Purchasing a New Water Heater: Gas or Electric?

August 12th, 2013 Posted in Water Heaters
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The answer to this question, if based solely on energy costs, can vary greatly depending upon where you live. In some regions, natural gas is cheaper than electricity whereas in other areas, the opposite is true. Generally, when it comes to heating water, gas heaters cost less because they are more energy efficient in heating water faster and using less energy in doing so. Left alone, the efficiency of gas heat may persuade you to purchase a gas heater rather than an electric one. However, there are a number of other reasons why you may consider purchasing an electric water heater.

A primary consideration for some is safety. The chances of an explosion from a gas leak and its resulting damage is far greater than any risks associated with electric wiring. Another enticing factor for those who are cost conscience is the ability to install a timer on an electric tank, limiting power consumption to off-peak times. Electric heaters do not require the venting of exhaust through PVC tubing. Gas heaters have space requirements to prevent the buildup of gases; whereas, an electric tank heater can be installed in small, unventilated spaces. The lifespan of an electric water heater is generally greater than a gas water heater. The purchase price of electric heaters is lower than gas heaters of the same size. Electric water heaters also do not have a pilot light to worry about.

It should be noted that new technology has also made improvements into the world of water heaters with options such as solar and tankless systems. Your local plumbing contractor will be well informed of all the pros and cons of various systems, so as to best assist you with the right purchase for your individual needs.

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How to Install a Garbage Disposal

August 12th, 2013 Posted in Garbage Disposals
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Installing your own garbage disposal can be a fairly difficult task, depending on your own skills and experience, the size of your sink and cabinetry, as well as whether or not you also have a dishwasher. As with most home appliance purchases, step-by-step instructions, along with all the necessary parts, are usually supplied. Of course, reading and following instructions can be the difficult part for some home installers.

Disconnect and remove the p-trap and horizontal extension pipes under your sink. As your disposal will replace the strainer body in the sink, remove it. Separate the mounting assembly from the disposal, loosening the screws and remove the snap ring. After placing plumber’s putty around the drain opening, insert the new sink flange into place. From under the sink, install the mounting assembly. If you are also using a dishwasher, you will find a knockout plug on the disposal that needs to be tapped out.

Turn off all electrical power before removing the electrical cover plate and make sure that your disposal is grounded. Make the electrical connections and replace the plate to cover the wires. Align the disposal with the mounting assembly and lock into place. Install the discharge tube, turning it until it aligns with the drain trap. If applicable, connect the dishwasher tube to the disposal. Once everything is installed and in position, the disposal should be tested for leaks. Restore electrical power and test its operation.

If you are not experienced with this type of installation or are not comfortable that you have the plumbing as well as electrical skills needed, it is probably your best interests to have your local plumber do the garbage disposal installation.  You can be sure the job is done right and enjoy years of trouble free operation. Furthermore, some local building codes may require a licensed electrician to make the electrical connections.

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Drain Clog: When to Call a Plumber?

August 12th, 2013 Posted in Drains, Uncategorized
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Nothing can be more frustrating than a clogged drain, whether it’s in the kitchen sink or bathroom toilet. Of course, this always happens at the most inconvenient time. How do you know when your clog requires the expertise of a plumber? If only a single fixture is clogged and the rest of your drains seem to be draining well, then the clog is close to the clogged fixture and you may be able to unclog it yourself.   Avoid caustic drain cleaners – these can damage your pipes, cause chemical burns, and if the clog does not respond, you will be left with a sink or toilet full of caustic chemicals.   Some clogs will quickly loosen with the use of a plunger or a household drain snake. If all of your efforts fail to unstop the clog, call a plumber.

If more than one fixture in your home is clogged, you may be experiencing a main sewer line clog. The main sewer line is the line through which all of your plumbing exits your home, either to the city’s municipal sewer system or your private septic system. If you are seeing dirty water backing up from more than one fixture at the same time, this is a clear indication of a main line clog. For instance, when the water drains out of your washing machine, it may back up into a sink or toilet. In the lowest level of your home, a floor drain may back up when an interior toilet is flushed.

If these types of “system-wide” backups are occurring, you should call a reputable local plumber to have the problem repaired.  Your plumber will be equipped with commercial grade sewer snakes, high pressure hydro-jetting equipment, and other professional drain cleaning equipment.  They can clear the clog without damaging your system and may also be able to advise you on how to prevent future problems.

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Replacing Your Kitchen Sink and Faucet

August 12th, 2013 Posted in Kitchen Sinks
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Nothing can spruce up a kitchen like a new sink and faucet. If it’s been a while since you’ve shopped for sinks, you’ll be surprised and pleased by the many options available. Stainless steel sinks are still a good choice. Many people seem to like the look of porcelain but they are not impact resistant and are susceptible to breaking. Some sinks today are made of a composite material of granite combined with resins; these sinks are resistant to chips, cracks, heat and stains. When shopping for your new sink, make sure that it is the same size as your old sink or slightly larger; and deep enough to accommodate large pots.

