The Roto-Rooter Blog | Our Plumbing Blog

Roto-Rooter is Producing New Home Plumbing Videos

May 21st, 2013 by Paul Abrams

Roto-Rooter just completed taping a few new plumbing basics videos in Cincinnati, Ohio. Spring is the season of home repairs andpreparation for the sunny summer months, so Roto-Rooter is producing new videos that will help you with all your spring projects:

Checking the video for accuracy during a recent Roto-Rooter video shoot in Cincinnati

Household Plumbing Tips: Some simple household tips can help homeowners save money before an easy plumbing fix turns into a professional’s problem. This video will feature our expert plumbers advising on cleaning out clogs, detecting and repairing leaks and overall plumbing system efficiency.

Sewer Problems: The sewer system is something many homeowners do not think about until there is a problem. This video will walk through common residential sewer issues, as well as, some maintenance and repair that will help prevent sewer problems from going from bad to worse.

Flood Prevention Tips: April and May Showers are here and when flooding occurs inside a home, the damage can be disruptive, long-lasting and expensive. During this heavy rain season there are several easy plumbing projects you can do to prevent flooding. This video will highlight different projects and inspections that you can do year round to prevent flooding during this wet season.

Roto-Rooter has a whole list of great informational videos at http://www.rotorooter.com/plumbing-basics/. This section of our website, just for homeowners, includes videos, blogs and more to help keep a home in tip-top plumbing condition. Look for the new videos soon! Additionally, you can check out the Roto-Rooter YouTube Channel for an even wider variety of helpful videos.

Finally, if you are taking on do-it-yourself plumbing projects around your home, do not get in over your head! Know your limits. Some plumbing problems are best left to the pros. Remember an experienced Roto-Rooter professional is just a click or call away.

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22 Ways Homeowners can Clean up and Go Green

April 22nd, 2013 by Roto-Rooter Bloggers

The spring cleaning and home improvement ritual is a great way to get organized, but when it comes to your plumbing, it can also be a great way to go green. Roto-Rooter, North America’s #1 plumbing and drain cleaning service provider suggests 22 green ways homeowners can accomplish their spring plumbing maintenance and support Earth Day.

Check faucets for drips or leaks. Make repairs to save water.
Check toilets for hidden leaks. Add six drops of food coloring to the toilet tank. If the toilet is leaking, color will appear in the bowl within 30 minutes.
Inspect tank and bowl for cracks or leaks. If you need to replace a toilet, make sure you recycle all of the individual parts accordingly.
Make sure toilets flush properly. If the handle must be held down for a thorough flush or jiggled to stop the water from running, you may need to replace worn tank parts. They’re inexpensive and you’ll notice a lower water bill from eliminating the running water.
Consider a dual flush converter for older toilets, which saves water with four out of five flushes since a full flush isn’t needed most of the time.
An easy and chemical free way to clean mineral deposits from the showerhead, vinegar. Unscrew it and soak in vinegar or fill a plastic baggie with vinegar; place it over the showerhead and hold in place with a rubber band. Soak overnight then remove and gently scrub with an old toothbrush to remove deposits.
Showerheads also have retrofit options for maximum water pressure and high efficiency options.
Check the temperature setting on the water heater. It should be set no higher than 120°F to prevent scalding and reduce energy use.
Carefully drain several gallons from the water heater tank to flush out corrosion causing sediment, which reduces heating efficiency and shortens the life of the heater.
Consider replacing a water heater more than 15 years old with a newer, more energy efficient model. Life expectancy for water heaters is only 11 years so if yours is older, you’re on borrowed time. (The first four numbers of the serial number represent the month and year it was made.)
Check dishwasher, washing machine and icemaker supply hoses for bulges or leaks, yet another source of waste and inefficiency. Replace hoses showing signs of weakness or older than ten years.
Make sure yard drains, gutters and downspouts are cleaned out, open, and free of debris. Check for bird nests in plumbing vent pipes.
Check faucets and hose bibs to make sure water flows freely. If an outdoor faucet drips or if there is leakage inside your home the first time the hose is turned on for the season, you may have had a frozen pipe that cracked and needs to be replaced.
Install inexpensive aerators on all of your faucets for water and water bill savings.

