have workers available to complete hookups and respond to emergencies.

Most of Unitils office workers are working from home, OMeara said, and the company has been monitoring the spread of the virus and developing contingency plans for two months. He said workers who do have to go on calls practice social distancing by trying to stay at least six feet away from co-workers or customers.

Richard P. Waltz, a Portland plumbing company thats been around since 1936, has always been oriented toward responding to emergencies, but now thats all the company does.

Dana Collins, the operations manager, said the companys concern for workers health and safety has been elevated by the pandemic.

Supplies are getting low for personal protective equipment such as latex gloves, respirators and face masks, he said.

The company is trying to avoid laying off workers and sometimes has plumbers sweeping the floors at its Portland headquarters to keep them busy and earning a paycheck, Collins said. One worker who felt ill was told to stay home, he said.

The restrictions on work come at a bad time, Collins said, noting that work during the winter was slow due to mild weather and the company was hoping for a rebound with the approach of spring.

Customers with nonessential work are understanding, he said, and the companys concern goes both ways in its relationship with clients.

Its a tough nut to crack when youre worried about peoples health and their families, Collins said.

Jessica Grondin, spokeswoman for the city of Portland, said officials are relying primarily on self-policing to enforce a ban on nonessential business adopted by the city manager last week. The ban is expected to be extended by the City Council on Monday.

Grondin said the city might get calls from residents if they think nonessential business is going on, such as a plumber working on a bathroom renovation rather than a burst water pipe, but thats not the focus of the ban.

I dont think we need to rat out our neighbors at this time, she said.

The goal isnt to collect fines from businesses, Grondin said, but rather to keep people away from one another to avoid spreading an illness that is killing hundreds of people around the world.

Brown said businesses with which her renovation company works are helping. A landlord waived two months rent, she said, and the dealer the company just bought a truck from is working with Brown to restructure payments. That cooperative spirit gives her hope, Brown said.

Were all in this together and thats a silver lining, she said.

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Need a plumber? Make sure it's an emergency - Press Herald

WENATCHEE - A local plumbing company has changed its stripes for the good of the community during the coronavirus pandemic.

Wenatchee-based Plumb Perfect is offering free grocery pick-up and delivery to the elderly and those with weak immune systems. The plumbing business says it will cater to requests with a grocery list of 25 items or less.

Plumb Perfect Owner Matt Bruggman says the idea was inspired by personal experiencing involving he and his wifes parents who are elderly. Darcy and Matt Bruggman say their parents are hesitant to grocery shop for fear of exposure to coronavirus.

Bruggman says his company has conducted six deliveries since since offering the service ten days ago. Bruggman says his wife and a group of volunteers doing the grocery service.

(Those who want to use the service) can call Monday through Friday, 8-4 at 509-663-3602 and well take down your grocery list, said Bruggman. Or you can email anytime, plumbperfect98@gmail.com.

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Local plumber offers free grocery pick-up and delivery to elderly and those with compromised immune systems - iFIBER One News

Plumbing experts will tell you there are only three things you should ever flush down your toilet: urine, feces and toilet paper.

Disinfecting wipes are nowhere on the list, not even the ones marked flushable.

"No flushable wipes they don't break down like toilet paper," said Jeff Logan, owner of Scenic City Plumbing in Chattanooga and a plumber with 22 years' experience.

This might come as a surprise to shoppers clearing shelves of sanitizing wipes during the coronavirus crisis. The products' claims of germ obliteration may be true, but don't believe everything you read on the label. Yes, technically, they are flushable. But so is a cellphone. What these products are not is dispersible, or easily dissolvable.

Bottom line: The only thing you want going down your john are the three P's of potent plumbing pee, poo and (toilet) paper. Keep the wipes out of your pipes.

"You can flush [a wipe]," Logan said. "But especially with older drains, if it hits a rough spot, it's going to snag. Then it catches everything else that comes down the line, and it builds up and builds up and causes a clog."

He'd also add baby wipes, paper towels, facial tissue and feminine hygiene products to the list of no-nos. Only toilet paper is designed to dissolve easily.