Turn off the water, loosen the slip-nuts on the drain, and disconnect any plumbing hookups, including those to a dishwasher or garbage disposal. Unscrew any mounting clips under the sink and break through the sealant around the edge of the sink. Lift out the old sink and set it aside. Before actually installing your new sink, make sure that everything fits and that all the connections can be made. While the sink is still out of the countertop, attach the faucet, supply lines and basket strainer to the sink. Apply silicone sealant around the edges of the sink opening in the countertop. With the lines attached, lower the new sink into position. Tighten the new mounting clips on the underside of the sink after it is in place.

Reconnect the supply tubes, or water lines, to the shutoffs. Turn the water supply back on and check that your faucet is operating correctly. Make sure to allow the silicone sealant to set for several hours before using. A little overwhelmed with the process? Contact your local plumbing professional to ensure a professional kitchen sink installation.

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Refrigerator Water Line Repair

August 12th, 2013 Posted in Water Line Repair
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How frustrating, especially in the heat of summer, to have a refrigerator that should be making ice and supplying cold water, but doesn’t. For some unknown reason, repairing the water line to the refrigerator is just one of those nuisance kind of things that we neglect until we no longer remember that the refrigerator is supposed to make ice. Correcting a leak or changing a water line is a simple project that you can do for yourself. You can purchase a new refrigerator water line in plastic, braided steel or copper. You’ll want to measure the distance from your refrigerator to the water line to make sure that you have enough length.

Pull the refrigerator out from the wall and find the water valve shutoff, which should be directly behind or close to the refrigerator. Turn off the water supply to the refrigerator. If you cannot easily locate the water valve, you may have to trace the existing line coming from the refrigerator, as it is possible that when your home was built a refrigerator water line wasn’t in the plan at that time. With the proper sized wrench, disconnect the old water line from the refrigerator and the water source. Connect the new line back to the refrigerator and the water source.

If you have just purchased a new refrigerator with water and ice dispensing features, and your old refrigerator did not have those amenities, you may discover that your home was not plumbed for a refrigerator water line. If this is the case, you will want to call your local plumbing professional to have a water line to your refrigerator installed.

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Drain Clog Getting You Down?

August 1st, 2013 Posted in Clearing Clogged Pipes
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Nothing can stop up business in the kitchen quicker than a clogged drain. Normally, if there is only one fixture clogged, your first choice would be a typical drain cleaner that can remove obstacles that tend to accumulate close to the drain opening (like hair and grease).

Most common drain cleaners you could use would be a chemical drain cleaner readily available at most retail stores, a plunger, a handheld auger or air burst drain cleaners.  However, you can damage your drain pipes if you are not careful and you may be better off calling a plumber to remove the clog.  Caustic chemicals can harm the inside of your pipes and can splash on you, causing burns on exposed skin.  Augers can get stuck in a clogged drain making matters worse and air burst drain cleaners can cause weak pipe joints to separate.

If more than one drain is slow or clogged, it is possible that you’re experiencing a clog in your main sewer line connecting the building to your city’s sewer system or to you septic system. Repairing these types of clogs is best left to a plumbing professional.  Your plumber is equipped with professional drain cleaning equipment such as heavy duty sewer snakes or high pressure hydro-jetting equipment that can clear tough sewer line clogs.   He can also use a high-tech video camera to inspect the inside of the sewer line to determine the cause of the clog.

As you can see, there are several methods to address the drain clog, and all have their own advantages and disadvantages. Should the problem persist or become repetitious, contact your local plumbing professional for an inspection of the building’s plumbing system.

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Time to Replace the Toilet?

August 1st, 2013 Posted in Toilets
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While you are certainly able to replace the toilet yourself, your local building codes may prohibit anyone but a licensed plumber from doing it. Before starting on a toilet replacement, contact your local plumbing professional to see if this is really something that you can or even want to do yourself. You just may decide on letting the expert plumber perform the work on this one.

Before you even purchase a new toilet, much less remove the old one, you will want to measure the distance from the wall behind the toilet bowl to the center of the toilet floor drain, to ensure that the replacement toilet that you get will fit into the same space. Shut off the water supply, remove all the water from the tank and bowl of the existing toilet. Disconnect the tank from the wall, if necessary, and the bowl; remove and set it aside. Disconnect the bowl from the floor hold-down bolts, plug the drain hole with a rag to prevent backup of sewer gases, then lift the bowl straight up to remove it. Inspect the uncovered drain and clear it if necessary. Check the floor and if any has been rotted, rebuild it before installing the new toilet.

