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Thanksgiving creates more drain clogs than any other day

November 23rd, 2011 by

The day after Thanksgiving is the single busiest of the year for Roto-Rooter, nationwide and for our plumbers here in Atlanta. Why? Big holiday meal preparation and cleanup can lead to clogged kitchen sinks and garbage disposals. Extra guests mean more toilet flushes, extra laundry loads,

Never pour cooking oil or grease down the drain

more showers, etc. But oddly enough, Thanksgiving itself is not such a busy day for Roto-Rooter. It’s the next day, Black Friday, that gets absolutely crazy! The day after Thanksgiving is the single busiest day of the year for Roto-Rooter plumbers. Incoming calls will jump 50% above an average Friday. We’ll be slammed but thanks to good planning, we’ve staffed up here at Roto-Rooter Plumbers of Atlanta (and nationwide). We know what’s coming and we’ll be fully staffed to deal with all the extra calls so we can still get to your problem FAST!

If you want to avoid having the Roto-Rooter man over for Thanksgiving Dinner (or turkey sandwiches the next day), pay attention to these important tips:

  • Never pour fats or cooking oils down drains. They solidify in pipes. Instead, wipe grease from pots with paper towels and throw them into the trash.
  • Avoid putting stringy, fibrous or starch waste in the garbage disposal.
  • Make sure disposal is running when you put food into it. Don’t wait until it’s full to turn it on.
  • For homes hosting weekend guests, wait 15 minutes between showers so slow drains have time to do their job.
  • Never flush cotton balls, swabs, hair or facial scrub pads down a toilet. They don’t dissolve and will cause clogs.

Finally, Roto-Rooter of Atlanta does not charge extra for nights, weekends or holidays. It’s true! So if you’re dealing with a big clog and are fearful of a plumber’s holiday bill, don’t worry! Call Roto-Rooter’s experienced Atlanta plumbers and you’ll pay the same rate on Thanksgiving that you would pay on any other day. And we are a 24-hour plumbing company. Give us a call at 404-209-0001 in Atlanta. Nationally, you can call Roto-Rooter at 1-800-ROTO-911.

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What’s clogging that shower drain?

November 11th, 2011 by

Drains clog, that’s just a fact of life, as any local plumber here in Vista will tell you. For kitchen drains, it’s grease and food that cause the clogs but shower drains are usually clogged by hair, soap and shampoo residue. Put these three things together and you can create a pretty tough shower drain clog. We humans seem to shed lots of hair. But those of us with longer hair, particularly women, seem to lose a handful of hair each week, if my shower drain is any indication of what goes on in other households. Honestly, I wonder how it is that women can lose so much hair and not be bald? Fortunately, our drain cover is one that seems to capture a lot of the hair on the drain grate itself and I’m able to gather it and throw it in the waste basket without allowing most of it to go down into the pipe. Or so I thought. About twice a year, the shower drain gets clogged to the point that we get standing water in the shower pan as the drain very slowly does its job. Normally, I just pop off the drain cover, put on some rubber gloves, reach a finger or two down the pipe and pull out a big wad of hair. Sometimes, I’ll reach down with a pair of needle-nose pliers and grab even more. Occasionally, a plunger helps bring more to the surface and the problem goes away for another six months. After many years in the same house, we’ve so far avoided the need to have the shower drain professionally cleaned but one of these days, I think a professional cleaning may be necessary to beat a super clog. I know it’s coming, I just don’t know when. If your shower drain has clogged to the point where you can no longer beat the clog on your own, call Roto-Rooter and we’ll send over a skilled plumbing professional to clean the drainpipe good as new.

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Is your plumbing ready for Halloween?

October 28th, 2011 by

Have you heard about the ways Halloween can impact your home’s plumbing? We’re not talking about chocolate or candy corn down the drain. We’re talking about pumpkin guts! Roto-Rooter reminds you never put pumpkin seeds or pulp down the sink or through the garbage disposal. We’ll bet you would be surprised how often we hear from people who just push that pumpkin muck down the sink drain and turn on the disposal! When pumpkin guts dry, they harden like concrete and can create all sorts of trouble in your drains.

