Knowledge Before Hiring a Plumber

Find and Read Testimonials

Before Hiring a Plumbing Contractor

When you are hiring a plumber, you are not just selecting a company to complete a project for you, you are actually choosing a company, and therefore a person or people that you do not know, to come into your home and spend time around your family and your valuable things. This can be a risky process if you do not know how to properly research a company before hiring them.

 

One of the absolute best ways to research a company is by looking for their reviews, testimonials, or past customer ratings. There are multiple places to look for such testimonials on the Internet, here are a few:

Better Business Bureau - You can go to the home website of the Better Business Bureau to find out the history of many companies. The Better Business Bureau rates companies using letters with an A+ rating being the highest. On their home website you can find if there have been any complaints about the company. Read all the information that is provided on the website so that you can get a comprehensive understanding of the company.

Google Reviews - A Google map listing is one of the most well-known ways to find information on a company when searching online. Since Google map listings are one of the most popular listings online, they are also a very likely place to find multiple reviews on the company since so many people view the listing. Make sure to read both the good and bad ratings alike; each will help you to learn more about the company.

Website - Finally the company's own website should include a list of testimonials from past customers. Keep in mind that the company has hand-picked the reviews that they include on their website, so there will likely be only positive testimonials included, but nonetheless the more you read about the company the less of a risk you are taking by hiring them.

So in order to make sure that you lower your risk when hiring a plumbing contractor to come into your home and be around your valuables and your family, you ought to look up as much information and reviews on the company as possible. Try looking on the Better Business Bureau, the company's Google map listing, and their own company website. Read both the positive and negative reviews, and take into account all the information that you read without a predetermined bias; this will ensure that you hire the best company for your needs.

By Ana M Fraser

Ana Fraser is the manager at Clog Pro and has years of experience in the plumbing industry in both Portland Oregon and Vancouver Washington. If you're ever searching for a Plumbing Portland OR, make sure to check out her website and consider her for your plumbing and clogged drain needs!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ana_M_Fraser

Sewer Backup Prevention

How to Prevent Emergency Sewer Backups in Homes

Imagine waking up at 4 am to a prominent stench as if the sewer has visited your home. You walk around the apartment while trying desperately to locate the reeking source. Upon opening your bathroom door you are hit with the overwhelming odor and to your horror the floor is covered with waste liquid and product gushing out of the toilet. Unfortunately sewer backups are unpleasant emergency plumbing catastrophes that some of us are familiar with. Due to stubborn clogs somewhere in the main line the sewer can backup on your bathroom floor and contaminate the room with harmful waste and bacteria.

Waste accumulation can form clogs along the main sewer line or in DWV system that removes waste from your home into the main. A blocked line will reverse the sewage back the other direction into residential line to backup up on your bathroom floors. Emergency plumbers point to the location of the obstruction via the drain the sewer backed up through. If sewage backed up through the sink and toilet drains then most likely the clog has settled somewhere along the home's DWV line. Emergency plumbing services alert that slow draining fixtures are red flags for clogs that require treatment before completely blocking the line and causing harmful sewer backups.
The most common cause for residential sewage backups is the flushing of items that are too big to fit the DWV line such as baby diapers, home litter, sanitary towels and tampons, keys, - and the list can go on. Emergency plumbers salvage from pipelines all kinds of peculiar items that people flush down the toilet such as false teeth, unwanted jewelry and animal litter.
Yet the most common obstruction for sewer backups are grease, fats and oils that solidify and form very stubborn clogs that close off the sewer line. Emergency plumbing companies urge people not to rinse cooking grease down the sink's drain to prevent sewer backups. Instead oils, grease and fats can be scrubbed into a tin can and thrown to the garbage instead of down the drain. Watching what you run down the drain will save you from residential sewer backups that harm your surroundings and cause costly plumbing emergencies.

