Roto-Rooter | Trusted and Recommended since 1935

Garbage Disposal Care and Cleaning

February 18th, 2012 by Roto-Rooter Bloggers

The kitchen garbage disposal in modern homes has become one of the most favored appliances of today. It helps keep your kitchen smelling fresh by eliminating or reducing the amount of food filling up the garbage can. It also makes the chore of cleaning up after meals quick and simple. To keep your disposal running smoothly, Tampa plumbers recommend paying attention to what you do while using the disposal, things to avoid, and cleaning the disposal.

When Using the Disposal

When you use your disposal, always use cold water. Hot water can liquefy fat and grease. This allows the grease to adhere to the “blades” and build up sludge. Note that disposals don’t actually have sharp blades. They’re more like spinning pulverizers.

Use plenty of water while you are running the disposal. After the food is chopped up, let the water continue to run for 10 to 20 seconds so all food particles will be washed out of the appliance and flushed down the drain.

Don’t stuff the appliance full and then turn on the blades. This can make your blades jam. Instead, put the peelings or food into the disposal a bit at a time and allow the blades to grind away before adding more.

Run the appliance every time that food is put down the drain to prevent the food from decaying and smelling.

Things to Avoid

Some foods and items are very hard on the blades and gears and should never be put down the disposal. Don’t put down fibrous particles such as onion skins, celery stalks, artichokes, egg shells, or corn husks. The fiber from these things can wrap around the blades and make them jam.

Another group of things to avoid are hard items. This includes popcorn kernels, pits from plums or peaches, apple seeds, bones, or nuts. In addition, non-food items such as plastic, glass, or metal should not be put down the disposal. The appliance can’t chop up these things. Moreover, the little bits, such as apple seeds can get wedged underneath the blades and make them jam.

Don’t put your hands down the disposal. If something is wedged, use pliers or tongs to get it loose or call one of your favorite Tampa plumbers to fix your disposal for you.

 

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Plumbing care and help by Roto-Rooter of Tampa

February 17th, 2012 by Roto-Rooter Bloggers

Do you find plumbing to be difficult to manage? Are those leaky faucets racking up costs on your water bill each month? Tired of leaky pipes causing mold and other water damage in your home? Plumbing is a system that takes a daily beating. We rely on it all the time to bring water, take away waste, and work without problem. Because of the nature of water, it causes problems in a lot of different ways. If it starts to leak, it can ruin a faucet head. If it gets on the floor, it can ruin wood and carpet. When a frozen pipe bursts in the winter, you will quickly have flooding and damages to take care of. Roto-Rooter is proud to be the trusted name in plumbing. We have millions of happy customers who have benefited from our years of experience, many great products, excellent service, and amazing well-trained technicians. Since 1935, we have seen just about everything. Here are some tips for better Tampa plumbing care.

A clogged pipe

Drains are an integral part of any plumbing system. All your sinks, showers, and toilets rely on clear drainpipes to carry used water and waste away from your house. Clogs and blockages are extremely common and can cause some messy problems if not taken care of properly. While clogs are bound to happen no matter how careful you are, there are plenty of things you can do beforehand to prevent them, tricks for minimizing them, and products and tools you can use to completely get rid of them.

  • Boiling water. Surprisingly, pouring a few cups of boiling water down the drain every week does wonders for clog prevention. Dirt, grime, and greases cling to drain walls and boiling water can strip them away easily. For added strength, using a bit of baking soda and vinegar along with the water will do away with many chemical based plumbing products.
  • Plunger. You can use a plunger on more than just a toilet. If used correctly, a right sized plunger can help push clogs through a line or even pull garbage up that is too big to pass through.
  • Roto-Rooter Pipe Shield is a great product to use after removing clogs. Especially after a professional drain cleaning, Pipe Shield will go in there and coat your drain walls and keep your pipes slick so more junk doesn’t stick.

 For more information on Tampa plumbing, call Roto-Rooter today and get your pipes inspected by a professional today!

