Frozen Pipes

If you will be entertaining over the holidays the last thing you want is for a plumbing disaster to strike, and we all know that emergencies always happen at the worst times – like when we have a house full of guests! Whether the issue is a toy car clogging the toilet, turkey grease solidifying in the kitchen drain, silverware jamming the garbage disposal, or a broken water heater on Christmas Eve, plumbers are the superheroes over the holidays, that’s for sure! Many households see an increase in activity between November 23rd and January 1st, which places additional stress on the water heater, dishwasher, showers, bathtubs, toilets, kitchen sink drain, garbage disposal, and even the washing machine, which means household plumbing is put the ultimate test. While you can put in an emergency call to a plumber over the holidays, you’d prefer not to have to place a call on

The last thing you need during the mad holiday rush is to have something go wrong with your plumbing, right? Unfortunately, if you don’t prepare your plumbing for the winter, you could end up paying a big price, and you don’t need any added expenses during a time that your budget is already stretched to the limit. There’s no such thing as a “good time” for a plumbing emergency. Emergencies often occur when our minds are on something else, like preparing for out-of-town guests over Thanksgiving and Christmas. While you’re stocking the fridge for your annual holiday dinner or the linen closet with new sheets and towels for your in-laws, don’t forget that the colder weather means more than holiday travel, it means temperature shifts that can cause your plumbing to fail at the worst of times – when you have a house full of guests! Here are some of

In this beautiful midwest climate, the leaves turn deep shades of orange, red, and brown, the weather is noticeably cooler and pumpkins seem to be adorning the doorsteps of homes all around town. When we feel the cooling temperatures and see the fall colors, as Kansas City licensed plumbers, it gets us thinking about frozen pipes and what homeowners can do to prevent them from freezing. When the first cold snap hits the cold weather and freezing temperatures are here for the season! If you don’t have one already, you should pick up a temporary patch kit from a local home center to seal off any burst pipes as you wait for a plumber to make a permanent repair. You should also know where the water shutoff valve is located in case a pipe does freeze and break. The real key is prevention to stop the potential for massive water

The majority of the time, most homeowners are thinking that they don’t have to worry about their pipes bursting. After all, the temperatures are slowly rising by the day and the threat of frozen pipes are the least of our worries. If you own a home or commercial building, just because the weather is getting warmer, it doesn’t mean you’re “out of the woods” when it comes to the possibility of your pipes bursting. As someone concerned about their home, furnishings and bottom line, you must know that your pipes can still burst, even in the spring or summer months. What starts as an ominous rumbling sound quickly turns into a nightmare. Next thing you know, a pipe bursts and you’re greeted with the horrifying sight of water everywhere, soaking everything in its path. It could even be gushing from the ceiling onto furniture or even computers below. 6 Causes

As we say goodbye to summer barbeques, family vacations, and fun in the sun, we say hello to work, school and we celebrate the fall. We have a lot to look forward to – pumpkin pie, apple cider, hot chocolate and of course the holidays! As the weather gets colder, homeowners have some plumbing concerns to pay attention to. When it comes to the oncoming winter, from a plumbing perspective the biggest concern is freezing temperatures, ice, and related damage. With it being the fall, you need to prepare for colder weather now, before the winter brings frigid temperatures, especially overnight. If you don’t prepare ahead of time, you could be in for some headaches and costly repairs once winter weather makes its debut. Follow our fall plumbing tips to help you avoid a plumbing emergency once any ice, snow, or freezing temperatures arrive. Getting Ready for Colder Weather Around

If water is barely trickling from a faucet when you turn it on, you may have a frozen pipe. This is especially likely if you have pipes outdoors or inside a crawl space. This frozen water can create more than 2,000 pounds per square inch of pressure, which can easily cause your pipe to burst. If this has already happened, then you need to act quickly to make a temporary fix for the burst pipe before you call in the experts.  If there is no leak yet, then you can thaw the frozen section of plumbing. Start by leaving the faucet open, and then find where along the line your pipes have frozen. One thing you can NEVER do is use an open flame or blow torch, propane torch, or any other open flame device, to thaw the frozen pipe or create warm air in tight spaces. Such devices are

As fall approaches, you’re probably preparing yourself for cooler weather, packing up your summer wardrobe and buying a few more sweaters. When preparing yourself for the cold, don’t forget your plumbing! Forgetting to prepare your home for the fall can cause easily avoidable plumbing problems. Make Sure Your Home is Ready for Fall Keep your pipes warm. Keeping pipes warm can prevent these components of your home from bursting in cold weather. Call a plumber to check that pipes are insulated before it gets too chilly. Fix leaky pipes. The sooner these pipes are fixed, the less likely damage will occur during seasonal changes. Water freezing in the pipes can only cause more problems! Drain your hot water heater. This is a good time to clean and examine your hot water heater. If you live in a place with hard water, sediment could build up in the tank. Examining the

Don’t know a Schedule 40 PVC pipe from a Schedule 80 PVC pipe? Or maybe you need to brush up on the different uses for flexible copper pipes as opposed to rigid copper piping. If wall thickness, inside diameter and outside diameter and the plethora of abbreviations used in the industry are all confusing to you, well, you’ve come to the right place. Whether you are researching for a home improvement or expansion project, or you need to conduct repairs for drain lines or other broken pipes, here is a glossary of various types of piping as a handy guide. Piping Terms to Know Copper Pipe: Used for water supply systems, this is more durable than plastic piping, and it even fights corrosion. Copper pipes are either flexible or rigid. Flange: a ring, rib, rim or edge that is a projection. There are many types of flanges, such as blind

If water is barely trickling from a faucet when you turn it on, you may have a frozen pipe. This is especially likely if you have pipes outdoors or inside a crawl space. This frozen water can create more than 2,000 pounds per square inch of pressure, which can easily cause your pipe to burst. If this has already happened, then you need to act quickly to make a temporary fix for the burst pipe before you call in the experts. If there is no leak yet, then you can thaw the frozen section of plumbing. Start by leaving the faucet open, and then find where along the line your pipes have frozen. One thing you can NEVER do is use a flame torch, or any other open flame device, to thaw the frozen pipe. Such devices are a considerable fire hazard. Thawing an Exposed Pipe If you find that