We would like to start this communication by thanking you for your trust and business. We've been watching the news and informing ourselves just like you have been doing. As plumbers, we understand that we are in the front lines and we are trained, equipped, and educated to be there for you and your family for any plumbing emergency that may transpire. 

In this message, we would like to share with you a couple of plumbing tips to help you prevent a plumbing emergency during this quarantine period. As you may know, plumbing problems increase during the holiday season in November and December, because cooking increases and we have the family over for multiple days - sometimes weeks. We are anticipating plumbing problems to increase during the time that we are living as well, since the scenarios are similar.

Furthermore, we want to reassure you that Metro-Flow Plumbing is taking all the necessary safety measures to keep you, your family, and our team, safe. We are following the Coronavirus prevention tips you see below, which we have been enforcing in our company since we opened our doors in 1989. In addition to these helpful tips, we are also taking the following steps to limit exposure to the virus for you, your family, our team and their families: 

1. We have confirmed that no one from our team members have traveled outside of the United States or to any of the current outbreak regions in the last several weeks. 
2. We are enforcing that a team member with any symptoms of respiratory illness or fever stay home and not return to work until cleared by a physician. 
3. To ensure we take all measures possible to keep ourselves and our customers safe, we are requiring our team members to wash their hands immediately after arriving in the office and not touch anything until their hands are throughly cleaned. In addition to this, we are hosting our daily morning meetings in our parking lot in order to practice social distancing and we are checking everyone's temperature during this time as well. 
4. We have instructed all team members to wash their hands multiple times each day and we are making that possible by placing soap and water in our service trucks. Disinfecting wipes are also available in our service trucks. 
5. Before entering your home, each technician and apprentice will wash their hands with soap and water, wear a new pair of disposable gloves, and new pair of disposable shoe covers.
6. We have instructed our Call Center to cancel service calls to homes where someone is quarantine, has any symptoms of a respiratory illness or has a fever. 

While we are certain that the world and our great nation will effectively deal with this virus, the prudent thing for all of us is to follow the advice of health officials. We are staying updated by reading the news in the following sources: 

• cdc.gov: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html
• City of Dallas: https://dallascityhall.com/Pages/Corona-Virus.aspx​​

A promised, here are a couple of plumbing tips to keep in mind during these busy times at home: 

• To prevent a clogged toilet, only flush toilet paper down your drain. Any other item should be placed in the garbage bin.
• Do not flush wipes down the drain, not even those that claim to be "flushable". These cause clogs and can contribute to your toilet to overflow. 
• Keep fats, oils, grease away from your kitchen sink. These can harden when traveling down your pipe and cause a clog.
• If you think a clog has occurred, give us a call. A common mistake is to run hot water down the drain. This pushes the clog down farther and can worsen the problem.
• Treat your garbage disposal with love. Though it may seem strong and powerful, it can only take so much.

If you have a plumbing question or a question about this communication, please contact us at 214-328-7371 or email us at metroflow@metroflowplumbing.com. 

If you live in North Texas you may notice an increased taste of chlorine in your water during the month of March. Metro-Flow Plumbing can help manage this by installing a water filtration system in your home or office. You may review some of our offerings, here and here. We offer filtration systems depending on your budget and needs - and we can test your water for free. Schedule an appointment at (214) 328-7371.