 

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Is it time to go dual-flush at your home or business?

November 11th, 2011 by pabrams

Dual-flush toilets are ones that give the user a choice to use a low-power flush for urine and a full-power flush to wash down solid waste and toilet

Residential dual-flush converter

Commercial dual-flush handle

paper. They only started appearing in the U.S. in the past seven or eight years but still haven’t caught on here the way they have in Europe and Asia. While the U.S. has seen toilet tank capacity shrink over the years from 5+ gallons-per-flush to 3.5 GPF to 1.6 GPF and now the ultra-low 1.28 gallons, we’re still using more water than we need to flush our waste 7 out of 10 times we flush! Even at 1.28 gallons per flush that’s 3.4 gallons more in 7 flushes (requiring 8.96 gallons) tham a dual-flush toilet would require (5.6 gallons). Imagine the water (and water bill) savings we would enjoy as a society if everyone had dual-flush toilets.

As part of Roto-Rooter’s ROTOGreen water conservation program, Roto-Rooter advocates dual-flush toilets and we can even convert your old toilet to a dual-flush model using special retrofit kits. We have one that fits most residential toilets and a different model that works on commercial toilets that use the powerful flushometer systems that are common in most public and commercial restrooms. These units are pretty amazing when you see them for yourself. And they’re even more amazing if you’re the person who pays the monthly water and sewer bill because they can save a family of four about 15,000 gallons per year or about $105 at today’s average water rate. Commercial dual-flush systems will cut water use by about 30% but of course that figure is dependant on users to actually choose the right setting. Roto-Rooter’s Tampa plumbers stock these units on their vans as standard equipment because we really believe they benefit society as a whole as well as individual homes and businesses. Call us if you are interested in new dual-flush toilets or in retrofitting your existing toilets to dual-flush. 813-980-6000

 

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Don’t Let Leaks Linger

October 29th, 2011 by Roto-Rooter Bloggers

All Tampa plumbers of Roto-Rooter will concur, when you have a leak the best thing to do is fix it right away. Leaks are definite signs of plumbing problems. Leaking water can lead to a number of issues including, black mold and rotting.  Also, wet wooden walls are the perfect environment for termites, carpenter ants and rotting in general.

For instance, many things can leak on a bathtub…

The faucet can leak inside the wall or externally from stems, the shower head or the spout. The drain can leak from the gasket on the back of the waste and overflow and the trap under the tub. The surrounding tile can also become affected by a leak at the joints to the tub around the faucet spouts and in the corners.

When you suspect a bathtub leak test it immediately. Fill the tub till it reaches the overflow tube. Then open the access panel  behind the tub and examine the overflow. If water is not coming out of the gasket or riser the overflow is not leaking.

Then, let the water drain and check the bottom of the tub for leaks. Once the tub is empty you can also turn on the spout  faucet and switch it to the shower head and once again check behind the access panel for signs of a leak.Once you determine the problem, you can then proceed with a solution with some plumbing repair, but my best advice would be to act fast. Do not let a little leak linger.

For more Tampa plumbing tips and online scheduling visit our Web site or call 813-980-6000 for service.

 

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Bathroom Sink Faucet Fix

October 27th, 2011 by Roto-Rooter Bloggers

A Tampa plumbing customer recently inquired about a pressure problem associated with their bathroom sink faucet. When they turned on their faucet the hot water pressure dropped almost instantly to a mere trickle and the pipes would begin to clatter. It’s one of those problems, that is annoying but not annoying enough to fix instantly; something you’ve always wondered how to fix.

Surprisingly, it is one of the easiest plumbing problems to fix. This is one of the many bathroom plumbing solutions that may be applied to almost any faucet. It works with the hot or cold; temperature makes no difference. Below are steps to follow:

1. Turn off water to whatever side applies.

2. Dismantle the faucet by removing the handle of the side you are working on. Includes- bonnet nut and side stem (shuts off water by compression)

3. Next, at the end of the stem there should be a rubber gasket- check the condition of the gasket, it may need to be tightened or replaced if damaged.

