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How to Keep Plumbing Repair Costs to a Minimum

December 15th, 2011 by Roto-Rooter Bloggers

Let’s face it. Nobody wants to pay for Orlando plumbing repair services. Fortunately, there are a number of measures that any homeowner can take to keep repair costs to a minimum, including:

  • Choose a trusted Orlando plumbing repair company. This is extremely important because if you do not choose a reliable plumber, then you risk spending more money than necessary on plumbing services. Roto-Rooter has served as a highly trusted, recommended plumbing company since 1935. We also stand behind our quality services with a no hassle guarantee so you can rest assured that your money will be well spent.

 

  • Keep your plumbing well maintained. This will help to cut back on any repair needs anytime in the near future and can even help to cut down on your monthly utility costs by helping to cut down on your water usage.
  • Use reliable plumbing and drain cleaning products to keep your plumbing, pipes, and drains in the best shape possible. We offer a complete line of quality products that will work much better than a generic product that you would find at your local store. These problems will not only help to correct any current problems, but can even help to prevent clogs from forming in the future. All of our products are also environmentally safe and your satisfaction is guaranteed.
  • Don’t complete any plumbing repairs on your own if you don’t have the skills, materials, and equipment necessary to do so successfully. This may end up costing you more money because you may end up making a small problem much worse than it was in the first place. On the other hand, Roto-Rooter can affordably take care of the problem for you so that you don’t have to worry about it.
  • Get a quote. This will allow you to easily compare competing estimates and determine if you can afford any necessary repairs at this time. We offer free estimates to each of our customers so that they can compare our quotes with those of surrounding Orlando plumbing repair companies. We can also provide you with a number of convenient financing and payment plan options so that you can get the plumbing repairs you need now and then pay for them later.

Make sure to speak with one of our knowledgeable plumbers about what further measures you can take to keep your plumbing repair costs to a minimum.

 

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How to Repair a Water Heater

December 9th, 2011 by Roto-Rooter Bloggers

Most homeowners can very easily determine if their gas, electric, or tankless water heater is not working correctly. Some common signs of a water heater problem include:

  • Clicking noise coming from the water heater
  • Pilot light will not stay on
  • Water is dripping from the base of the water heater
  • Water in your home takes longer to get hot
  • Your home has little or no hot water at all.

This common signs usually means that your water heater needs to be repaired or replaced. Although it is easy to determine that a problem exists, it is often much more difficult to determine what to do to fix the problem. Roto-Rooter is committed to helping “do-it-yourself” homeowners who like to repair small plumbing problems on their own to ensure that they have the tools and assistance necessary to complete these services correctly. However, Orlando water heater repairs are one problem that should be left to the professionals.

Most professional plumbers report that water heater problems are the most common service call that they receive. However, oftentimes, homeowners attempt to repair the problem themselves and end up making the problem much worse than it was in the first place. They also often end up spending considerably more money on the repair then they would have spent if they had called a professional in the first place. For instance, consider how much it will cost to buy the equipment and materials necessary to repair a water heater problem. Along with the cost and frustration involved with Orlando water heater repair services, also consider the fact that working with a water heater can be very dangerous.

Leave the Work to Us

Instead, trust Roto-Rooter to handle the problem for you to ensure that the issue is corrected quickly and correctly the first time. Our experienced, licensed plumbers have the skills, knowledge, and expertise necessary to deal with complex Orlando water heater repair, replacement, and installation needs. We are also fully equipped to repair or replace a water heater using only the highest quality products available in the industry to ensure lasting results.

We will respond as soon as possible to ensure that your water heater is back up and running again in no time. To help the problem before we arrive, you can turn off power to the water heater by turning off the circuit breaker or fuse powering the heater. It is also wise to shut off the water supply to the water heater.

 

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What to Do When You Have an Emergency Plumbing Need

December 8th, 2011 by Roto-Rooter Bloggers

An emergency plumbing need can be very stressful on any home or business owner. However, as long as you have a reliable Orlando plumber on your side, all you have to worry about is waiting for us to begin fixing the problem. The steps to take to ensure that your problem is appropriately addressed include:

1. Relax: The first thing you need to do is take a deep breath and know that we will get you through this.

2. Stop the flow of water: If you are having problems with a particular fixture or appliance, then you can shut off that valve only by turning it clockwise. If it is a larger problem, then you can usually locate the main water valve on the inside or outside of your home or business where the main water supply pipe enters.

3. Call us: Make sure to call us right away for any emergency plumbing needs you may have. The sooner you call us, the faster we can get your home or business plumbing back in order. Calling us immediately will also ensure that the problem is addressed right away, before it gets any worse. Our trained customer service representatives will provide you with assistance over the phone on how you can help improve the problem before we arrive. We will also provide you with a free estimate so that you know what the costs will be before we begin any services.

