FAQs

When a foul odor permeates your house, it usually means that the trap has evaporated. These traps use a small pool of water to block the incoming smells from the waste in your septic system. The easiest way to solve this problem is to pour water into the trap to replenish the barrier between you and the odor.

You should be due for an inspection by now. For the most part, septic systems should be checked every 3-4 years so they can be pumped. This is important because there are solids in the waste such as paper or garbage that can get stuck in the drainage field, causing potential blockages to the entire system (and then damage). It takes time for them to build up, so three years is a good time frame for having things inspected.

If you don’t notice any leaks or drips in your faucets, it might be something else that you cannot see. Check the toilet to make sure it is not leaking first and then check for potential leaks throughout the rest of your house. Do you notice flooding or standing water in your yard or your yard? It might be that you have a leaking water line or a slab leak somewhere that is just now starting to show.

The number one issue related to sump pump problems is a failure in the switch. This can be caused by debris build up or the floating of the pump within the pit. Sump pumps are hardworking machines – they get beaten up frequently, sometimes even if they aren’t used very often. So, it is important that you have it inspected regularly to ensure it will come on when you need it most.

This could be caused by a number of things. The most common (and least stressful) is a closed shutoff valve, a kink in the water line, or old pipes that have develop a heavy mineral deposit in their lining. However, other potentially big problems include water line leaks. If you cannot verify the problem on your own, you may need a plumber to help identify where the pressure is being lost and the easiest way to restore it.

It could be a number of things, but most commonly, if you are using a traditional hot water heater, the reason is a blown heating element. This can affect both traditional and tankless heaters, though more commonly with a traditional system you’ll notice much smaller flows of hot water to your fixtures due to a reduced capacity for heating.

If your sewer backs up, chances are that you are responsible for seeing that it is resolved. Depending on the area you live in, your upstream neighbors may be liable to assist you with remedying the situation as well. After all, it’s likely partly their fault the backup occurred and they’ll certainly be affected by it as well.

Depending on where the problem originated, resolving it may wind up being the city’s responsibility, but you’ll probably need a professional to come out and tell you if this is the case.

The best thing to do when you discover a problem in your drainage system is to call a professional plumber immediately. You’ll need someone with specialized equipment and specific knowledge of the drainage systems to properly diagnose and treat the problem.

The best way to avoid repeated sewer or drainage backup problems is to have regular maintenance performed on your sewer and drain lines by a professional plumber. It’s natural that tree roots will grow into your drain lines and that residue will accumulate over time. There is no easy fix to this except to have your system inspected and flushed annually.

There are certainly some chemical products out there that claim to be able to stop roots from blocking your drains or to remove buildup, but these are no replacement for a proper, professional cleaning. Also, the methods professional plumbers use are much more environmentally friendly than the commercially available chemical products.

You will also benefit from regular professional maintenance visits because they will allow experts to thoroughly inspect your drainage system for cracks or leaks. While these may not have surfaced as problems yet, they can certainly cause you plenty of trouble in the long run. When technicians carry out annual inspections, they can easily address these types of issues before they become a bigger problem.

Video inspection gives technicians a clear picture of what your drainage system looks like, what potential problems exist and where they need to focus their cleaning, maintenance or repair efforts. Video inspection allows them to remove clogs much more efficiently because they can determine exactly where it is and what it’s made of. Rather than flushing the entire system blindly, expert plumbers can address the problem and remove it quickly without causing you any more inconvenience than is absolutely necessary.

Video inspections can also help to detect minor cracks or damage in your sewer and drainage lines before they actually become big problems. By utilizing this technology, these types of problems are isolated and repaired before you’re even aware that they exist.

Not necessarily. With the video inspection technology, locations of the problems can be pinpointed and necessary repairs can be made with only a minimum of disruption to your yard or the surrounding areas. However, in extreme circumstances, technicians may still have to make use of a trench to completely repair your system.

A hot water heater needs to be replaced about once every 10 years, though some newer models can last as long as 15-20 years with proper maintenance. To get the most out of your system, annual maintenance is important.

During these annual service visits, basic cleaning and maintenance is done to replace worn out parts and check for any looming problems with your water heater that may require replacement in the near or immediate future.

