How To Keep Your Drains Clear

Okay, so we clear drains. That’s our job.

Our goal at London Plumbing is to be the best residential london plumbing repair company in the city, so if you’ve got a clogged drain we’re here to help. We’ve got your back.

But wouldn’t you rather just not have a clogged drain?

I know you love seeing our handsome faces showing up to your door, but you’ll save yourself some stress and headache (and money!) if you just know how to keep your drain unclogged in the first place. So that’s why we put together this little blog article for you.

First Of All, What Clogs Drains?

There are tons of things that clog drains. Often it comes down to knowing what you should and shouldn’t flush.

If you’re planning on flushing something down the toilet, ask yourself these four questions:

- Is it water, or a water-based liquid (eg. not oil)?
- Is it pee?
- Is it poop?
- Is it toilet paper?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, go ahead and flush it. If not, don’t!

Yeah, I know that box of cat litter says it’s flushable. Yeah, I know that baby wipe seems like it’s the same thing as toilet paper. But it’s not.

In fact, some of the biggest causes of clogged drains are cat litter, baby wipes, and feminine hygiene products. If you can just not flush these things, you’ll be way ahead of everyone else who does. And, y’know, your drain is less likely to be clogged.

But it’s not just this stuff that causes clogs. Sometimes, you can do everything right and still get a clogged drain. Some of these causes include:

- Tree roots growing through your pipes
- Ground shifting your pipes out of sync with each other
- A clog in your main sewer line

When this happens, what do you do?

Call us!

How To Keep Your Drains Clear

It’s pretty simple, really. Follow these tips and you can avoid having clogged drains. But all it boils down to is, don’t put stuff down the drain!

- Don’t flush stuff down the toilet that shouldn’t be there. This includes feminine hygiene products, dental floss, cat litter, baby wipes, and more.
- Don’t rinse stuff down the kitchen sink that shouldn’t be there. Food, coffee grinds, rice grains, whatever. Don’t stick it down the drain.
- Don’t rinse stuff down the bathtub drain that shouldn’t be there. This is mostly hair, which sticks together with soap scum and can cause a nasty paste that clogs things up wickedly.
- Don’t rinse stuff down the bathroom sink that shouldn’t be there. That’s mainly hair too, but all the above things still count. Yeah, don't rinse cat litter or condoms down the bathroom sink either!

Just keep your drains clear of stuff that isn’t water or human waste, and you’ll be good (mostly).

Stuck? Give Us A Call

Once you’ve shut the water off, take a deep breath, and give us a call. Here at the London Ontario Plumbing Company, we’re happy to help, no matter your plumbing needs.

London Plumbing
Serving London Ontario and the surrounding area |
https://goo.gl/maps/qWKKptSB6Ln

Discover some extra tips about residential plumbing at: emergency licensed plumber

How To Find The Emergency Shut Off Valve

---

It’s the worst case scenario, plumbing-wise. Your faucet, your toilet, your bathtub – something has spring a major leak. Water is spraying everywhere, and you’re worried it will cause thousands of dollars in damage.

What do you do?

You should call your local plumber, of course, but what about the leaking water? Your plumber will arrive as soon as they can, but in the meantime you still have a big wet problem on your hands. But first…

Turn Off The Emergency Shutoff Valve

Before you spend a ton of cash calling a 24 hour emergency licensed plumbing contractor, though, here’s how you can save your home from damage and save some money while you’re at it.

The first thing you should do – even before calling a plumber – is to shut off the water to your house. This stops the flow of water to all the pipes in your home. This won’t fix the problem right away, but it will at least prevent it from further damaging your home.

But of course, you need to know where to find it first.

How To Find The Emergency Shut Off Valve

Every home has an emergency plumbing shut off valve, and in times where you have a plumbing emergency you’ll be glad it’s there! Most of the time you’ll find it near the water meter in your home.

That begs another question though – where is your water meter?