4. Finally, after gasket tightening or replacement reassemble stem.

The rubber gasket is usually the culprit of this faucet issue. If the screw is loose the water flowing by causes the rubber washer to flap and make noise. By following these four simple steps you too can achieve faucet pressure peace.

If you would like assistance with this or need another plumbing problem addressed, feel free to visit our Website for more information and online scheduling or call our Tampa Plumbers at 813-980-6000.

 

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Roto-Rooter of Tampa offers Commercial Plumbing Services too!

October 20th, 2011 by Roto-Rooter Bloggers
It’s not a problem if your business operates from one location or in multiple markets, the Tampa Plumbers of Roto-Rooter can take care of it all.  We can tailor a program to meet all of your commercial plumbing and drain cleaning needs.  From dripping faucets to sewer pipe replacement, our staff of skilled commercial plumbers can handle it all.

Roto-Rooter provides complete commercial plumbing repair and sewer and drain services to large and small businesses throughout the U.S. and Canada through our network of 50 company-owned branches.

Roto-Rooter is the company to call for any commercial plumbing work, drain cleaning, high-pressure water jetting, underground leak and line detection, video camera pipe inspections, grease trap and liquid waste pumping, backflow protection, automated drain care programs and pipe repair and replacement.

In the  Tampa area?  Visit our Website or call us at 813-980-6000 to get started now!

 

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Laudry Room Plumbing is often overlooked by homeowners

October 14th, 2011 by pabrams

Because of the big appliances that dominate a laundry Room, we don’t often think of it in terms of being a central hub for your home’s plumbing. But as plumbers here in Tampa, we can tell you for certain that we deal with lots of plumbing problems in the laundry room.  There are incoming hot and cold water lines for the washing machine and sometimes for a laundry tub sink. There’s also an important drain that carries away the washwater from your washing machine. When it backs up, you’ve got trouble. And of course the drain for the tub sink, which can clog from time to time. Finally, some laundry rooms are equipped with a floor drain to carry away water that spills on the floor.

Laundry Room Tips and Maintenance
•Run the washing machine only when it has a full load.
•Inspect washing machine hoses for signs of wear. Replace rubber hoses with stainless steel braided hoses. They last longer and are resistant to leaks and cracks.
•Ensure that all drains have strainers to keep hair, soap and debris from entering and clogging the drain lines.
•Use a strainer on your washing machine hose. Hardware stores have strainers specially designed to fit laundry hoses.
•Check exposed pipes under sinks for signs of leaks.
•Apply Roto-Rooter® Pipe Shield® to laundry drain lines once each month to keep lint and detergent scum from building up and causing clogs.
•To prevent sewer gases from backing up into your home through your laundry sink drain or other infrequently used drains, periodically pour a bucket of water down the drain to keep the trap seal full.
For more laundry room plumbing tips, check out the laundry room page on our website. And if you want one of Tampa’s best plumbers to assist you with any problems you’re having, visit our home page and schedule a service call or call us at 813-980-6000.

 

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Can a plumber reliably tell you the cost over the telephone?

October 7th, 2011 by pabrams

Some customers ask what it will cost for a specific plumbing repair, sewer cleaning or water heater replacement when they call for service and sometimes they get huffy when they learn that Roto-Rooter does not give price quotes over the phone.  ”Just give me your best price,” they’ll say.

Well, that sounds simple enough, but here are the facts: Any Tampa plumber who routinely quotes prices over the phone without laying eyes on the caller’s plumbing system is either misleading the customer or putting his business at great risk.  Why? Because every situation is different. A plumber needs to look at the plumbing problem to see if there are other contributing factors at work before an accurate diagnosis can be made. There are simply too many possible variables to make an accurate diagnosis over the phone. That’s why Roto-Rooter’s Tampa plumbers will come to your home or business, evaluate the problem, determine the best solution and give you a free written estimate prior to performing any work.

