Reliance Plumbing Sewer & Drainage, Inc. Blog: Archive for the ‘Plumbing’ Category

Water Stain on the Ceiling? That’s a Serious Plumbing Problem!

Monday, April 25th, 2022

stain-on-ceilingWe often talk about the problem of hidden leaks in residential plumbing. It’s easy for these leaks to go unnoticed for weeks or months while they raise water bills and inflict damage on building materials. But today we’re going to look at when a hidden leak becomes an obvious leak. Unfortunately, it’s an obvious leak that people often still overlook or delay at getting fixed. We’re looking at the water stain on the ceiling!

You’ve probably come across this phenomenon at some point; if not in your own home than in another building. A brownish-red discoloration spreading through the drywall or other material of the ceiling. Unsightly, but maybe you only need a bit of paint to touch it up…

No, don’t do this! That stain is the sign of a leak, and it means you need fast service to have it fixed. You can worry about painting over the stain later. 

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How Long Will a Garbage Disposal Last?

Monday, April 11th, 2022

white question mark on blue backgroundYou probably use your kitchen sink garbage disposal every day, and that kind of appliance becomes easy to take for granted. Even though a disposal uses a powerful motor and does the action of grinding down food waste, people often make the assumption that a disposal will just keep running without the need to replace it. 

Of course, this isn’t true. In fact, the average life expectancy of a garbage disposal is about 10 years. After that point, although the disposal may continue to run when it turns on, it will have worn down enough that it will start to clog more frequently because it can no longer grind down food as effectively.

We can help you with your garbage disposal in Northbrook, IL when it comes time to repair it or replace it, as well as help you determine which is the best choice.

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Do You Know How to Shut Off Water to Your Home During a Plumbing Emergency?

Monday, March 14th, 2022

plumbing-valves-and-tubesNobody wants to deal with a huge plumbing emergency, but you have a great source for help when one does happen: you can call our team for 24-hour plumbing in Des Plaines, IL or anywhere else in our service area in the Northshore and Northwest Chicagoland. But before you call us, you may want to shut off the water to your house to stop potential flooding problems. This will help you get a handle on the situation and avoid excess damage and expensive remediation costs later.

But wait … do you know how to shut off your home’s water supply? If the answer is no, then we’re glad you stopped by our blog today. We can help you find out how so you’ll be prepared in case of a big plumbing emergency.

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Why Does My Dishwasher Smell?

Monday, February 28th, 2022

girl-pinching-noseThe job of your dishwasher is to make keeping clean easy—specifically, cleaning your dishes. A dishwasher is not only a time-saving device, it can also help reduce water consumption compared to hand-washing dishes. Dishwashers also use hotter water for cleaning than you can get out of your sink faucet, which more effectively kills off bacteria and gives the dishes a deep cleaning that makes them safer to use as well as more pleasant smelling.

So a dishwasher that doesn’t smell nice … that’s going against expectations. Unfortunately, dishwasher odors are a problem that can often strike kitchen plumbing in Winnetka, IL and in some cases may require professional cleaning or even a replacement.

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Where Plumbing Leaks Are Most Likely to Occur in Your Home

Monday, February 14th, 2022

bursted copper pipe with water leaking out, 3d illustrationLeaking pipes and fixtures are one of the most persistent of plumbing problems. When people visualize water leaks in their home, they often think about water spraying in large amounts from a burst pipe. This can happen, but the majority of leaks are much more insidious and often happen where you can’t see them easily at first. You have to watch for warning signs like water stains and a rise in your water bills.

To help you better understand where you may need leak repair in your home, we’ve put together a list of the most common spots for household water leaks. Pay attention to these areas so you can catch leaks early.

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Pinhole Leaks: A Sneaky Plumbing Problem

Monday, January 3rd, 2022

bursted copper pipe with water leaking out, 3d illustrationLocating hidden leaks in homes is an important part of our job as professional plumbers. Because so much of the piping in a house is hidden in walls and ceilings, leaks often escape detection for long stretches—sometimes until they start to cause damage to parts of the house. 

And no type of hidden leak is harder to notice at first than pinhole leaks. The name can give you an idea why these are tricky to find: they’re extremely small. But small leaks are still major problems, especially if they escape notice for long enough. 

There’s more to pinhole leaks, and we’ll go over the details below. If you suspect any type of plumbing leak in your house, call us for pipe repair in Winnetka, IL.

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How to Resolve (And Prevent) Frozen Pipes

Monday, December 20th, 2021

icicles-hanging-off-pipeWhen you live in a place with icy winters, you’ll face the same concern every year with your plumbing: the fear of frozen pipes. Handling frozen pipes is an important job for anyone who does professional plumbing in Wilmette, IL for a living. We’ve certainly handled our fair share of frozen pipe repairs in the years we’ve been in business.

What can you do about frozen pipes? The simple answer is to call us. There are various “home remedies” you can uncover online, but attempting to thaw a frozen pipe often leads to the pipe bursting because of the increase in internal pressure. We’re ready to help when you have frozen pipes, and we have 24/7 service available. We are here for you!

For the rest of this post, we’ll go into some important tips on how you can avoid frozen pipes in the first place. 

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How to Stop a Running Toilet

Monday, November 22nd, 2021

top view of a toilet with an open lidAfter a toilet flushes, you’ll hear it running as it fills up the tank. This takes less than a minute in most cases, and then it shuts off. If you hear the toilet continuing to run for longer, something is wrong. Sometimes you can jiggle the flush handle to stop it, but if it continues each time the toilet flushes or it doesn’t respond to moving the handle, you’ll have to look into other methods. In some cases, it will take a professional plumber in skokie, IL to fix the problem.

And we want you to know that this is a problem. If you choose to just “live with” the toilet making the refilling noise, you’ll end up wasting enormous amounts of water that will raise your bills. Let’s see what you (or we) can do to stop a running toilet.

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The Holiday Season and Your Plumbing System: What You Should Know

Monday, November 8th, 2021

family-sitting-around-table-for-holiday-mealBefore you shove those potato skins or eggshells down the kitchen sink drain and assume that your garbage disposal system will take care of it, we urge you to read this blog post. Although it’s very convenient and simple to use, your garbage disposal system does have it’s limits, and those limits are quite often found during the holiday season. In fact, this is the time of year that our plumbers get the most plumbing repair calls–and they’re usually in regards to a clogged kitchen sink drain that’s causing a backup, and/or a jammed up and damaged garbage disposal system.

So before you cook that holiday meal, let’s talk about some prep work that doesn’t get a lot of attention–taking care of your plumbing system. Read on as we uncover what shouldn’t go down your kitchen sink drain this holiday season.

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Knocking Pipes: What This Symptom Means for Your Plumbing System

Monday, October 25th, 2021

woman-holding-hand-to-ear-to-listenLet’s say you’re sleeping, or at least relaxing comfortably, in your home, and all of the sudden you’re aware of a perhaps soft but persistent knocking coming from your walls…

It can be quite alarming! Fortunately, it’s not a plumbing emergency, but it’s still a plumbing problem you’ll want to pay attention to. Ignore it and you’ll only notice the sound getting louder and louder.

So what is it that you’re hearing? Knocking pipes!

There are solutions to this nuisance, which we will get into below. In the meantime, if you need reliable plumbing services, emergency or not, don’t hesitate to dial our number!

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