If you haven’t already taken steps to winterize your home, now is certainly the time to do it, before we’re under heavy amounts of snow. Winterizing your home includes fixing any drafts that can lower your HVAC efficiency, making sure your heating system is maintained, and ensuring your pipes are protected.
The latter is particularly important, as neglecting this winter task can leave you with frozen pipes, and eventual pipe ruptures. This is most likely to happen with the exposed pipes that lead outdoors as well as exposed pipes around your water heater, but it can essentially occur anywhere in the home where pipes face too much cold without appropriate insulation.
Let’s say you’ve found yourself with unexplainable high water bills. Naturally, your water bills will change each month, depending on how much you use certain plumbing fixtures (for instance, you won’t be using your irrigation system in the dead of winter!) But when your utility bills spike for no reason, it’s time to take a close look at what’s going on with your plumbing.
Has it come time to replace the water heater in your home? Perhaps yours has broken down, or you’re tired of paying for frequent repairs. Whatever the reason is that you’re looking to schedule a water heater replacement, remember that there are options to consider. There’s no rule that you have to stick with the same type of water heater you’ve always had.
Have you noticed a seemingly minor clog somewhere in your home? Maybe your kitchen sink drain is a bit sluggish. Or perhaps you noticed your toilet bubbling while using another plumbing fixture. Your first instinct may be to go get some of that liquid drain cleaner you can buy at pretty much any hardware store, and solve your problem that way. Unfortunately, not only is this only a temporary solution, but it can also actually damage your plumbing.
As the weather chills off and we inch closer to the end of November, there’s no denying that the holidays are just around the corner. This is the time of year for giving, but also for plumbing issues! Homeowners unknowingly dispose of certain items down their kitchen drain incorrectly, overuse their garbage disposal, or don’t invest in maintenance before this heavy period of use.
Many homeowners only call for
Good plumbing companies often offer emergency services for those times when a plumbing problem simply cannot wait. And let’s face it, leaks, clogs and other major issues very rarely happen at a “convenient” time, let alone during normal business hours. Because your plumbing system is such a vital component to your home, you’re usually unable to just sit on the problem until you can schedule an appointment.
If you’ve lived through even one winter around here, then you know how bitterly cold it gets. With that drop in the temperature comes an unfortunately common winter enemy—frozen plumbing. And, frozen pipes can result in a good amount of damage if not addressed. As water in your pipes freezes, it expands and puts pressure on the walls of the pipes, leading to leaks or even ruptured pipes.
Plumbing problems are likely something you’ve dealt with before in your home, and hopefully were able to resolved quickly and affordably. Unfortunately though, this is not always the case, as plumbing fixtures are mostly hidden from view and it can be hard to detect when something is wrong. When this happens in your commercial building or business, then the problem is amplified even more.
No matter what area of your home that it is, putting in new plumbing can be a tricky endeavor. It’s one that we do not recommend you take on as a “do-it-yourself” project, either. Even a seemingly minor installation that doesn’t look like it requires too much work, like putting in a new sink faucet, can turn into a disaster is handled inappropriately.