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

3 Ways to Detect a Plumbing Leak

Friday, June 6th, 2014

Pipe leaks in a home are rarely out in the open. Instead, they start to build hidden behind walls and ceilings, or in rooms you rarely enter. You may pick up the signs of leaks when you see a spike in your water bills, notice wet spots on the walls, see mildew growth, or notice a rise in humidity. But you have little chance of locating exactly where you need to do repair work.

That’s why you need professional plumbing service in Altamonte Springs, FL to take care of leak detection. With a skilled plumber with the right tools, you will have the minimum amount of damage done to your home to reach the leaky pipes.

Here are 3 ways that our team at Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. (MPI) handles the detection of hidden leaks so we can quickly repair them.

3 Leak Detection Methods

Visual inspection: Experienced plumbers have an eye for the many signs of leaks that untrained observers will never pick up. Plumbers will look for tiny warping signs, spots of discoloration, misaligned floorboards, and bulges in wallpaper. Finding dripping water may seem like an easy sign for anyone to discover, but it takes a trained plumber to deduce exactly where the leak is located behind construction material.
Sound sensors: Listening devices are one of the key tools that plumbers use when they search for leaks, especially slab leaks that are located under concrete layers. The sensitive listening devices can hear the drip and escape of water through all kinds of surfaces, and this will give a plumber a solid idea of where to narrow the search and repair efforts.
Infrared thermography: This high-tech method of detecting leaks uses an infrared imaging camera that the technician scans over the area of the suspected leak. The imagery that shows up on the monitor will point to small temperature differences that show where a pipe interior is exposed to outdoor air. Interpreting the results is a task that requires special training: the camera imaging isn’t enough to locate the leaks. A trained plumber will almost always find the leaks with pinpoint accuracy.

Unless you can see the leaking pipe right in front of you, you will need a plumber versed in leak detection and armed with the right tools to handle this job. You don’t want to risk having unnecessary damage done to your home in a misguided and inaccurate attempt to find a single leak. Instead, call for plumbing service in Altamonte Springs, FL by the experts at Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. (MPI) today: we have 24-hour emergency service for your peace of mind, and we can handle whatever repairs your pipes need. Contact us today to schedule your next service.

Tags: Altamonte Springs, Plumbing
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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.

Tags: Apopka, Plumbing
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3 Common Toilet Problems

Wednesday, March 19th, 2014

For obvious reasons, your toilet is one of the most important parts of your home’s plumbing. When it encounters problems, you can’t simply do without it until you can schedule repairs. Luckily, many plumbers in Orlando offer 24-hour service, ensuring that you don’t have to wait for a repair long. Here are 3 common toilet problems:

Clogs. Toilet clogs are very common, and sometimes take more than just a plunger to properly address. In addition to waste product, toilet clogs can be caused by object inadvertently flushed down the toilet (such as children’s toy) as well as larger issues with your drain lines, like tree root infiltration. A plumber can usually find the source of the clog and remove it without too much difficulty.
Water leaks. Leaking water around the base of the toilet is never a good sign, though it can come from many sources. The worst is a hairline fracture in the toilet bowl itself, which usually means that the whole toilet must be replaced. Most of the time, however, the leak is caused by a smaller component, such as the drain pipe flange or the seal around the base of the tank. These can usually be replaced fairly quickly by a trained technician.
Running toilet. A running toilet wastes water, and can usually be traced to a faulty component somewhere in the tank. Your flapper could be damaged or unable to close properly, or the valve and float might not be functioning as it should.

For these and other common toilet problems, you can depend on the very best. Plumbing repair in Orlando is covered by the experts at Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. We know how to deal with plumbing problems of all varieties and we offer 24-hour emergency service so you won’t have to wait. Give us a call today and let us get to work!

Tags: Orlando, Plumbing, Toilet
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Will the Local Utility Company Handle My Sewer Repair?

Monday, March 10th, 2014

One of the crucial parts of your home’s waste removal system is the sewer line. This pipe collects all the wastewater from your drains and carries it out under your property and to the municipal sewer main in the center of the street. It’s not a component of your plumbing that you need to think about much… until it becomes blocked or suffers leaks and breaks.

But wait… isn’t this a utility company issue, like fixing downed power and phone lines? You’ve probably seen city workers doing repairs on underground sewer and water mains, so why should this be any different?

The simple answer: No, the local utility company is not responsible for repairs to your sewer line. When you have problems with your sewer line, you need to handle it with a call to professional plumbers. Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. can take care of any repairs you need for your sewer in Orlando, FL.

The facts about the utility company and your sewer line

Utility companies must maintain and repair the local sewer system for a community. However, the public section of the sewage system does not include the sewer line on your property; from where the line originates under your home until it enters the sewer main, it is the responsibility of the homeowner to care for any repairs it may require.

