Heating & Furnaces
The Power Is Out and It Is 22 Degrees
How long the house holds heat, when pipes are actually at risk, what to do with a generator and a space heater, and the…
SwiftPro Knows Best / Plumbing Fixes
Plumbing Fixes Articles
Honest plumbing fixes answers from the licensed pros serving Northern Virginia.
Air Quality & Ducts
Should You Close the Crawl Space Vents for Winter?
Cold floors, a damp smell, and a pipe that freezes every January. What closing the crawl space vents actually does, what the code requires,…
Plumbing Fixes
Manassas Plumbing: Navigating Local Jurisdictions and Utilities
City, Manassas Park, or Prince William County decides who permits your work and who you call about a meter. Plus the pipe-material check and…
Plumbing Fixes
Plumbing in Falls Church, VA: The Oldest Pipes We Work On
Galvanized supply, cast iron drains and pre-1970 copper, sometimes in one house. How to identify what you have, why the pressure check comes before…
Plumbing Fixes
The Five Cheap Parts That Flood Houses
Most indoor floods are not burst pipes. They are five small parts letting go at full pressure while nobody is home. What to look…
Hiring a Pro
Just Bought a House in Northern Virginia? The First-Month HVAC and Plumbing List
A home inspection is a snapshot by a generalist with three hours. What to work through in your first month, week by week, most…
Plumbing Fixes
Find Your Shutoffs Before You Need Them
Every emergency article says shut the water off and none say where the valve is. Twenty minutes on a Saturday: the main, the gas,…
Plumbing Fixes
Whole-House Water Filter, Softener, or Neither: How to Tell What You Need
A filter removes what is floating in the water. A softener removes the minerals that make it hard. Neither does the other job, and…
Plumbing Fixes
Plumbing in Herndon, VA: Town, County, and the 1980s Pipe Question
The corridor build-out sits inside the polybutylene window, so the three minute pipe check is worth doing. Plus the water heaters aging out together…
Plumbing Fixes
Plumbing in Woodbridge, VA: Three Zip Codes, Three Pipe Eras
22191, 22192 and 22193 were built in different decades and fail differently. Which one puts you inside the polybutylene window, the meter test, and…