A hot water heater is one of the simplest pieces of equipment you’ll have installed in your home, but it should be done by a professional for a number of reasons. First, you must understand and follow all local building codes, not only for installation, but for possible future inspections. If your hot water heater is gas fueled, safety is of the utmost importance.
Second, you must have your old hot water heater disposed of. A professional has the resources to dispose of your hot water heater for much less money than it would cost you, and it’s less of a hassle as well. Professionals are also better equipped to deal with factors like proper insulation, secondary heating sources, and backup water supplies.

Hot water heating should be done according to your particular needs, but most people have their tanks set too high. The default setting on many hot water heaters is 125°F. This is about 5°F warmer than is necessary for household tasks like showering, washing dishes or cleaning clothes. Follow your manufacturer’s instructions or have a professional help you turn your hot water temperature down to no more than 120°F.

The most common sign that there’s a problem in your hot water heater is a lack of hot water. If you notice your hot water supply dropping sharply or if it doesn’t last nearly as long as it once did, it may be time for additional service.

You can perform some basic maintenance on your own as well. You should remove sediment from your hot water heater at least once per year by following the manufacturer’s instructions. This usually involves simply turning off the device and draining it through a tap provided at the base. If you have hard water, this should be done more frequently, sometimes as often as every six months.

However, if basic maintenance does not solve the problem, it’s time to call a professional to check your hot water heater for problems that may have developed since their last visit.

There are a number of alternative hot water heating sources these days. The most common is currently solar powered hot water, which uses simple panels on your roof to collect the energy from the sun to heat your water. Another popular method is to use the excess heat generated by a geothermal heat pump when cooling your house in the summer. Ask your plumber when they arrive about these alternative options and to find out if they can be incorporated into your particular system.

Reverse osmosis is a very simple process. In fact, it utilizes the same concept as the cells in our bodies, transferring substances between porous membranes. Here is a simpler way of looking at it. If you place salt water in one chamber and fresh water in another and the pressure is greater in the fresh water container, the fresh water will transfer between the membranes separating the two chambers until the pressure is equal.

Using this idea, filtration scientists reversed the process, pressurizing the salt water so that it will pass through a man-made membrane and into the fresh water chamber and leave the salt or any other contaminants behind. This works on your main water supply, allowing you to remove any potential contaminants from your home drinking water, including high levels of sodium that result from water softening.

If you soften your water or use a distillation process before it reaches your tap, a reverse osmosis filter is a necessary upgrade to ensure all drinking water is safe for your family to consume.

Your water is considered hard when the levels of certain minerals get too high. These include lead and iron as well as excess ions of both calcium and magnesium. Hard water is only bad for your health when those levels get very high, which is quite rare. But even at low levels, hard water can be extremely damaging to your home and its pipes.

Hard water speeds up corrosion of pipes, causes damage to your fixtures, and results in lime scale buildup on your walls and in your bathroom. It can even make it quite uncomfortable to bathe due to the excess levels of metal in shower water.

If you think you have a problem with hard water in your home, the best thing to do is to talk to a professional plumber about having a water softening system installed. These systems can reliably reduce the amount of metals in your home’s water, and they cost relatively little to install and maintain.

Your water treatment system should be calibrated to remove only the contaminants found when your water was tested. For instance, if you have hard water, softening is a recommended step. But if you have softeners installed, you often need a reverse osmosis system as well to remove excess sodium from the softened water.

High levels of nitrates or arsenic are another specific problem and specialty resin cartridges are required for removal of these types of contaminants. To cut down on basic sediment and other non-harmful contaminants, a kitchen countertop filter that attaches to your faucet or under your sink is very effective.

Regular maintenance on your water treatment system is important, but this mostly involves simply checking and replacing cartridges and filters. The amount of time required between maintenance visits varies depending on your system and your contaminant levels. If you have high levels of metals or debris in your water, your filters may need to be changed more often.

You can take care of most basic water filter changes required in your home. However, cartridge changes for nitrate and arsenic removal systems should be done by a professional. Regular service should be performed on your reverse osmosis system to check for proper pressurization and water balance. If the system becomes ineffective, your drinking water may become unsafe.

Finally, you should have your water tested every year for common problems like pH imbalance, high bacteria levels and water hardness. Beyond those tests, heavy metal tests should be done once every 2-3 years to check for things like high chlorine and calcium levels as well as excessive lead or iron levels that could develop due to corrosion in your pipes.