South End Plumbing, Heating, & Air Expert Tips

What Causes Sewage To Come Up Through The Bathtub Drain?

You possibly really did not expect to see sewage coming up through your bathtub drain recently, though you might have smelled it very first and promptly understood something was wrong. So you can settle the problem as well as stop it from happening once more, it is very important to understand that the issue is with your sewer line, not your bathtub! Why Sewer Is Turning up Through Your Bath tub?

When raw sewage or suspicious water is in your tub, the issue lies not with your bathtub itself, however with what’s below it– your sewage system line. When your plumbing systems are in functioning order, your bath tub drains tub and also shower water down your pipelines as well as into your drain. Your bathtub and also toilet drain down different pipelines till they get to the main sewer line, which is the main pipe to which all drains in your residence lead. Eventually, all the drained pipes materials mix and also are dislodged of your home with one line: the drain main. When there’s a clog generally in the drain line, all the pipes leading to that drain might be influenced. If the main sewer line is obstructed somehow, all the water that stopped running through to drain in the pipes correctly (including raw sewage) can develop, ultimately coming up in odd areas– like your bathtub.

Tired of Waiting On Hot Water? You Need a Recirculating Pump

Have you gotten tired of waiting on your hot water after you turn it on? If you have a large home, you may wait a few seconds or even minutes for hot water. This is not only time consuming, but wastes precious water.

The distance your hot water has to travel is the reason cold water comes out first. When the hot water faucet is on, hot water travels to your sink through your plumbing. Turn it off and the water stops, but that hot water doesn’t return it to the water heater. It stays in the pipes and gets cold. The next time you might need hot water, the cold water in the pipes has to be pushed out by new hot water from your water heater. The more piping distance between the water heater and the faucet at the furthest part of your home, the more cold water there is and the longer it takes.

The Solution is Simple

You can have our plumbers install a recirculating pump. A hot water recirculating pump is installed on your water heater (and some can be installed under your sink), they function to return unused hot water back to the water heater. This genius design allows you to have instant hot water.

How Often Should You Get Your Water Heater Flushed?

Water heaters need regular maintenance as does other contraptions such as your car. Over time, water heaters build up inside with sediment, calcium, and minerals that settles at the bottom of the tank. By design the heating element of a water heater is at the bottom of the tank, this is because heat rises. If this heat is being insulated by sediment by sediment calcium, then your water heater has to use more energy to heat the water.

It’s proven there are no downsides to flushing a water heater. Minerals build up causes damage and it is more expensive to leave it it in the tank than to just flush it out regularly.

What’s a Backflow Preventer And When Do You Need One?

Backflow preventers are valves that are installed on your home’s plumbing supply line or an irrigation water supply line that allows water to flow only in one direction but never in the opposite direction. The purpose of it’s design is to prevent possible contaminated water from flowing in your or city drinking water supply lines. 

But just what is “backflow”  when it refers to plumbing? Is this something the average Charlotte homeowner needs to worry about?

Never fear, we’ll answer these questions and more in our written guide blow to Backflow Preventers. To begin, let’s look at how contamination from backflow can occur. 

What Causes Toilet Tank Bolts To Rust?

If you have a toilet you may have looked into the tank to clean or fix issues. That being said, if the toilet is more than a few years old you might have noticed the tank bolts are rusty. This can cause alarm because you know if the bolts rust out you’re going to have a massive leak. Rusting toilet tank bolts can easily be prevented by using solid brass bolts. Manufacturers of toilets due to saving every dime on cheap parts have been including zinc plated steel bolts (which are prone to rust) with toilets for years now, and they just don’t last forever.

Should You Switch to City Water if You Have a Well?

Even with city water supply, many people in Charlotte and the surrounding areas are still on well water. There are both drawbacks and benefits to being on either well or city water. So if you are considering switching to city water, you’ll want to ask yourself these questions.