Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling Knowledge Library

Over the years we’ve noticed that homeowners in our area have had similar concerns regarding specific plumbing issues in their homes. So, we’ve compiled a library of the most popular subjects and have provided some answers. Of course, if you need more information about these subjects or any other plumbing issues in your home, call Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling. We’re here to help!

Emergency Water Shut Off

At times, it may be necessary to shut off the water to a particular appliance or your entire house. It’s a good idea to have individual valves on each appliance in case repairs need to be made. This will allow water to flow to the rest of the house. In many cases there will be a valve located behind, under or near the appliance. If you discover that a valve is not installed Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling can install one for you.

Frozen pipes? In our area of the country frozen pipes can be a real problem. A small leak from a water line that has burst will cause major damage in minutes. You’ll need to shut the water off to the entire house to stop of the flow.

Look for a main valve outside, located in the basement on an outside wall that faces the street. If you don’t have a basement, it may be on an inside wall of your home.

It’s a good idea to know where this valve is before you need it! If you have any questions about where it is or how to turn it off, call Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling.  Our pros are here to help.

Do You Suspect A Leaky Toilet?

Try this quick and easy test to see if your toilet is leaking. Put a few drops of food coloring in your toilet tank. If after 15 minutes you see color entering the bowl, you’ve got a leak! A leaky toilet tank can waste over 500 gallons of water a month. That’s over 50 loads of laundry in your front load washer! Call Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling to fix that leak and we’ll take $25 off the visit!

Little Leaks Can Be A BIG Problem

Indoor plumbing leaks can result in high water bills, expensive clean up costs and expensive service repairs. In addition, there are many health issues when black toxic mold invades your home.

Outdoor leaks usually result in higher water loss because you might not check these less as frequently. A leaky outdoor faucet can also cause serious damage to your foundation. Did you know that a slow drip from an outdoor spigot could result in water loss of over 130 gallons a month?  That’s enough water to run a dishwasher for a family of four for over a month and a half!

The best solution is for you to be proactive in checking for leaks both inside and outside your home. Cracks in pipes should be fixed immediately since they can quickly develop into a serious break. Remember, temporary repairs are only temporary. Wrapping the pipe always fails.

Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling technicians are experts in leak detection and repair. In addition, we are able to help you conserve your water usage with the installation of low flow toilets, water-saver showerheads and tankless water heater systems.

We can also professionally inspect your entire home for potential plumbing problems and make recommendations on repairs before they become big problems.

Great Tips To Avoid Clogged Drains

You may have a clog developing and never know it until it’s too late. All plumbing systems develop clogs. There’s no way to avoid it. Kitchen sink drains clog most often because of a buildup of grease that traps food particles. Hair and soap are often at fault when bathroom drains slow down.

Here are a few tips on keeping the drains flowing in your home:

• Don't pour any grease down the kitchen sink.
• Don't wash coffee grounds down the sink.
• Do not use chemical cleaners. Some caustic chemicals can corrode brass, steel, or cast-iron traps and drainpipes reducing the flow in the pipe.
• Clean basement floor drains. The less solid waste to enter the pipes, the better.
• Clean pop-up stoppers in the bathroom sink and the tub regularly.

A blocked drain can be a smelly inconvenience. Over time, drains collect huge amounts of soap scum, laundry lint, sand and slime that crystallize inside the drainpipe. This damaging build up can shrink the inside diameter of pipes by nearly 90% before you even suspect a problem. To break through these tough blockages, you'll need the extra clog-clearing muscle of Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling.

Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling is your first choice in expert drain cleaning, stoppages, drain line repairs and underground water service and sewer service replacement. We utilize the latest technologies to diagnose and clear slow running and clogged drains including drain line video inspections and high pressure pipe scrubbing.  

When your drains slow down…we’ll come running!

Think Outside The Tank!

Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling now offers the latest in Tankless Water Heater technology.

Imagine always having hot water in the kitchen, laundry and bath. It’s possible with a tankless water heater from Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling. Conventional gas water heaters heat and re-heat the same water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That’s an enormous waste of energy and money. Tankless Water Heaters heat the water ONLY when you need it. You save energy and you save money!  Click HERE to view a video and learn more about tankless water heaters.

Replace your inefficient conventional water heater with a tankless system from the local experts, Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling. Tankless Water Heaters are a smarter option for a greener lifestyle. 

Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling Encourages a Greener Lifestyle

Our commitment to the green lifestyle is not only our way of doing business but extends to the way we live our lives. We try to do one thing each day that will result in saving water, even if the savings are minimal. Every drop counts and you can make a difference.

Here are a few ideas to conserve water. Making just a change or two can add up to make a big difference in the long run.

Inside The House

1. Never pour water down the drain when there may be another use for it such as watering a plant or garden, or for cleaning.
2. Be sure that your home is leak free. Many homes have hidden water leaks. Read your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, there’s a leak.
3. Insulate your hot water supply pipes. You'll get hot water faster and avoid wasting water while it heats up.
4. Consider installing an instant water heater on your kitchen sink so you don't have to let the water run while it heats up. This will reduce water heating costs for your household.