4. Call your insurance company: Some insurance policies will cover the costs of floods or other emergency plumbing needs in your home or business. If your plan covers these costs, then make sure to report the problem to your insurance company as soon as possible.

5. Follow up on maintenance services: In order to keep plumbing repair costs to a minimum in the future, it is crucial to keep your plumbing properly maintained throughout the year. We can provide you with affordable, reliable plumbing maintenance services to ensure that it your residential or commercial plumbing is consistently working properly, which will keep your future repair costs and monthly utility costs to a minimum.

Not every Orlando plumber can accommodate emergency needs. However, Roto-Rooter is available 24/7 to meet your emergency needs in a timely, efficient manner so that you can get your plumbing back right away. We also stand behind our work with a no-hassle guarantee to ensure your complete satisfaction.

 

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Commercial plumbing is almost half of our business

November 11th, 2011 by pabrams

Sometimes people are surprised to learn that Roto-Rooter is not only a full-service Orlando plumber but that we can handle any size commercial plumbing job. Commercial plumbing repairs represent almost half of our overall business. Think of movie theatres, hospitals, schools, manufacturing plants, restaurants, office buildings, theme parks and other commercial establishments here in Orlando and all the toilets, sinks, drainpipes, sewer lines and water supply pipes those businesses depend on. Not to mention backflow inspections and other services commercial businesses have to deal with.  Yes, Roto-Rooter here in Orlando takes care of any and all commercial plumbing issues, not matter how big or small. Let’s face it, when the plumbing stops working, a lot of businesses ground to a halt. That means profits stop dead in the water too. Roto-Rooter’s Orlando plumbing professionals understand that, which is why we offer the Roto-Rooter Business Advantage Program to our commercial customers. It give priority service, discount coupons and 24/7 rush service no matter what time of the day or night. Check out the details of Roto-Rooter Business Advantage and ask yourself if this program might be right for your business. Or give us a call at Roto-Rooter of Orlando and we’ll be glad to tell you all about it . 407-886-7311 

 

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Look behind your washing machine today

November 7th, 2011 by pabrams

Look behind your washing machine, and do it today. If you see black rubber hoses connecting your washer to the faucets in the wall, you’re looking at a time bomb. One of these days, and nobody knows when, those cheap rubber hoses could burst and if you are like 99% of us, you

Braided stainless steel hoses

probably leave those water supply lines turned on all the time. That means when one of those hoses bursts, the water will continue to run freely all over your house until you close the valve. As plumbers who have served Orlando for decades, we’ve seen this happen more times than we care to think about. And that’s why the best plumbing tip you’re going to get today is to look behind your washing machine and replace those rubber hoses with high-quality braided stainless steel hoses that are resistant to bursts and will last a long, long time.

Appliance failure is responsible for more household floods and water damage than weather of any kind. That’s a fact that your insurance agent will verify. Sometimes those old rubber hoses won’t come off without a fight so if you can’t get them off with your bare hands, you may have to use a good pair of channel lock pliars. Just be careful and use a reasonable amount of effort, don’t yank the faucet out of the wall and cause the flood that you’re trying to avoid. And if something does go wrong, remember that Roto-Rooter is a 24 hour plumbing company. We’re always available to help and Roto-Rooter of Orlando does not charge extra for service calls at night, on weekends or on holidays because we know plumbing problems and emergencies can happen at any time of day or night. How many Orlando plumbers won’t charge you extra for a 3:00 a.m. service call? The answer is not many. We’re always here when you need us. 407-886-7311

 

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Getting your home ready for winter

October 28th, 2011 by pabrams

It’s almost November and that means all of us homeowners are running out of fair weather to get our homes ready for winter. Roto-Rooter’s

Orlando plumbers will offer up some helpful tips over the next few days to help you remember all those little things that you need to take care of now while the weather is still on your side.

Yeah, we know Orlando has mild winters but that doesn’t mean we don’t have winter at all. It’s those”once in a while” winter storms you really have to worry about. Remember, homes here aren’t built to take winter’s punishment but when we do get the hard stuff, it impacts us in ways that wouldn’t bother homes in northern cities.

So let’s start with the easy stuff. Clear out those gutters and downspouts on your roof. Get out the ladder and grab a big bucket. Put on your gloves and scoop out the leaves. If we get freezing temperatures, those leaves get coated with ice and will sometimes create ice dams that will restrict drainage. How? They’ll block water in pools and when it freezes, those pools become heavy. Sometimes heavy enough to cause gutters to sag and even pull away from the house. You want water to move away from your house as quickly as possible. Call Orlando’s most experienced plumbers at 407-886-7311 if you need more information or our help. Roto-Rooter of Orlando has been satisfying customers for decades and we want to be your plumber of choice.