You’ll usually find it attached to the side of your home, but it can sometimes be buried as well. In these cases, you can find a small hatch on your property similar to a sewer cap. It might be marked “water”.

If you can’t turn it by hand, you’ll need to use either a pipe wrench or a water key – a special plumbing wrench. Grab one from a hardware store before the emergency happens so you’re prepared.

If you can’t find your shut off valve, give us a call.

Individual Plumbing Fixture Shut Off Valves

While your entire house has its own dedicated shut off valve, you also have individual shut off valves attached to each fixture as well. These are usually located in an inconspicuous spot – behind your toilet, or under your sink. Take some time to locate these valves – they’re usually almond-shaped – in case of an emergency later. You’ll be glad you did!

Try shutting them off too – if they’re stuck now, add some lubricant to make them run smoothly. I guarantee this will be a less stressful process than trying to lubricate a stuck valve as your basement fills up with water!

Stuck? Give Us A Call

Once you’ve shut the water off, take a deep breath, and give us a call. Here at the London Ontario Plumbing Company, we’re happy to help, no matter your plumbing needs.

London Plumbing |
Serving London Ontario and the surrounding area |
https://goo.gl/maps/qWKKptSB6Ln

---

Find more concepts on residential plumbing at: best 24 hour licensed plumber

4 Things To Consider Before Hiring A Plumber

So you’ve got a plumbing issue that needs solving. Installing new fixtures, removing old ones, clearing drains, or a 24 hour emergency plumbing contractor to stop that water volcano from spraying all over the place and ruining that Picasso painting you just paid $100,000 for at an auction last week because you just won the lottery – it doesn’t matter. You need a plumber’s help.

What do you do? You could just search Google and come up with the first place you can find. That might work for you. But how do you know that plumber is legit? How do you tell the difference between that guy and the next one?

Here are a few questions you should ask any plumber before you hire them.

What Are Your Certifications?

Did you know you need a licence to be a plumber? It’s illegal for someone to say they’re certified when they’re not.

If you’re in Ontario, you can use the Ontario College of Trades website to confirm whether someone actually has the certifications they claim to.

There’s nothing wrong with asking for credentials. Any plumber who actually has the credentials they need shouldn’t be upset if you ask. If they object, that’s a big red flag.

Do You Have Reviews?

It’s 2017, people. Everyone gets everything on the internet, and everyone posts everything on the internet. If you do a good job for enough people, sooner or later someone is going to hit Google or Yelp or Facebook to talk about it.

Same goes for if you screw up. Now, if someone has 50 positive reviews and one or two negative ones, then whatever. That happens. You can’t always please everyone. But if they have 50 negative reviews and one or two positive ones, you might want to rethink what you’re doing.

What’s Your Estimate?

No one should be giving estimates over the phone, especially for complicated jobs.

Just a clogged drain may be one thing, but what if your plumber gets there and finds out the drain is clogged because of a tree root, or a buildup of clay, or your pipes have shifted altogether? There’s so much that’s unseen at first and you can’t know until you actually take a look.

Don’t trust someone who just hears about the job over the phone and gives you an estimate. It’s probably going to be wrong, and you’ll end up paying for it.

How Do You Communicate?

You can’t really ask a plumber this question, but you should consider it yourself anyway.

Communication is related to reliability. Do they actually show up when they say they’re going to show up? And if they don’t, do they at least give you notice and a valid reason?

And how do they respond to your questions when you talk to them? Are they open, patient, and understanding? Or do they dismiss your concerns in a gruff, grumpy manner?

When they answer your questions, do they sound confident that they know what they’re talking about? Or do they sound like they’re just making it up as they go along?

If it’s the latter, you might want to take a look at that registry…

Contact London Plumbing

When it comes to plumbing, we know our stuff. We strive to be the best plumbing company in London Ontario, and if you work with us you’ll see why.

Give us a call for all your plumbing needs.

Get more concepts on fixing up your home at: emergency plumbing contractor