I was not asked to write this article. I was inspired. Last summer, I got a desperate text from a friend who said I needed to come over quick. It was an emergency. I arrived at her house only to find her weeping in the middle of her kitchen, her floor covered in the most unpleasant-smelling mess I had ever encountered with my nostrils. “I just had some slow drainage!” she wept while she tried not to vomit. “I thought dumping some draino down my plumbing fixtures was enough!”
This incident more than anything solidified my belief that if you’re having plumbing issues (and even if you’re not having any emergent problems), you should know the number of a reliable 24 hour plumbing service. What’s more, you should use this 24 hour plumbing service before you have to deal with a Plumbing Emergency (capitalization intentional). Below is just a short list of things a good 24 hour plumbing service can help you with:
1. Defective sewer piping: Did you know that in older homes, particularly those built before the 1970s, tree roots and other natural culprits can infiltrate your piping? There’s also a chance that lead was used in some of your piping system. A good plumber can inspect your piping top to bottom and identify any of these onerous traits.
2. Drainage solutions: Many homeowners just accept slow drainage as a fact of having a bathtub, sink, etc. The fact is however that slow drainage is usually your sewer’s cry for help! A plumber can educate you in good, DIY proactive drain cleaning procedures as well as head off any drainage problems you currently have before they get worse.
3. Leaks in sewer lines: Leaks are common, but that doesn’t mean they’re inevitable. Something like 30% of all household toilets leak, for instance. However, did you know that fixtures that leak at one drop per a second actually waste more than 3,000 full gallons of water within a year? That’s enough water to do about 90 loads of laundry — AKA more laundry than you will probably ever do during the same year.
4. Water heater failure: Ah, the water heater. It’s that piece of equipment you take totally for granted. Well, take it from someone who had a barely-working gas water heater for two years of her life. Your water heater is important. It is your friend, and it will only be as nice to you as you are to it. One way to be nice to your water heater is to treat it to a visit everyone once in a while from a plumber for calibration and eventual replacement. Your plumber can also evaluate your water heater for energy efficiency, which could lead to you saving hundreds of dollars on the utility bill.
Don’t be like my friend. Cleaning that mess up was horrific for everyone involved. Get a plumber to check out your house ASAP. Or at least know who to go to if there’s a problem. Learn more at this link.
