Month: March 2020

The slab leak is a common problem in home plumbing, and unfortunately, it’s one of the most difficult to notice at first. The reason is right in the name: the leaks come from pipes that are buried down in the granite slab foundation of a home. A pipe could leak for months before it begins to show overt signs of what’s happening, and by that point, it will have wasted large amounts of water and inflicted damage to the building.

If you believe you have a slab leak, emergency plumbers in Surprise, AZ can help out. The job can sometimes be done without needing to excavate to reach the leak, but no matter what, you’ll have to have experts doing the work.

How You May Notice a Slab Leak

A slab leak does leave some clues to its existence that you can pick up. Some are easy to pass over as not serious, but it always pays to be safe. Below are some of the slab leak symptoms that can clue you in.

• Water heater acts oddly: This may at first seem like a strange symptom of a pipe leak in the foundation, but it’s one of the major warnings. Around 80% of slab leaks occur in the hot water pipes (mostly because hot water pipes rattle around more), and this will lead to the water heater turning on at times when it normally wouldn’t. An unaccounted rise in water heating bills can also indicate a problem.
• Hot floors, warped floorboards: Few homes in Arizona have basements, so the slab leaks will often start occurring right under the ground floor of your house. A hot zone on the floor is a big warning. Noticing warped floorboards and doors that can’t close properly also indicate water damage rising from below.
• Water pooling: This is a major sign, and usually means the slab leak is large. When you see water pooling anywhere in your house where it makes no sense, call for an emergency plumber right away.
• Mold and mildew: Leaking water from below the house will raise humidity and create a fertile ground for mold and mildew to grow. Watch out for patches of either appearing along floor corners and around the baseboards.

Emergency Plumber to the Rescue

Yes, a slab leak is an emergency. The sooner it’s stopped, the better—and the consequences can be extreme for a home. A slab leak can lead to expensive structural repairs if it continues. The damage from mold and mildew is costly to remediate. The water waste can be tremendous.

An emergency plumber will do the important job of locating where the leak is occurring. Professional plumbers use special equipment that narrows down the location so it takes less time to get to the repair. It may be necessary to excavate using power equipment to reach the leaking pipe, but there are also lateral solutions that can be done without much structural change.

Leave the service to us, and we’ll see that your slab leak is resolved fast and right.

The Trusted Plumber serves Glendale, AZ and the surrounding areas. Call us for emergency plumbing and we’ll be there!

This post first appeared on https://www.thetrustedplumber.com

Clogged pipes? 

Read More

There’s never a better time to check on the condition of your home’s plumbing than after winter is in the rearview mirror. When you begin spring cleaning, make sure you give the following parts of your plumbing system the attention they deserve:

• Inspect your sump pump: Is your sump pump ready for spring rains? Check the pump to make sure it’s working by filling the tank with water and waiting for the pump to turn on. Fix any problems right away to prevent flooding in your basement.
• Check exposed piping: During the winter, it’s not unusual for pipes to crack as a result of the constant heating and cooling. Give these pipes a thorough inspection and fix any cracks to prevent pinhole leaks. 
• Check your outdoor faucets: Before you use your garden hose for the first time, check the outdoor hose bibs for signs of damage. These fixtures were exposed to cold temperatures and may have developed cracks. Replace the bibs if there’s any sign of damage to prevent leaks. 
• Check water pressure: Have you noticed your water pressure is lower than usual? It’s possible there’s a water leak in a hidden pipe. Call a plumber to test for hidden leaks and fix any issues right away. 
• Clear debris from floor drains: Do you have items stored around the floor drains in your basement or garage? Clear the area and make sure there aren’t any items obstructing the drain. 

In addition to doing your own plumbing checks, it’s also a good idea to make an appointment with licensed plumbers in Pittsburgh to give your home a complete plumbing inspection. At Stahl Plumbing, we believe everyone deserves to have working plumbing 24/7. If you had problems with any part of your plumbing system during the winter, these problems won’t go away with warmer weather. Let our team of experts repair or replace faulty plumbing parts, and you’ll enjoy hassle-free showers, baths, cooking, cleaning, and more!

