Monday 5 October 2015

Tips for Keeping Your Kitchen Sink Clog Free

Clogged kitchen sinks are a pain for every homeowner. A clogged sink slows down the meal preparing process and the cleanup process as well. Rarely, if ever, does anyone have time for the kitchen sink to back up. Here are some tips that will help keep your drains running smoothly.

It’s best to avoid putting food scraps into the drain. Coffee grounds, cooking grease and fat that you’ve trimmed off meat can accumulate in the drainpipes and lead to blockages. Put a drain strainer in the sink to keep the food out. Always avoid pouring grease or oil down the sink. Grease can lead to a clog because it often sticks to the inside of the pipes. A good habit to get into is to pour a kettle of boiling water once a week into the drain. This will help to melt away any grease or fat that has collected inside the pipes.

Other troublemakers for drains are banana peels, potato skins and eggshells. These food types are thick and/or sticky, and most garbage disposals can’t grind them well. If the food you are considering sending to the disposal is questionable, it’s best just to put it in the trash. Be sure to run cold water when you are using the garbage disposal. The flow of water helps to carry the waste material completely through the drainage system, thus allowing for an unclogged drain.

When sinks are prone to clogs, water alone isn’t usually enough to clean the pipes. A good practice is to use bleach once a month to disinfect the pipes and dissolve clogs. Before you go to bed, pour 12 ounces of bleach down the drain. Let the bleach sit in the pipes. In the morning, flush the drain thoroughly with water from the faucet.

If your preference is to not use chemicals such as bleach, you can get good results by using environmentally friendly, non-toxic household products. When your sink begins to drain slowly or develops a musty odor, pour a half of a cup of baking soda down the drain and then add a half of a cup of vinegar. Cover the drain and let the mixture work for about five minutes. Next, pour several cups of boiling water down the pipe to wash it clean. Vinegar and baking soda combined leave a sanitary sink.

Following these guidelines will help keep your drains free of clogs, but if you find water backing up into your kitchen sink, it’s drain-cleaning time! Please visit the website to learn more about drain cleaning services in Carlsbad.

Maintain Your Water Heater for Safety

A water heater often gets forgotten. However, it needs regular maintenance. Temperature controls, pressure relief valves and vents are just some of the important parts that need to be regularly checked to keep your family safe.


Get Rid of Clogged Pipes and Awful Smells

Dread the drain when it slows. Everyone knows that means a darkening plumbing sky. Sniff the air to confirm what you already expect: the main outlet is starting to clog. Sooner or later it will jam completely, promising a watery wasteland in bathroom and beyond. Skip the drain cleaners and the plunger. It’s time for effective action! Try these.
  • A Bent Wire Clothes Hangar—Straighten it, and then with pliers bend a little hook into one end. Open the drain, hold your nose and start digging. Expect hair clumps and other debris. Always pull up. When finished, sluice all with the hottest water.
  • Vinegar and Baking Soda—Mix one-third cups of the two and immediately dump the solution down the drain. Let it sit awhile, the longer the better. Finish the job with hottest water rinse.
  • Wet/Dry Vacuum—Turn the control to liquid setting and plug the vent tightly. Improvise a seal to fit the end of the hose. Hold the seal firmly against the drain opening and crank the vac to max power. With a little luck debris will end up in its bag.
  • Boiling Water—Simple and virtually foolproof (if you’re careful), this method frequently gets results. Put the boiling water in the largest container you can comfortably maneuver. Pour a portion down the drain, wait a few seconds, then repeat until all the water is gone.
Sometimes it is beneficial to hire an expert rather than trying a DIY solution. Visit this website to find out more about professional drain cleaning services in Santa Cruz.

Clogged Drain Management

When you open a bottle or other container of drain cleaner, your hopes are high. Can unclogging be this easy? Not really. You would do better with boiling water or vinegar and baking soda. Best option of all—call your local plumber!


Reduce High Water Bills by Repairing Slab Leaks

Do you suspect that you could be a victim of a slab leak?  Do you occasionally see water spots on the floor or have unbelievably high water bills?  If yes is the answer to these questions, you should contact an expert immediately. Here is the simplified version of what is required to fix the problem.

Accessing the Slab Leak

Once the location of the leak is detected, the experts will use a jackhammer to break a hole in the plate. The flooring must be removed so that the concrete is exposed. The dirt is then removed to expose the leaking pipes.

Water Lines Repair

Leaks are caused from aging water lines made of copper. Over time, the wear makes holes in the tube that cause the leak. The leaking part has to be cut and replaced with new copper tubing that is soldered to the existing tube.

Sewer Lines Repair

Sewer lines contain toxic human waste and experts are trained in the proper handling of this. Sewer lines require a type of rubber that is connected to the parts of the sewer pipes that are leaking.

Repairing a slab leak is not a job for just anyone. It requires experience and skill so that mistakes and accidents are avoided that could lead to other damage. You’ll be thankful at the end of the month when you receive a reasonable water bill that you selected a competent professional to do the work. Please visit the website for slab leak services in San Marcos.

