Commercial Plumbing Blog

No one likes driving behind a sewer truck … unless you live in Japan, apparently. One of their most recent breakthroughs is making their sewage trucks smell chocolaty delicious. Sounds crazy? Maybe. But it’s absolutely true.

This unbelievable solution is the brainchild of four Osaka-based companies who teamed up in an effort to mask the foul-smelling sewage trucks that often send Japanese citizens running in the opposite direction. Now that they have achieved the unachievable, the announcement has been made that sewage trucks in Osaka will now smell like chocolate instead of … well, sewage.

This new solution is based on a five-year-old deodorizing product made by Shikido, a manufacturer of industrial products, and Yamamoto Fragrances, which was typically used in pet odor eliminating products and baby diapers. When the engineers came up with the plan to infuse an updated version of the project into the sewage trucks’ lubricating oil, they decided that a strong chocolate fragrance would best mask any lingering odors.

With mostly positive feedback, there are, of course, those who still aren’t satisfied with the outcome. Some have mentioned on social media that they fear children may be encouraged to eat feces due to confusion, but hopefully some common sense parenting will help to circumvent that particular problem. Otherwise, the new chocolate smelling sewage trucks seem to be a big hit.

“Where can I get me some of that?” you may ask. Fear not, fellow Americans. Another company that participated in the development of the deodorizer-infused lubricating oil, Toho, reports that the Deo Magic VC1 oil in 5.3-gallon cans will soon be available to the general public for a mere $344.

A toilet that’s always running is more than just an annoyance; it’s wasteful and can cost you money. If you let it go on without repair, you’ll definitely regret it. But, unfortunately, a leaky toilet tank may be harder to spot than you’d expect. Luckily, there are some signs to watch for and also a conclusive test that can be performed to find out whether or not you actually have an issue.

It’s better to find the problem before you open your water bill and see a huge jump. If you take the time to listen while you’re in the bathroom and you notice your toilet is running, don’t hesitate to check into it further. It’s not just a coincidence if it seems to be happening every time you’re in there … you likely a problem.

Other than the obvious sound of flowing water you hear when the toilet is running, a tip-off that you may have a leak is the minor rippling of the water along the edge of the bowl. You should only see this rippling effect when your toilet is actually filling. If you notice it at other times this is a good indication of a leak.

Test for a Leaky Toilet

Believe it or not, all you need to test for a leaky toilet is a little bit of food coloring. Just open the lid of the tank and squeeze in a few drops of your choice of color. And whatever you do … don’t flush! Just sit back and patiently wait for a few hours.

After about an hour or two, have a look inside the bowl. If you see food coloring, then you definitely have a leak.

How to Fix a Leaky Toilet

Depending on the severity of your problem, you may be able to fix the leak yourself. Common causes of leaks include dirt, sediment, or rust build up on the tank flapper. You should turn off the water supply before attempting to clean the flapper, which you can do with a sponge or paper towel. Once you’ve completed your cleaning, it’s a good idea to use the food coloring to run a second test to make sure everything is working properly.

If you’re in need of any assistance, have questions on how to test for a leaky toilet tank, or suspect you have a leaky toilet and would like to talk to a professional, reach out to one of our Action Plumbing experts today.

Whether you’re tinkering with your plumbing or just curious as to what’s really in that toolbox your plumber’s carrying around, Action Plumbing is here to help. So, what are the best plumbing tools and what do we use them for? Here’s a list of some of the plumbing tools most commonly used by professionals to install fixtures, fix problems, and more:

Pipe Wrench

One of the tools most often used by plumbers, the pipe wrench is a necessity for many projects. It has countless uses, and there is a wide variety of pipe wrenches available many of which meet a specific need. For example, we use an offset pipe when dealing with odd angles or tight spaces. Also, an end pipe is handy for pipes close to a wall.

Channel Locks

In addition, they call channel locks tongue and groove pliers. We often use them in place of a pipe wrench. Typically a plumber will use two at a time, with one for unscrewing a pipe while the other stabilizes.

Hole Saw

When a plumber needs to cut a hole in a concrete, wood, or masonry surface, he or she often turns to a hole saw to get the job done.

Basin Wrench

If you’re working with an older faucet, a basin wrench can be extremely helpful with its telescoping shank and 90-degree angle capabilities.

Hose Cutter

Believe it or not, we use this tool to cut exact shapes and sizes of copper tubing.

Drain Augers

More commonly known as Snakes, this tool has come to the rescue of a multitude of plumbers when a basic plunger just doesn’t cut it.

Rib-joint Pliers

This versatile tool is used for turning everything from fittings to pipes, bolts, and nuts.

Metal File

You need to smooth out the metal pipe with a metal file once it’s been cut. As you can see, it can get the job done right.

Anyone traveling abroad needs to know how to ask one important question. Gestures definitely won’t cut it in an emergency, and wouldn’t it be nice to communicate more quickly? Alas, Action Plumbing is here to help. Check out the following list of how to say “Where is the bathroom?” in 50 languages. (Warning: some translations actually equate to “Where is the toilet?”, but you get the idea.)

Afrikaans – Waar is die badkamer? Waar is die toilet?

Arabic – أين الحمام؟?

Armenian – Vortegh e bathrrom.

Asturian – U”l ban~u?

Azerbaijani – Bathrrom haradadır?

Bengali – Bātharuma kōthāẏa?

Bosnian – Gdje je TWC?

Breton – Pelec’h eman~ ar priveziou`?

Bulgarian – Kade e toaletnata?

Catalan – On e’s la cambra de bany?

Creole – Ki laplas twale`t-la?

Croatian – Gdje je zahod?

Czech – Kde je za’chod?

Danish – Hvor er toilettet?

Dutch – Waar is het toilet (W.C.)?

Finnish – missä onkylpyhuone?

French – Où se trouvent les toilettes?

German – Wo ist die Toilette?

Greek – pu íne i tualéta?

Hawaiian – Ai hea lua?

Hebrew – eifo ha’sherutim?

Hindi – aapkaa snanghar (sauchalya) kahan hai?

Hungarian – Hol a mosdo’

Icelandic – Hvar er snyrtingin

Indonesian – Kamar kecil di mana?

Irish – Ca’ bfhuil seomra na mban (f) / bfhear (m)?

Italian – Dove e’ il bagno?

Japanese – Bathrrom wa doko ni arimasu ka?

Korean – Hwa-jang-sil-i O-die Isum-ni-ka?

Latin – Ubi sunt loca secreta? Ubi est conclave necessarium?

Latvian – Kur atrodas vannas istaba?

Lithuanian – Kur yra tualetas?

Malaysian – Di manakah terletaknya tandas? Tandas di mana?

Mandarin – Duì bù qǐ, cèsuǒ zài nǎr?

Norwegian – Hvor er toalettet?

Polish – Gdzie jest toaleta?

Portuguese – Onde e’ o quarto de banho? Onde e’ o casa de banho?

Romanian – Unde este toaleta?

Russian – Gde zdes tualet?

Serbian – Gde je toalet?

Slovak – Kde je W.C.?

Slovenian – Kje je kopalnica? Kje je stranisxcxe?

Spanish – Donde esta el bano?

Swahili – Choo kiko wapi?

Swedish – Var är bathrrom

Thai – hong-nam-you-tee-nai?

Turkish – tuvalet nerede?

Ukrainian – de tut tualyet? (laznychka, uborna)

Welsh – Ble mae’r toiled?

Vietnamese – Trường hợp là bathrrom ?

Yiddish – vu iz der bodtsimer?

Zulu – likuphi itholethe?