7 Signs That You Have Faulty Plumbing and What To Do About it

Over the course of a year, most homeowners will spend thousands of dollars on necessary repairs. For most, a portion of this will be dedicated to plumbing, whether for leaks in a toilet or upgrades to rusting pipes. While there's no way to avoid plumbing issues completely, there are signs that can point you to problems before they become worse. By being aware of these and what you can do about them, you'll be able to minimize damage and potentially save a good chunk of money.

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1. Clogged Drain

If you spend a lot of time waiting for your sink to drain or you're standing in a bath by the time you're done with your shower, it's likely your drains are clogged. Unfortunately, this can come with bad smells rising from the pipes, which can make the problem even more unbearable to deal with. For most households, this causes frustration and wastes quite a bit of water over the course of a month.

What can you do to resolve this problem? The experts at Canberra Plumbers recommend investing in a plunger. While you should have one dedicated for your toilet, it's worthwhile to grab one for sink and tub drains as well. In addition to this, pipe snakes can help get rid of clogged debris, such as hair from the tub. However, if this is an issue that continues, it's best to have your drains professionally cleaned to prevent water waste or leaks.

2. Your Toilet Constantly Runs

This may be one issue that wastes the most water, as most units will run through approximately 200 gallons per day. You will notice this problem when you hear your toilet seemingly flushing itself or sounding like it's running for longer than normal. This will quickly get worse, so it's recommended to have repairs done as soon as possible.

There are a number of reasons why this happens, ranging from a decayed toilet flapper to a broken float arm. You can do an inspection of the tank to see if you can identify the issue and determine which parts need to be replaced. Jiggling the handle may also help stop the water from running, although the root cause of the problem will still need to be identified. If you're not comfortable doing toilet repairs, it's recommended to hire a professional.

3. Leaking Pipes

Leaking pipes occur all throughout the year but are especially common in the winter. If you notice water dripping, address the issue as soon as possible. Waiting can result in water damage, which can be dangerous and costly to repair.

For most homeowners, it's beneficial to have a plumber identify where the leak is coming from. They can also analyze the health of the pipes to determine if there is decay anywhere else. While the leak may just be from a joint or frozen pipe, it's best to be cautious in order to minimize damage.

4. Your Water Heater Keeps Turning Off

There's nothing worse than getting into the shower only to be surprised by cold water. The cause of this is likely a faulty water heater, especially if maintenance hasn't been done in a while.

To see if this is a simple error on your tankless water heater, go take a look at it. In most situations, you can easily reset it. However, if you have a tank or resetting doesn't help, a plumber will need to look at the unit. Maintenance may also help, although older water heaters may need to be replaced completely.

5. Water Stains

If you see water stains on your ceilings or floors, this is a red flag that there may be faulty plumbing in your home. Even if the stain is dried up, that doesn't mean the problem has fixed itself. Black mold may even be present in areas where you can't see, especially if the drywall or floors weren't properly repaired.

It's best to have a plumber take a look at your pipes to see if the leak has traveled elsewhere. In most situations, this is a simple fix, although older homes may require pipe replacement in order to prevent additional leaks.

6. Leaking Faucet

The constant drip of a faucet can quickly become an annoyance both day and night. It can also waste quite a bit of water, which will lead to an increase in your water bills. While you can ignore this problem for a while, it's better to tackle it as soon as possible in order to minimize damage and avoid wasting water.

Hiring a plumber is the surefire way to get this problem taken care of with assurance that it's done right. However, if you want to try a DIY repair, first determine where the leak is coming from and turn the water off. Try replacing old parts to see if that resolves the problem. You may also want to replace the faucet completely if parts are completely rusted out or broken.

7. Low Water Pressure

If you have low water pressure, you might find yourself doing normal tasks, such as showering or washing dishes, for longer than you'd like. This is something that's very common with older homes although it can happen to new homes as well. Instead of dealing with it, you'll want to address the issue as soon as possible.

To identify the problem, first turn off the water and then remove the shower head or faucet head. From here, remove any debris or buildup and turn the water back on. If this doesn't resolve the problem, you may have clogged pipes that must be cleaned by a professional to restore your water pressure.