The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday advised against flushing anything except toilet paper in an effort to safely manage the nation's wastewater and ensure that toilets, plumbing, sewer systems and septic systems will continue working properly.

"Having fully operational wastewater services is critical to containing COVID-19 and protecting Americans from other public health risks," said the EPA statement.

Tennessee American Water has issued a similar advisory for its 380,000 customers in Tennessee and North Georgia who may be using baby wipes as a backup for toilet paper or disinfectant wipes for habitual housecleaning.

"While it might seem to make your daily life easier, putting the wrong thing down the toilet or drain can and does cause blockages, which take time and money to fix," said Vice President of Operations Grady Stout.

Even if you luck out and avoid a clog in your own plumbing, you can cause trouble down the line, said Jeffrey Rose, director of the Waste Resources Division of Chattanooga's Department of Public Works.

He manages the Moccasin Bend Wastewater Treatment Plant the No. 1 guy for your No. 2. It's true, he said, that this stuff runs downhill.

"It flows by gravity," he said. "[Home sewer] lines have to be laid on a slope to make sure things flow out. Then when it hits the main sewer line, that's also laid on a slope so that all the water will flow by gravity downstream. The lines get bigger and bigger as they move toward the plant."

Woven wipes arent the only concern for families spending more time at home during the coronavirus. If youre cooking more, you should avoid pouring grease, fat or oil down the drain.

When washed down the drain, grease and oil can adhere to the insides of the pipes that carry the wastewater from homes and businesses to the sewer treatment facility. Over time, this buildup of grease can restrict the flow of wastewater or, worse yet, block the homeowners or utilitys sewer pipes.

These blockages can lead to sewage overflowers or backups in homes and businesses. It can also have an adverse effect on the environment if the overflow enters local rivers, lake and streams.

Tennessee American Water advises:

* Allow grease to cool, and use a rubber scraper to remove the fat, oil and grease from cookware, plates, utensils and cooking surfaces. Then place the grease in a sealed container and dispose of it in the trash.

* Install baskets/strainers in sink drains to catch food scraps, and empty the scraps into the trash.

* Keep in mind, garbage disposals do not prevent grease from washing down the drain. Also, detergents that claim to dissolve grease may pass it down the line and cause problems in other parts of the wastewater system.

In places where gravity can't do the work, there are pump stations. Their job is to rapidly spin the wastewater and push it into a force main, or a pressurized sewer pipe, that can run it for some distance, such as over a hill, until it reaches a gravity line, he explained.

"Sometimes those pump stations have chopper mechanisms to chop things up. It works for normal [biodegradable] stuff," he said.

Not so much for wipes. Instead of mincing the wipes into small pieces, the chopper may only mangle the cloth into halves or thirds, especially in neighborhoods that are flushing large numbers of wipes into the sewer system. When these pieces hit the pump station's spin cycle, chugging at 1,200 to 1,800 rpms to pressurize the wastewater, the wipes "reconstitute themselves and turn into strands, like a rope," Rose said. "It's likely to clog the pump station eventually.

"The backup [of sewage] may happen at the pump station, or it might be at someone's house," he said.

Public Works employees sometimes pose with the glop of wipes and grease and other nonbiodegradable substances they pull from the system. "It's interesting but gross," Rose said.

The largest of these congealed masses are called "fatbergs," a combination of fat and iceberg. Fatbergs became a problem in the 2010s in Britain because of aging Victorian sewers and the increased use of woven wipes, according to news reports. Among the first notable fatbergs was a 17-ton congealed mass of food, fat and wet wipes, roughly the size of a bus, discovered in drains in London in 2013. More recently, a 440-ton mass was discovered in a sewer in Liverpool in February 2019.

The coronavirus scare means there are many more of these wipes in use, Rose said, creating potential problems for Public Works employees. While some wastewater employees can work from home, most are working normal or staggered shifts to keep the system functioning.

"As you can imagine, it is often difficult to 'social distance' when two or more people are required for certain maintenance tasks on these large and complicated systems," Rose said. "So along with dealing with the normal issues of operating and maintaining aging infrastructure, responding to sewer blockages and overflows, we have the added concerns of a very contagious disease."

Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281.

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What your plumber wants you to know while you're home during the coronavirus crisis - Chattanooga Times Free Press

A Vancouver Island plumbing company is taking COVID-19 on with common sense, warm water, soap and a little social distance.

Victoria-based Oceanview Mechanical Ltd. is building and installing washing stations on its projects along with other guidelines to ensure its employees are both working and safe as new precautions are required while still delivering solutions to their clients.

We want to keep working and keep my guys working, and we do a lot of low-income housing and said to ourselves a lot of people need to move into this housing at some point, Oceanview Mechanical project manager Rick Smith said.

We put stations on site and they clean the washroom every half hour to an hour depending on who is on site. We maintain social distancing by dividing up suites so if youre in a suite working nobody can go inside while youre there, Smith said. Thats all we can do, limit the number of people in the suites and in the area and coordinate with our sub trades to keep people working.

Smith explained that his company works on both multi-residential condominiums and houses. With residential work we make sure we have only one person on site. Its a little slower but its better than no progress, he said

As a plumbing company, Oceanview is well-suited to deal with new workplace conditions brought on by COVID-19, Smith said.

We wear gloves anyway. When a plumber has hands in pipes, they arent putting their fingers on their face, he said.

Were just doing wash stations for our own projects, but every single condo has at least one wash station and as projects progress, we put more in. Were bidding on a project at the moment and we have to put in a different price to account for the hand-washing stations, Smith said.

The stations are simple but effective since theyve been built by experienced plumbers, he added.

we just got laundry tubs, the stand-up kind you have at home and put water and soap in them. We instructed our guys to put their hands down deep so there isnt any splashing, and we drain the tubs properly, so people arent walking through it, he said.

Being plumbers, its easy for us, as were bringing temporary water in anyway. Plumbers are really the ones to do this, Smith said.

Smith and others in his staff are also able to work remotely and still manage projects, he said.

I packed up everything and Ive been working from home for about three weeks. Im estimating and coordinating everything from here, and if a foreman needs to talk to me, they can put me on FaceTime and I can (virtually) walk around the site, he said.

Smith emphasized that Oceanview views the current crisis with grave concern and will do what it takes to work within the pandemics new restrictions.

Nobody is like they were eight weeks ago, where we didnt think it would end up here. We know its going to get more serious and we need to be more careful, Smith said.

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Plumbers stay at work with DIY hand-washing solution - Daily Commercial News

WASHINGTON Question:

Is there a risk to having people in your home, such as house cleaners and plumbers?

Answer:

Yes. Every time another person comes within 6 feet there is a risk of transmission, and that's why our experts recommend that you factor in the possible risk when deciding who should come to the home.

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In an attempt to "flatten the curve," people across the globe are attempting to practice social distancing. This has prompted questions online about who should be allowed to come to the home.

"Is it safe to have your house cleaned by outside workers," asked on person in an email to the Verify Team.

And of course, it's not just house-cleaners. What about the plumber or the electrician? The Verify Team turned to the experts to get a feel for the possible risk.

The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention did not offer a clear-cut yes or no answer. Instead, they offered guidelines that all people should follow. The CDC said special precautions should be taken by those who are older, or have an underlining health issue.

"(They should) prohibit visitors who do not have an essential need to be in the home.

Meanwhile, the CDC said everyone else should also practice social distancing by limiting "close contact with others as much as possible.

Dr. Timothy Price, from Price Medical, agreed that people should take the risk seriously.

In general, not having people in your house who are not essential would be my recommendation, he said.

Price said that he made the decision to tell the housekeeper not to come this week for this reason.

Dr. Amesh Adalja, from Johns Hopkins University, said that each person should make a risk assessment, based on whether they are healthy or not. Healthy people may be able to tolerate more risk.

I think each person needs to look at their level of risk," he said. "I think its fine for healthy people so long as youre not hiring sick individuals.

The Verify Team also reached out to the American Association of Cleaning Professionals. A spokesperson said that they are recommending work as normal, although recommending that cleaners wear gloves and face masks.