Roto-Rooter’s plumbing experts suggest instead that you spread out a newspaper and put the gooey guts and seeds on it, then separate the seeds. The newspaper and pulp are beneficial for the compost pile and the seeds are a tasty seasonal snack. You don’t even need to rinse off the good, a lot of people believe it adds to the flavor. And remember, Roto-Rooter is always working. We’re your 24 hour plumbing company so if you don’t get this information in time and your drain is jammed with pumpkin guts, we’ll send a plumber out to any location immediately.

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Halloween pumpkins may scare your garbage disposal to death!

October 21st, 2011 by

Halloween is a fun time for families, as they gather around the kitchen to carve pumpkins. But Halloween is scary too – for your sink and garbage disposal that is.

Your experienced Vista plumbers at Roto-Rooter want to remind you never put pumpkin seeds or pulp down the sink or through the garbage disposal. You would be surprised how often we hear from people who just push that pumpkin muck down the sink drain and turn on the disposal! When pumpkin guts dry, the harden like concrete and can creat all sorts of havoc in your drains.

Roto-Rooter’s plumbing experts suggest instead that you spread out a newspaper and put the gooey guts and seeds on it, then separate the seeds. The newspaper and pulp are great for the compost heap and those seeds are best for making a tasty seasonal snack. You don’t even need to rinse off the good, a lot of people believe it adds to the flavor. And remember, Roto-Rooter is a 24 hour plumbing company so if you don’t get this information in time and your drain is plugged with pumpkin guts, we’ll send a plumber out to any Greater Vista location straight away! You can give us a call any time of day.

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Municipal Scale Plumbing & Sewer Service in Pittsburgh

June 29th, 2010 by

Area municipalities, engineering firms, commercial development, and industrial relations professionals should be aware that the Pittsburgh plumbers at Roto-Rooter Pittsburgh have unrivaled experience with excavation, pipe relining, pipe bursting and CCTV service (Closed Caption Television Video) for inspection of sewer lines of any pipe size/diameter.

A common misunderstanding is that Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Drain Services only handles minor residential sewer clogs with cable machines. While that was true for the first few decades the company was in business, Roto-Rooter branched out and began offering more advanced plumbing services in 1980 when we began installing sewers and performing all manner of plumbing work.

Roto-Rooter Pittsburgh has grown considerably and will continue to grow into a giant municipal services provider. We're acquiring new CCTV equipment, even larger excavation equipment and we are currently doing large municipal excavation jobs for Forest Hills Borough and continual CCTV work for Penn Hills Borough of Pennsylvania.

I was recently on the Forest Hills job talking to a borough representative whose exact words were, "I am so impressed with Roto-Rooter and what they have done so far. Honestly I was so skeptical about the hiring process for the bid during the qualification process. But you guys are blowing me away with the scope of work you're doing for us."

While Roto-Rooter Pittsburgh is still the Pittsburgh plumbing company of choice for drain clogs and residential plumbing and repair, our business and community leaders should not overlook us when they require expertise for advanced engineering services. Roto-Rooter is the Pittsburgh plumber to trust at home or at the office.  Call us at 412-793-9200 or visit our home page to learn more.

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Manhattan Plumbers of Roto-Rooter Recommend Pipe Shield to Fight Drain Clogs

June 4th, 2010 by

Roto-Rooter's Pipe Shield is highly recommended by the Manhattan plumbers. It is a fast acting economical way to ensure free-flowing drains. It prevents materials from building up in your drains and causing clogs. Pipe Shield's select formula uses natural bacteria to breakdown deposits, so it's environmentally safe! When used as directed each month, buildup can be prevented for up to 30 days.

It’s any easy process; apply it once a month to kitchen, bathroom, shower, tub and other drains. Add 2 oz. (1/4 cup) of Pipe Shield to 32 oz. (4 cups) of warm water and pour into your drain. Let it stand overnight, then flush with hot water for one minute. For drains that clog more frequently, use on a weekly basis.

Pipe Shield can be purchased directly from your Roto-Rooter Manhattan plumbing branch location.  Contact us at (212) 687-1662 for more information or visit our Manhattan plumber Web site for online scheduling.

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