ROTOGreen is the Earth friendly plumbing solution program for Roto-Rooter. This Earth Day, we encourage you to be a part of our water conservation effort. Share your Earth Day green ideas on our Facebook Page (Facebook.com/RotoRooter) and hear tips from others who are making smarter green choices.

Stop procrastinating, and get your spring home improvements out of the way! Facts, tips and more information regarding green plumbing and water conservation can be found at www.RotoRooter.com/RotoGreen

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Roto-Rooter Tips for Fix-a-Leak Week

March 18th, 2013 by Paul Abrams

March 18th kicks off Fix-a-Leak Week presented by the Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program. Roto-Rooter encourages Americans to save water all year-round but this week, March 18-24 2013, is a designated time to check and repair dripping faucets and faulty fixtures. More than 1 trillion gallons of water leak from U.S. homes every year.

“People are often amazed at the volume of water wasted through household leaks. Something that seems insignificant and often goes unattended by homeowners actually has a very noticeable impact on the water usage and the monthly water bill,” said ROTOGreen expert Paul Abrams.

Roto-Rooter locations across the nation are gearing up to help homeowners detect and repair leaks. The average household can save up to 10,000 gallons of water each year simply by fixing leaks. To learn more about the high cost of water leaks, check out Roto-Rooter’s Household Leaks Add up infographic.

ROTOGreen promotes EPA WaterSense certified products and offers water conserving earth-friendly plumbing solutions that make it easy to go green. Here are a couple of DIY leak detection tests families can try to make their home plumbing more green during Fix-a-Leak Week.

Two Tricks for Detecting a Toilet Leak

You may not always hear water running in your toilet or see it flowing into the bowl but your toilet might be leaking water down the drain on a constant basis, up to 200 gallons per day. Here are two ways to detect toilet leaks:

Put a few drops of food coloring in the tank and wait fifteen minutes. If colored water appears in the bowl, you have a leak. Replace the flapper valve to solve most leaks of this kind. View the video on our Facebook page to see where the food coloring should go.
Sprinkle a pinch of flour or talcum powder on top of the water in your toilet tank. Watch it carefully. If it drifts toward the tank’s overflow tube then you have a different kind of toilet leak called an overflow leak. Replace the float valve to solve the problem.

Don’t forget to check indoor and outdoor faucets, as well as, hoses on appliances for leaks too!

Follow @EPAWaterSense on Twitter for tips all week long and visit our website for other water conservation tips.

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Help Roto-Rooter Support World Plumbing Day (March 11)

March 11th, 2013 by Paul Abrams

Roto-Rooter supports water conservation initiatives through programs like ROTOGreen. Another important part of the environmental concerns surrounding water is related to the lack of access to clean drinking water and sufficient sanitation systems worldwide. We need help bringing awareness to this issue to support change. A terrific new World Plumbing Day infographic by Roto-Rooter shows the seriousness of the issues that World Plumbing Day is trying to address.

March 11, 2013 is World Plumbing Day. The United Nations declared 2005-2015 the International Decade for Action “Water for Life”, setting a world agenda that focuses increased attention on water-related issues. With support from the World Health Organization and the World Plumbing Council, the goal is to supply access to safe drinking water to 97 million additional people annually and sanitation services to 138 million additional people through 2015.

In many developing countries around the globe, an experienced plumber is an important to children’s survival as a doctor. Why? Plumbers design piping and sewage solutions that protect the public from water-borne illnesses that are completely preventable by sound plumbing and sewage systems. These illnesses claim the lives of 3.1 million children each year.

