Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. Blog: Archive for January, 2014

Ways to Prevent Sewer Problems

Monday, January 27th, 2014

Few hassles with your home’s plumbing are more potentially damaging than issues with the removal of sewage. The drains in your house all lead to a single sewer line that transports wastewater to the central sewer system that runs down the street. Damage to this pipe can cause sewage backup that will damage your home’s basement and/or foundations, create blocked sinks and toilets, and send noxious smells into your living spaces.

A plumber can fix your sewer troubles, but you can take steps to prevent these problems from occurring in the first place. If you need help with your Orlando, FL sewer problems, or if you want assistance with keeping your drains and sewer line as healthy as possible, contact Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. today.

3 tips for keeping away sewer repairs

  1. Avoid pouring “FOG” down your drains: What is “FOG”? It stands for “Fat, Oil, and Grease.” These three items are one of the major threats to sewer lines and drainpipes. People often think they aren’t harmful in liquid form and pour them doing kitchen drains or disposals. But each of these liquids will turn solid when they dry, forming a waxy thick substance will clog up entire sewage systems, creating blockage that no simple plunger can remove. Put “FOG” in another receptacle and remove it to the trash instead of putting it down your drains.
  2. Replace outdated sewer line piping: If you have an older home, you may have galvanized steel pipes for your sewer line. Steel is a durable metal, but it is also inflexible, and therefore more likely to break when put under pressure, and it suffers from corrosion over time. It is a good idea to replace old steel pipes with other materials, such as copper and PEX and CPVC. This will give your plumbing a much longer life.
  3. Schedule regular drain maintenance: If you arrange for a visit from a professional plumber once a year to check up on your drains and sewage system, you will have potential problems taken care off before they develop into actual problems. You should also consider thorough drain cleaning along with video inspections that will keep your drainage open and flowing.

However, you cannot avoid all problems with sewers, so if you find yourself up against an emergency, you can contact Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. 24 hours a day for the repairs for your Orlando, FL sewer that will fix the problem. If your plumbing currently seems to be working well, make sure you keep it that way with regular maintenance from our experience plumbers.

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Galvanized Steel, Copper, PEX, and CPVC: Pipe Materials and Repiping

Monday, January 20th, 2014

In the long history of plumbing, many different types of pipe material have been used to channel water and sewage. (The very earliest “piping” was actually grooved wood.) Depending on the age of your home, you might have metal pipes from steel or copper, or perhaps specialized plastic—and chances are high you may not know exactly which type you have, and whether it needs replacement.

To help you understand the plumbing in your home and if it’s time for repiping, we’ll go over four common types of pipe material. If you want more help with your plumbing in Apopka, FL, call Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. We offer pipe replacement and whole-house repiping services and will find the right material for your home.

Galvanized steel

This is the old standby of the plumbing world… and it’s also outdated. Galvanized steel was used in home plumbing for many decades because of its strength. However, steel suffers from the problems of inflexibility, making it susceptible to breaking when up against too much force, and eventual corrosion, which leads to leaks and contamination of the water supply. If your house is old enough to have galvanized steel pipes, you should give serious consideration to a whole-house repiping. It’s possible that your plumbing no longer lives up to local codes with steel pipes.

Copper

Copper took over from steel and became immensely popular in homes. Copper isn’t as strong a material as steel, but it has many advantages that make up for it. It’s lightweight and flexible, and it resists corrosion, making it longer-lived in general than steel.

PEX

Plastic piping is now very popular, and one of the most common types is cross-linked polyethylene, or PEX. It has become the principle alternative to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and is a top choice to replace copper pipes that carry drinking water. PEX costs less than copper, does not corrode or develop pinhole leaks, and has an expected lifetime of 50 years.

CPVC

Chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) is frequently used as piping for hot and cold water. The advantages it has over standard PVC piping is an increased resistance to heat.

Consult with a professional plumber about your options and their specific benefits. At Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc., we offer full service replacement and repiping for your plumbing in Apopka, FL. We’ll help you choose the most cost-effective plumbing for your home.

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Reasons Your Garbage Disposal Isn’t Working

Monday, January 13th, 2014

A kitchen garbage disposal is one of the finest modern conveniences available in the home. The disposal takes care of chopping up food waste so it can enter into the standard wastewater that flows to the sewer system. Without a working garbage disposal, cooking and cleaning would require more work—and you would also have more frequent sink clogs because of solid waste going down the standard drains.

Garbage disposals can run into mechanical or electrical troubles that will prevent them from working. When this happens, don’t stick your hand down into the disposal to attempt to fix the problem. This cannot be emphasized enough. If you can’t find a solution to the problem on the outside of the unit, then contact a plumber in Orlando, FL, like those at Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc., to tackle the problem.

Why isn’t your disposal working?

The simplest reason is that the reset switch has popped out. This button beneath the unit under your sink is a circuit breaker that might flip because of too much strain on the flywheel in the disposal. Press the button to reset it, then turn on your disposal again. If you hear a humming noise, but the disposal still won’t work, then the issue is a stuck flywheel. If you continue to turn on the disposal while this trouble persists, the reset switch will pop out again eventually.

The flywheel can get stuck for a number of reasons. One is an excessive amount of grease, oil, or fat. These liquids should never be poured down the disposal (or any of your sinks) because they will dry into waxy solids that can jam your disposal and clog your pipes. A plumber will need to remove the flywheel and clean out the unit before it works again.

Another problem for the flywheel is objects that the disposal cannot effectively break down. People often think of the disposal as a garbage can (it does have the word “garbage” in it), but it shouldn’t have anything go in it that you couldn’t chew yourself. Don’t throw bones, unpopped popcorn kernels, or non-organic refuse into the disposal, since any of these things can break or jam the internal components of the disposal, not to mention clogging your pipes.

Finally, disposals can become clogged like any other sink: accumulation of debris in the pipes, lodged objects, or even a broken sewer main. Any of these issues requires a plumbing professional to solve.

However, most garbage disposal issues are simple fixes for an experienced plumber. Don’t risk your hand trying to repair it yourself: a plumber in Orlando, FL from Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. can fix the problem quickly for you—and we have plumbers on call 24 hours a day!

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How to Reduce Your Water Usage with Your Bathroom Remodel

Monday, January 6th, 2014

If you’ve thought about remodeling your bathroom, perhaps you haven’t considered that this is an ideal time to also find ways to cut down on your water usage. At Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc., we take pride in our work with plumbing and bathroom remodeling in Orlando, FL. Call us to make your remodeling into a water-savings project as well.

Methods to reduce water usage during a remodel

  • Install low flow fixtures and faucets: Faucets with the WaterSense label can reduce a sink’s water use by up to 30%, with no noticeable reduction in their effectiveness. During your remodel, you can have all the faucets, including the showerhead, replaces with WaterSense certified products, which can add up to a tremendous savings on your water bills—all without you noticing much of a difference.
  • Replace your old toilet with a low-flow model: Chances are high that if you plan a full redesign of your bathroom, you’ll want to have the old toilet ripped out and a new model put in. Low-flow toilets were once inefficient, but the current “gravity assist” models are tremendous improvements, and according to a number of top water conservations they can save you as much as $100 annually in utility costs.

Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. has both remodeling and plumbing specialists on staff, so you can rest assured you are getting the best service possible. You’ll also have the assurance we’ll work diligently so you get the remodel you want with the plumbing benefits that go with it. Call us today to start planning your bathroom remodel in Orlando, FL.

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