As the days grow longer, it is time for homeowners to start thinking about spring cleaning. Sure, Spring cleaning will involve washing walls, ceilings, baseboards, and windows but it also is the perfect time to tackle various home maintenance tasks, and plumbing maintenance should definitely be on your list.
Here are a few things you can do to aid with plumbing maintenance in Des Plaines. By inspecting and maintaining your home plumbing, you can keep things running smoothly for longer.
You hear a sudden clang coming from the walls of your home, like a hammer striking metal. It’s not a ghost… it’s the plumbing. The sound you’re hearing is the result of water hammer, which occurs when there are no air cushions in the pipes to absorb the shock wave that occurs when water suddenly stops moving because a tap is shut off.
The name “water hammer” sounds intimidating. Is water hammer dangerous in Glenview? Is it bad for your pipes? We can ease your mind about the “dangerous” part: water hammer isn’t something that poses a physical threat to you or your family’s health. As for whether it’s bad for the pipes—that’s a definite yes. In fact, water hammer has several deleterious effects on plumbing, which is why we encourage you to call for our professional plumbers to look into water hammer in your home as soon as you begin to notice it.
We can’t stress enough how important it is that you turn to licensed plumbers, and licensed plumbers only, when you need plumbing work in your home. Too many people like to attempt to tackle plumbing problems as DIY projects, and far too many others will turn to an unlicensed “handyman” when they’ve got plumbing woes. Neither is a good idea—especially when it’s easy to reach out to us and hire our licensed plumbers in Evanston, IL, or elsewhere in the Northshore and Northwest Chicagoland Area.
Why licensed plumbers? There are many reasons, but here are the five main ones…
You’ve probably heard about hard water and know that it’s not something you want flowing through your home’s plumbing. Hard water refers to water that contains a high volume of dissolved minerals, mostly magnesium, calcium, and gypsum. Hard water is common in cities: the minerals seep into the water through the ground and enter the pipes so water treatment plants can’t counteract it.
The best way to eliminate hard water in your home is to have a special water softener installed. You can call on our plumbers in Glenview, IL to install one of these devices, which uses sodium ions to replace the hard water ions.
But why bother at all? Since hard water isn’t harmful to drink, why make the effort to put in a softener? The answer is that hard water is often ruinous for plumbing and appliances. It comes with several other side effects that can make life in your house a bigger hassle. We’ll look at what hard water does to your plumbing so you’ll know why a water softener is a good idea.
It’s not winter yet, but you never want to be caught unprepared for the first serious cold snap. Your plumbing is extremely vulnerable to cold weather, specifically frozen pipes that can lead to severe damage from pipes bursting. Take some time during the fall lull to properly winterize your plumbing as well as take other steps that will make it easier for your home to make it through the coming cold.
Below we’ve listed some key preparations to make. You can contact a great plumber in Glenview, IL at Reliance to provide assistance with several of these jobs. We can conduct an inspection of your plumbing if you want to locate any weaknesses where pipe freeze can take hold.
Any plumber will work extensively with bathroom plumbing, since this is the room of a house that has the highest concentration of pipes, drains, and fixtures. Along with the many bathroom plumbing repairs and drain cleaning that our professional plumbers perform, we also handle new shower installation in Glenview, IL.
You may be in a situation where you’ve got an older shower that’s an eyesore or isn’t working effectively anymore and you want to upgrade it. You might have someone in your home with mobility issues who would benefit from a different type of shower. Whatever the reason, you’re looking to have a new shower installed. There are several choices of shower types to consider. We’ll go over the most common shower types and look at their benefits.
Let’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!
The #1 thing you should know about drain cleaning solutions is that if using them is your method to clean your drains on a regular basis, then you’re actually doing more harm than good to your plumbing system.
Let us elaborate!
First off, we understand. One of the most irritating plumbing issues a homeowner deals with is clogged or backed-up drains. You may be doing something as seemingly benign as brushing your teeth when all of the sudden you have a backed-up and overflowing sink. It’s only natural that you want a quick and simple fix. And nothing is faster and easier than using a bottle of store-bought drain cleaning solution, right?
Unfortunately, fast or even affordable does not necessarily mean effective. Read on to learn more!
When you look at a standard, conventional tank water heater, it’s probably clear why it would need regular maintenance. It’s large, it has a number of components to it in order for it to work, and it’s metal full of water–two things that don’t typically go together without rust and corrosion. Tankless systems are so different though, right? They don’t hold water in them–instead, they heat water on demand when a tap or a plumbing appliance requires it. So you don’t have to worry about rust or corrosion as much. They don’t have as many components either, so their repair needs are limited.
So, why does your tankless water heater need maintenance? Well, it’s due to a little something called scaling, which actually impacts all types of water heaters, not just conventional tank systems.
For those people who have already dealt with a slab leak, the term is pretty scary. It describes a leak that occurs in either the hot water (more common) or cold water lines that lie underneath your concrete foundation, and is a problem for the homes it happens in. Not only do slab leaks create a lot of water waste, they also can damage the property, lead to the growth of mildew and mold, plus add extra strain to the water heater if the leak is occurring in the hot water lines.
Our trained and experienced professional plumbers are well equipped to accurately locate and repair these issues. But what causes a slab leak to begin with? Shouldn’t a plumbing pipe that is set down in your concrete be pretty protected from the damage that can lead to pipe breaks and pinhole leaks?
Well actually, there are a few different things that can create a slab leak. Read on to learn more.