Tureks Plumbing Services Blog: Archive for the ‘Sewer and Drain’ Category

What Not To Put Down Your Drain

Tuesday, March 21st, 2017

There are simple things that you do can do to prevent a clogged drain.

In a landmark study undertaken by the Toxic Substances Hydrology Program of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in 2002, it was discovered that wastewater coming from residential, agricultural and industrial sources contained low levels of human and veterinary drugs, natural and synthetic hormones, insecticides, fire retardants, detergent metabolites, and plasticizers.

Of these chemicals listed, one or more were found in 80 percent of the streams which were a part of the study. Furthermore, half of the streams were found to contain seven or more of these chemicals. Roughly a third of the streams contained 10 or more of the aforementioned chemicals.

Quite simply, this means that homeowners, farmers, and industries have contributed greatly to water pollution which does not only undermine water quality, but also adversely affects fish and wildlife.

In the residential setting, plumbers regularly caution homeowners about throwing foreign objects down the drain as these can clog pipes and cause unnecessary damage, not only to the plumbing system but in other parts of the house as well.

But according to the Watership Environment Foundation, the consequences of throwing foreign objects down the drain causes far-ranging effects beyond your home. According to the foundation, throwing foreign objects down the drain can also lead to health problems and environmental problems.

Plumbers say that homeowners should not treat the drain like a trash can and list what not to put down your drain.

These include:

  • Sauces
  • Dairy products
  • Baking goods
  • Food scraps
  • Lard
  • Shortening
  • Cooking oil
  • Butter and margarine

Throwing these down the drain facilitates the blockage in the sewer pipes when grease sticks to these. And once the grease continues to build up, it can block the optimal flow of water.

Expert plumbers advise against throwing grease down in either sinks or toilets. Homeowners should also make it a habit to scrape off food particles and grease from plates, pots, pans and other cooking utensils and implements. Invest in a strainer or basket and install one in the sink drain to catch solids and empty these into the trash can.

Other items that should not be thrown down the drain or toilet include:

  • Used oils
  • Egg shells
  • Coffee grinds
  • Feminine hygiene products
  • Paper towels
  • Condoms
  • Flammable substances
  • Medications
  • Acidic or caustic substances
  • Rags
  • Solvents, paints, polish remover, turpentine and similar products.

If you have a clogged drain, contact us today to set up an appointment!

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When it is Time to Replace Your Home’s Galvanized Pipes

Sunday, November 20th, 2016

Is It Time for a Whole Home Repipe? 

If you’re not sure what a re-pipe is, you are not alone. Most homeowners dont know either until the problem arises. Galvanized pipes were commonly used in homes built around 1981. Galvanized pipes are deceptive because they corrode on the inside.  Because of that it is difficult to detect a corrosion problem without a plumbers camera. Over time, the buildup of rust and sediment inside galvanized pipes can cause low water pressure, clogs, and leaks. When this happens you may need to replace one small section of the damaged pipe, or a larger piece in extreme cases. 

It’s not rare to find out that your 30 plus year old home is beginning to have compound plumbing issues. When the plumbing at home begins to exhibiting signs of damage or degradation it might be an indicator of something bigger. The typical response to these types of issues is to call your local plumber. Depending on how soon your plumber can arrive to provide a solution, you may need to use your plumbing fixtures in moderation. If it is a more severe sewer problem where your plumbing is completely out of order be sure to call for an emergency plumber. 

Repiping your entire house

A whole home repipe won’t likely be something that you would need done on your property more than once. It’s a last-resort option that plumbers will recommend to their clients — but it is necessary in certain situations. Whole house repiping is an effective measure that can protect your home from future leaks and further water damage.

Is it time for a whole home repipe? Here are questions that can help you determine if it’s the best move to make now:

Have you had to call in plumbers several times over the years, because of problems with leaks? How often do you find leaks? If it’s becoming frequent, then that might mean that your plumbing system is failing.

Does your house have hard water?

