100% Green & Super Simple Drain Cleaner
Everyone has drains and everyone needs to keep them clean! Not cleaning your drains can lead to a whole mess of problems like overflow, clogging, leaking, water damage, and more! If you aren’t cleaning your drains regularly, you need to start now! However, don’t invest in harsh chemicals like drain cleaners you buy from the store, make your own.
We have easy suggestions that are 100% green drain cleaning solutions for you to use in your home. If you’ve got a clogged drain or are looking for an easy way to keep your drains clean, this is the best solution!
The Cause
If you’ve got a clog, or you’re wondering why a drain isn’t properly working, see if you can identify the cause. If you can reach the clog with a straw or plastic fork, use that. If not, try looking into a longer implement like a drain snake or wire hanger. The point of this step is to identify the type of clog we’re dealing with, as fat-based clogs are treated differently than a normal obstruction.
So, using your tool of choice, poke the clog. If it comes up oily, it’s fat-based. If it feels solid and won’t budge, it’s a normal drain obstruction.
How to Service your Sump Pump
Like every other part of your house, your sump pump needs to be cleaned regularly. Many homeowners will neglect this for years at a time and then have to deal with overflow or other issues. In order to ensure your sump pump is operating at optimal efficiency, make sure you follow the steps in this article for cleaning it. If you have issues while cleaning your sump pump or are worried you might damage something, contact a professional.
Safety First
Make sure you protect yourself above all else. Make sure the sump pump is unplugged and powered off. You can turn off your circuit breaker if you’re unable to unplug it. Ensure that no one in the house is going to run an appliance or cause water to drain into the sump pump during this process. Typically water will come from washing machines or basement plumbing, but it’s not a bad idea to make sure no water is used in the house during this process.
After this prepare your supplies. You will need to gather supplies like a bucket, gloves, plastic scraper, plastic drop cloth, safety goggles, and clothing you can move in. Always wear gloves when handling gray water, no exceptions.
A Hard Plumbing Truth
It’s no secret that hard water can cause serious damage to your pipes. For a lot of homeowners this can mean extra time and money spent on maintaining or repairing the damage caused by hard water. However, most homeowners believe that they do not have this issue, or that the high mineral content of the water is filtered out by the city. Unfortunately, this isn’t quite the case.
Hard water plagues almost every homeowner, and it’s an issue everyone should consider. While locations with extremely high mineral content might have more of an issue and need to take serious precautions, everyone with a plumbing system should be careful.
Causes and issues with high mineral content
Hard water is water that has a high mineral content, unlike soft water. The high mineral content occurs when water percolates, or filters, through porous deposits of limestone and chalk. These deposits are made up primarily of calcium and magnesium carbonates. The high mineral content can cause damage and buildup in plumbing fixtures, resulting in bursts or breakdowns.
Kitchen and Bath Remodels—That’s Money Well Spent!
Many homeowners balk at the cost to remodel their kitchen or bathroom. It works just fine now, so why should they change it? What value could they get out of a new kitchen or bathroom that would outweigh the financial cost to obtain it? The answer is simple: quality of life and pleasure.
Any remodel, whether it’s a kitchen, bathroom, or downstairs flooring, is about improving and developing your home. It’s about taking what already exists and creating a new style and atmosphere that you, the homeowner, will enjoy. When you take that step to transform your space you are taking a step to improve your daily quality of life and your enjoyment of that space in your life.
The Benefits
There are numerous benefits to a kitchen and/or bath remodel. If you are having issues with plumbing, appliances, countertops, flooring, cabinets, or any number of materials within the room this is a great way to upgrade and replace them. If you aren’t satisfied with the finishes, colors, or look of a room you will be far happier after you have completed the remodel.
How to Winterize that Outdoor Faucet
Cold weather can be rough on your plumbing. Whether it’s indoor or outdoor faucets, you need to prepare your plumbing for freezing temperatures. Freezing damage from exposed outdoor faucets can extend far into the home. Pipe ruptures usually occur inside the walls, not at the faucet and can cause serious structural damage. You need to prepare your outdoor faucets for winter to avoid hundreds of gallons of water pouring into the walls of your home.
This warning also applies to other outdoor plumbing fixtures as well. The information provided in this blog will focus on outdoor faucets, but it is also applicable to other outdoor fixtures.
Locate and Drain Fixtures
The first step is to locate all outdoor fixtures. You need to be aware of where all your outdoor fixtures are located and where they feed into your house. Make sure you note where all external attachment points are located. Once you’ve located all outdoor faucets, ensure there are no hoses still attached. Any pipes, hoses, or attachments to outdoor faucets can contain water and potentially freeze and burst during cold weather.
Leaky Pipes, Now, can Cause Big Problems, Later
Leaky pipes are an eventual outcome of daily wear and tear on your plumbing. There’s little you can do to avoid the eventual leaks that will occur in your pipes. However, once a leak occurs, don’t ignore it. If left unattended, water leaks can cause serious damage. Leaky pipes do more than just drive up your water bill, they can destroy entire walls and cause structural damage to your house.
Knowing this, it’s best to deal with leaky pipes sooner rather than later. If you notice a leak or potential signs of a leak, get ready to call a plumber. While you might be able to address the problem on your own, there may be other issues that you don’t notice. If you think you have leaky pipes, don’t do a rush patch job to avoid a bill. We’ll explain why below.
What Causes Leaky Pipes
First, let’s go over what causes leaky pipes.
The first is corrosion. Oftentimes issues with water quality or chemicals can eat away at the pipe and cause corrosion. As the damage grows, the pipe becomes unstable and begins to leak. If left alone for too long it could even burst.
3 Things You Need to Know When Calling a Plumber
Needing the assistance of a plumber can often mean a stressful and potentially expensive situation. Without proper preparation, a short visit can turn into an adventure of costly discoveries about the state of your house’s pipes. Not only that but ensuring that you receive quality care and proper service is an often overlooked necessity. So, without further ado, these are the three major things you need to know before you call about a plumbing emergency.
- Reputation
While trivial, the reputation and reviews of a plumber are indicative of their skill. A plumber with a poor reputation could do more harm than good, and leave you with even more issues than before. Proper vetting will be to your benefit in the long run.
To be sure of the quality of service you will receive from your chosen plumber, check online reviews and ask around your community (if you have the time). Other locals will be able to share their experiences and provide insight into the abilities of the said plumber. Additionally, if available, check into some of their old projects to see what quality of work they provided.