To schedule a service call, pick up the phone and call us today at (412) 273-1000!

The post Spring Plumbing: Critical Tips to Save You from Disaster appeared first on Stahl Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning.

Does your shower head produce a gentle drizzle instead of a vigorous driving rain? Do minutes pass when you fill your measuring cup from the kitchen sink faucet? There can be numerous reasons your water pressure is low – and your municipal water utility may not necessarily be the cause! Our team of state-certified master plumbers at Adams and Son Plumbing want you to be knowledgeable about the basic workings of residential plumbing systems, so we’re playing professor this month. Don’t worry – there’s no test at the end! But you will be better able to troubleshoot to determine the cause, and if you need to call a pro.

How does water go through your house?

To understand low water pressure issues, it’s important to know how water goes through your house.

Every building that receives municipal water has a water main of its own. The main line of your house is near the edge of your property. Your home receives pressurized water directly from the pumping station through this line. Typically, there is enough pressure applied to the water so it reaches your home without any problem.  

But if your house is too far away from the water station, you might experience some pressure problems in your locality. By the time water reaches your house, the water pressure slows down substantially due to lack of force, and you could face low water pressure. Should this be the case, you can have a pump installed on your main line to provide the extra thrust to the water so that it reaches your home with an adequate amount of pressure.

Once the water reaches your water main, it makes its way into your house through a large pipe, which is ¾ inches or more in diameter. The pipe that carries water to your house from the main line is the water, or supply line. The supply line runs under the foundation of your house, and usually, these pipes are made of plastic, galvanized iron or copper.

The water main line goes to your water heater, but before connecting to the water heater, it branches off into two paths – hot and cold service lines.

After splitting from the main line, the cold service line radiates away from the water heater. All your water appliances receive cold water through cold water service lines. For smooth flow of water, professionals install the pipes in one of these ways – in straight lines, at 90-degree angles, or in a slight downward slope.

Every water appliance has an intake pipe of its own that supplies cold water to all your cold-water outlets. Since you have cold water outlets all over your home, these pipes run throughout your home.

The other part of the water main enters the water heater where it gets heated. From the water heater, the hot water goes to other hot water outlets in your home. Both the hot water service lines and cold water service lines run parallel to each other.

When you open your sink’s faucet, the water from one of the service lines starts flowing from it. All the water outlets in your home that have a hot and cold-water setting have intake pipes connected to the hot and cold-water supply lines. These two intake pipe connections make sure that all your water outlets receive hot and cold water.

Suffering from low water pressure?

As mentioned earlier, most people are quick to blame their water utility, but there are many other reasons for low water pressure. Writing for The Spruce, licensed plumber Aaron Stickley lists common causes for this frustrating situation, and what you need to check.  

• The water meter – See if your water meter valve is fully open. If the low water pressure problem is due to this, you can open it completely to resolve the issue.
• The main house shut-off valve – If it is not open completely, do so.
• The pressure regulator or pressure-reducing valve – A defective pressure regulator can also cause low water problems. You need to replace it.
• Old steel pipes – They could be corroding, which causes clogging that slows the flow of water. Replace the pipes.  

Things to try to increase the pressure

Also as mentioned earlier, in most cases, low water pressure results from clogged pipes. However, if you’ve had your pipes replaced recently or live in a newer house, there are a few simple remedies you could try.

You can check the shutoff valves and open them completely. You can find out the regular water pressure in your area from your local water utility and check the water pressure yourself. In most cases, the reading should be between 45 psi to 55 psi. A reading below 40 psi indicates a problem. Use a pressure gauge (available at any home improvement center). If you have no confidence in your DIY skills, call a plumber to check it for you.

Family Handyman provides a step-by-step process for checking the pressure and DIY measures to boost low water pressure. We’ve summarized it here, but we recommend reading the article itself.

