South End Plumbing, Heating, & Air Expert Tips

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.

Addressing the Smells

So, you have figured out the cause of the smell, now it’s time to address the issue at hand! The best place to start is with maximizing ventilation. You’ll want to open all the windows and let the fresh from outside in. Also turn on ceiling fans and exhaust fans if you have them. This will decrease the effects of the stinks while you work. You’ll want to avoid using any scented products such as air fresheners or candles because this will just mask the problem.

Solving Low Well Water Pressure

If you’re a new home owner with a well or a long term well owner, solving low water pressure on a water well system can be difficult. There are some causes of low water pressure are easy to fix, while others could require a professional plumber that specializes in wells. No matter the cause, low water pressure is not something a home owner should have to live with.

The term “water pressure” is used to describe the force behind the water that pushes it through the pipes in the home owner’s plumbing system. If the house uses city water, water pressure is controlled by the municipal water system, but for those homes with a private well, water pressure is controlled by settings on the individual well pump. This setting is measured by pounds per square inch (psi) and should fall somewhere between 40 psi and 60 psi.

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.