By Samantha Richardson

Emergency Plumbing
http://www.emergency-plumbing.com/
http://www.emergency-plumbing.com/sewer
888-538-7415

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Samantha_Richardson

Using Sink and Toilet Plungers

Learn to Successfully Use Plungers On Each Type of Household Drain

The red rubber suction cup plunger is still as popular as ever, because when used correctly, even this old design can work wonders. But for even better chances of success, match your plunger purchase to the drain it will be clearing. The old standby with its wide flat face can be difficult to work with on curved drains such as those in toilets and lavatory basins.
Fortunately, the enormous variety of plunger shapes available means there is one for every type of drain in the home.

Plungers will be split into two broad categories. There are plungers designed for use with toilets, and plungers intended for use with sink and floor drains.

Toilet plungers will not have the traditional wide open-faced plungers shape, but instead are shaped to fit the tubular curving shape of a toilet drain. Toilet plungers will have a flange of extra material extending from the bellows which can be inserted snugly into toilet drains.
Plungers intended for use on floor drains and basins with flat bottoms will not have this extra flange of plastic or rubber as part of the plunger shape. These plungers will have wider, open suction cup shapes, in order to enclose the drain opening.
The second major design consideration when purchasing a plunger is the material it is made of. Rubber and softer plastic belled plungers can be easier to use, because the more pliable material will flex in both directions as required when plunging.
Other plungers are made of stiffer plastics. These plungers are frequently one-piece designs. Because they are all one piece of plastic, these designs can be easier to clean than handled plungers. The drawback to stiff plastic plungers is they are much more difficult to use, both in plunging and keeping up an airtight seal.
The final significant difference among the plungers available today is the shape of the plunger compression container. The champagne glass shaped sink plunger is the most familiar, but also very common are what are called ball-plungers. Less common, but seen in more and more of the modern plunger designs, is the spring-plunger, with a bellows shaped chamber.
Ball-plungers will have a ball or spherical shaped compression chamber. Spheres are used because they enclose the greatest volume with the least amount of material, meaning efficient transfer of the plunging action into water movement and clog busting. Ball plungers are typically easy to work, and very effective.
Bellows plungers are the more modern design. Both sink and toilet plungers are available with large bellows chambers, in an assortment of shapes. Spring plungers can be very effective, bring more pressure to bear on the drain per square inch than a standard design. The large bellows chamber can be cumbersome, however, and not always easy to effectively use.
Plungers are tools for unclogging drains blocked with soft, decomposable or degradable material. Do not attempt to plunge a solid object or dense obstruction through your plumbing-you may end up making things worse and footing an expensive repair bill.
Plungers are recommended for clogs such as those that build up over time in slower or infrequently used drains, and for clogs that are created by over-zealous, but proper use of things like the toilet or shower. Clogs from hair, grease, oil, sewage, toilet tissue, and similar stuff can be handled with a plunger.
Do not use a plunger to force things like children's toys, dentures, cosmetics containers, toiletries, and so on through the plumbing. When an object or obstruction that won't break down-for example cloth or paper towels-is the cause of the stopped drain, then other tools and procedures will be used. Consider calling a plumber or professional drain service in this situation.
With so many plungers to choose from, how can you pick just one?
You shouldn't! The fact is that most homes will benefit from owning two plungers; one for use in the toilet and one for use in sinks. Because the design and function of these drains are so different, the types of plungers required for clearing them will be different as well.

By Andam Persand

Andam believes high-quality information will be very valuable in the near future, and creates, edits, updates, and annotates her articles with that in mind. Andam also writes about drain services and cleaning and clearing drains for http://UncloggingDrains101.com as well as writing for her personal blog and other information sites on the internet.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andam_Persand

Drain Cleaning Techniques

How Plumbing Professionals Clear and Maintain Drains

The wide variety of different problems and complications that can come up concerning household plumbing can easily overwhelm the average homeowner or renter. Repairs and modifications to water supply plumbing and pipes in the home should always be performed by a plumber or other knowledgeable and properly equipped personnel. But when troubles arise in the other plumbing network in the home, the maze of pipes leading from drains to a wastewater line flowing to a septic tank or utility main, there are more options available, both for the do-it-yourselfer and those ready to call a professional.

