You probably have a few ideas for home improvements planned in 2017. If you don’t mind, we would like to make a suggestion for one you can add to the list. Don’t worry… this is actually one that’s simple to do. You only have to contact our professional plumbers and tell them that you want to arrange for professional drain cleaning services.
Ken Neyer Plumbing, Inc. Blog: Archive for December, 2016
Drain Cleaning: A Great Idea for the New Year
Monday, December 26th, 2016Keeping Your Garbage Disposal Running Through New Year’s
Tuesday, December 20th, 2016Your garbage disposal made it through Thanksgiving. That’s great! Now it has another series of holiday feasts to deal with. That means there’s a higher chance of something going wrong with it. Any plumber will tell you that one of the major calls they receive during the end of the year are repair calls for disposals. Although we are always glad to help you out when your plumbing is in trouble, we’d also like you to have a peaceful holiday season, so we’re offering you some advice about seeing your disposal get through the end of the year in great shape.
- Don’t pour ice down it to “sharpen the blades”: Here’s a piece of advice drifting around for years that has no basis in fact. Ice cubes will not sharpen the blades of a disposal and help it better chop food—because the disposal doesn’t have any blades! It uses dull impellers to push food into an outer grind ring. Hard ice cubes have a chance to damage the disposal.
- Run cold water down the disposal: Yes, hot water is better for cutting through grease, but grease shouldn’t go down the disposal either. (See the next point.) Hot water is more likely to cause parts of the disposal to overheat, so use cold water when it’s time to rinse out and run the disposal.
- Keep fats, oils, and grease out of the disposal: Collectively known as “FOG,” these byproducts of cooking are extremely hazardous to disposals—as well as the plumbing in general. In liquid form, they appear harmless. But they won’t stay in liquid form long. As they cool, they congeal into solids, and this can seriously clog up the disposal as well as the drain.
- Avoid putting fibrous foods in the disposal: This includes onions, asparagus, and anything else that’s “stringy.” The fibers of these foods can become entangled in the mechanical parts of the disposal and cause it to break down.
- Only call professional plumbers for repairs: If you do encounter trouble with the disposal, don’t tinker with it yourself (and don’t put your hand down it). Our licensed plumbers are here to see that the problem is fixed, fast and right.
Ken Neyer Plumbing, Inc. is ready to help you with all your plumbing needs in Cleves, OH this season. We’re on duty 24 hours a day!
Some Septic Tank “Don’ts”
Monday, December 19th, 2016Not all homes have a connection to the municipal sewer system. Instead, they must rely on a septic tank to handle waste treatment and disposal. If your house is connected to a septic tank, there’s no reason that you shouldn’t be able to live in the same way as a house that has a connection to a sewer line. You just have to make certain that you keep the septic tank in good condition by avoiding a number of things that can lead to problems. Below is a short list of a few “don’ts” that will help you keep repair issues away from your septic tank.
Why Do Frozen Pipes Burst?
Monday, December 12th, 2016In our post last week, we went over a few of the important steps for winterizing your home. The major concern with residential plumbing during a cold Ohio winter is frozen pipes. This is most likely to occur in exposed pipes around the water heater, but it can happen almost anywhere in the home where pipes encounter too much cold without sufficient insulation.
A frozen pipe is a significant problem. Not only does it mean that water won’t flow, it also puts the pipe at risk of bursting, leading to flooding and an expensive repair. But why does pipe bursting happen? The answers might surprise you.