 

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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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Plumbers have used a variety of materials to make water pipes

October 14th, 2011 by pabrams

I posted a variation of this blog post a few years ago and thought it would be good to revisit this topic again. It seems a few of our plumbers here in Orlando have run across some of these materials lately and have been answering questions about them from customers.

Plumbing contractors have used all sorts of materials to make reliable water supply lines over the centuries. One of the most notorious was lead. It was the mostRoman lead piping common type of water pipe for a very long time because it is a soft, pliable metal and easy to work with. The word “plumbing” actually is derived from the Latin word for lead, “plumbum.” A longtime plumber in Orlando told me that lead pipes aren’t as common here but if you visit older cities in the Northeastern U.S. you’ll still find plenty of old lead pipes. I don’t have to tell you the dangers of lead in water. If you have lead pipes, you should seriously consider changing to safer materials, and at the very least, always run the water tap for two or three minutes after it feels cold before drinking such water or cooking with it. That way you won’t be getting water that has been sitting in lead for an extended period and picking up high concentrations that can effect the brain and body.

Galvanized steel pipes have also fallen out of favor in new construction. After years of use, minerals from water react with the galvanizing material (including lead) to cause scale build up inside the pipe. The scale will eventually narrow the diameter of the pipe like the body’s arteries do from years on a high-fat diet. Scale buildup eventually results in lower water pressure and reduced volume. Companies that offer plumbing services hate the stuff but are happy to replace it with a better material.

Copper water supply pipingCopper is ideal for 1/2 inch and 1 inch water supply lines leading from the main water supply pipe to kitchen plumbing, sinks and toilets. Copper is popular with plumbing contractors because it is clean, doesn’t rust or corrode and is very reliable. Copper will freeze and burst if left exposed to the elements but this is only a problem if the pipes run through the outer walls of your home. Always be sure those pipes are well insulated. Unfortunately, copper has gotten expensive and it has become popular with thieves who will steal it from homes and sell it to a recycling facility for cash.

In addition, PVC is making a comeback as a water supply pipe material and the newer flexible PEX (cross-linked polyethylene) material, long relied upon in Europe is becoming more and more accepted as a reliable, low cost alternative for residential plumbing. You’ll find Orlando plumbing companies who work with all of these materials. At Roto-Rooter, we still prefer copper but its rising cost is making the new PEX and PVC materials more attractive each day. If you have questions or concerns about any of the pipe materials in your home, call Roto-Rooter of Orlando and we’ll be happy to take a look and give you advice you can rely on. 407-886-7311.

 

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The toilet overflows ever so slowly

October 7th, 2011 by pabrams

Here’s a question we received a while back from a prospective plumbing customer in Orlando: “My toilet slowly overflows from the flush handle opening over night, but during the day and evening this does not happen. Can you please explain why this is happening and help me solve my plumbing problems?”

Here’s something to try. Take a little blue food coloring and put it into the toilet tank until the color of the water is blue. If the color of the water in the bowl turns blue after about five minutes, then your flapper valve is leaking.

If there is no blue food coloring visible in the bowl, then the water is running into the overflow tube in the center of the toilet tank  from the fill valve. After the water shuts off, remove the 1/4 inch tube from the center fill tube and see if the water continues to drip from the fill tube. If it does, then the fill valve needs to be replaced.

In either case, your toilet is partially clogged or the vent pipe is clogged because the toilet bowl should not fill up and overflow even if the flapper and fill valve are leaking.

You may want to call a respected Orlando plumbing company to diagnose and fix your drain and plumbing problems. Roto-Rooter has a solid and reliable staff of plumbers in Orlando that can handle any residential plumbing repair. You can visit the website here or give us a call at 407-886-7311.

 

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When the garbage disposal stops working. Roto-Rooter tips to get it going again

September 30th, 2011 by pabrams

Most of us use garbage disposals on a regular basis in our home kitchens and typically don’t encounter many issues along the way, but if you do, here are a few steps recommended by some of our plumbers in Orlando to get it working again.

What to do when the disposal stops working: All disposals have an overload protection sensor, which determines if the motor is overheating. This sensor has the ability to shut off the disposal and occasionally your disposal will shut off during this process if there is a broken electrical connection.  To assess the situation follow the steps provided below.