You’re sure to have heard the term hard water before. It pertains to water that contains a high concentration of the minerals magnesium and calcium. You can tell that you have hard water at home when you observe a yellow-green or white buildup around plumbing fixtures such as showerheads and faucets. The minerals can build up and reduce the water pressure in a house. The best solution would be to have a pipe inspection done. Having a camera inspection performed will tell you 

How old is your home?

Today’s houses are typically fitted with plastic or copper pipes; older homes, on the other hand, may have galvanized pipes made of steel. Steel can develop corrosion and rust over time, and they can pick up contaminants from water and the ground, such as lead. If your house still has its original steel pipes, it’s best to get your plumbers to check their condition and determine whether they need to be replaced with a safer and more modern material.

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Types of Plumbing Pipes

Tuesday, October 25th, 2016

Plumbing Pipes

Types of Plumbing Pipes

Whether you are having a new house built or you are planning to have your current home remodeled, it is a good idea to know what your options are when it comes to building materials. This allows you to make a sound investment decision, anchored not only upon the price but other factors as well, including safety.

The same concept applies to your home’s plumbing. Whether there’s a burst pipe that needs replacement or a remodel, or you are planning to add a bathroom to the house, there are a few types of plumbing pipes that you can choose from.

Copper Pipes

Copper pipes rank as one of the most popular types of plumbing pipes because of their longevity and reliability. Initially introduced 80 years ago, many of these pipes still remain in use.

Another advantage of copper pipes is that these do not pollute drinking water. On top of that, these pipes are among the most sustainable because these can be recycled.

Cross-linked Polyethylene

Cross-linked polyethylene or PEX pipes are typically used for tricky retrofits, like situations where it can be difficult or costly to embed other types of pipes beneath walls. Because of the unique properties of PEX pipes, it is relatively easy for plumbers to snake these into walls. Some plumbers even use a single PEX pipe across entire houses while forgoing the need to create joints or soldering. On top of that, these pipes have a relatively long lifespan.

However, if you are considering using these pipes for your home, you have to be aware that there have been studies which suggest that the process of fabricating these pipes involves the use of a toxin commonly found in gasoline called methyl tertiary butyl ether. Traces of this toxins can be absorbed by the water as it passes through the pipes. The state of California, however, has approved the use of PEX pipes.

According to some experts, the new crop of PEX pipes available in the market is generally safer than older counterparts.

Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride

CPVC pipes have long been a favorite of avid DIY-ers because these are straightforward to install; practically anyone can use these, even without special tools.

Additionally, CPVC pipes have been available in the market for 40 years, attesting to the value these pipes offer. Using these pipes won’t affect the quality of the water in your home.

However, if you have eco-friendly leanings, be aware that these pipes produce a high amount of pollution during fabrication. Plus, these pipes cannot be recycled and require the use of chemical solvents, which are volatile.

Polypropylene Pipes

In terms of water safety, the number one name for that is Polypropylene pipe. Although PP has been used in Europe for 30 years, it is a relative newcomer in America. But despite that status, PP has a proven record of both durability and water safety.
Unlike other pipes, PP does not require the use of chemicals to join together different ends. However, these pipes have a steeper price tag and require the use of specialty tools.

If you would like more information about pipes available for your home, contact your Fox Cities Plumber at Turek’s Plumbing today!

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What Are the Signs of a Main Sewer Line Clog?

Thursday, August 11th, 2016

Main Sewer Line Clog

What Are the Signs of a Main Sewer Line Clog?

A main sewer line clog rarely occurs out of the blue. More often than not, an attentive homeowner will see warning signs that indicate that there will be an imminent clog. Knowing what these signs are and watching out for these can save you from the hassles and costs associated with fixing clogged main sewer lines.

But before listing the signs of a main sewer line clog, it is a good idea to know a little bit about the anatomy of your home’s sewer line. Think of your home’s sewer line as something similar to a tree. On one hand, you have the main line which is essentially like a tree’s main trunk. The main sewer line runs across your home. The secondary lines are just like branches that run from the main line. When you have a main sewer line clog, this will mean that your whole home will be affected. On the other hand, if the problem is with the secondary line, the clog will be confined to just one area in your home.