Outside The House

1. Water lawns during the early morning hours when temperatures and wind speed are the lowest. This reduces losses from evaporation.
2. Don't allow sprinklers to water your street, driveway or sidewalk. Position them so water lands on the lawn and shrubs... not the paved areas.
3. Use mulch to retain moisture in the soil. Mulch also helps control weeds that compete with landscape plants for water.

In The Community

1. Patronize businesses that practice and promote water conservation, such as restaurants that only serve water upon request.
2. Report all significant water losses (broken pipes, open hydrants, errant sprinklers, abandoned free-flowing wells, etc.) to the property owner, local authorities or your water agency.
3. Conserve water because it is the right thing to do. Don't waste water just because someone else is footing the bill, such as when you are staying at a hotel.

Kitchen and Bath Upgrades Are Easy!

Tired of the same old kitchen but don’t have the budget for a major kitchen remodel? You can give your kitchen a new look, and Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling can help.

An easy kitchen upgrade is the kitchen faucet. Faucets are the center piece to most kitchens and manufacturers have responded by creating stylish and versatile products while keeping the needed functionality you demand.

When selecting a faucet you want to choose one that not only looks great but also functions well for you and your style of kitchen use. You can expect a good quality faucet to be drip-free for its lifetime under normal usage. Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling stocks many styles and brands of faucets and our technicians can help you determine the right product, style and finish making it easy to match the décor of your kitchen. And, we can expertly install them for years of maintenance free use.

Another easy upgrade is the kitchen sink. Today’s kitchen sinks have become the focal point of the kitchen. There are countless styles to choose from in materials to suit every taste. With a little help from Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling, and a new coat of paint, you can have a new kitchen faster than cooking a turkey dinner for ten!

Create A Spa In Your Shower

Want to add a touch of fun to your shower? Add a second showerhead! Designers are quickly realizing that consumers want this feature in their homes. Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling can install a second showerhead for you and turn your ordinary shower into a spa-like experience.

Many of our showerheads and shower fixtures are optimized for energy saving performance saving up to 40% more water and energy without sacrificing the luxurious feel of a gentle spring rain. Your entire bath can benefit from our unique, stylish and traditional faucet and fixture options. Create a new look with just one phone call to Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling. We have many different styles that aren’t available at the big box retailer and have the expertise to install them for years of worry-free service.

No Hot Water?

If you have cold water flowing but no hot water then you have an issue with the water heater.  

The first thing to do, if you have a gas water heater, is to check the pilot light. Follow the directions carefully on the water heater to re-ignite the pilot light. If you are unsure how to do this Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling can help.

NOTE:  Many newer water heaters have no pilot light. Instead they have an electronic ignition. If you’ve followed the re-start directions for your water heater but it's still not producing hot water, try turning up the water temperature.

If you still don’t seem to be getting the hot water heater working, Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling can send out one of our experienced technicians to fix the problem for you.   We’ll even save you $25 when you mention this offer.

Garbage Disposal Problems Are A Grind

Stop! Before you do any repair to your garbage disposal remember to NEVER put your hand in to the hopper. It’ll cut up you as easy as it chops garbage.

The most common problem of garbage disposal failure is debris lodged in the cutters. Here is an easy self-help fix:

Before you do any work on a garbage disposal be sure to unplug the unit from the wall. If there is no plug, locate and trip the circuit breaker to the unit.

a) On the bottom of the garbage disposal is a hole where you can insert a ¼” allen wrench. This will allow you to manually turn the cutter to release the lodged debris. Once the obstruction is freed, reach in to the disposal with a pair of tongs to retrieve the foreign object.

b) Return power to the disposal operate as normal.

If the disposal won’t turn on and it is not making a humming sound, then there is probably an electrical problem.

Here are a couple of quick ideas to troubleshoot the problem:

a) Make sure the disposal is plugged in.

b) If the unit is plugged in then locate and press the reset button. Typically, this button is located on the bottom of the unit. If the circuit has tripped, the button will be popped out.

If that doesn’t work, check to see if the main breaker to the unit has tripped and turned off in the electrical service panel. If all circuits are on chances are the garbage disposal is beyond repair and needs to be replaced.  

Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling services all makes and models of garbage disposals. Our first goal is to get your garbage disposal in operating condition. However, if a replacement is in order our technicians have an inventory of new units on the truck and ready to install so you can get back to your daily “grind”!

Garbage Disposal Smells

If a bad smell is coming from your garbage disposal, cut up some lemons and ice and drop them into your disposal. Turn the disposal on for about 30 seconds and rinse with water for about 20 seconds.

Low Water Pressure Can Mean Rusted Pipes

If your home was built prior to 1980, then you probably have galvanized (steel) plumbing pipes. Unfortunately, galvanized pipes rust. A one-inch galvanized pipe can become so clogged with rust over the years that it can narrow to a point of pinpoint flow of water or completely blocked.  

The result can be low water pressure or clogged drains. In addition, rusted pipes can leak or even burst causing thousands of dollars in damage to your home.

If you experience low water pressure, clogs or leaks which just keep happening give Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling a call. We can accurately diagnose he problem and make our best recommendation for solving the problem.  It may be necessary to repipe with copper pipes, which do not rust.