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VERIFY: Should I have the house cleaner in my home? What about the plumber? Here's what the experts say - WUSA9.com

When you have a family of four or five people that potentially could be home non-stop, that puts a lot more stress on your plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems, which causes things to fail, Magic Electric, Plumbing, Heating and Air owner Billy Salts said. Salts noted that activity in Boise has fallen far more dramatically than in Twin Falls.

There are a handful of reasons that even though so many are at home, so few are needing home repairs.

For one, people dont know how long the recession is going to last, so people are holding onto their money, Petruzzelli said.

Plus, many have more free time on their hands and might be more willing to tackle minor issues on their own rather than call a professional.

On top of that, its often older folks,who dont want to grapple with plumbing, heating or electric issues on their own, who call for services. Many of those people might be limiting the number of visitors coming into their homes.

Dynamic Plumbing owner Josh Taylor works on a new house build Tuesday, March 31, 2020, in Twin Falls.

I think a lot of people just have a lot of fear right now, Dynamic Plumbing owner Josh Taylor said.

Caywood said he had a client who asked to just talk to me through the door in the garage.

Plumbers, electricians and HVAC companies said theyre doing everything they can to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

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Even with everyone stuck at home, the phones aren't ringing for plumbers, electricians and HVAC techs - Twin Falls Times-News

With Spain's national lockdown now exceeding two weeks and the recent announcement by the Spanish Government that only essential services will be allowed over the coming fortnight, many of the country's population are unsure of exactly what is allowed or not during the state of emergency.

One such doubt is related to essential services or the day-to-day domestic problems that arise, for instance needing the services of a plumber or electrician. Such services are allowed but have protocols attached to them and have to fulfill a series of requirements set by the Spanish Government in order to avoid the risk of spreading the virus further.

Given that these services require home visits, government protocols stipulate the use of protective clothing: masks, gloves, etc. and state that they may only be rendered in cases of emergency or "extreme necessity". Similarly, the customer who receives an electrician or plumber in their home must also take protective measures: both must ensure there is no physical contact and keep at least a distance of one metre apart, and the customer also has the right to demand the person providing the service wear their protective clothing.

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Coronavirus: Plumbers and electricians allowed in cases of 'extreme necessity' in Spain - AS English

Coachella Valley Water District is urging customers to be careful and pay attention to what they are flushing down the toilet. The district said they have seen an influx of items other than toilet paper that have been flushed down the drain.

"Were sort of speculating that this is COVID-related-- that because people went and started stockpiling toilet paper, toilet paper was in a shortage, more people are using wipes and thats probably why this is happening," Coachella Valley Water District Director of Communications and Conservation, Katie Evans said.

Items like paper towels, flushable wipes and even disinfectant wipes have been found at the district's treatment plant.

"What has increased is the drain calls- thats for sure," Tommy Rooter Plumbing owner, Thomas Clarke said.

"A lot of these people still have toilet paper in their house, theyre just so afraid of running out of toilet paper. Theyre willing to use things that arent supposed to be flushed down the toilet and thats causing some major issues for us," Clarke said.

Clarke said he has even come across people using restaurant napkins in place of toilet paper.

"Regular toilet paper is designed to fall apart, and allow it to flush normally. It goes down the drains, and it just falls apart. Paper towels arent designed to do that. They're supposed to stay together," Clarke said.

Flushable wipes have also become a culprit showing up in drains.

"The packaging does say flushable and they are flushable in the sense that if you put it in the toilet and flush it, it will flush but that does not make it good for the system," Evans said.

These types of items could potentially clog the sewer system.

"It could create clogs in the sewer pipelines that are running under the street which would be a huge problem. Wed have to cut into the streets, cut those clogs out of the pipes and put new piping in," Evans said.

Meanwhile, if residents were to run into similar problems back at home it could be costly.

"That could get into the several hundreds, even thousands of dollars depending on the severity of the clog," Clarke said.

The issue has one simple solution.

"You should only be flushing human waste and toilet paper," Evans said.

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Plumbing issues on the rise as more wipes, paper towels are found in sewer system - KESQ