South End Plumbing Heating & Air Expert Tips

How to Adjust Water level in a Toilet?

If you’re a homeowner you’re going to have to know how to troubleshoot simple things with a toilet-that’s just the way it is. That’s why every homeowner should learn basic fixes for their toilets. Today, we’re going to talk about how to adjust the water level. It’s the only adjustment that changes your flushing force.

Why Would You Want to Change Flushing Force?

Your toilet bowl water level is more important than you believe. If it’s too low, there may not suffice water to flush the toilet appropriately and you might end up with regular blockages. If it’s too much water in the bowl, your toilet can waste water by continuously running and might even end up being dangerously near to over running when you flush!

How to Raise the Water Level
Your toilet’s water level is controlled by a float that turns the water system on and off based on the water level in the tank (and in the bowl). To raise it, you’ll need to adjust the float, which will be among 2 kinds. Prior to doing anything, turn off the toilet’s water supply.

(note: Some toilet’s shut off valves are so old they can get stuck or start leaking when they are moved. That being said you don’t want to start messing with this before bed on a Friday night. You’ll want to check it first thing in the morning so you’ll have time to have a plumber come out and replace it if you need to.)

How Often Should You Clean A Sump Pump?

Are sump pumps a set it and forget it appliance or is it in the forefront of your mind every day? Probably not very much, due to the fact that the majority of the time, sump pumps work as they’re supposed to, humming along in the background, working hard to prevent floods that can harm your home. It’s a small machine, but a big part of keeping your basement dry, so it’s important to keep your sump pump in good working order. How often are you required to perform maintenance on your sump pump, in order to keep it working appropriately? That’s a great question.

Conserving With Water Saving Fixtures

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, we’ve all heard about the droughts in the other parts of the country. This has effected water usage in many states for household functions and food production on farms. Fortunately North Carolina has been experiencing record breaking rainfall so we haven’t had to mandate any water usage. That being said it can still benefit many residents to be conservative with your water if you’re trying to keep your water bill low. It can also be helpful to not over work your septic system. Here’s a list of water saving fixtures that can ad value to your home while saving water at the same time.

Why Were Bathrooms Called Water Closets In The Past?

If you were born in the last hundred years you’ve always called a bathroom a bathroom, or maybe a restroom, but have you ever heard anyone call it a water closet? Just where did that term come from? The answer is pretty surprising. 

A little over 200 years ago, the terms for each room in a house were specific instead of being generic. Someone might go to the “bathroom” to take a bath because that’s where the tub located. You might go to the “restroom” to rest or get ready for your day, so there may have been a sink, a mirror, or other necessities. This is common still in a lot of rentals and bed and breakfasts. 

That being said you went to the “water closet” to use what is not referred to as a toilet. 

Finding the Exact Location of a Leak Behind Drywall

Using a Moisture Meter: You can purchase or lease a wetness meter at a hardware store and utilize it to pinpoint the area of the leak. Point it at various locations of the wall until you discover the area that produces the greatest reading. That’s the one closest the leak. If you call an expert to come out and look for leaks they will bring along one of these gadgets.

Using a Thermal Camera: You can likewise use an infrared cam to identify cold locations in a wall. The wettest areas of a wall will be the coldest and will appear as blue or purple on the cam. This is another gadget frequently utilized by our professionals to discover water leakages inside walls.

Cut into your drywall: Because this test requires patching when you’re done, it’s definitely the last resort choice. Basically, it involves cutting into your drywall in order to take a look around. When choosing where to cut bear in mind that the area of visible water damage might not be where the leak lies. Water can leak down the side of a pipe for some distance before it eventually starts entering contact with your drywall.

Prior to you take the drastic step of cutting into your drywall, we encourage you to get in touch with our plumbing specialists. A qualified and proficient specialist will just do this as a last hope.

Differences Between an Apprentice, a Journeyman, And a Master Plumber

Unless you’re in the construction or plumbing industry, you may not know there are different types of plumbers based on experience and accreditation. Read along to understand what are the similarities and differences in the different levels of plumbers.