South End Plumbing Heating & Air Expert Tips

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.

How to Prevent Roots From Destroying Your Sewer Line

Naturally trees and shrubs grow toward sewer lines. The reason is pipes are filled with a source of the water, nutrients, and oxygen that roots crave. And when a root finds a leak, it will very quickly grow into the pipe. Over time this growth will inhibit the flow of waste, causing blockages, broken pipes and other serious headaches for homeowners. Also sewage leaks are unsanitary and lead to many health problems, and repairing the expensive damage caused by the roots can cost thousands of dollars. That being said, you can avoid costly repair bills by taking a few precautionary measures when planting shrubs/trees and maintaining pipes.

How Do You Know If You Need A Water Softener?

With different city water supplies, some home owners being on wells, and spring water for even some homes in the mountain the question comes up often. Is all water created equal? The answer is an astounding no. Sure, in its purest form, water is H2O, but once it comes in contact with people and the environment, it takes on minerals and particulates. These can lead to a water that has a different level of hardness and a certain degree of contaminants. 

So how do you turn hard water back into softened water and how does a dedicated water softener achieve this? Our plumbers are here to explain everything there is to know about water hardness in your water supply. 

Should You Flush Flushable Wipes?

Most flushable wipes can technically be physically flushed – however, while they might make it through the curved part of your toilet, they are more likely to get stuck in the drainpipe due to their design or build up over time and cause a clogged drain.

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.