On the water outlet opening on the bottom of the new bowl, install a new sealer ring using toilet bowl setting compound around the base edge of the bowl. Remove the drain plug and place the new toilet bowl down over the flange while guiding the bolts. Press down to seat the wax ring and make sure the bowl is level. Tighten the bolts, reattach the tank, and reconnect the water supply after ensuring that the ballcock assembly is attached correctly.

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The Importance of Cleaning Your Grease Trap

August 1st, 2013 Posted in Grease Trap Cleaning
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By its very name, we already know the function of a grease trap. However, like a septic tank, a grease trap also separates water from the grease when it solidifies as it cools. The water then can pass through a regular drain as normal but the solid grease remains. Trapping the grease helps to prevent sewer blockages that could result in sewage overflows, damage and extensive repairs. It should go without saying that, given the nature of accumulating grease, this system needs to be maintained (cleaned or pumped) in order to continue working effectively. For the best results, it is recommended that your grease trap be thoroughly cleaned about every 90 days, in order to minimize odors and prevent overflow.

While this is certainly something that can be done by the business owner, it can be messy and time consuming. Furthermore, government and environmental regulations for the disposal of wastewater are stringent. EPA requires that grease traps remain clutter-free and functional; failure to comply with EPA standards in this regard can be a criminal offense. Given these requirements, grease trap cleaning should be a regular part of a facility’s maintenance routine and is probably best done by pumping professionals.

In staying abreast of current regulations, your local grease pumping professional can ensure your compliance, avoiding potentially costly fines or penalties for illegal dumping or groundwater contamination. Additionally, most commercial grease pumping service companies have disposal alternatives that effectively recycle the waste into usable bio fuel. Your grease pumping professional will also record, according to EPA standards, the result of fatty oils and grease (FOG) pumped out. In fact, most companies will keep documentation of the complete history of your trap grease to ensure that its disposal is handled properly and according to acceptable regulatory standards.

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Commercial Septic Pumping Services

August 1st, 2013 Posted in Septic Systems
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Much like rural or residential septic tanks, a commercial septic system is a self-contained, private form of wastewater treatment. It is simply a large concrete or steel tank buried in the ground. Wastewater from the commercial facility flows into one end of a large holding tank buried in the ground, wherein the solids and liquid are separated, with the solids either floating to the top or their weight carrying them to the bottom. When new wastewater enters the tank, the previously separated water is then pushed out from the tank into a drain field, where it is slowly filtered and absorbed back into the ground soil. Gases from the bacteria in the tank naturally help to continue breaking down the remaining organic solids. However, eventually these solids, like a residential system, do need to be pumped out.

Your local sewer and septic pumping service company can usually provide commercial services that include sewer and septic repair and installation, in addition to commercial septic pumping. Unlike a residential septic system, a commercial septic system requires septic tank pumping more often. The amount of times a septic system needs to be pumped depends on the size of a business size of the septic tank, volume and speed of wastewater flow, as well as the quantity of debris within the wastewater. On average, your commercial septic tank will probably require pumping about every three months.

Most pumping service companies will also set you up with a schedule of planned maintenance to make sure your trap and lines flow without restraint. Such routine maintenance service will prevent bad odors and safety concerns associated with a defective grease trap.

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Unclog That Toilet!

August 1st, 2013 Posted in Toilets
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How frustrating and sometimes messy or embarrassing is a clogged toilet? Worse, it never seems to happen at an opportune time but, rather, at the time when you are most in a hurry. Fortunately, most toilet clogs can be cleared relatively easily with a hand plunger, just make sure that enough water remains in the bowl to cover the rubber end of the plunger. If not enough water remains in the bowl, do not reflush the tank as the clogged bowl will then overflow. It is better to transport additional water in a bucket or pan from the sink in order to cover the plunger cup. When there is sufficient water in the bowl, pump the plunger to remove the plug.

If the plunger is ineffective, you may next try a closet auger, which has a long sleeve to guide the snake with a hook into the toilet’s water trap. After inserting the auger into the toilet trap, turn it until it feels tight. This is a sign that the snake has twisted into the blockage. Whatever is clogging the toilet should, then, be removed when you pull in the auger. Should this attempt achieve unsatisfactory results, you may need to resort to a regular plumber’s snake because it reaches a greater distance.

Should all efforts at removal fail, the toilet itself may need to be removed from the floor. This is not an easy task and perhaps you may wish to contact your local plumbing professional for further help with this problem. Rather than struggle through the process yourself, your plumbing contractor can quickly and cost effectively have you back in good running order in no time.

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