1) Shut off the water coming into the toilet to reduce the flooding damage. Most toilets have their shutoffs under the left hand side. Turn clockwise to shutoff. But if you live in a mobile home and don’t have a shut off there, you’ll have to shut off the main water valve.
2) Get out the old “Plumbers Helper” a suction cup. This will clear most stoppages in the toilet itself. Plunge vigorously. If you hear gurgling in the tub or shower, or if plunging doesn’t help, you probably have a stoppage further on down the line or in the sewer itself. That’s a job for a pro so give Standard Plumbing a call.

LOW WATER PRESSURE

Does your washing machine take forever to fill up? Your dishwasher? Can you use only one shower or bathtub at a time? Does a toilet flushed at one end of the house lower the pressure at the other end? If so you have “LOW WATER PRESSURE” Let’s look at a few reasons why and what you can do.

1) First determine if just one fixture (or appliance) or the entire house is affected.
2) If just a faucet is affected, check the aerator (screen at the end of the spout) unscrew it and clean it out. If your dishwasher or washing machine is affected, they have screens on the water inlet valves. Usually a job for your appliance repairman.
3) If more than one water outlet is affected let’s look a little further. Is it the entire house or just the hot water? If it’s the whole house, the problem is usually in the water line coming into the house. If it’s just the hot water side you can look for a blockage in the water heater. If you tried all of the above (and then some) and still are plagued with low water pressure, give us a call for a free estimate.

KITCHEN SINK PLUGGED-UP

The single biggest cause of sink stoppages is grease. Hot cooking oil or grease might seem to go right down the drain; but as soon as it cools, it hardens to a thick sticky mess which, over a period of time plugs the drain solid. If you have a garbage disposal the chopped up particles of food add to the mess down inside your pipes. Too avoid drain clogs:

1) Keep as much grease & cooking oils out of your sink if you can.
2) If you have a garbage disposal, use plenty of water while you’re grinding, and KEEP the water running for 10-20 seconds AFTER you shut off the disposal.
3) As soon as you notice the drain start to slow down, buy some of your favorite drain cleaner and follow the directions on the label. By using it when the drain just begins to slow down rather than waiting until it is completely blocked, you’ll have better results.

NO HOT WATER

The first cold snap of the year. Ready for a hot shower. You turn the faucet to “Hot” and wait, and wait. No hot water! Call the plumber? Not yet. Check several things first and save a service call. Gas Water Heaters: If yours is an LP (Bottled) gas water heater, check the gas tank, it may be empty. Check the pilot. A gust of wind may have blown it out. Follow the instructions in you heater owners manual and relight. If it doesn’t stay lit call your gas supplier or Plumber. Electric water heater: Check your fuse or circuit breaker. Replace a blown fuse with the appropriate size. Remember, most water heaters use two fuses. If the fuses or breakers keep blowing call your electrician or Standard Plumbing.

GARBAGE DISPOSAL QUITS!

Your cleaning up after a holiday dinner and the disposal chokes on six turkey necks, three watermelon rinds and a tab top. Before you call Standard Plumbing there’s two things that you need to check:

1) Just about every disposal made in the USA in the last 20 years has a “reset” button on its lower side. Check your owners manual for its exact location and press it. That takes care of a lot of “jammed disposal” calls.
2) If you have an “Insinkerator” brand disposal, you’ll find a special wrench that came with it to help clear jams. This is one reason that we at Standard Plumbing install Insinkerator disposals exclusively. If you have an Insinkerator but have lost the special wrench. Still jammed? Standard Plumbing can handle it - on Easter, on Christmas or any time. Give us a call.

HIGH WATER BILLS

1) A leaky toilet wastes thousands of gallons of water each month. You’ll usually hear it. The solution? A Toilet Tune-Up. Or (if your the “handyman” variety) stop in at our Do-It-Yourself Plumbing Center for all you need plus free advice.
2) A leaky faucet will waste as much water as a toilet, but is much easier to locate.
3) Leak under your floor. If checking toilets and faucets reveals nothing, but your water consumption keeps going up, a leak under the concrete slab is a real possibility. Definitely a job for a pro. Standard Plumbing can locate the leak and repair it with a minimum mess and fuss.
4) An average American family of 4 uses between 3500 and 5000 gallons of water per month but there are ways to cut that even further. You can equip your showers with water saver heads. The same with your other faucets. They can be retrofitted with water saver aerators.

BROKEN PIPES

Although a broken pipe under the floor or in your wall is a job for a pro you can certainly reduce the damage and help control the flooding before the plumber comes. When you find flooding in your home immediately shut off the water to your house, apartment, or mobile home. If you live on the upper floors of a condominium call your manager so that he can take steps to reduce damage on the lower floors. Then you can call Standard Plumbing knowing that you’ve done all that you can to keep the amount of damage to a minimum.

TOILET WON'T SHUT OFF

Few things can be as irritating as a toilet that keeps running for what seems like forever after you flush it. Or even worse, a toilet that comes on at 2:00 AM and runs just long enough to wake you up. When you realize how much you pay for water, the situation becomes intolerable. Fortunately most leaking toilets can be easily repaired if you’re in the Do-It-Yourself mood. Stop by your local home store or if you would like a professional to quiet down your toilet, give Standard Plumbing a call!

WATER HEATER LEAKS

There are two kinds of water heaters — those that are leaking and those that are going to leak. Remember that when you install a water heater. Have it installed where it won’t do any damage when it leaks or have it installed in a drained safety pan. But if you do encounter a leaking hot water heater the first thing you want to do is to shut off the power source, either gas or electric. Then shut off your water valve (usually on top of the heater). Then give Standard Plumbing a call.

standard plumbing
Lic. # CFC056827~ Sarasota, FL
Phone: 941-365-3200 ~ Email:margie@standardplumbingcorp.com