Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Apopka’

Different Materials Used for Pipe Replacement

Wednesday, October 8th, 2014

For many decades, the two most common materials for indoor plumbing were iron and galvanized steel. The latter continued to be used until the early 1970s. Although both metals are sturdy, they are also inclined toward corrosion over time, which eventually leads to water contamination, leaks, and busted pipes. For homes built before 1970, it is often necessary to schedule pipe replacement to swap out these outdated materials for modern ones.

There are a number of different materials that plumbers use when repiping parts of a home. Which ones depend on the situation. If you hire the professionals at Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. (MPI) to handle your pipe replacement in Apopka, FL or the surrounding areas, you’ll receive the skilled work necessary to select the right new pipes and install them so you will have many decades of trouble-free plumbing.

The Most Common Types of Pipe Replacement Material

  • Copper: This is the metal that superseded iron and galvanized steel as the new standard for plumbing. Copper is durable, corrosion-resistant, and extremely light, making it easy to work with. Copper also has greater flexibility than steel and iron, making it less likely to break when encountering extra force or strung between two distant supports. In general, copper will outlast most other piping material.
  • PEX: One of the most popular of the different types of plastic pipes used in plumbing, PEX stands for cross-linked polyethylene. It is especially common for freshwater pipes that carry drinking water to taps. PEX is less expensive than copper, does not suffer from corrosion or pinhole leaking (which is sometimes an issue with copper), and can often last for 50 years.
  • CPVC: An advance over standard PVC pipes, some plumbers prefer CPVC (chlorinated polyvinyl chloride) over PEX piping. These pipes are most commonly used for hot water lines because they have a high resistance to heat.

When handling pipe replacement for a home, a plumber will probably use a combination of these materials to complete the job. Normally, copper pipes are used for main lines, and various color-coded plastic pipes (red for hot, blue for cold) branching off to fixtures. Using these flexible materials, plumbers have greater freedom for designing plumbing than they once did, which is a reason that it’s always a good idea to have pipe replacement done during a remodeling, since it permits more options.

If you have a home with aging pipes, or if you have started to notice signs of declining pipes, call Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. (MPI) for professional pipe replacement in Apopka, FL. We will bring the best technology and skills to any job we do.

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How Backflow Preventers Protect Your Water Supply

Wednesday, August 20th, 2014

When you turn on a tap in your home, you should see the clear, clean water you rely on for cooking, showering, or cleaning. Access to clean water is expected by most homeowners in Apopka, so we tend not to think much about the quality of our water when we turn on a faucet. However, it’s important to know that your water supply may be at risk for contamination at any time, particularly if a backflow prevention device is not in place or is not tested regularly.

Your water supply is kept at a high pressure so that water can easily flow out of any tap in your home. The sewage system, however, is not pressurized, relying instead on gravity to remove waste from the home. If anything happens to increase the pressure of the exit drain or to decrease the pressure of the water supply, backflow may occur.

Backflow can be defined as the unwanted reversal of flow causing non-potable, or unsafe, water and other substances to enter the water supply. Backflow occurs when the pressure of the non-potable system is higher than the pressure of the potable water. This may happen for any number of reasons including a breach in the mater main or a sewer line blockage.

The best way to protect your water supply from contamination is with a backflow prevention device. Backflow preventers provide an air gap or physical barriers that prevent wastewater from polluting the freshwater. Although there are multiple types of backflow preventers, they generally prevent backflow with check valves that only allow the wastewater to flow in one direction.

Many homes already have backflow prevention devices installed, but these should be tested regularly to check for worn out parts and to prevent sudden failure. Any source of contamination puts your health at risk, so you should allow a plumbing professional to inspect and test this portion of your system during an annual plumbing maintenance visit.

Don’t put the quality of your water supply at risk. For maintenance, questions, or to install a backflow prevention device in Apopka, call on the professionals at Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. (MPI).

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Why You Need Drain Vent Repair

Friday, May 2nd, 2014

Since most homeowners are unfamiliar with the workings of the plumbing in their house, they are often unaware that their drains require vents to work properly. The vents inside drains serve two important functions: First, they help equalize pressure throughout the plumbing. Second, they allow an escape for sewer gas that might otherwise enter your home through the drains, even pushing up through the water plugs in the p-traps.

Like all parts of your plumbing, drain vents need to remain in good repair. When you encounter problems with slow drains or noxious odors from your sinks, call for plumbing service in Apopka, FL to look into the issue and discover if the trouble lies with blocked or damaged drain vents. You can entrust this work to the plumbers at Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. (MPI), where we have almost four decades of plumbing repair experience in the surrounding central Florida area.

Drain Vent Repairs

The plumbing vents exit your home through outlets on your roof. (This is one of the reasons repairs should remain in the hands of professionals: don’t risk your safety by climbing onto your roof to attempt amateur work on drainpipes.) These vent pipes can sometimes become blocked due to extreme weather condition or debris, and this will result in pressure changes inside your plumbing. Air will no longer be able to enter the drains, and this will slow down the drains or completely block them. If you find that a basic plunger will not clear out a drain clog, you may have blocked vent pipes.

