Kitchen | Our Plumbing Blog

What’s clogging that shower drain?

November 11th, 2011 by pabrams

Drains clog, that’s just a fact of life, as any local plumber here in Atlanta 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 of Atlanta and we’ll send over a skilled Atlanta plumbing professional to clean the drainpipe good as new. 404-209-0001.

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Is your plumbing ready for Halloween?

October 28th, 2011 by pabrams

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 createall sorts of trouble in your drains.

Roto-Rooter’s Atlanta 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 Atlanta location immediately. Or you can reach us by phone at 404-209-0001.

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Halloween pumpkins may scare your garbage disposal to death!

October 21st, 2011 by pabrams

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 Orlando 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 Orlando 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 Orlando location straight away! You can give us a call any time of day at 407-886-7311.

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Garbage disposals Usually Fade Away Over Time

October 14th, 2011 by pabrams

We’ve said it before, garbage disposals may be the most misused appliance in existence. We stuff all sorts of food down the drain where the disposal chews it to bits and it seemingly disappears. I’ve seen some people literally clean out the refrigerator by dumping leftovers into the sink and washing them down. If only that stuff really did disappear. The food is only chopped to a paste and that paste often clings to the drainpipe and collects so always be sure to use a lot of water when using our disposal. You want that food paste to wash all the way out of the branch pipes. Truthfully, disposals are designed to handle the minor scraps left on a plate AFTER you’ve already scraped the leftovers into a trash can. If you use your disposal that way, you’ll never have a problem.

Here in Atlanta, the plumbers on staff at Roto-Rooter have a lot of experience fixing, installing or replacing garbage disposals. Most plumbers will agree that you get what you pay for in a garbage disposal. The cheapo builder-grade disposals that are installed in most new houses are loud and you’ll probably get five or six years out of them before their performance rapidly degrades. You’ll begin to notice it jamming more often and you’ll find you’ll have to press the little reset button on the bottom more often and then finally, it will just stop working altogether and you’ll be left with a backed up kitchen sink of dirty water.

Choose your new disposal carefully. Decide what you hated about your old one and then visit the big box handyman stores or a plumbing supply house. If noise is an issue, you’ll find very quiet models. They cost more but they also tend to perform better and last longer. Just remember that whichever model you choose, you’ll be living with it for many years to come. Finally, replacing a disposal is not an easy job for the inexperienced. It may look easy but I’ve seen plenty of people who think they’ll have it done in an hour but after three trips back to Home Depot and a lot of frustration, the job ends up taking all day or even an entire weekend. So before you take the DIY route, decide what your time is worth and consider calling an experienced Atlanta plumber to do the job for you while you do something you would rather be doing. You can even buy the disposal you want and hire Roto-Rooter to install it for you. And if you don’t know what you want, our plumber will help you decide by discussing all the options and possibilities and then he’ll get the disposal, bring it back and install it much faster than the average homeowner. Call us for a free estimate at 404-209-0001.

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Roto-Rooter Assists Tornado Victims in Alabama

May 9th, 2011 by pabrams

Roto-Rooter’s Birmingham Branch is lending a hand to its neighbors in its 12-county service territory who were victims of the late April 2011 tornadoes. The tornadoes wrecked homes and businesses and displaced many local families and individuals who are now staying in local shelters until they can find new places to live and get back on their feet.

Often it’s the little comforts that can make a big difference in someone’s comfort. That’s why Roto-Rooter’s Birmingham service technicians and office staff made it their mission to help their communities. The team purchased lots of toiletry items like toilet paper, toothbrushes, toothpaste, wet wipes, baby diapers and other “comfort items” then put together more than 1,500 care packages with the items. Roto-Rooter service technicians then loaded the items into their service vans and delivered the packages to area shelters.