Many Tampa plumbing contractors will give you a “ballpark quote” over the phone only to raise the price once they see the actual level of difficulty, or worse, once they’re already in the middle of the repair. If you send them away, they may charge you a fee just to have come out and looked at your problem, even if they didn’t actually fix anything. Ultimately, you may have paid a higher price than you needed to.

When you call Roto-Rooter, Tampa’s best local plumbing company, you’ll get a free, professional visit, a thorough analysis of the problem and a solution and cost estimate, in writing. If you think it’s unreasonable, send our plumber away and you won’t be charged a dime. But if you agree to the estimate, the Roto-Rooter plumber will get to work right away and fix your problem and give you a guarantee that the job will be done right. When you’re calling other Tampa plumbing companies, be sure to ask them if they offer free written estimates. Then call Roto-Rooter of Tampa at 813-980-6000, or click here to schedule a free visit and estimate at a time that is most convenient for you.

 

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Tampa Sewer Backup Caused by Bad City Sewer Line

October 6th, 2011 by Roto Rooter Bloggers
Roto-Rooter, one of the top Tampa plumbing companies, recently investigated a residential sewer back up only to find out that the problem wasn't with the customer's sewer at all. The backup turned out to be caused by a broken city sewer line that affected the customer's sewer. Roto-Rooter alerted the city and made sure the problem was fixed quickly.

But while completing the sewer line inspection with a fiber optic camera, we discovered that there was actually a bad section of pipe in the customer's sewer line that was allowing raw sewage to leach from the pipe and into surrounding soil. Additionally, the pipe was offset and was already catching toilet paper and debris to form a clog. It hadn't yet blocked the line but it was only a matter of time.

The customer opted to fix the line now rather than wait for the problem to manifest itself into a full-blown sewer clog.  Our Tampa plumbers did a nice job replacing the bad section of pipe and added a cleanout port that will allow for easy access if future cleanings are required. Great work and the customer couldn't be more satisfied. If you have a sewer backup in the Tampa area, call the Tampa plumbing company that offers complete sewer solutions, Roto-Rooter. We can be reached at 813-980-6000.

 

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Do they Clean Sewers and Drains Differently Today?

September 30th, 2011 by pabrams

Long before Roto-Rooter began offering a vast array of plumbing services and sewer repair options, it was sewer cleaning that was our bread and butter. Sewer cleaning is what built Roto-Rooter into the company it is today and sewer cleaning remains close to 50% of our business. It’s not glamorous but it is a service in demand! If you’ve ever had a sink or toilet that wouldn’t drain then you know the feeling of true helplessness. Especially when not even a plunger can resolve the problem. Roto-Rooter is the number one drain cleaning company in America and Roto-Rooter is also the leading Tampa plumbing company and drain cleaning service.

How has the task of drain cleaning changed since Samuel Blanc built his first Roto-Rooter sewer cleaning machine in 1933? Not much! The fact is that most clogged sewer mains are still opened and cleaned with a spinning cable machine equipped with sharp blades on the tip that cut their way through clogs. Oh, the machines are safer and more reliable but the basic mechanics haven’t changed and the Roto-Rooter machines work as well today as they did in the 1930s when Roto-Rooter was quickly becoming a household name.

The single biggest breakthrough in sewer cleaning came with the invention of high-pressure water jetting, sometimes called hydro-jetting. Roto-Rooter uses this technique mostly for commercial plumbing and municipal applications but they are occasionally pressed into service on really tough residential sewer cleaning jobs as well. For any plumbing service in Tampa and surrounding areas, you can schedule Roto-Rooter on-line at a time to fit your schedule. Or call for service at 813-980-6000.

 

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Ice Maker Leaks Can be Costly

September 23rd, 2011 by pabrams

Having an ice maker on your refrigerator door can be very convenient, but as one of our customers recently learned, ice makers can occasionally cause big problems. While vacuuming her living room carpet our customer noticed that her carpet was soaking wet and there were mushrooms coming up through the carpet! Naturally, she thought that she had a slab leak. So the first thing she did was call the top name among Tampa plumbers, Roto-Rooter of Tampa.