Do not put your hands or any object down the drain or you could end up creating more of a problem than you started with.
Turn the disposal off and make sure the appliance is plugged in properly. Press the reset button, which should be located on the front or bottom of the disposal. Restart the disposal and it should begin to function as it normally would. Sometimes they get jammed. When this happens, find the hex key or the right size allen wrench and put it through the hole in the bottom of the disposal. You’ll be able to tell if it’s the right size because it will lock in and will allow you to turn the inner chamber of the disposal. You’ll feel it moving and dislodging the clog.
If you are still experiencing an issue with your garbage disposal and would like to schedule service from a qualified Orlando plumber, call Roto-Rooter at 407-886-7311. Or you can schedule online.

 

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Conserving Water is Smart. Here’s how to do it painlessly via your toilets

September 28th, 2011 by pabrams

Most of us want to do the right thing but often it’s not convenient and takes a lot of effort and follow through. But that need not be the case when it comes to water conservation. There are lots of new plumbing fixtures and parts that do the conserving for you. All you have to do is install them and then sit back and enjoy the lower water bill while you feel good about doing your part to go green.

Toilets use a lot of water so you have several options, depending on how much or little you want to spend. The expensive option is to hire a plumber here in Orlando to install a new ultra efficient model that uses just 1.28 gallons of water per flush. Toilets  built after 1993 are mandated to use 1.6 gallons per flush but earlier models use 3.5 gallons, 5 gallons or even upwards of 7 gallons each time you flush. That’s a lot of wasted water.

Your second option is to buy a new dual flush toilet that gives the user the option of a pressing one button for a light flush to handle urine or a second button that produces a heavy flush for solid waste. The water savings potential is huge since people will choose the light 0.8 gallon flush three out of five times they visit the bathroom. The water and dollar savings adds up fast. Finally, your low cost option is to have an Orlando plumbing company like Roto-Rooter of Orlando convert your existing toilet into a dual-flush model. This can be done for a fraction of the cost of having a new toilet installed and you’ll watch that water and sewer bill begin to drop right away. If you want to know more, have a look at some green options for your home or business on our ROTOGreen page.

 

 

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Wedding Dress Made out of Toilet Paper

September 23rd, 2011 by pabrams

Book the caterer. Contact the Florist. And glue the dress together? Susan Brennan of Michigan competed in www.cheap-chic-weddings.com’s seventh annual Toilet-Paper Wedding Dress Contest, and according to Susan Bian, Co-Owner of Boca Raton, said that Brennan’s dress stood out among the 800 entries they received that year. Working as closely as we do with toilet paper here at Roto-Rooter of Orlando, we wanted to share this story, even though it’s a little off-topic from our usual Orlando plumbing repair topics.

The dress was held together with glue and tape like a third grade art project, but the dress used many techniques that gave the dress a very modern and couture dress look. However, the dress will never participate in some lucky bride’s isle walk because Ripley’s Believe it or Not will have it hanging in one of their museums. Let’s just hope they clearly mark that the dress is meant for absorbing wedding tears and not wedding rears.

As Orlando plumbers, we tend to see toilet paper of the, ahem, used variety so it is difficult to imagine a bride choosing it for her wedding dress. But we must admit the dresses are beautiful if you follow the link and view them yourself, we think you’ll agree. On the flip side, if you need an Orlando plumbing company to come out and help remove a wedding dress-sized toilet paper clog from your toilet or sewer line, you know who to call. The number is 407-886-7311. Or you can schedule our service on-line by clicking here.

Article from “Detroit Free Press.” Read it here.

http://www.freep.com/article/20110709/NEWS03/107090432/A-wipe-wedding-Mich-woman-s-toilet-paper-dress

 

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How to Snake a Kitchen Sink

April 1st, 2009 by Ray Lee Master Plumbers

Follow these tips if your kitchen sink is clogged and you'd like to trying snaking it yourself:

• Remove the trap and the trap arm that is connected to the drain branch back at the wall.
• Insert the snake and point the tip of the snake downward so it goes down the pipe inside the wall
• With the snake in the wall, turn the hand held canister as you are sliding the cable into the wall
• Leave about 1 foot of cable outs tide the wall and lock the nut. As you turn, the 1 foot enters the pipe and stirs up the clog breaking it loose.
• When you get all the way to the wall, loosen the locknut and pull out more cable
• Lock the nut and repeat the process until you have the clog cleared or you run out of cable.
• Reinstall all of the pipe and test to see if you've cleared the clog.
• If the clog hasn't cleared, remove the pipe and try again.

Make sure you read and follow the instructions included in the snake's box. If you are having trouble clearing the clog, the Orlando plumbers of Roto-Rooter are equipped to handle these types of kitchen plumbing jobs. We offer 24 hour plumbing service to fit your schedule. Orlando plumbing assistance is even available on weekends and holidays.

It is recommended that you contact certified Orlando plumbing experts, as plumbing snakes can break through old pipes causing more plumbing problems, especially if you are not properly trained to use them.
 


 

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