What are the signs that there is a problem with your main sewer line?

One of these warning signs that you need to watch out for is water backing up out the drain. Sometimes, you will hear gurgling sounds from the drains. You are likely to notice these signs after using one area in your home. For example, if you notice that your toilet or the floor drain in one part of your home starts percolating after you used the washing machine, it is highly likely that you have a clog in the main sewer line.

If you live in a home with several trees on your property, you have to watch out for pipes that have been crushed by the roots of the trees. Two tell-tale signs of this problem are gurgling sounds and the sluggish flow of drains.

On the other hand, if you live in a relatively new home and you notice these signs, the probable cause of this problem is clogging due to products like toilet paper and feminine hygiene products blocking the sewer line.

What should you do if you notice these signs in your home? It is important to release the pressure that has built up in the sewer line. To do that, you need to shut off the water at the main and then remove the cleanout cap. Avoid using chemical-based drain cleaners as these may cause more harm than good.

If you are hiring a Fox Valley sewer company and their employees cannot find the cause of the problem, they might recommend a sewer line camera inspection to pinpoint the underlying cause of the issue.

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Trenchless Sewer Repair – No Need to Dig Up the Yard

Tuesday, July 12th, 2016

Trenchless Sewer Repair

Trenchless Sewer Repair | What You Need To Know 

If your sewer pipe broke, you should consider hiring a company that does trenchless sewer repair. This solution will certainly enable you to avoid the usual disruption and costs associated with the traditional method of sewer repairs. Traditional sewer repair normally involves digging trenches in your yard. This will mess up everything from your landscaping to your driveway and other structures that may stand above the damaged sewer lines.

The cost of traditional trenching usually includes payment for digging up the portion of street in front of your home. Sometimes the repair can even cause traffic to be rerouted to accommodate the work being done. This could mean anything from a few thousand dollars to more than $20,000 in sewer repair work. 

Trenchless Sewer Repair Options

The option of trenchless sewer repair has been available for about 15 years. Pipe lining and pipe bursting are the most common kind. A pipe liner or cured-in-place pipe is a flexible tube with resin coating. It is blown or pulled into the problem pipe and inflated. When the resin hardens, it results in a pipe within a pipe effect with the new pipe jointless and corrosion resistant. Pipe lining will result in the diameter of the lateral pipe being reduced by about a fourth of an inch, but this won’t impact its capacity to remove waste from the home. The method does require digging one hole for access. It also has some restrictions. For instance, it might not work if the lateral has joints or if it has collapsed.

Pipe bursting, on the other hand, is still possible even in the case of a collapsed lateral as long as there’s room for a cable to be dragged through the old pipe. This method involves pulling a new pipe through the damaged pipe, fracturing the latter outward in the process. This requires digging access holes on each side of the lateral pipe. Both pipe lining and bursting are proven effective and durable solutions for damaged sewer pipes.

Trenchless Sewer Repair Costs

Trenchless sewer repair costs vary depending on factors such as soil type, materials used, and how deep the pipes are buried. The work itself can be more expensive than conventional digging. Sometimes costing about 30 to 50 percent more. No dig sewer repair options are still the more cost effective option long term. There won’t be any need to spend thousands of dollars on restorative work.

There are situations, of course, that still call for trenching. Depending on the location as well as the condition and configuration of the pipes. If you are looking for the best advise for trenchless sewer repair in Fox Cities, call the plumbing professionals at Turek’s Plumbing
. 

 

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Do You Have More Than One Clogged Toilet?

Friday, June 10th, 2016

clogged toilet

What Do You Do When You Have More Than One Clogged Toilet?

All toilets, at some point, will clog. Older plumbing systems might lead to more clogs than newer systems. And misuse, like flushing down things you shouldn’t flush in toilets, inevitably leads to clogging. So don’t get too stressed out when one toilet starts to overflow. Take a plunger to it and take care of it.

But when both bathrooms seem to be acting “in concert,” and you’re at your wits end because not one, but two toilets are clogged you need more than just the humble plunger to fix the problem.