If your water pressure is less than 40 psi, you need to check the pressure-reducing valve. If you have a pressure-reducing valve on your water main, check its condition. Pressure-reducing valves come preset at 50 psi, but you also have the option to increase or decrease the pressure. You can adjust the screw to increase the water pressure. But if it doesn’t solve your problem, and your pressure-reducing valve is more than 10 to 12 years old, you might have to replace the valve. The average life of a pressure-reducing valve is anywhere between 10 to 20 years. With some basic plumbing knowledge, you can change the valve yourself. If you’re not confident in your ability to do so, call a plumber.

You can use a water pressure booster system to increase the pressure. In order to do this, you should have a ¾ inch (or larger) water main pipe of copper or plastic. The water pressure booster increases the water pressure with the help of an electric pump and a pressure tank. You can adjust the water pressure with a dial on top so that you start getting water at ideal pressure between 45 psi – 55 psi. You need not run the pump every time you open a faucet because the tank in the water pressure booster holds pressurized water, allowing you to get the right pressure.  Also, even if you and your family members open more than one faucet at a time, the pressure booster ensures the right pressure in all of your fixtures.

Our master plumbers at Adams and Son Plumbing believe the more you know about basic plumbing care and maintenance, the better you’ll be able to recognize when it’s time to call a professional to prevent even more serious damage and major expense. We’ve proudly served Central Florida homes and businesses with the highest level of quality and experience for over 60 years. We are family-owned and operated, and all of our plumbers are state-certified master plumbers. Contact us to get – and keep – your home’s plumbing in top repair.

The post What to Do If Your Water Flow is Slow appeared first on Adams and Son Plumbing Services.

This post first appeared on http://www.atozstatewideplumbing.com

Sure, you could read the title of this blog post and panic because nobody wants the worst problems possible to be occurring in their furnace. However, we’d like to offer a positive spin on this news as finding out there’s a problem with your furnace and dealing with it might be a better scenario than many homeowners might think.

While furnace repair in West Orange, NJ can often be a drag because it costs money and involves having a professional perform a service, it can ultimately save you money and keep you safe. This is exactly why we want to get to the bottom of your furnace repairs, no matter how bad they might be.

So buckle up, turn on the light in your basement and take a good, hard look at your furnace as you read ahead!

Serious Repairs to Consider

There shouldn’t be a problem with your heater that goes unaddressed. We need to start at step one and make sure your heater is functioning safely and effectively, so the worst-case scenario doesn’t happen. So, give our team a call immediately if you think you’ve got the following taking place.

• Strange noises. This is the first perturbing issue that should be addressed quickly. Furnaces are supposed to function quietly, and a furnace that makes noises while it operates could quickly become a safety hazard or fail to heat your home properly. No matter what the sound is or how “used to it” you are, give our team a call today and make sure to shut off your natural gas line.
• No heat at all. This is a pretty catastrophic problem, especially during the season where we’re still using our furnaces! If your heater isn’t working, there is absolutely something wrong with it and it must be addressed immediately. Don’t hesitate, call our team today. No matter what the underlying problem causing the issue is, you need a heater that works properly.
• Pilot light problems. Do you have a pilot light that’s orange, yellow, or flickering? While that’s normally fine for an outdoor fireplace during the summer, that could signal some seriously bad news for a heater during the winter. Pilot light problems could signify a carbon monoxide leak, or a crack in your system which isn’t much better of a situation.
• High heating bills. Not all of us have the luxury of spending thousands of dollars a year to heat our homes. In fact, we often pay too much as it is to keep the heat on, and you’ll find many homeowners that agree with this sentiment. However, high heating bills can signify that there’s something wrong with your furnace, and it’s worth hiring a professional to take a look.

Call the Pros

While we encourage you to know more about your furnace and to take a good look every once in awhile, we don’t encourage you to open it up and try fixing anything yourself. Gas furnaces are dangerous and must only be worked on by trained professionals—like us!

