We used Shred Services: (718) 875-1200
They were great. Easy to arrange. Driver brings you a 92 gallon bin...you fill it up (can use as many bins as needed), the driver takes it to the truck, and puts it on a lift. The documents get shredded as they go into the truck, and you can watch the process on a monitor that's built into the side of the truck.

Posted by: hulburt230 at November 18, 2009 9:31 PM in response to shredding papers

Thanks for the suggestion, vinca.

Posted by: hulburt230 at September 5, 2009 1:46 PM in response to scrap wood

Thanks for your input Brooklyn Plumber. I should clarify for IronBalls that the apartment building we live in is an 82-unit, pre-war, elevator building, not a walk-up. It's definitely a problem with the hot water in the bathroom; no problem in the kitchen.
Brooklyn Plumber--the bath is not renovated, and there are separate controls for the bath water and the shower. Any more suggestions? Thanks so much!

Posted by: hulburt230 at May 17, 2009 3:55 PM in response to Dirty Bath Water

Thanks for all the suggestions, folks! The problem is generally with the hot water, and we don't notice it happening in the bathroom sink or in the kitchen sink.

Posted by: hulburt230 at May 15, 2009 3:34 PM in response to Dirty Bath Water

pretty good primer on the issue it sounds like you are facing.

http://www.randpc.com/ask/ate_Repiping.html

Posted by: arches at May 15, 2009 4:27 PM in response to Dirty Bath Water

You probably don't notice it in the water in the bathroom or kitchen sinks because you're not filling them with water, you're just running the water (or maybe your kitchen sink is stainless steel or black cast iron, so it's less obvious the water is cloudy).

Most typical six story walk up NYC tenement buildings do have hot water tanks, not continuous flow systems like Sam claims, unless your building has an older boiler that stores and heats water in one big unit, but that would still likely mean that sediment had accumulated in the boiler and simply needs to be flushed out.

It's most likely not a problem with the pipes, so long as you let the water run for a minute or two before plugging the bathtub. Most interior water supply pipes are copper which doesn't rust.

The NYC Water Board recommends that everybody run water at least a minute before drinking it anywhere in NYC, so why not do the same before bathing if you want clean water?

Posted by: IronBalls at May 15, 2009 7:55 PM in response to Dirty Bath Water

hulburt, a lot of suggestions in this blog!! You should call a Plumber to take a look at your shower. There could be an old bibb screw stuck inside the body causing the rusty water color. Is the shower dripping at all? There might have been a repair before you moved in where a washer had to be replaced. This is common and could be the cause. How long have you lived in the building? It would be a good idea to have the lines flushed in your Bathroom which lead to the shower.

Posted by: Brooklyn Plumber at May 16, 2009 11:18 AM in response to Dirty Bath Water

Thanks for your input Brooklyn Plumber. I should clarify for IronBalls that the apartment building we live in is an 82-unit, pre-war, elevator building, not a walk-up. It's definitely a problem with the hot water in the bathroom; no problem in the kitchen.
Brooklyn Plumber--the bath is not renovated, and there are separate controls for the bath water and the shower. Any more suggestions? Thanks so much!

Posted by: hulburt230 at May 17, 2009 3:55 PM in response to Dirty Bath Water

You said this is happening when you run the bathtub, what if you just run the shower and let the tub fill up with shower water? I assume that when you said there are separate controls for the tub and the shower, that you have four handles. Two up top for the shower and two down low for the tub. Let's try and narrow down if it's related to the tub controls only or if it's more than that!! Also, don't rule out that a repair could have been made some time ago inside the wall and possibly a galvanized fitting or section of pipe was installed somewhere leading to your bathtub piping.

Posted by: Brooklyn Plumber at May 17, 2009 7:30 PM in response to Dirty Bath Water

I have a reasonable number of small scrap 2x4 pieces at this point. You are welcome to them if you would like them. However, you should know that we are in Jersey City - I don't know how far you are willing to travel for them! If you want them just let me know what your email address is and I will email you to coordinate. (I would have posted earlier, but it's been a long day of making more scrap 2x4 pieces..)

Posted by: zil at September 5, 2009 8:46 PM in response to scrap wood

Ummmm....

An entire 2x4x8' is like 2 bucks. Go get one and have the kid saw it down, likes me Pappy used to make me do!

Posted by: SteamMan at September 5, 2009 11:12 PM in response to scrap wood

I just found out that the UPS office down the street from does shredding. You can do it yourself or have them do it. They charge by the pound.

Posted by: hancockone at November 19, 2009 6:02 PM in response to shredding papers

I like that Shred Services lets you verify on the spot that the items are being shredded.

Does the UPS office let you verify that the items are shredded? Do they let you watch the items from the moment you pass it off to them to it's final destroyed form? I'd hate to think it possible for employees to rummage through your sensitive information if they wanted to. Takes the secure out of secure shredding.

Posted by: CookieCutterBrownstone at November 20, 2009 9:18 AM in response to shredding papers

I see ProShred Security around a lot at the co ops in manhattan, guessing for the boards etc. Never used them personally.

Posted by: invisible at November 20, 2009 9:51 AM in response to shredding papers