 

Two Is Not Better Than One

When you have one clogged toilet in the upstairs bathroom and another one in the downstairs bathroom, it might mean your septic tank is already full. This is if your property’s on a septic system. Another reason for both toilets getting backed up is a clog in the main sewer line. This is if your house is connected to the main sewer.

Whether it’s a full septic tank or a clogged main sewer line, both indicate serious plumbing problems. And only licensed plumbers have the knowledge, experience, and the tools to take care of the problem.

Incidentally, water backing up out of your toilets is one of the red flags to watch out for where the main sewer line is concerned. This is because toilets have the most direct path to the sewer, and the biggest drain in your house. A number of issues could be causing the main sewer line clog, like massive tree roots in your waste line.

 

Resolving the Clog

Immediately call your licensed Fox Valley plumber when you have two clogged toilets. Googling the problem and seeking advice in online forums are not going to be of much help. Only trained plumbers know how to figure out exactly what is causing the clog in your toilets.

The plumber will need to assess the clog. What happens when the toilets are flushed? Will the water come up and overflow? Or will it simply settle a little bit and then go down? Does water back up in your sink or tub when all taps are running?

With appropriate assessment, your plumber will be able to tell the extent of the clogged toilet, and from there, resolve the clog permanently.

It’s a nightmare to deal with toilets that are clogged. It is especially stressful when the clog happens when everyone else is asleep. With the right plumber, who can also do emergency service, you’ll get the right solution to the problem. So contact your local Fox Valley plumber now before your toilets start backing up.

 

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Why Homeowners Need Professional Services For Drain Cleaning

Thursday, May 12th, 2016

drain clearing service fox valley

Professional Drain Cleaning Services in Fox Valley | Turek’s Plumbing

One of the most important things every homeowner should do to ensure the working order of their plumbing system is drain cleaning. Fox Valley plumbers, at Turek’s Plumbing say that carrying this out regularly will prevent buildups that usually lead to flooding in bathrooms or stagnated water and other horrible buildups in sinks.

Draining out water buildup is not as complicated as it may sound, but who really wants to deal with the nastiness, right? Not only that, dealing with your home’s plumbing if you don’t know your way around can cause more harm than good.

This is mainly the reason why, for most residents of Fox Valley, drain service strategies provided by professionals are the only solution. With busy schedules and limited knowledge of plumbing issues, why should you risk complicating the problem further by trying to solve the problem yourself? It’s simply more convenient to have the pros come over and take care of the job; they can get around to the job in a time-efficient manner and have everything back in working order in no time.

Plumbers who handle this “dirty job” also add that in many cases, clogs can only be removed by using strong corrosives or chemicals. Anything that will require the use of these products really should be entrusted to people who already know how to use them properly and also have the right tools for the safe application of these chemical agents. In addition to these, the pros dispose of the harsh agents they have used in full compliance with the industry’s safety regulations and environmental laws so as not to cause any type of contamination.

Likewise, in cases wherein the clog is too big or too hard (like if a child’s toy had been forcefully flushed down the toilet or utensils have accidentally fallen down into the drain), specific techniques and tools are required to effectively get rid of the clog without causing further damage the plumbing system. Professional drain services are the only ones who can meticulously solve this problem.

And lastly, professional drain services usually do not just focus on the single problem they were called for; they go the extra distance in checking other components of the plumbing system to see if there are other issues that need to be addressed and that can be fixed while they’re at a client’s home.

With such high-quality service available, why bother with a DIY approach? If your drains are clogged or if you simply want to make sure that your home is free from drain issues, turn to the pros and worry no more.

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Slow Drains Could Be a Sign of a Larger Problem

Friday, March 18th, 2016

 

Fox Valley Plumber FAQ

Slow Drains in my Appleton, MI Home

Slow drains are often caused by the accumulation of debris, hair and soap scum. If you notice that the water in the shower or kitchen drain, or the sink in your kitchen or bathroom, isn’t going down as quickly as it used to, you should act fast before the problem worsens.