Help Roto-Rooter support World Plumbing Day. Let’s call attention to the problem and the solution.
Facts about World Plumbing Issues

Worldwide, preventable diseases related to water and sanitation claim the lives of about 3.1 million people per year.
Most of those affected are children under 5-years-old.
Of these, about 1.6 million people die each year of diarrheal diseases associated with lack of safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.

Support the cause by connecting with @WPlumbingDay and using #WorldPlumbingDay on Twitter and spreading the word to your networks. Visit www.WorldPlumbingDay.org for more information.

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Roto-Rooter Call Centers in Baltimore and Chicago Expand to Support Customer Service Standards

March 5th, 2013 by Paul Abrams

North America’s largest provider of plumbing repair and drain cleaning services is always looking for ways to better serve our customers by training our expert staff and enhancing the customer experience. Our dedication to customer service includes not only our plumbers and service technicians at all 50 company-owned branch locations across the nation, but also those staff taking incoming calls, dispatching technicians and managing accounts at our Call Centers.

Recently, Roto-Rooter’s Baltimore Call Center, serving the Northeast and Southeast Regions, celebrated its tenth year in operation with a 3,000 square foot expansion. The renovation included the relocation of a conference center and employee break space to allow a larger space for the Customer Care and Commercial Services departments. Additionally, our call center in Chicago, which serves the Central and West Regions, moved to a new space. The updated Chicago facility is less than a half-mile from the previous location.

Both Roto-Rooter call center facilities are similarly designed for optimal productivity and make up about 13,000 square feet. Updated conference centers within each building allow for corporate training and development seminars to be conducted ensuring that each and every Roto-Rooter employee is equipped with the necessary resources to provide top-notch customer service.

Our call centers operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so that when our customers call us, they can speak with a live operator, not an answering service or machine. Why? Because we know that plumbing problems are stressful enough without having to explain your problem to a machine.

By providing knowledgeable customer service representatives who understand the nature of your plumbing problem, you can feel reassured and confident that solving the problem will be as quick and efficient as possible.

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Roto-Rooter Branches are Hiring Plumbers

February 15th, 2013 by Paul Abrams

Unemployment is still a concern in this economic recovery, hovering at about 7.8% for several months. Meanwhile, America’s leader in plumbing and drain cleaning services, Roto-Rooter, is hiring and in many cases cannot find skilled plumbers to fill positions. This economy is affecting the career paths of people, whether starting out or having to start over, and the service plumbing industry is a time tested trade with advantages for many types of workers.

In an article in the Providence Business Journal, Roto-Rooter master plumber Dave Jones explains, “People don’t realize the money that can be made in the plumbing field because licensed plumbers are in high demand. I love the trade business because it is recession-resistant and people always need plumbers and this is one job that cannot be outsources overseas.”

One of the issues facing the industry is a negative perception of trade jobs. However, plumbers are needed and play a crucial role in maintaining the infrastructure of our society and its health. An average apprentice plumber with Roto-Rooter earns over $40,000 per year, while a master plumber can earn over $100,000 per year, which is a lot more than any entry level graduate can make.

People, who enjoy working with their hands, don’t want to sit behind a desk and like variety in their job can excel as a service plumber. In today’s changing economy, with unemployment affecting more than 11 million Americans, plumbing is a stable career.

Find out more about a plumbing career by calling Roto-Rooter’s jobs hotline at 1-800-JOB-ROTO (562-7686) or apply on line at the Roto-Rooter careers page.

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Water pipes may freeze and burst due to extreme cold. Roto-Rooter plumbers offer frozen pipe prevention tips

January 22nd, 2013 by Paul Abrams

The extreme cold combined with frigid wind chill can cause pipes to freeze and burst in both residential and commercial buildings when temperatures and wind chill drop significantly below freezing. Be aware that when pipes freeze, water pressure builds causing pipes to crack – no matter if the pipe is made of plastic, copper or steel. Even a tiny crack can unleash more than 200 gallons of water in a single day.