There are some differences in where the responsibility of the homeowner ends and that of the utility company begins depending on where you live. If you have any doubts, contact the local utility company to ask. The utility company has maps that indicate the areas of the sewage system that are public and under its jurisdiction. In some cases, the utility company will take into account extremely old pipes made from outdated material when determining whether a sewer line is public or private property. However, unless you find out specifically to the contrary, the section of your sewer line from your house to the public line is private property and the responsibility for repairs lies with you.

It’s your responsibility—so hire quality plumbing repairs

Sewer line repair is not something you can handle on your own: it requires extensive excavating and a large amount of time and labor. Contact an experienced plumbing service like Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. for your Orlando, FL sewer repair needs. We have served central Florida with high quality plumbing repair since 1975.

Tags: Orlando, Plumbing, Sewer
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Signs of Trouble with Your Water Line

Monday, March 3rd, 2014

The most important part of the plumbing in your home is one you almost never see: the water line beneath your home that channels in fresh water from the municipal supply. This is where all your home’s running water originates. Without this water supply, you would have no water to drink, bathe or shower in, clean or cook with. When you turn a tap in your home, you expect water to come out of it.

Water lines can sustain damage or develops clogs like any other part of your plumbing, and you’ll need expert plumbers to fix the line to restore your water supply should this happen. Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. can send plumbers familiar with local building codes and underground utility lines to your home to supply the experienced repairs necessary. For any Winter Park, FL plumbing repairs you need, we can help.

Signs of water line trouble:

Water pressure drop: If the line isn’t fully broken or blocked, but instead has sprung a leak, one of the early warning signs will be a drop in the water pressure from your faucets.
Yard or pavement flooding: Depending on where your water line lies, a break will cause flooding either in your lawn or through the sidewalk pavement in front of your house. Even if the flooding is small, like unexpected pools of water, you should call for a plumber to investigate. Be especially aware of this occurring after a major storm, since pipes in Central Florida have been known to break because of lightning strikes.
High water bills: If you notice an unexpected spike in your water bills that you can’t account for, than it’s possible that a water line leak is behind it. (It could also come from leaks in other places in your house, but you’ll need professionals to find out the source.)
Water stops entirely: If your water abruptly ceases to come from any faucet, and you haven’t received any warning from the water company about a temporary shut off, then the problem is almost certainly with the water line and you’ll need service before other problems like flooding start.

Have professionals service the water line—and anything else

You should never try “do-it-yourself” projects with your home’s plumbing, especially a part that connects to the municipal water supply. The danger of causing further flooding is too high. Call professionals to help with your plumbing in Winter Park, FL.

Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. has 24-hour emergency service to aid you when you need plumbing help, whether it’s to fix a water line break or repair pinhole leaks under the sink.

Tags: Plumbing, Water Line, Winter Park
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Backflow Preventer Theft

Monday, February 17th, 2014

A backflow preventer is a crucial part of protecting your clean drinking water. This device prevents contaminated water from the ground and other undesirable areas from entering your pipes. Many Florida municipalities require that all homes have a backflow preventer installed, and that it receives yearly inspection from a licensed plumber.

Unfortunately, homeowners and businesses have had to endure a rash of thefts of backflow prevention devices in recent years. In some areas of Florida, up to 30 backflow preventers are stolen a month from a single major street.

Why is backflow preventer theft a major problem?

Aside from the expense involved in installing a new device after one is stolen, the loss of a backflow preventer causes water to flow freely from a pipe after it is removed. This results in a huge waste of water that is not only expensive, but risks flood damage to property. The thieves are not only causing problems for homeowners, they are putting the public supply of drinking water at risk.

Why would somebody steal a backflow preventer?

It sounds odd that thieves would target a piece of plumbing. However, backflow preventers offer a tempting target because they contain valuable copper and brass in their assemblies. The prices of both metals has risen in recent years because of a shortage in the U.S., making them tempting targets for criminals. Thieves can reap high profits from reselling the metal in backflow preventers to scrap yards.

How does backflow preventer theft occur?

Most thieves use metal saws to remove backflow preventers. But there are even more simple and brute-force ways of removing these valuable components from outside your home, such as tying a chain to the preventer, attaching the other end of the chain to a car, and then driving away to rip it off.

What can be done to prevent this theft?

Police advise that residents and business owners purchase a security cage with a lock on it to protect their backflow preventers. To help make the parts less appealing to thieves, police also suggest that homeowners paint the device with black or brown paint. This makes the parts less valuable at scrapyards and harder to resell as if they were new. In addition to steps to protect their own backflow preventers, people are encouraged to call the police should they witness metal theft occurring anywhere in their neighborhood.