One of the best Tampa plumbers and most experienced leak locators, was dispatched to the customer’s home and discovered that the problemwas actually caused by a cracked water supply tube leading to the refrigerator’s ice maker. This was a simple repair with a $5.00 part. However, the amount of water damage that this kind of water leaking problem can cause to carpet, drywall or wood flooring is another story altogether. So here is what everyone with an ice maker should learn from our customer’s unfortunate experience: Check the condition of the water supply tubing that feeds the ice maker on your refrigerator! If the line is cracked, dry or brittle, change it immediately. You will be glad you did.

How do you check it? Carefully pull your refrigerator away from the wall. Go slow and get help. For safety’s sake, have someone else assist you. Get behind the refrigerator and sweep away the dozens of dust bunnies that have accumulated. You will notice a small diameter plastic or copper tube clipped to the back of the unit that is runs vertically along the surface. This is your water supply line. Use a vacuum or dustbuster to remove dust from around the tube and go ahead and vacuum dust from all of the vents. Then inspect the tubing carefully. Look for signs of water on the floor. If the tubing shows any signs of stress or it is more than ten years old, consider replacing it with a new tube, preferably a flexible stainless steel tube instead of a plastic one. Just like a washing machine hose, these plastic water supply lines can burst or leak and can cause lots of damage before you notice the problem. Copper lines can bend, crimp and split when moved but braided stainless steel lines are designed to bend.

If you are not sure what is causing a mysterious water leak at your home or business, you can always call your top Tampa plumber service, Roto-Rooter at 813-980-6000 or contact any Roto-Rooter location across the nation at 1-800-ROTO-911. Roto-Rooter has experienced plumbers in Tampa and the most advanced leak-detecting equipment available to solve your mystery and fix the problem.

 

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Tampa Plumbers of Roto-Rooter Provide Septic System Specifics

May 19th, 2010 by Roto-Rooter Bloggers

Our Tampa Plumbers offer a variety of services to ensure your septic tank is working properly.  They can pump, repair and even replace the septic tank and drainage pipes at your home or business.  Here are a few informative facts about septic systems below:

  • Septic tanks and drain fields serve more than 25 percent of North American households.
  • A properly functioning septic tank can provide several years of trouble-free service.
  • The need for septic tank pumping is dependent upon the size of your tank; some tanks require an annual cleanout, while others can last years without much maintenance.

Roto-Rooter also offers a septic tank and cesspool treatment, which breaks down greases, proteins and other organic materials, which can cause clogs.  Additionally, our treatment is environmentally safe and can be purchased directly from a Roto-Rooter plumber.

If you are in the Tampa area and would like to schedule service visit our Tampa plumber Web site for online scheduling or call us at (813) 980-6000 and we’d be happy to assist you with all your septic system needs.

 

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Rock Solid Plumbing

September 23rd, 2009 by Ray Lee Master Plumbers

How to Remove Gravel from Your Pipes

Finding the right help for your Tampa plumbing requests, whether you have residential plumbing or commercial plumbing problems, is usually pretty simple. If you need a plumber in Boston, you would probably search “plumber Boston” and be connected with a local plumbing company. Likewise, if you live in Phoenix, you might search “plumber Phoenix”. BUT, what do you do if you manage, as one customer did, to get GRAVEL IN YOUR PLUMBING?

 

There are two main systems and it is necessary to determine where the gravel is located.

-         Drainage System: If gravel has entered here, it can be pushed out using a snake or water jetter.

-         Water System: The first step is to determine how it entered the plumbing. From here, you would need to eliminate the source of the problem and then flush the system.

 

 

Roto-Rooter can assist you with this or any other plumbing repair—help is just one call away! The Tampa plumbers of Roto-Rooter are always available at your convenience, call 1-800-GET-ROTO to schedule a service call.

 

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