When it comes to common winter plumbing problems, all your plumbing friends will tell you about the terrible three: frozen pipes, clogged pipes (from all our holiday meals), and a failing hot water heater.
Outside of those three, we added one more mess to the pile: a burst septic tank. But our goal here is to allow you to see that for every problem, there’s a solution. Whether you tackle these situations on your own or call in a Las Vegas plumbing company, we’ve got you covered with a few tips and tricks to alleviate some of your stress. Let’s get down and dirty.
Frozen Pipes
In the winter months, frozen pipes and clogged pipes are your top two trouble spots. Frozen pipes, however, are far more dangerous than clogged pipes. A clogged pipe might backup and make a mess, but a frozen pipe could burst and cause some serious damage. In truth, you want to spend some time preparing all your pipes for the winter months. This includes a heavy hand with insulation on exposed areas, as well as a thorough inspection for any air leaks.
Despite our best intentions, the winter can still get the best of us. If this should ever happen to you, we’ve prepared a straightforward resource on how to thaw frozen water pipes. Before you do anything else, make sure you shut off your water supply. Then, you can get to the business of generating some heat on those pipes and restoring the water flow.
After you’ve detected that frozen section of piping and fixed the problem, make sure you cover it with some sturdy insulation. And if that section of piping continues to give you a hard time as you battle through the winter months, it might be time to call your local Las Vegas plumber.
Clogged Pipes
Did you enjoy a bunch of family dinners recently? You probably put a lot of prep work into it. Did you happen to pour any oil or grease down the kitchen sink?
In which case, on a quiet February or March morning, you might find you can’t turn on the kitchen sink to make a pot of tea. In our article on things you should never put down the garbage disposal, we spent a considerable amount of time on things like eggshells, coffee grinds, pasta, and other bad elements.
Over time, they start to form a murky sludge that not even water can get past. Frozen murky sludge is even worse. Not to worry, though. This will be a quick fix. Drain cleaning is one of our specialties and we’ll be glad to make the trip to your home and get things running smoothly again.
Finicky Hot Water Heaters
One of the best ways to warm up on a cold desert night is with a warm mug of hot chocolate. A malfunctioning water heater is the only thing standing in the way of your bliss.
Similar to the way we prepare our pipes for the winter, it’s always a good idea to flush your hot water heater, too. This will remove any sediment or buildup. You’ll find the how-to in the link above, but we also offer this as one of our plumbing services should you ever need to send out an S.O.S.
Burst Septic Tank
We warned ya! This one’s messy. A burst septic tank is bad for business any day of the year. If you notice that when one drain empties, another one backs up, it’s time for a little sewer repair.
We’re ready to go toe-to-toe with septic tanks any day of the year. The winter months are just a tad trickier because it’s hard to get underground when everything’s completely frozen.
In these instances, the only advice we can really offer is to give things a once over before the season hits. If it’s time for a replacement tank, this is not the area you want to skimp on because, when this stuff hits the fan, there’s not much you can do except call in the experts.
24-Hour Plumbing
While you’re here, why not save our number in your phone? We staff a 24-hour plumber for this very reason.
The winter months can be unexpectedly cruel. So, in the event of a burst pipe or clogged sewer line, we’ve got you covered at (702) 710-7388.
In the meantime, let’s get back to the important things like another round of smooth hot chocolate.