Almost every member of Roto-Rooter’s Birmingham plumbing staff has a friend or family member who was affected by the tornadoes. “I’m upset and heartbroken over what my aunt is going thru at this time with the loss of her home. ”I think its a good thing to give back to the community and to the people who really need all the help they can get,” said Maurice Butler who is a service technician for Roto-Rooter. Business slowed in the wake of the storm and Roto-Rooter general manager, Jason Eldridge, decided that the idle time could be put to good use helping the community. He called a staff meeting and discussed the idea with his team and was greeted with overwhelming enthusiasm. Vernon Cooper, another service technician for Roto-Rooter said his sister lost her entire house in Pratt City. ”I’m Devastated by what my sister is going through and at a loss myself because I’m so close to the tragedy. So I’m happy to be able to help my neighbors who are going through so much right now”
Roto-Rooter technicians are used to providing 24 hour plumbing, fixing kitchen plumbing problems and doing sewer cleaning jobs but they have a fleet of reliable vehicles and an army of employees who stepped up to make life a bit more pleasant for their storm damaged community.

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5 Ways your Holiday Guests Could Ruin your Thanksgiving

November 16th, 2010 by pabrams

Five ways your guests (or you) could ruin your Thanksgiving holiday. (click here to view video)

1. Pouring fats or cooking oils down kitchen drains. Those turkey juices are loaded with grease that cools and solidifies inside your pipes, coating the walls and building up to cause kitchen sink drain clogs. Use the garbage can to dispose of grease, not the drain.

2. Putting stringy, fibrous or starchy waste down the garbage disposal. Almost every dish in a traditional Thanksgiving meal is a potential drain clogger, especially in quantity: Celery for the stuffing, potato peels, fruit peels, sweet potatoes, turkey skin, rice and pasta. And remember, this stuff finds its way into the drains during meal preparation and while rinsing or washing the dishes.

3. Not running the disposal each time waste is put inside. You should turn on the disposal each time something goes inside then let the water run long enough to push it through the drainpipe. Roto-Rooter plumbers regularly find garbage disposals completely clogged with peelings and other waste. By the time the user thinks about turning it on, it’s often too full and can’t sufficiently grind up the huge amount of waste, leaving a sink full of dirty water that won’t drain.

4. Not allowing a few minutes between showers and baths can cause the drains to back up. Encourage your guests to wait at least 10 minutes between showers and baths to give slow drains a chance to drain out completely. Too many showers or baths in a short space of time could spell disaster and cause a main sewer clog and backup or septic system failure.

5. Flushing cotton balls, cotton swabs, facial scrub pads, makeup remover pads, baby wipes and tampons will cause a major toilet clog. These items do not dissolve in water and should never be flushed. They can create major clogs.

Thanksgiving is hard on your plumbing. All those extra guests can mean more showers, more laundry loads, more toilet flushes and more stuff down the garbage disposal. You may already follow these rules but will your guests? The day after Thanksgiving is the busiest day of the year for Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Drain Service, North America’s largest provider of plumbing repair and sewer and drain services. Most of the time, the homes Roto-Rooter plumbers visit over Thanksgiving weekend already had partially clogged drains that went almost unnoticed until the guests arrived. The kitchen sink and garbage disposal get a lot of use during big meal preparation. And there are lots of extra toilet flushes, laundry loads and showers causing drains to become overwhelmed and blocked. Thanksgiving is the perfect storm for residential plumbing.

The good news is that Roto-Rooter is your 24 hour plumbing company, seven days a week, 365 days a year! Our local offices will be fully staffed to handle all calls quickly so you won’t have to wait long. And many Roto-Rooter locations do not charge extra for nights, weekends or holidays. Just call 1-800-ROTO-911 (1-800-768-6911) or click here to schedule service on-line.

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Los Angeles Plumbers of Roto-Rooter Offer Tips for Tackling Foul Odor Issues

August 2nd, 2010 by Roto-Rooter Bloggers

The Los Angeles plumbers of Roto-Rooter would like to provide some tips to address foul odor issues. Foul odors can occur because of a number of reasons. A common place for foul odor to arise is your kitchen sink, which is typically linked to your garbage disposal. To eliminate odor coming from your sink, you can run ice cubes and squeeze lemons or oranges down your drain while running the disposal for about 30 seconds. Then, follow up this process by squirting liquid dishwashing detergent while the disposal is running. Lastly, run cold water down the drain to clear leftover debris and your sink should be left odor free. A few tablespoons of baking soda may also prove helpful.