Keeping Tabs on Your Plumbing

No matter what the age of your home is, it's important to be aware of your plumbing in order to quickly identify any issues on the rise. From odd sounds to water seeping from a hidden corner, vigilance can pay off. When you catch a faulty plumbing issue quickly, you're likely to pay less to fix it and experience fewer issues in the repair process as well.

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7 reasons why immunization is still the best defense for your kids

Most of the individuals who were born in the last 70 years have no idea whether some killer diseases such as diphtheria ever existed. Diphtheria, a severe bacterial infection affects the mucous membranes. The bacteria produce a sheet of thick grey matter that blocks the airways making breathing almost impossible. The bacteria also produce toxins that affect other organs in the body.

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In the early 1920s, before the development of a vaccine, diphtheria had taken away the lives of more than 15,000 Americans. Thanks to vaccination campaigns, diphtheria is now rare in the U.S with only two cases reported between 2004 and 2014. However, diphtheria and other life-threatening diseases are still prevalent in most of the poor countries.

Reports by the W.H.O indicate that vaccines prevent the death of about three million people each year. The World Health Organization (W.H.O) also reports that an extra 1.5 million deaths could be prevented if more vaccines were given. But how do vaccines work and why is it still important to immunize your children at this era?

How does immunization work?

Do you know that most that of the things you interact with every day are teeming with disease-causing germs? A recent study revealed the high level of bacteria contamination of high school students’ mobile gadgets. The study found more than 17,000 bacterial strains on the cell phones of college students. Thanks to our immune system, we don’t have to worry about getting sick while using our phones.

The immune system work by attacking the disease-causing germs before they get you sick. Any time your immune system fights off a particular infection, you develop immunity against it. Vaccines work by mimicking an infection, to teach your immune system how to fight it when it comes knocking. Medical Center Brightside Clinic Byron encourages parents to take their children for immunization for the following reasons:

1. Vaccination boosts your kids' natural defense system

Babies are born when certain parts of their immune system have not yet developed. They rely on antibodies from the breast milk for the first six months to protect themselves from infections. However, there are dozens of infections that the baby needs to build immunity against. Immunization presents the best opportunity for a child to develop immunity against these infections.

2. Provides herd immunity

Herd immunity also known as community immunity refers to the protection given to everyone in the community due to high vaccination rates. When the whole community is vaccinated against a particular disease, it’s difficult for the disease to harm that community. Vaccinating most of the people in a community offer protection even to those that have not been immunized. It, therefore, reduces the likelihood of outbreaks when the community is exposed to the disease.

When herd immunity is low, disease outbreaks can easily occur. For instance, the vaccination rate for polio is about 80-86 percent. If the vaccination rate drops beyond this level, the herd immunity may not be sufficient to prevent disease outbreak.

3. Immunization is safe and effective

Vaccines go through a rigorous development process and regulation before they are made available to the public. The process of developing a vaccine involves extensive scientific research and numerous clinical trials involving volunteers who are immunized under investigation. The process doesn’t stop upon licensing because vaccine safety data is continuously collected and analyzed by researchers.

In the U.S, vaccines are closely monitored and regulated by various federal agencies. Vaccines originating from the U.S have been ranked the safest and most effective by different players in the medical arena. Vaccines rarely have side effects unless for the typical local reactions such as soreness and redness at the site of vaccination.

4. Immunizations can save the life of your kids and others around you

In recent years, killer diseases such as whooping cough and measles have been making a comeback in the country. Unfortunately, close to half a million people in the U.S are infants who are too young to be immunized. These little souls depend on the rest of the population for protection. Therefore, choosing to immunize your kids does not only protect them but also prevent the spread of the pathogens to those who have no protection.

5. Vaccination will save your time and money

Vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and polio can be expensive to treat. In severe cases, these diseases can cause disability and even death. When you think about, getting a vaccine to prevent them makes more sense than waiting to get sick. Would you rather spend a few minutes in a doctor’s room for immunization or risk spending months on a hospital bed to fight a disease that could have been prevented by vaccination?