Call MarGo Plumbing Heating Cooling Inc. today for your furnace repairs!

This post first appeared on https://margoplumbing.com

There’s nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night to a burst pipe or an overflowing toilet. In fact, no plumbing issue, no matter how seemingly small, is fun to deal with. That’s why some plumbing companies (like us) offer emergency plumbing services!

There are plenty of issues that emergency plumbers can help you with, and below, we have outlined some of them for you. All you have to do is deep reading to find out more, and of course, remember to call us when you need a plumber in Orlando, FL.

We Can Help You With…

There are plenty of issues an emergency plumber can resolve:

The Overflowing Toilet

Woah! Your toilet is overflowing! This definitely constitutes as a plumbing emergency. An overflowing toilet is not only inconvenient, but it also leads to severe water damage if it isn’t taken care of right away. If your toilet looks more like Niagara Falls than it does a toilet, then it is definitely time to pick up a phone and call an emergency plumber.

The Clogged Sink

Sure, a minor sink clog is usually something that can be cleared out with a plunger or a hand-cranked drain snake. But, if these tools are unable to resolve the problem, it might be best to call in your local plumber. We have the tools to help get rid of even the worst clogs imaginable. Trust us, you don’t want to wait if your drains aren’t draining properly.

No Hot Water

A lack of hot water is definitely one of the worst things that can happen in your home! Not only is it super inconvenient, but it is also a detriment to your comfort! A loss of hot water can certainly be enough to ruin your day, so if this happens to you, be sure to contact an emergency plumber ASAP!

A Blocked Sewer Line

A blocked main sewer line is definitely a cause for concern, as its primary responsibility is to remove wastewater from your home. Not only are problems with your main sewer line quite stinky, but they can also lead to all sorts of other issues, like water damage and a soggy backyard.

A Burst Pipe

A burst pipe is definitely a plumbing emergency, as even the smallest leak can lead to the largest of damages. You want to be sure that you call a plumber straight away if one of the pipes in your home is leaking.

Please, Call in a Professional

We can bet that your first instinct is to scour the internet for quick-fixes and how-to guides when you’ve got an emergency plumbing situation on your hands. However, we highly recommend you stay away from DIY plumbing repairs and call a professional plumber instead. Most online fixes are temporary and are often ineffective. Plus, without the right tools, you could end up making the problem worse. Only a trained professional plumber has the skill and knowledge to get the job done right.

Need an emergency plumber? Look no further than the experts at Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. Call us today!

This post first appeared on https://www.modernpi.com

You’ve shoveled the last snow, stored the winter gear, and can’t wait to switch your HVAC system from HEAT to COOL. Not so fast! Before turning on the AC for the first day of the cooling season, read about the signs your system needs a tune-up. All HVAC systems let homeowners know it’s time routine AC service in Pittsburgh, PA, so don’t ignore your cues.

You Can’t Get Cool

When your air conditioner blows nothing more than warm air, it’s time to a tune-up. You may have a dirty condenser unit. The condenser unit sits outside your home, where dirt can build up on the condenser coils. Dirt buildup and debris inside the unit can prevent your AC from working correctly. Condenser coils need annual cleaning if you expect them to work efficiently. It’s part of your annual HVAC inspection and tune-up.

Your System Never Stops Running

Once you’re in the swing of summer and enjoying your cool home, you may notice your system starts up more often and then doesn’t want to stop running. You might also notice it takes longer than it should to cool off your home. Sometimes a faulty blower motor or bad coils make an AC unit misbehave. Your HVAC tech will check these parts when they take care of your annual tune-up.

Something Feels Off with Your Thermostat

If your home feels too warm or too cold even though you’ve set your thermostat to the temperature you want, you should get a whole AC system tune-up. The thermostat might seem like a small thing, but it plays a significant role in heating and cooling performance. It’s the command center for your HVAC system, and if it’s not calibrated correctly, it sends confusing messages to your AC, making it turn on and off at the wrong time. One of the items on most HVAC tune-up checklists is thermostat calibration.