PHCC Educational Foundation Announces 2015 Scholarship Winners

The Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Educational Foundation is proud to announce the winners of 2015 scholarships awarded through the Foundation. Twenty students were awarded a total of $37,500 in scholarships funded....read more

 

5 Signs Your Home Needs Water Line Repair

Don’t know a thing about your sewer line and what it does? It takes care of the water after you finish with it by draining it into a septic tank or the public sewer. Should it block completely, you and your family will be greatly inconvenienced; all daily routines will be interrupted. To avoid this domestic calamity be alert to these warnings that you sewer line is under duress.

Clogging fixtures are the most common sign of impending trouble. Begin by checking all toilets in your home because their plumbing’s routes to the sewer line are short compared to those of other fixtures. They are also wider, so slow emptying there is an early warning of a clog. Next, look at all tubs and showers. Because they are found on a plane below sinks, slow draining and water buildup occurs there first.

The second sign is unaccustomed water behavior. This means things like water from toilet flushing backing up into the shower and a slow-emptying sink that affects toilet water level.  Gurgling or bubbling in the toilet bowl, too, means difficulties ahead.

The third sign is washing machine operation making toilets overflow. This means the main drain might be blocked. If the toilets empty correctly while the washing machine operates, the latter may need repair. Should you be lucky enough to have a main line clean out—an opening or passage in the sewer line that leads into a place that needs occasional cleaning—take off the cap and study the water flow. No water moving upward means no clog. Standing water means a problem looms.

Study your trees and the direction of the main sewer line. How old is the line? How old are the trees? You may be looking at the fourth sign of line blockage—tree roots, the number one reason for drain failure. In the case of older homes, roots can, over time, actually crush older fired clay pipe. If your home’s drains are gradually slowing, it’s a likely bet that roots are the root of the problem.

You can search for the final sign by doing a little work. If you’re still not sure if the clog is in the main drain or elsewhere, run a manual or powered snake into the drains leading to sinks, toilets, tubs, showers and any other plumbed fixtures. If they are all clog-free, the culprit is the main drain.

If these signs tell you your sewer drain is blocked or nearly so, it’s time to call in a professional cleaning expert. For information and advice concerning main sewer line repair in Carlsbad area, visit this website.

New Monthly Plumbing Quiz: Pipes And Valves

This month the focus of our plumbing quiz is pipes and valves. While it's just 10 questions long, these are questions most every novice plumber should be able to answer.....read more

3 Reasons to Quickly Get Rid of Mold From Your House

Mold can grow anywhere given the right food supply and enough moisture. Of course it disfigures everything it touches—shower walls, damp wood, drywall, siding, darkening and staining as it goes. Worse, mold is a catalyst that brings illness into the home. Avoid the temptation to delay confronting an infestation. There are very good health reasons to hit the accelerator when mold arrives. 
  • Mold attacks the respiratory tact—In a 2004 study the Institute of Medicine reported evidence of a significant link between mold and upper respiratory symptoms, such as coughing and wheezing. Asthma sufferers experienced an increase in attack frequency and those with chronic pneumonia-like illnesses were also beset with asthma symptoms. Other studies point the finger at the relationship between children’s early mold exposure and the onset of asthma. 
  • Molds provoke mycoplasma infections—These mold-linked microscopic organisms most frequently attack teenagers and young adults. Droplets spread by coughing and sneezing transmit them. Victims experience high temperatures, bronchitis, headache and fatigue. Often family members pass the disease around at home and then carry it off to school and work. This mold-originating vexation is often called “walking pneumonia,” asit can persist for as long as a month. 
  • Mold can cause brain damage—Molds are the source of mycotoxins that affect the human nervous system. These powerful poisons enter the body at will and frequently lodge first in the sinus then, if untreated, go on to attack the brain.
Don’t fool around tryingto clean with vinegar and bleach. Serious infestations need professional attention. For mold removal plumber in Escondido area, visit this website.
 

Best Left to the Pros

Maintenance on major appliances is often best performed by those who do it for a living. In this photo, a technician employs specialized equipment in the course of servicing a residential air conditioning unit.


Keeping Your Air Conditioner Safe in the Off-Season

When summer finally comes to a close and it’s time to start giving your furnace some work instead, it’s important you don’t forget to prep your air conditioner for the off-season. By taking a few basic steps at the end of the warmer months, your A/C unit should remain safe and protected so that when the heat rolls back around, you’ll be ready.

Winter Cleaning

If spring’s the season for scrubbing down the inside of your home, winter’s the season your air conditioning unit gets the royal treatment. Take care to remove sticks, leaves, and other debris from in and around your air conditioner, and give it about a foot of space on each side to breathe. Don’t forget to clean out your filters!

Coil Care

Your A/C utilizes coils to send cooled air into your home, and caring for them is an important element of general maintenance. Refer to your owner’s manual for proper cleaning and care instructions to make sure your coils are ready for action next season.

Seal of Quality

If your air conditioner is a window-mounted unit, be sure to take a second look at the seals around its edges. A compromised seal impacts your home’s insulation, allowing heat in during the summer and letting it out in the cold season.

Consult the Pros

For surefire confidence, let the professionals get your appliance all set for the season. Please visit this website for more information about air conditioning services in Oceanside.

A New Angle on Sewer Line Repair

You may be able to clear a clogged drain yourself, but repairing underground lateral sewer like this one requires a professional plumbing company with specialized tools.