6. You can travel with your kids around the world without fear

Although there few cases of vaccine-preventable diseases in the U.S, these diseases are still prevalent in other countries across the world. Therefore, vaccinating your kids will ensure that you have the piece of mind whenever you travel around the world.

Examples of vaccines that children and adults receive when traveling out of the country include, yellow fever vaccine, typhoid vaccine, rabies vaccine, amongst others. Center for disease control (CDC) provides travelers with valuable information about the vaccines they can get when traveling out of the country. 

7. Vaccination will help to save the future generation

If scientists did not develop polio vaccines when the disease was spreading across the world, most of the people would either be crippled or dead. But vaccination against these diseases helped to save our generation. We can do the same to our kids so that the future generations will be safe and disease free.

If you teach your children the value of immunization while they are still young, they will most likely follow suit and teach their children when they become adults. You probably think that it’s strange to think about the welfare of your grandchildren now. But you need to know what you teach your children now will likely find its way in the future generations.

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7 ways to help a family member undergoing a depression

Depression is a serious mental health concern, especially among young and middle-aged Australians. Statistics show that 1 in every 7 young Australians of the age between 4 and 17 years experiences depressive disorders. This often leads to dire depressive consequences, most common of which include committing of suicide. Persons experiencing depression also experience dissociation when doing common activities such as driving. This consequently leads to adverse effects including causing of accidents while driving.

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Australia is, however, readily equipped with sufficient depression health facilities and resources to ensure person suffering from depression can receive sufficient medical attention where necessary. In most cases, such individuals, even after receiving psychological care, need to be supported at a personal and family level. Here are 7 ways on how to help a family member undergoing depression.

Understand the person and accommodate him

The first important measure you should take towards helping such a person is to understand that he or she is undergoing depression and therefore accommodate his change of behavior and attitude. Appreciating the shortcomings that such a person suffering from depression may express helps you not to adversely react to him or her. Such a move generally makes the patient to feel welcome, appreciated, and recognized. This is normally the first step towards effectively remediating the side effects of depression while helping expedite the healing process.

Accommodating the person's weaknesses also helps you to put up with various adverse depression effects such as the inability of the individual to perform simple tasks for him or herself. Understanding the individual from such a perspective and accommodating his or her weaknesses gives him the necessary level of social comfort.

Provide room for medical attention

Medical attention is highly necessary for the process of supporting persons suffering from depression. After accommodating the person's weakness, it is important to provide a platform for him or her to seek the necessary psychological attention. As the only sober person that the depressive person depends upon, you should take it upon yourself to seek the help of Psychologists Wellbeing Brisbane from where the patient will be able to receive the necessary mental health care. Such a step helps expedite further the healing process.

Provide social comfort and support

Social comfort and social support are highly necessary, especially in the environment around which the depressive person spends most of his time in. The depression patient should, therefore, be encouraged to maintain a healthy behavioral lifestyle with laughter and humor that generally keeps such a person in a good mood. This helps ensure that the person does not spend much of his or her time alone in an environment that otherwise confines him or herself to further depressive episodes.

Such social comfort can also be maintained and repaired by providing the individual with the necessary material such as watching comic films, something that generally helps improve on the individual’s mood progressively. You should also endeavor to spend more time with the person as a way of providing social comfort and support that is highly essential when helping the individuals to open up him or herself and get free of depression.

Provide the right atmosphere for recovery

For individual recovering from depression after seeking psychological care, it is important to provide the right atmosphere and environment that can ensure that such depressive episodes do not relapse. In most cases, such a good atmosphere can be maintained by ensuring that the individual is talked to politely and never reminded of any aspect of his or her life that can aggravate the moods. The right atmosphere for recovery and prevention of relapses can also be enhanced by being a good listener to the patient.

Do not judge, compare, or criticize

When providing support to an individual recovering from depression, it is also highly necessary to ensure that such a person is never judged for any action or word that he or she says. Pronouncing any form of judgment upon his or her ideas can easily lead to aggravation which is detrimental to the individual's recovery. You may also want to avoid any form of comparison of the individual with anyone else on any matter.