Often, the best solution to a slow drain is to remove the hair and debris that have accumulated. For this task, you can use a pair of needle nose pliers or a clothes hanger bent into a hook shape. After removing the debris blocking the drain, you should run hot water down the drain. In most cases, this will effectively solve the problem at hand. However, if the water is moving slowly, you may have a bigger problem at hand.

What could slow drains mean for my home?

In some cases, a slow drain is an indicator of a larger problem. It is one thing to notice a slow drain occurring in one part of the house, and it is an entirely different matter if you notice slow drains happening all at once in different places in your home .If you notice other symptoms like bad smells and gurgling sounds coming from the drain, it is best to call in expert plumbers to properly diagnose the problem at hand and enforce the appropriate solutions.

There are times when a slow drain indicates an issue in the main sewer line which will leave your plumbing and sewer system unusable. Main sewer problems can also lead to flooding and backing up of dirty and unhealthy water. In other cases, a slow drain may be a sign that your septic tank needs to be pumped out. An expert plumber can determine whether the septic tank does need to be pumped out or if the symptoms you are seeing are indicative of a different problem. Apart from pumping out the septic tank, your plumber may recommend a few other solutions, including the use of an augur or a high pressure water jet.

Slow Drain Solutions

An augur is a mechanical device that is powered by an electric motor. This device slowly spins inside the drain in order to remove the accumulated debris which impedes the proper flow of water. A high pressure water jet, on the other hand, can scrub the interiors of pipes in order to remove accumulated debris, including hair and soap scum. In some cases, your plumber may recommend cutting off tree roots which have damaged a section of your home’s pipes.

Again, if removing the accumulated debris in the shower or kitchen drain or sink does not do the trick, or if you notice unusual noises, call in the professionals to help solve the problem for you. Do not attempt to do it yourself.

 

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Is My Sewer Line Damage Caused By Tree Roots?

Wednesday, March 16th, 2016

How to determine if  your sewer line damage is caused by tree roots

sewer line damage

It’s a big delight for gardeners to see trees and plants growing healthily through the changing seasons. It’s always nice to see carefully planted vegetation thriving even through extreme weather like we get here in Appleton, WI.

However, trees and shrubs that root deeply and widely tend to overpower and destroy plumbing structures installed underground. Sewer line damage is common in areas like Appleton where there are big, old trees and shrubs, and this can be a big problem. Their roots can grow within the sewer line, creating blockages that inhibit the proper flow of water and waste. These blockages will cause backflow that can reek and create health problems; worst of all, additional household expenses for the repair of the sewer line will definitely add up. Not a fun diagnosis to get from your local plumber.

So, how do you know if you have sewer line damage?

  1. Slow-flowing drains indicate that the system is having a difficult time pushing everything down.
  2. Another reliable indicator is the frequent gurgling noise from the toilet. That sound means it’s barely successful in doing its job of flushing waste away.
  3. Overflow. This means the drain is clogged. Common drain clogs are easy enough to take care of; there are corrosive liquid agents that can break them down easily. But if you’ve already used a great amount of these products and your drains still get clogged often and the toilets overflow, it’s highly likely that roots have penetrated your sewer lines and are causing the clogging in your pipes.

What to do when you have a plumbing problem you think may be a sewer problem?

There’s no smarter way of dealing with this situation than calling in the pros. They know what to do about this problem — this includes getting permission from the local public works office to carry out repairs that will involve some serious digging.

A Professional plumber will inspect the drains and sewer with a camera to accurately assess the situation. They will then inform you of the best repair strategy to take; if there’s major damage because of the roots, the lines will have to be replaced.

For the dig, they can help you get permission from authorities; this way, repair can be carried out as soon as possible to prevent further damage and inconvenience to your household. They’ll also get rid of the roots that caused the damage and help you create a barrier (recommended growth inhibitors are copper sulfate and potassium hydroxide) between the trees and pipes.

Finally, once all that is done, you can expect to be provided advice on how to regularly maintain and clear the lines to prevent roots from growing inside them. As always Turek’s Plumbing is at your service for honest reliable sewer and drain service. 

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