If you experience theft of a backflow preventer, you should first inform the police. Then call for service from Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. for professional installation of a new device. We can also help you with maintenance for the unit to make sure that it is doing its job of keeping your drinking water healthy.

Tags: Backflow Preventer Theft, Plumbing
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Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. featured in Plumbing Perspective

Thursday, February 13th, 2014

Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. was recently featured in the magazine Plumbing Perspectives. We want to thank them for highlighting our past work and successes, follow the link below to check out the article for yourself.

Remember to call us for any of your Orlando, FL area plumbing needs at 407-327-6000!

Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. Plumbing Perspective Article

Tags: FL, Florida, Orlando, Plumbing, plumbing perspective
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Some Ways to Start Conserving Water

Monday, February 10th, 2014

Water conservation today is about more than saving money on water bills. It’s also about helping the environment. More and more homeowners today are curious about ways to cut back on their water usage for themselves and for others.

Fortunately, there some easy steps you can take to help you reduce water use in your home. Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. wants to assist you with this effort, and we have fixtures and appliances that will help make your Winter Park, FL plumbing as conservation-friendly as possible. Contact us today to find out about how you can start saving water right.

We’ll help you get started with water-saving tips that are easy to do:

Fix leaky faucets: Although the water that drips from a leaky faucet may seem minimal and unimportant, it will add up quickly. According to a government study, a single leaky faucet in a home that drips twice per minute will waste 70 gallons of water a year. If you can’t repair a leaky faucet on your own, have a professional plumber take care of it.
Water your lawn in early morning or late evening: If you water your lawn during the day, when the temperature is high, most of the water will evaporate before it can do any good for the plants. You’ll just end up needing to water the yard more often.
Turn off the tap when you don’t need it: It’s simple to forget to shut off the water while doing simple tasks like brushing your teeth or doing the dishes. According to the U.S. EPA, you can save 8 gallons of water a day if you shut off the faucet while brushing your teeth in the morning and evening: that’s approximately 200 gallons a month.
Install low-flow fixtures: Professional plumbers can fit your home with low-flow faucets, as well as other water-conserving appliances. You can also consider moving from a storage water heater to a tankless water heater that works far more efficiently, which saves energy.

Ask a professional plumber how you can save water

At Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc., we have a wide selection of products to help you conserve water. But before you start thinking about low-flow faucets and other conservation fixtures, call our plumbers to fix any leaks in your home. They have the skills to take care of any problems with your plumbing in Winter Park, FL and help you get a start with saving water.

Tags: Conserving Water, Plumbing, Winter Park
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What You Need to Know about Slab Leaks

Monday, February 3rd, 2014

Any kind of leak in your plumbing presents a problem that requires immediate, skilled repairs. But some leaks are worse than others. One of the most potentially troublesome pipe leaks are slab leaks. The damage possibilities from slab leaks can affect your home’s structure and foundation and may cut off your water main or sewer line.

Call for slab leak repair specialists, such as those at Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc., the moment you encounter a problem. Our plumbers are on call for 24-hour emergency plumbing repair in Orlando, FL, so you have no reason to delay.

But wait… what exactly are slab leaks, and why are they such a problem? And how can you detect them? We’ll answer these questions below.

What is a “slab leak”?

A large section of your home’s plumbing—sewer line and water mains—runs through concrete flooring. When a leak occurs in the pressurized water pipes inside concrete, it is known in the plumbing industry as a slab leak.

Why are slab leaks such a problem?

Where most leaks will take time to start affecting the building material around them, slab leaks will immediately begin to cause cracking and damage to concrete. Instead of a slow spread of further leaks and damage, slab leaks will affect the piping quickly, threatening to break whole pipes, leading to the loss of your water line or sewer line. The concrete cracking can cause expensive structural damage to your home’s foundation as well.

How do I know I have a slab leak?

There are a few signs, some of which apply to any leak: loss of water pressure, increases in water bills. Some specific signs to look for: unexplained mold growth or water on the floor in places that are otherwise dry; the sound of running water when no faucets are open; cracks developing over concrete.

How are slab leaks fixed?

Professional plumbers must first locate the location of the leak using listening equipment. After that, a plumber will discuss with you the possible methods for sealing the leak, which could involve direct access using jack hammering, but much more likely your plumber will use a non-invasive process if possible.

Who should I call to fix slab leaks?

Not all plumbers have extensive experience with slab leak repair, so make sure you choose your contractor carefully. Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. has done many years of work on slab leak detection and repair. Call us today for plumbing repair in Orlando, FL.

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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

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.
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.
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.

Tags: Orlando, Plumbing, Sewer
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