Comparisons generally make the individuals feel unappreciated and unfairly treated especially since the depressive person is normally relatively weak and incapable in many aspects. Criticism is the worst form of exposure that a depressive person can get. It is highly essential to minimize, as much as possible, any form of negative comments on the individual's life on any action.

Express patience

Patience is a highly needed virtue whenever supporting a patient suffering from depression. The first level of patience that should be exercised is in regard to whenever seeking to see the patient's progress. The recovery process may be relatively long, depending on various factors including the extent of depression that the patient was exposed to. Being patient to the patient demands that you continually provide the necessary support without demanding to see progress in the short term. Patience also gives you the morale to put up with the patient's shortcomings where necessary without scolding or being too assertive to the patient.

Learn as much as possible about depression

When providing care and support to a patient suffering from depression, it is highly essential to ensure you learn as much as possible on the larger topic of depression and acquaint yourself with the necessary information. Sometimes, the process of providing care to depressive patients requires that you identify the symptoms that you need to be on the lookout for. Educating yourself on other issues such as how to encourage the patient and the kind of approach to use whenever the patient expresses certain symptoms is highly essential to ensure you remain relevant to the patient's recovery.

Depression, in conclusion, is a common occurrence in the modern day society that affects individuals from the age of 4 to the age of 80s. Whereas such patients can receive psychological care from the existing medical clinics, the bulk of the support is left to persons who provide social home-based care to the depressive patient. Understanding the steps to take when supporting such a patient determines the patient's ability to recover quickly.

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Classic Styles Considerations for the Mom of the Bride and Groom

Your son or daughter’s wedding is going to be one of the most memorable occasions in your life. As a result, you want to look good during the auspicious occasion. It is ok to splurge a little due to the fact there it is a once in a lifetime opportunity for your kids. You carry the memories of that particular day forever. Photos will be taken and videos will be made. Going low-budget on a high profile occasion is not always going to turn out nice given the numerous photos that will be taken. The requirements for what the mother of the bride or groom should wear varies.  It is recommended that the dress should:

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Not be an identical color as that of the wedding dress: Make sure you’re checking with the bride first before picking a color.

Avoid flashy colors: These colors include bright red, yellow, or pink as they can draw away the attention from the bride.

Not be too fashionable: The day is supposed to be focused on the bride and groom and being too fashionable can attract a lot of attention. You should also not be overly sexy as all the attention should be going to the bride.

Have different solutions: The wedding may include a church service and having a dress that can be accessorized can come in handy. Most wedding dresses should be able to blend well with jackets.

It is also recommended that you talk to the pride first before making a decision on the kind of dress you want to wear. They might be sensitive about certain colors even though you love them. Even if they have recommendations in mind, you can always stick with your personality when coming up with a solution. You don't have to compromise your style in order to look good on the wedding day.

Here are some of the classic styles you can incorporate during the special occasion.

1.   Dress Style

There are a ton of options when searching for the perfect mother of the bride dress. Some of the popular options include:

Tea length: This option can be seen as both beautiful and practical. It is versatile and you will not have to worry about not blending with the bride. It goes just beyond the knees which provides mobility while still remaining elegant. It gives you a vintage look that is unique and not easily replicated. They could also be an option if you’re looking for Formal Dresses Brisbane.

Long Dresses: You can never go wrong with a long dress regardless of the occasion. This is the ideal choice if it is a formal wedding that includes a reception. There are tons of beautiful maxi dresses and gowns available to choose from. All you need is to select the color and style that befits your personality.

Short Dresses: You don’t always have to wear a long dress just because you’re the mother of the bride. A knee-length dress can be an excellent choice if you want to feel good about yourself. There are several classic styles you could select ranging from flare to pencil fit dresses.

Summer Dresses: Most of the weddings are usually planned around summer time when the weather is warm and conducive. As such, it is important to dress for the season and the occasion. You should go for a dress that makes you look stylish while still providing relief from the summer heat. Some of the factors you should consider include color, material, sleeve style, weight, and length of the material.