A drain service should be consulted when their expertise and powerful tools and equipment are required to either figure out the issue or to solve a known problem. A single clogged toilet or slow drain can often be addressed by the resident, particularly if they own the proper tools (both toilet and sink plungers, both drain and closet augers, for example).

Many times routine maintenance can be performed by the person living in the home. For example, drains subject to build up from grease, such as kitchen sink or shop floor drains, can be treated regularly with enzymatic drain cleaners. These bacteria cultures are much safer than caustic liquid drain cleaners, and can be used to keep up free flow in certain situations. Other routine task a resident may be expected to do include enzymatic treatment for a septic tank or the clearing of minor clogs.

However, more complicated maintenance, such as tree root removal, or more intricate repair or investigation, such as camera inspection of plumbing pipes and hard water buildup removal, require the help of a drain cleaning service, or rooter business. Rooter businesses and personnel will be equipped and eager to figure out whatever is causing any problem with drains and wastewater draining. Continue reading to learn more about the different services a drain cleaning and clearing business should provide.

When a treasured item like a wedding ring has been lost down a drain, when the cause or location of a clog is unknown, and when drains throughout the home have been performing poorly or worsening over time, then nothing beats getting a camera right to the source. These modern instruments are powerful cameras and lights which send back a video signal via fiber optic cables to the tool operator. A television screen, computer monitor, or other video device displays exactly what is seen inside the plumbing of the home, and the pro can know just how to fix the problem. Cameras can be extended down drains and access points via auger cables or drains rods-stiff but flexible rods which can navigate plumbing without tangles-and modern setups have radio transmitters capable of sending the exact depth and location of the camera to the receiver.

Electric and gasoline powered motorized drain augers are the "rooters" used by rooter services. They will vary in size, depending on the required task. Clogged drains and toilets can often be cleared using handheld drain augers and closet augers-tools designed for safe use around fixtures. But when the cable must be extended more than a couple dozen feet, or the diameter of the pipes being cleared is over 2 inches, a larger power tool is required.

The drain service professional will use a tip on the end of the auger's stiff cable appropriate for the job. Certain soft clogs and types of solid blockages from the home can be broken up or retrieved out of the pipe. A heavier duty, mechanical grinding head may be used when the blockage is more solid and built up. Damaged pipes with intruding tree roots or earth must be bored clean regularly with such a tool, otherwise the pipes will need to be repaired or replaced, which can be much more costly and time consuming.

Drain or sewer jetting is the rinsing clear of the interiors of plumbing and pipes with high-powered pressurized water through cutting nozzles extended down the drain. The pressures and cutting abilities of these tools is remarkable, and they are capable of bursting plastic, damaged, or old plumbing if used improperly. When used correctly, jet washers can remove any sort of build up or blockage that can be eroded away. This includes mineral build up, calcification, and other hard water residue. Greasy, oily, fibrous, or paper blockages can be sliced to bits with the cutting jets, and the flow of water flushes all parts and bits away. Even some tree root intrusions can be tackled with drain and sewer jetters. Only very solid blockages, such as foreign objects flushed down the toilet, cannot be handled with a properly used jet sprayer.

Rooter services and plumbers also will clear any clogged sink, toilet, or other drain. If a problem is recurring, a drain service may be helpful in finding out why it keeps happening. But there are many very routine tasks, such as unclogging a toilet or clearing any household drain that can be accomplished without having to call a pro. Having tools like a bellows sink plunger, and a closet auger for the worst clogged toilets can mean saving hundreds of dollars in a single use. These are common hand tools that every resident should have at hand for emergencies.

Every community has a number of plumbers and professional drain or rooter service businesses available. A good tip for finding a local business online is to include your zip code in a search query. Search engines will recognize that you are interested in finding a local drain service or local plumber. You can also consult your telephone directory to find a drain service to call for your difficult maintenance or plumbing emergency.