Roto-Rooter is North America’s largest provider of plumbing repair and drain cleaning services and the company’s plumbers thaw and repair more frozen pipes than any other plumbing company in North America.

Roto-Rooter technicians expect to be busy repairing pipes and assisting customers with frozen or bursting pipes but its plumbers say the worst problems start when temperatures begin warming. “It’s not the frozen pipes that really get plumbers’ phones ringing. It’s the thawing pipes that leak and spew water after a hard freeze,” said Paul Abrams, spokesman for Roto-Rooter.

Roto-Rooter offers the following plumbing tips for preventing frozen pipes, which can cause flooding resulting in expensive repairs. By taking a few simple preventive measures before pipes freeze, home and business owners can minimize their risk of a plumbing catastrophe.

Disconnect outside water hoses. If left connected, water in the hoses will freeze and expand causing outside faucets and connecting pipes inside your home to freeze and break. Cover outside faucets using a faucet insulation kit found at home centers.
If outside faucets are dripping or leaking, make the necessary repairs or call a plumber before freezing temperatures arrive.
If your washing machine is in your unheated garage, turn off water supply lines leading to the washer and disconnect the hoses if temperatures are expected to drop below freezing.
Allow a trickle of hot and cold water to drip overnight in sinks and bathtubs with supply pipes that run along outside walls. However, be careful not to run the water into a drain if the drain line runs through an under-insulated outside wall and is exposed to extreme cold -because the drainpipe could freeze and cause back-ups.
Open kitchen and bathroom cabinets under sinks to allow heat in the room to circulate around uninsulated pipes.
Add insulation to water pipes in unheated areas, such as garages or crawl spaces. Apply heat tape or thermostat-controlled heat cables around water supply pipes that are exposed and prone to freezing.
Be sure the furnace is turned on and set no lower than 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

What to do if your pipes have already frozen

Shut-off the water main leading into the structure. This will reduce pressure on the frozen pipes and minimize flooding if the pipes burst. This is particularly important if you are going to be away from home.
If the frozen pipe is exposed and visible, use a hair dryer or space heater to thaw the ice blockage. Do not use an open flame!
Examine exposed pipes for leaks. Even with the water main turned off, there will be enough pressure to reveal leaks once the pipe has thawed.
Contact a professional plumber equipped with pipe-thawing equipment to get your pipes flowing again and if necessary, make repairs to damaged pipes.
Even if no leaks are found, a plumber should examine pipes that experienced a hard freeze. Some pipes may need to be replaced since the material has experienced stretching and fatigue, putting the pipes at risk for future failure.

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Roto-Rooter Branches are Hiring Plumbers

December 27th, 2012 by Paul Abrams

Unemployment is looming over us nationwide, hovering at about 8% for several months. Meanwhile, America’s leader in plumbing and drain cleaning services, Roto-Rooter, is hiring and in many cases cannot find skilled plumbers to fill positions. This economy is affecting the career paths of people, whether starting out or having to start over, and the plumbing industry is a time tested trade with advantages for many types of workers.

In an article in the Providence Business Journal, Roto-Rooter master plumber Dave Jones explains, “People don’t realize the money that can be made in the plumbing field because licensed plumbers are in high demand. I love the trade business because it is recession-resistant-people always need plumbers and this is one job that cannot be outsources overseas.”

One of the issues facing the industry is a negative perception of trade jobs. However, plumbers are needed and play a crucial role in maintaining the infrastructure of our society and its health. An apprentice plumber with Roto-Rooter earns about $43,000 per year, while a master plumber can earn over $100,000 per year in many markets, which is a lot more than any entry level graduate can make.

People, who enjoy working with their hands, don’t want to sit behind a desk and like variety in their job can excel as a plumber. In today’s changing economy, with unemployment affecting more than 12.5 million Americans, plumbing is a stable career.