Plus size Dresses: There are also options for the beautiful and curvy mums. You should look for a dress that highlights the curves in a flattering style.  You don’t need to hide your amazing curves. Some of the recommended options would be to go for an empire waist gown or a pencil dress. You can also go for the other mentioned dresses depending on your style and preferences.

2. Jackets

A dress will not be completed without adding a jacket. A jacket can serve the purpose of providing a polished appearance or just providing warmth depending on the location. Not all designs will work when it comes to jackets. The wedding will require a little bit of sophistication and an elegant style could do the trick. If you’re looking for a design that stands out, lace bolero or chiffon comes highly recommended. The jacket should be in a color that perfectly blends with the dress.

3. Shoes

The shoes will play a big role in completing your look. Depending on your level of comfort, you can opt for either the heels or sandal options. You need to consult with the bride too to ensure there are no color clashing cases. Shopping for shoes should start when you’ve already bought the dress. The length of the dress is also going to be a determining factor when choosing the shoes. If it is a long dress, then shoes will mostly serve the purposes of comfort. You shouldn’t wait until the last minute to go shopping for the shoes.

4. Bags

Every mum will need a bag to store all the important stuff on the big day. The type of bag of you choose will depend on the size, and type of outfit that you’re wearing. Matching everything has never gone out fashion and will still continue to be elegant. A wedding will require that you match the bag preferably with the shoes. The bag color could be matched with details from the dress. There are a ton of options when it comes to using a bag as an accessory. A matching bag can also be recommended if your dress is elaborate.

5. Jewelry

Jewelry is used to complete the mother of the bride look. It is better sticking to the classics so that you don’t complicate things. Picking the right jewelry shouldn’t be confusing provided you know what you’re looking for. If it is a strapless dress, chokers and short necklaces are recommended. Ultimately, the choice of jewelry you chose should complement your dress and skin tone.

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Signs of Addiction

If you have a family member who may have an addiction problem, this is a serious issue and you may not know how to handle it. There are several things you should look for and do if you ever fear this problem.

    1.  Look for Attitude Changes.

Has your loved one experienced mood swings lately? Have they seemed standoff-ish or been isolating? When people get dependent on drugs they want to be alone when they do it usually without anyone bothering them. They may be in their bedroom or bathroom for very long periods of time.

2.  Finance problems.

Has your loved one had issues paying bills or been asking you for money often? A drug habit is something that is very expensive, usually it's too expensive for the person using them to keep up with. This brings them to asking for money and even stealing and manipulating sometimes.

3. Arguing or fighting

Often when people abuse substances they get irritated very easily especially if they don't have the drugs they need. Look out to see if your loved one has been arguing more often, raising their voice more often or been passive aggressive. Confronting a loved one about this can almost definitely cause a big argument. Remember you are doing this to try and help them, if they yell at you do not take it personally.

4. Physical Signs.

Look for drastic weight change or change in skin tone. Once somebody becomes hooked on drugs the care for their well being takes a steep drop and becomes very noticeable in time. The eyes are usually also a good indicator, glassy and bloodshot eyes are a very common sign of being under the influence.

5. Lack of motivation.

Drug abuse can really bring down somebody's motivation and inspiration. Somebody who was once focused on their career and building a fulfilling life is now just worried about getting high. It can interfere with everything else in their life and they will still choose drugs over anything else. Did your loved one lose a job or have a job in jeopardy? Have they been complaining about work or a loved one more often?

6. Emotionally unstable.

Drugs can make somebody very emotionally up and down. Sure, they may be in a great mood, drugs can do that for somebody sometimes, but an hour later they can be screaming and crying over a small issue. Drugs can bring an individual on an emotional rollercoaster.

Remember, when confronting a loved one about a substance abuse problem, you need to be prepared for an argument or at least a very emotional conversation. I also suggest doing some research before confronting them, find some resources where they can find help in the case they do say they want help. Also research on what addiction is, you will learn that drug addicts suffer from a disease that they wish they didn't have. The way they react to drugs creates an urge in their mind to use all the time, simply wanting to stop is not enough. Make the first step, ask your loved one what has been going on and tell them you want to do anything you can to help.

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