Higher than Expected Energy Bills

Last summer, were your cooling bills higher than usual? If you can’t explain the increase with more hot days or prolonged use of the AC, it’s a sign. If you’re like a lot of homeowners, winter crept up, and you go busy. Instead of wondering if you’ll need to budget even more money for cooling this summer, why not schedule your tune-up before the heat hits? If it’s nothing more than a dirty air filter, or some other minor repair, you’ve saved yourself some money and can go on a longer vacation.

You Missed Your Tune-Up Last Year

Missing routine maintenance last year is one of the most critical signs that you need a tune-up now. Annual inspections, filter changes, and cleanings all keep your AC running efficiently and can even extend the life of your system. If you’re ready for a tune-up or need to schedule AC repair in Pittsburgh, PA, contact the team at Stahl Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning. We’re always happy to help customers prepare early for the summer season.

 

The post Signs It’s Time for Your Home AC Tune-Up appeared first on Stahl Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning.

We know that readers usually come to our blog for informative and educational posts about the systems and services that we offer. However, as is the case across the country and the globe right now, there is one topic at the forefront of our minds. That is COVID-19, or the Coronavirus. 

We understand that homeowners everywhere are exercising extreme caution when it comes to mitigating the chance of exposure to this virus in their homes. Trust us, we are doing the same in ours. And we promise you that every member of our team will take these same precautions when working in your home and on your property. 

If you have an appointment scheduled with The Trusted Plumber, rest assured that we’ll continue to provide you with the exceptional service that you deserve in this uncertain and trying time, and that we’ll do so while making your health and safety our top priority. 

Our entire staff is well aware that prevention starts at their homes, that it continues in the workplace, and that it extends into the residences of our valued clients. They have the information and supplies that they need to do their jobs while protecting both themselves and the clients that they serve.

If you have any questions or concerns about your upcoming appointment, or if you are thinking about booking an appointment but want to know more about our specific preventative measures, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our team.

This post first appeared on https://www.thetrustedplumber.com

Do you remember the first time you used a wet wipe instead of toilet paper? At first, you weren’t sure how to feel about it, but after a few more trips to the bathroom — you were hooked! While they might do a great job with the cleanup, they aren’t exactly the hero we thought they were when we first bought them. The packaging of these wipes do say “flushable,” but are they really safe to flush?

The Breakdown

Wet wipes are marketed as “flushable” and “septic-safe,” so there should be no problem with flushing them down the toilet, right? Wrong! Even though these wipes do eventually break down, they take a longer amount of time to do so compared to toilet paper. Since the breakdown of wet wipes aren’t as rapid, clogged pipes and blockages occur more frequently. Putting your home’s plumbing at risk for serious clogs translates to hefty plumbing bills for you.

Ragging

After these so called “flushable” wipes are flushed, they can get caught up with other items that are currently in your sewer line. Thick toilet paper, paper towels, cotton swabs, dental floss, sanitary pads, and toilet cleaning pads are all commonly flushed items that contribute to clogs and backups.

The combination of these items with wet wipes will create a mess of a blockage known as “ragging.” When this happens to you, break out your cell phone and start your search to find a plumber.

What to Do?

Manufacturers provide test results stating that flushable wipes are deemed safe to flush — however, there is evidence that supports the flushing of these wipes can increase the risk of clogged sewer lines and require pumping of septic tanks more often. Even though wipes might feel like the greatest invention since sliced bread, you should opt out of using them. Toilet paper is meant to be the ONLY thing flushed — other than “the obvious.”

Just because someone says something, doesn’t always make it true. That same principle applies to your beloved “flushable” bathroom wipes and their deceptive packaging. When your home is experiencing frequent clogs (whether you use wet wipes or not), there is an underlying problem that needs to be addressed. Len The Plumber is always ready for your call, whether the clog is big or if it’s small! To learn more or to schedule an appointment, give us a call at (800) 950-4619.

This post first appeared on https://lentheplumber.com