Know Your Plumbing, White Bear Lake Plumbers

It is a good idea to learn the basics about plumbing.

Now is the time to finally learn more about plumbing. Likely, you have thought about it prior to now, but just didn't get around to doing it. In any case, the article below will teach you a few different plumbing tips and tactics you can implement to solve everyday issues around your home.

It's easy to fix noisy pipes which squeak or sound like hammering. Exposed pipes need to be anchored. If these pipes are located in the floors, ceiling or walls, you are probably best calling a professional plumbing company to take over the project.

If you need to winterize your house, turn off the water main usually located where the main enters into the building. This is not always the case and you may have to call a local white Bear Lake plumber to turn off the water meter located in the ground outside. When you have successfully shut off the water, open up all the houses faucets. This includes the outside hose bibs to allow all the water to drain out of your system. This will relieve any pressure in your pipes to prevent them from freezing and bursting, which may prevent major damage to your home. Additionally you will want to either use a shop vacuum to suck out any water remaining in your toilet bowl and tank to prevent the porcelain from cracking. A special type of antifreeze can be used as well to put into all of your sinks and tub/shower p-traps to prevent any damage to the waste pipes as well.

Only pay the plumber once the job is done. Sometimes it is required to put a little money down before the job starts, but don't ever pay the whole amount before you know the task is done correctly. If you pay everything up front, you have no recourse if the plumber doesn't finish the job or doesn't do it correctly.

The secret to low or even no repair bills from plumbing issues is preventative maintenance. One of the major repairs is always clogs and leaks. Practically anything can get stuck in those drains can cause them to lock up, including hair, grease, foreign objects, and sediment. Use a drain screen cover to keep hair and other elements from going down your pipes. Taking the hair off of the screen and disposing of it is always cheaper and easier than removing it from the pipes.

Learning a bit about plumbing can be an invaluable tool to have in your possession. You can now offer your plumbing knowledge as a resource for your friends and family, while also saving yourself a good chunk of money on plumbing repairs. You hopefully understand some plumbing basics now and had fun learning them. 

Paul Vadnais Plumbing
White Bear Lake Plumbers | Mahtomedi Plumbers | Birchwood Plumbers | Grant Township Plumbers

651-429-8908

651-231-0944

White Bear Lake Plumbers

 

Plumbers in White Bear Lake

A couple of weeks ago, we got a call from a woman with a pool in her front yard.  It wasn't the kind of pool that she could lounge by in the summer.  It wasn't the kind that her kids could frolic and kick around in for fun.  It was an enormous, muddy, sloppy mess that just appeared in her yard overnight.
After an entire day of digging up her yard, to everyone's great horror, this is what we unearthed:

The first question our technician asked was: "What is holding that water line together?"  The second question was: "How attached are you to your current landscaping?" In all seriousness, we had the unfortunate task of informing the homeowner that the last two times a plumber dug up her yard, he repaired her pipe with hose clamps and electrical tape. Electrical tape! She bid farewell to her tulips and we replaced the entire length of water line - most of which looked like it had been pieced together like Frankenstein.    

How do you keep yourself from falling victim to the Kraken-like abomination that was hiding deep in the dirt of her lovely yard?  Here are a few tips that will keep you safe from such danger:

• Develop a relationship with a plumber you can trust.  You don't have to invite them over for movie night with the family.  You just have to know that when you ask them to bury something six feet underground, you won't be alarmed with the results.

• Have a licensed plumber perform a home inspection, including running a sewer line camera, when you buy a house.  It isn't always a plumber's work product that determines whether your yard needs to be excavated.  Good (not really), old-fashioned Orangeburg pipe was used as a low cost alternative for sewer lines until around 1970. You can get anywhere between 10 to 50 years out of Orangeburg, after which time you could be saying the lady above was lucky that it was just a pool of water in her yard.  

• Ask plenty of questions.  Don't be afraid to ask your plumber a "dumb" question.  Ask for more information.  For instance: "Tell me how you will repair that water line."  If the explanation involves tape of any kind, it is probably time to move on.  Also, if the same person has repaired the same problem three times, it might be time for a second opinion.

Your plumbing experience does not have to feel like an episode of Tales From the Crypt. The best rule of thumb for anytime someone buries something in your yard is just to make sure it won't be coming back up out of the ground anytime soon.

Paul Vadnais Plumbing
651-429-8908
651-231-0944

White Bear Lake Plumbers | Mahtomedi Mn Plumbers | Birchwood MN Plumbers | Grant Township Plumbers |