The escape of sewer gas from your drains is a more serious consequence of blocked vents. The water inside a p-trap (the curved section of pipe beneath a sink) is usually an effective plug against sewer gas coming up through a drain. But the pressure from blocked vents will force the sewer gas up through the plug. A bubbling, gurgling sound accompanies this, so if you hear this noise along with the unpleasant odors, you probably have vent blockage and must call for a plumber.

When plumbers detect that drain vent blockage is the source of the problem, they will access the roof of your house, inspect the vent pipes, remove any obvious surface blockage, and then use water-jetting and drain snakes to clear out deeper clogging. If the vent pipes have sustained damage (a possibility after a storm, or even a poor roofing job), the plumber may need to replace them.

In Apopka, FL, plumbing professionals at Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. (MPI) can diagnose your drain problems and fix them, no matter the cause. Call us any time of the day or night for service.

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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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Why You Should Call a Professional Plumber

Monday, November 12th, 2012

Your home plumbing system is one of the most important components of your home. It delivers hot water for bathing, cleaning and washing clothes. It pipes in natural gas to keep your home warm and comfortable. It also removes waste water from your home in a clean, hygienic way. When you depend on something as much and as frequently as you do your home plumbing system it is important that only a trained professional handles the installation, maintenance and repair of that system. If you are experiencing any problems with your plumbing system in Winter Springs be sure to call Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. (MPI) right away. Our expert Winter Springs plumbers have the training and experience to make sure that your plumbing system is operating efficiently and effectively.

It is important to call a professional plumber as soon as you notice any problems or inconsistencies with your plumbing system’s performance. Because so much of your plumbing system is hidden in the ground or between your walls problems are not always immediately obvious. In the event of a problem such as a slab leak you may not notice the issue at all until it has been developing and worsening for a while. This means that by the time you discover the problem it may have already had the opportunity to do some serious damage to your home.

It is also important to call a professional plumber because they have the tools, equipment and experience necessary to pinpoint the source of a problem such as a slab leak or any other damaged pipes or components. When you are dealing with water the spot that you notice damages in may not be the origin of the problem. It may just be where water has pooled, and can divert your form the actual source.

Even minor plumbing problems are best handled by professional plumbers. Take a frequently clogged pipe, for instance. You can buy harsh chemical cleaners to clear out the clog, but if they were really working efficiently then the clog would not keep redeveloping. These cleaners can corrode your pipes and leave part of the clog behind, meaning it is only a matter of time before the flow of water is blocked again. Professional plumbers are trained to use tools such as video camera pipe inspection equipment and water jetting hoses to ensure that your pipes and drains are totally free from blockages.

If you have any further questions about the importance of hiring a professional plumber to provide plumbing service in your Winter Springs home, call Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. (MPI) today.

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How Plumbing Repairs Save You Money in Orlando

Monday, July 30th, 2012

Because there are so many types of plumbing repairs which could spring up unexpectedly, there are a number of variables which can affect the cost of fixing the problem.  However, one of the most important things to remember when dealing with a plumbing problem is to hire a licensed plumbing company in Orlando, such as Modern Plumbing Industries. Our skilled plumbers will perform your plumbing repairs in a professional manner and at a reasonable price point, and it is always less expensive when the problem is fixed the first time.

Save Money by Using Common Sense

Much of the time when plumbing problems occur small things over time have compounded to become one big issue which results in the need for plumbing repair.  By making certain that you are taking proper care of your pipes you can prevent plumbing issues altogether or at least keep your plumbing up and running until that next plumbing maintenance check.  Use drain screens to prevent everyday objects, jewelry, hair, and excesses of soaps and toothpaste from going down drain.  Pour hot water down drains to clear out the normal daily soap-scum buildup which occurs.

Save Money with Plumbing Maintenance

Ensuring proper plumbing maintenance is performed will mean fewer emergency plumbing repairs, which means less out of pocket to pay for them.  This includes having a professional plumber such as ours come in annually to perform a full plumbing maintenance inspection to identify and fix small problems that would have only grown and cost you more in plumbing repairs.

Save Money on Taxes

Some plumbing repairs will be tax-deductible at the end of the year especially if it affects how much your home is worth, such as replacing old pipes with copper pipes.  If you have a home office, plumbing repairs in that section should be tax deducted for business expenses.  And also if the plumbing repair is quite major and is energy-related for more energy-efficiency.

Save Money with the Right Plumbing Company in Orlando Florida

Modern Plumbing Industries is a plumbing company in Orlando that provides quality plumbing repair and plumbing system maintenance programs to our valued customers.  Allow our experienced plumbing technicians to perform your plumbing repairs and plumbing maintenance in an efficient and professional manner.  Contact Modern Plumbing Industries for all your Orlando plumbing system needs.

 

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