Knoxville TN Clogged Drains

How Can I Keep My Drains From Clogging?

How Can I Keep My Drains From Clogging?

Knoxville TN Clogged DrainsDrains are like the excretory organs of a property. If the drains work well, then all waste generated at home or at office can be got rid of easily. If the drains are not working well, then most of the waste generated will have to be specially attended to. While drains are usually very effective at flushing out all liquid waste, they don’t typically do well with solid waste or even semisolid waste. Drains have a tendency to get clogged. If there is anything that is not a fluid or even a liquid that doesn’t flow very easily, then it will clog the drains.

Clogged drains can cause a major headache for any homeowner. Apart from flooded drains being the favorite place for insects and thus diseases, they would be the source of foul smell and there can be flooding in unsuspecting areas in the property, including indoors. All the problems due to and emanating from the clogged drains are certainly undesirable but if you wish to avoid them, then you have to be cautious.

  • You can keep your drains from clogging, if you are conscious of what you are draining down. Soap water and general dirty water runoff from washing, cooking and bathing or cleaning don’t usually clog the drains, unless there is flooding outside. It is solid waste, semisolid materials and liquids such as grease or oil that lead to buildup in the drains. In other words, anything that can create a barrier of sorts in any part of the entire drainage system, till the time the larger underground drains are reached, can cause clogged drains. You simply have to be more careful of what you flush down the drains.
  • Regular maintenance can help you to avert clogged drains. Many homeowners don’t really care about the drains until and unless there is some problem. It is similar to most fixtures in a home that are not obvious to the eyes and are thus not cared for. Clean the drains as and when possible, hire a plumber to do it once in three months or twice in a year and you can avoid clogged drains.
  • You should consider buying a garbage disposal unit if you don’t have one. This will allow you to run down some solid or semisolid waste without the fear of clogging the brains. The garbage disposal unit will crush the waste and make drainage simpler and smoother.
Knoxville TN Water Heater Check with Plumber

How Often Should I Have My Water Heater Checked Out

How Often Should I Have My Water Heater Checked Out

Knoxville TN Water Heater Check with PlumberIdeally, you don’t need to have your water heater checked out if it is new. As the water heater gets old, you will come across signs that will indicate a need for some preventive maintenance or repairs. There can be problems with new water heaters and those problems will become obvious if you pay heed to the system and observe the kind of water the heater delivers. Unless there are visible or noticeable problems with new heaters, they don’t usually need preventive maintenance. Regardless of whether your water heater is new or old, here are the signs that you should be looking for.

  • The most obvious sign that your water heater is not working properly or optimally is if you don’t get hot water out of it. In some cases, you may get hot water but it may not be hot enough as per the capacity of the heater and the settings that you have programmed the heater to. In such cases, you should call in a technician.
  • There is another extremely obvious sign that you cannot possibly miss. If you notice water dripping out of the water heater, from any of its part, then you should obviously have the device checked out. There can be leaks due to malfunctioning valves, due to mechanical or structural problems in the system. There could also be a problem with the pipes that are connected to and from the heater. Regardless of the cause of the leaks, you should call in a plumber to have it checked out.
  • There can be two types of problems with a water heater, one is electrical and the other is mechanical. It is necessary to hire a plumber who would be able to determine the type of problem whether it is mechanical or electrical. For instance, not having hot water from the heater could be due to a tripped circuit breaker or due to a malfunctioning pilot light, blocked connections or heavy mineral deposits or something else.
  • If your water heater makes any noise or sound that is not ordinary, then you should have it checked out. Look out for loud cracks or not so loud popping sounds.
  • If you have rusted water flowing out of the taps or if you find a metallic smell or taste in the water running out of the taps, then there is a possible problem of corrosion inside the water heater.
  • If you hear banging sounds in the pipes then you should reduce the pressure in the water heater. You need not hire a technician for this purpose but if you want to be sure, then expert intervention is more recommendable.

 

 

 

Knoxville Repipe

Some Homes In Knoxville Needs to be Repiped… Is Your Home One?

Some Homes In Knoxville Needs to be Repiped… Is Your Home One?

They say nothing lasts forever, and the pipes in your home won’t either. Sooner, or later, you may be faced with the question of whether or not to have the pipes, the plumbing, in your house, replaced.

Leaking-galvanized-pipe | Knoxville RepipeIn very old Knoxville homes

The galvanized iron pipes came in nominal lengths and every joint, connection, elbow, or tee, had threads in all the outlets and may very well begin to leak. In addition, iron rusts and often clogs the pipe so you have very little flow.

In newer Knoxville homes

Copper pipe replaced the galvanized iron pipe, and used soldered joints to replace the threaded ones. When properly installed, they should last for the life of the house. However, due to ground settling, earthquakes, remodeling and other unseen happenings, copper pipe and fittings may  crack, or a solder joint fail.

When Copper is in Short Supply in Knoxville

Which happens from time to time, various replacement materials, usually plastic have been used. Plastic is also commonly used in mobile homes and RVs.

So, How Do You Know If You Need To Repipe your Home?

Before you face the situation, and have your whole house repiped, do some checking. Are you having more leaks, and have your plumber on speed-dial? Does the water flow slowly and have a weak stream at your faucets? Do your pipes bang when the faucets are shut off? Is there rust in the water? If any, or all, these things are happening to your water system, you may need to have your home repiped.

A Major Job

Repiping a home is a major proposition,  so think carefully about the plumber you have do the job. Be sure they are licensed, bonded, and insured. Check with the Better Business Bureau, to see if any complaints have been filed. Ask if you can contact any of their customers.

If the repiping will require walls, ceilings, or floors be removed, or opened up for access, you might want to consider doing a remodeling and rewiring during the same period. That way there is no need for each profession to close up and finish the openings. In addition, a permit will likely be required to do any of the jobs and a contractor can manage the job and coordinate the sub-contractors

When undertaking such a job, we would recommend looking on line to see what Knoxville Plumbing LLC has to offer. http://knowvilleplumbingllc.com