Basements can also harbor foul odor smells. If you are getting a foul odor coming from a basement bathroom, it is most likely caused by trapped water in various fixtures of your plumbing system. Plumbing systems are designed to prevent foul odors from entering your home, but occasionally, the water seal of a trap can evaporate and allow odor to enter your home. This plumbing problem has an easy solution, which can be done by dumping a bucket of water down the shower, sink or floor drain within your basement.

If you would like assistance with this or any other plumbing or drain service in the Los Angeles area, feel free to call us at (800) 438-7686 or visit our Los Angeles plumber Web site for online scheduling and additional information.

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Hartford Plumbers of Roto-Rooter Offer Kitchen Plumbing Maintenance Tips

June 3rd, 2010 by Roto-Rooter Bloggers

Roto-Rooter’s Hartford plumbers recommend these simple tips to keep the kitchen plumbing running efficiently in your home.

Run cold water down the drain for 15 seconds before and after using the garbage disposal to thoroughly clear out the waste from the line.
Never put dense, stringy or fibrous waste down the drain, which would include things like poultry skins or fruit and vegetable peels.
Dispose of liquid grease in the trash. If consistently poured down the drain it will eventually cause a plumbing problem.

These precautionary measures should prolong the longevity of your kitchen’s functionality and can ultimately protect you from potential kitchen plumbing problems which may arise. If you have any further questions about kitchen plumbing or any other plumbing or drain cleaning service, don’t hesitate to get in contact with us. Visit our Hartford plumber web site or call us at (860) 747-3890 and we would be happy to assist you.

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Seattle Plumbers of Roto-Rooter Are Ready to Tackle Any Sink or Faucet

May 28th, 2010 by Roto-Rooter Bloggers

Our skilled Seattle Plumbers can handle any faucet or sink repair or replacement. From kitchen sinks to water shut-off valves, they do it all. They also are able to do sink and faucet replacements; you can purchase your own model or order through Roto-Rooter and proceed with an installation. Faucets typically don’t last forever and will most likely need to be replaced over time due to regular usage. There are now more efficient faucets, which can be a great option to take advantage of if you are in the market for a replacement as well.

Sometimes, if a faucet breaks things can become quite hectic and you will need to shut off the water before a plumber can arrive. Don’t panic, it is actually a fairly simple process. Look beneath the sink for the water shut-off valves. There should be two shut-off valves (one hot, one cold), they usually are chrome with small oval handles. Once you’ve located them, turn the handles clockwise until the water stops. You may need to use pliers to loosen tight valves, but make sure not to force it all at once or you could end up with a more problematic break.

If you have any questions regarding faucet and/or sink options or any other plumbing problem, one of our plumbers in the Seattle area would be happy to assist you. Visit our Seattle plumber web site for online scheduling or call us at (206) 935-6600.

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Memphis Plumbers of Roto-Rooter Offer Kitchen Sink Tips

May 17th, 2010 by Roto-Rooter Bloggers

Our Memphis plumbers are very familiar with kitchen plumbing problems and the majority of kitchen plumbing service they do revolves around the kitchen sink. Low water pressure coming from the sprayer or water leaks from sink handles are common problems. Typically, these sink issues are caused by lime and sediment buildup and can be easily dealt with by cleaning or replacing the aerator inside of the faucet head. Below is a simple process for cleaning aerators.

By hand, unscrew the aerator from the faucet by turning it counter-clockwise. If you are having difficulties trying to unscrewing the aerator, you may need to use pliers to initially loosen it.
Take the aerator or spray head apart.
Use a small brush or cloth dipped in vinegar to clean and remove the sediment.
Reassemble the unit and screw it back in the faucet.

If you would like assistance with this process or need to schedule further kitchen plumbing service, don’t hesitate to give us a call at (901) 323-4285 or visit our Memphis plumber web site to schedule service online.

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