Find out more about a plumbing career by calling Roto-Rooter’s jobs hotline at 1-800-JOB-ROTO (562-7686) or apply on line at http://www.rotorooter.com/

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Know your Plungers

December 17th, 2012 by Paul Abrams

The plunger, sometimes called “a plumber’s helper” is one of the greatest and most convenient household plumbing tools. The often underappreciated plunger gets a bad rap but when you need one and are without one, you’ll develop a real appreciation for its attributes.

The orange plunger above is technically a sink plunger and the black one with the cup on the bottom is for toilets.

Plungers come in two varieties: toilet plungers and sink plungers. The design with a more shallow suction cup is a sink plunger. However, this plunger will also work on toilet clogs in a pinch but not as well as the deeper cup design that is specifically designed for toilets. Notice that it has an extended cup at its base, which helps it get a better seal around a toilet drain.

Remember, while a sink plunger may work in a toilet, the dedicated toilet plunger (like the black one shown in the photo) is not very effective on a kitchen or bathroom sink clog because the bottom cup just gets in the way. Fortunately, plungers are inexpensive so Roto-Rooter recommends you keep both types around the house.

How to use a plunger. Grip the handle with both hands and slide the cup over the drain hole. Make sure there is water surrounding the drain hold, whether it’s a sink or toilet. Plunging a dry hole is largely ineffective but when some water is in the line and around the plunger, it becomes more effective at establishing a vacuum inside the drainpipe. Thrust up and down several times then pull back in a popping motion from the drain. In most cases this will dislodge the clog and establish proper drainage.

Don’t forget to plug the hole! When plunging a bathroom sink clog, remember to plug the overflow hole at the front of the sink, otherwise your plunger will not properly seal the drain and affect the clog. Some people plug the hole with a wash cloth or simply slide a finger inside to seal it off. The same principle comes into play with a double kitchen sink. You can’t effectively plunge one side of a double sink unless the other sink drain is sealed with a drain cover or sink strainer.

If no amount of plunging will dislodge the clog, you can try over-the-counter clog removers but use only as directed. When all else fails, your local Roto-Rooter plumbers are available to help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Happy plunging!

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Roto-Rooter’s Top Ten Bathroom Gadget Gifts for 2012

December 7th, 2012 by Paul Abrams

As it is for many consumers, the holiday season is Roto-Rooter’s busiest. America’s largest plumbing and drain cleaning company always provides seasonal tips for home plumbing maintenance so homeowners can prevent messy mishaps and spend more time enjoying the holidays. This year, amidst clogged drains, water heater servicing and frozen pipe repair, Roto-Rooter is also helping busy homeowners check something else off of their list. Roto-Rooter’s 2012 bathroom gadgets and accessories gift guide has a variety of fun, functional gifts for everyone in a wide price range.

To view the multimedia content associated with this press release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/58314-roto-rooter-fall-plumbing-tips/

“People are spending more time than ever before in the bathroom. Trends in home design and mobility of electronics have made the bathrooms of average homes spa-like retreats where a stressed homeowner can unwind with a tablet, music and more,” said Roto-Rooter director of public relations Paul Abrams.

On average, a person spends 30 minutes per day in the bathroom, while at least one in four spends an hour or more. Everyone has someone on their holiday shopping list that they aren’t sure what to buy and they all have one thing in common; they spend time in the bathroom daily.

That is why Roto-Rooter’s Top Ten Bathroom Gadget Gifts for 2012 has an ideal gift for everyone. Available for as little as $10.00 and as high as $500.00, ordered by price from lowest to highest the gifts are:

1) Waterproof notepads
2) Chilling Tales from the Porcelain Seat bathroom reader
3) Hands-free soap and toothpaste dispensers
4) Stereo dock and bath tissue holder for iPod
5) Fogless mirrors
6) LED showerhead
7) Heated toilet seats
8) Warming towel racks
9) Touchless faucets
10) Bathroom-cleaning robots

To see more on these gift ideas, check Roto-Rooter out on Pinterest.

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