Frequently Asked Questions
Listed below are the most common questions that people ask us. Please take a look
to see if your question is listed below. If your question is not listed below, please
fill out the online contact form with your name, e-mail,
and phone number and we will answer your question as soon as possible.
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 I am hearing a gurgling
sound coming out of my toilet when I flush it, but everything still goes down the
drain. Will it be OK or can I do something?
 You have a blockage somewhere
in your waste and vent system. It may work for a little while longer, but you will
probably want to contact your regular plumber or give us a call and we can give
you some different options on what you can do.
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My son/daughter has
flushed a toy down the stool. Will that do any damage?
That all depends on the
size of the toy. The best answer to this problem is to pull the toilet and try to
remove the toy and then reset the toilet.
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I hear a loud bang
whenever certain fixtures are shutting off. What could cause that?
It sounds like you are
having water hammer issues. You can give us a call and we can give you a couple
ideas over the phone for you to try to get rid of the problem or we can come out
there and give you a concrete solution.
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I bought this house
a few months ago and I have to wait forever to get hot water upstairs, but everything
else is fine. Is there a solution without tearing up half of my house to fix it?
Yes, they have come out
with some wonderful technology that allows us to install a pump at your water heater
and a valve at the fixtures of your choosing. By doing this, it will deliver the
hot water to these fixtures without the wait and without tearing up your house in
the process.
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I just had a plumber
out to clear a blockage from my main sewer line and he said that he found some roots
in my line and then handed me an estimate attached to my bill to replace my line.
Is it necessary to replace my line or is there anything else that I can do?
It all depends on the extent
of roots that your plumber pulled back. Ask him to tell you exactly where he had
problems and see if he has a camera to locate the bad spots in the line and that
will tell you more. Just to give you an idea on price, a typical camera job will
run you around $300.00 to $400.00 and a typical sewer dig could run you $2000.00
to $10,000.00 depending on the difficulty, so it would be worth it to do a little
investigative work. Another sure-fire way to tell if you need a replacement is how
often you have to have your line cleaned or augered. If you are having it done more
than once a year, then you may need to go ahead and have the line replaced if you
can afford it.
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It is almost winter,
is there anything I need to do to my home's plumbing system before it gets too cold?
Make sure that all of your
hoses are detached from your outside hydrants. If you have a buried line on your
sump pump, you will need to keep an eye on it. The buried sump pump lines tend to
freeze up and the pump will create a lot of pressure and 9 times out of 10, the
check valve close to the sump pump will blow apart and cause some water damage in
your basement. Also, check your crawlspace access points to make sure they are secure.
If you live in a mobile home, you need to make sure that the heat tap on your main
water line is plugged in and working and also that your skirting is in good shape.
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I have a rental house
that is vacant and I am thinking about shutting off the utilities. Do I need to
do anything special with the plumbing system before I do this?
If there are going to be
any freezing temperatures in that time frame, you will want to have the system winterized.
This cost is a fraction compared to the cost of repairing frozen water lines and
patching wall and ceilings in the home after repairs are made.
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What are the differences
in water heaters if purchased from a plumbing contractor or from a home-improvement
store?
Typically, the construction
is close to the same, except for some details. The only problem we run into as plumbers
is the availability of warranty parts for the brands sold by the home-improvement
stores. All the brands that are furnished by local plumbers have a local representative
in town, which in-turn makes parts easily obtainable.
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My toilet comes on
in the middle of the night by itself. What could be causing that?
More than likely, you need
a new flapper. You can test this by sticking a couple drops of liquid blueing or
food coloring in the tank of your toilet. Do not flush this toilet for about 10
to 15 minutes, and check the water in the bowl. If the water in the bowl has changed
colors, then you have just proven that you need a new flapper. If you replace the
flapper and still have problems, then please give us a call and we would be glad
to take care of this problem for you.
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I own a commercial
building and all of a sudden a couple of my toilets are not flushing right. How
could this be?
There could be a number
of possibilities: 1. Something could be wrong with the toilets flushing mechanish.
2. You could have debris in the line from a recent repair done upstream by your
local outside utility department. 3. Your building could have a pressure-reducing
valve that has decided to quit working properly and may need replacing. There are
more possibilities, but these are typically the most common.
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