How to Fix Common Toilet Issues

Drain unclogging service A clogged toilet is frustrating and potentially dangerous. In order for your toilet to work properly, you will need to clear the clog. The following toilet repair tips can help you out if you find yourself dealing with a clogged toilet.

Recurring Clogs

One of the most common problems with toilets is clogs. A toilet that is used and flushed often is at risk of developing a clog. If your toilet does not flush properly, it can be either partially or completely clogged.

When a toilet is completely clogged, it will fill to the brim or overflow. A partial clog can cause the toilet to slowly drain. With this type of clog waste cannot be flushed; however, the water in the bowl slowly decreases over time. There are several tools that can help to remove a clog. With practice, you can get a toilet unclogged.

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Why Drain Cleaning Is So Important And How Your Home Is Affected By It

A plumber snaking a drain to unclog it

There are water drain lines inside of every house that carry sewage and gray water out of our houses. It is critical for a healthy home to have drain cleaning done to keep the lines flowing and clear.

People too often completely ignore their drains until there is a problem. However by that time, bacteria filled, dirty water has completely soaked your floors, and maybe the walls too, and the damage has been done.

Check The Pipes In Your House

Like so many other aspects of home repair, the best way for residents to keep their families and homes healthy, and unexpected repairs under control, is through proper maintenance. Pipes throughout your house carry waste water out of your house, underneath the home, through your yard, and to the city sewer connection or your septic system eventually. It is very important these the plumbing lines be kept clean, and the drains continue to flow well.

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Backwater Valves Are A Cost-Effective Precaution

One of the nightmares of any homeowner is the idea of sewage coming up from the pipes and surging through sink drain holes, tubs, and toilets, or even filling the basement.

Unfortunately, for some homeowners, this isn’t just a bad dream; it’s a reality that can happen with heavy rainfall that results in minor flooding within an area.

There is, however, a straightforward solution to help prevent that issue in many situations, and it’s not that expensive. It’s called a backwater valve.

How Do Backwater Valves Work?

A backwater valve is installed in your drain pipe at a point that’s close to where the wastewater from your home leaves the building and flows off the property and into the sewage system of your town or city. It’s a simple mechanism that works on the principle of water flow. The valve has a hatch that usually remains open. As water from the home flows out, the hatch stays open, allowing for normal drainage.

However, if heavy rainfall occurs and the sewage system becomes overwhelmed, this can often result in sewer water flowing back up through pipes and into homes, even if the street itself isn’t flooded. Once a backwater valve’s hatch detects water flowing into the house rather than out of it, this reverse flow closes the hatch, preventing sewer water from backing up into the home.

Get The Help Of Experts

This is a relatively inexpensive precaution to prevent sewage backup compared to more elaborate alternatives such as sump pumps and basement/foundation waterproofing, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

However, installing a backwater valve requires expertise. The area may have to be dug into in order to locate a suitable valve location. Once installed, however, this is an excellent first line of defense against low-level flooding from sewers. If this is something you’re interested in, contact us today, and we will find the plumbers who can protect your home against sewage backup.

Why Chemical Drain Cleaners Are Harmful For Your Plumbing

Most chemical drain cleaners contain sulfuric acid or sodium hydroxide (also called lye or caustic soda). These are very corrosive chemicals to metals and organic materials. These chemicals are bases which means they give the clogging substance electrons and the hydroxide ions generate a reaction that clears up the clog. Heat is released by the alkaline chemicals which result in grease turning into a soap-like substance that is easier to dissolve.

Since drain cleaners are a lot heavier than water is, they sink through the standing water that is attached to the clog.

There are other cleaners that contain nitrates, peroxides, and household bleach. Those chemicals cause organic materials that are generating the clog to become oxidized and lose electrons.

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When To Hire A Plumber To Fix Your Clogged Drain

a drain that has been cleaned A clogged drain is always a nuisance. Some of these incidents can be more of a problem than others. Things that go down a drain are usually waste, so they are never pleasant to deal with. The only exception are items you accidentally throw down your drain.

You should call a plumber as soon as you suspect or detect such an issue.

Some people believe they can sort out clogged drain problems by themselves. More often than not they make use of harsh chemicals to unclog those drains. Even though this method is fairly inexpensive and convenient, it is only a temporary fix and it has some negative consequences.

Professional plumbers don’t use chemicals, due to the fact that they are highly corrosive. In time, the frequent use of such corrosive substances may cause severe damage to pipes and septic systems. On long-term, the use of chemicals becomes very expensive, as the replacement of plumbing systems isn’t cheap. Knowing this, it’s easy to understand why you should call a plumber to unclog your drain instead of pouring those pesky chemicals.

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3 Times When You Should Call A Professional

Plumbing work can be simple and straightforward. After all, pipes have no moving parts, so when something like a blockage happens, it is easy to figure out, and the techniques for dealing with it are far from complicated.

However, there are times when a plumbing issue is best handled by professionals. But when are those exactly?

Here are three situations where you should contact a reliable plumber to fix the problem for you.

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Why It is Essential to Keep Drains Clean

A plumber fixing a drain that is clogged You need to take good care of your home so that it can be the best place possible for you and your family.

Keeping your plumbing in top shape is one of the most important things you can do. Drains need to be cleaned on a regular basis to keep them flowing properly and to keep bacteria from growing and causing contamination or illnesses.

If an excess amount of soap scum builds up it can lead to blockages and that can cause costly repairs.

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Helpful Drain Cleaning Pointers

A plumber unclogging a drain pipe under a sink

The possible scenarios are many. Perhaps you are trying to brush your teeth, but quickly discover that the drain is moving far too slowly. Maybe you jump in the shower and quickly wind up standing in a puddle. When these situations arise, your drain probably has a clog.

It is highly advisable to conduct a proper cleaning of your drains no less than every couple of months. Accumulations of dirt, soap, hair and grime can create serious clogs that cause no end of trouble. Utilize the advice that follows as a way to stop drains from getting clogged in the first place or resolving those clogs if they occur.

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Why You Might Need To Have A Drain Cleaning Service

a drain that has been cleaned

In many houses the piping system might be very neglected. Just like appliances, pipes need to be kept clean in order to function optimally. Since intake pipes only carry clean water they don’t pose any problems. However, sewers and drain pipes can get as dirty as you possibly can imagine. Think of everything that goes into sewers and drain pipes. Getting those pipes clean might require a professional drain cleaning service.

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A Guide to Drain Cleaning for the DIY Enthusiast

Cleaning a clogged drain Our homes are the havens of rest and safety where we return after a day in the field, trenches and offices. The safety and convenience of our natural surroundings is easily taken for granted until, quite unexpectedly, the amenities that make our life so great suddenly go on the blink.

One of the most overlooked feature of the home is the indoor plumbing.

The way the wastewater is carried away through the pipes is a marvel of physics and engineering. It takes experience and insight to address issues with this system effectively. With this in mind, let’s look at the topic of drains and how they should be cleaned. As long as water and waste is passing through your pipes there will be a blockage eventually.

The responsibility of keeping these tubes and pipes flowing freely falls on the home occupants and the skills of a reliable plumber.

Regular maintenance ensures that the drains are kept:

Sanitary
Safe
Clean, and
Healthy to those living inside

There are also many signs that drains and pipes are not functioning properly, including:

Water that does not flow down the sink
A foul odors emanating from sewers and pipes
An overflow in the toilets
Stale pools of standing water forming around the home

Drain cleaning is an important treatment that can restore the sewages works and drainage systems that have been affected by a clog. Serious plumbing issues are a more consistent situation in heavily populated regions and cities. If left unaddressed a serious health hazard as well as extensive property damage can ensue.

A clogged drain line can begin to leak in the most unexpected places and locating the site can take time while damage increases. This is why it is important to perform a thorough drain cleaning to avoid the onset of this minor catastrophe.

Do-It-Yourself Drain Cleaning

In one scenario, cleaning your drains can be a minor operation which could even be handled by the novice DIY enthusiast. This involves a simple chemical compound (like Drano) available at your local supplies store. This can be effective at clearing moderately blocked passages and tubes. The strong chemicals can effectively melt the grease, hair and other debris that obstruct the drainage. This is the considered the most basic method of cleaning drains and pipes.

But, drain cleaning is not always addressed with a chemical solution. There are actually a great many tools, agents and implements in a plumber’s tool box that can be unleashed on the most stubborn clog. The home pump is an example of one device that can be used easily on floor drains, kitchen sinks and bathtubs drains.

Drain cleaning is a fairly straightforward task except that it can become especially difficult when the home’s occupants become neglectful about their task. This can lead to inevitable clogs and obstructions that will need hefty reparations to restore. The smallest obstructions can cause major problems as well if they are not addressed promptly.

Most clogs are caused by the following

Hair
Dead Skin Cells and Soap Scum
Oils and Grease
Other debris including paper, pieces of jewelry, plastic and more.

It is most unfortunate when other larger harder materials find their way into the drains. Steel, stones, bones and metals can seriously damage the pipes from the inside and eventually require serious reconstruction.

Drain Snakes and Augers

A handheld drain auger Other implements that can address more serious clogs include drain augers, the plumber’s snake as well as pressurized air or water.

When using these implements and tools to address clog it is essential that all obstructions are removed or the task has not been fully accomplished and will soon present itself in a new and more complex clog.

Many of these tools and implements are very potent or sharp and can inflict serious damage on the home’s plumbing from the inside if wielded by inexperienced “do-it-yourself plumbers”.

If you are not sure you have the capacity to address the clog that presents itself on your home and property, it may be the best idea to call in the professionals. This can help to avoid further drainage issues.