19 plumbing Terms you Might Hear your San Antonio Plumber say

The more a homeowner knows the better able he or she is to handle any household hiccup, especially when it comes to leaky faucets, clogged drains, and dirty pipes. The home’s plumbing system may seem like a complicated maze of pipes, and sometimes its sounds as if the plumber is speaking an entirely different language! What did he say about my clogged toilet? And what’s the name of the part I need from the home appliance store? Here are some common plumbing terms that can help even the least handy homeowner understand what the heck the plumber is talking about.

ABS: Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene:

This stuff is rigid and rough black plastic pipe used for plumbing system drains, waste, and vent (plumbers often abbreviate drain, waste, and vent as DWV) lines.

Access Panel:

That handy opening in your wall, floor or ceiling that allows access for servicing plumbing or electrical systems.

Adapter:

This is good to know when buying plumbing parts. The adapter is the fitting that joins two pipes together.

Air Gap:

Any water path flow, for example this could be the distance from a faucet to a drain.

“A”-Valve:

an automatic gas shut off valve

Back pressure:

pressure that resists the flow of liquid in the plumbing system

Back siphonage:

the negative pressure that causes back flow in a plumbing system

Back wash:

a process of cleaning a filter by reversing the flow of water through it, this sends the dirty water through the plumbing system into the waste

Backwater valve:

a sewer line valve that prevents sewage water from flowing back into the house, (should always be in working condition!)

Branch drain:

a drain that leads to the main drainage line of the plumbing system

Cleanout:

a special (and very handy) plug that is used to access a plumbing pipe in order to clean out an obstruction, blockage or clog

Commode:

toilet, (the actual piece of equipment, not the room)

CPCV:

This stands for chlorinated polyvinyl chloride, which is rough piping used in water supply systems

Plumber’s putty:

A soft substance used to seal joints and fixture bases

PVC:

This stands for polyvinyl chloride, and is one of the more common plumbing terms referring to white piping used in many home plumbing capacities

Run:

From drain to fixture, this refers to the entire length of the pipe

Solder:

Metal which is melted in order to fuse one surface to another (pronouced “sodder”)

Scupper:

A drain, usually located on the roof or deck that allows for rain water to drain off

Trap:

This segment of the drain line keeps harmful gases out and holds in water (also a part of your plumbing system that should always be in working condition)

Sources:
http://www.keidel.com/glossary/a.htm
http://www.superpages.com
http://www.plumbingproducts.com/plumbing-terms-s.html

Your San Antonio Plumbing company, 1-800-Plumbing, is here for all you plumbing needs. Call 1-800-Plumbing today or use our online San Antonio Plumbing request form to request an estimate!

San Antonio Plumbing Emergency Tips
Being Prepared can Save you Headaches

In San Antonio, plumbing emergencies are inevitable when owning a home, but they don’t have to be a homeowner’s nightmare. Just knowing a few key tips for when a San Antonio plumbing emergency occurs can minimize damage and eliminate your frustration.

So without further ado we give you…

The Top 5 San Antonio Plumbing Emergency Tips

1. • Plumbing Emergency Tip #1:

   • Where is the main water valve?
   • One of the first things to do after moving into a home is to locate the main water supply valve. For most homes on city water supply, the shut off valve is located outside near the water meter or an exterior entrance to the home’s crawl space. Some main valves can be located inside the home underneath a floor access panel or in the basement. In the event of a San Antonio plumbing emergency, the main water supply will normally need to be turned off. For this reason, knowing its location is very important homeowners to know the location of the main water valve.

2. • Plumbing Emergency Tip #2

   • What to do when the hot water heater is leaking?
   • If hot water is leaking from a faucet or supply pipe this means the hot water heater may be leaking. The first step in dealing with a leaking water heater is to shut off the main water supply (good thing you know where it is). Next, turn off all the power to the water heater to prevent any damage to the heating element. If the tank is electric, turn off the power from the nearby breaker. If the tank is gas, use the gas shut off valve on the gas line going to the tank. Shutting off the water and the power before the plumber gets there can save homeowners from expensive damage or even replacement.

3. • Plumbing Emergency Tip #3

   • How to prevent a complete overflow from a toilet?
   • This is probably the most common San Antonio plumbing emergency we have to deal with. If the overflow is caught right away, before it reaches the rim of the toilet, just turn on the cold water in the nearby sink or bathtub! This simple trick will help slow down the water flow while your San Antonio plumber arrives. If the water is already close to flooding out of the toilet bowl, turn off the water supply to the toilet with the valve under the tank. If you don’t have a shutoff under the tank, lift up the tank lid and pull the float ball or cup inside.

     Contact 1-800 Plumbing in San Antonio for all of your San Antonio Plumbing Needs

4. • Plunbing Emergency Tip #4

   • How to manage a leaking washing machine?
   • If the washing machine continues to fill with water even after the machine’s basket is filled, immediately turn off the water. Simply turning the water supply valve located on the hoses behind the washing machine can do this. Next, in order to keep your San Antonio plumbing emergency from turning into a hostpital visit, turn off the washer and the circuit breaker to the washer to prevent any electricity from reaching the water filled washer! Both these steps will prevent extensive damage and eliminate any danger.

5. • Plumbing Emergency Tip #5

   • The best San Antonio Plumbing Emergency tip of all: know your plumber’s number!
   • Add 1-800 Plumbing in San Antonio (1-800-758-6246) to your list of emergency contacts and keep it next to the phone or on the fridge. Contact 1-800 Plumbing to solve any San
     Antonio Plumbing Emergency you encounter.

Having The Right Plumbing Tool
can Save You Money

What’s inside your toolbox? A hammer? Screwdrivers? Drill? These are the typical tools tucked away in the garage. But what about a pipe wrench? A plumber’s snake? Most household toolboxes are missing a few basic but very important plumbing supplies: plumbing tools. Having basic plumbing tools on hand will make even the peskiest of plumbing problems easy to tackle.

So, without further ado, 1-800-Plumbing in San Antonio presents:

The Top Five Plumbing Tools
for San Antonio Homeowners

1. The #1 Plumbing Tool for Homeowners:

   Plumber’s Snake for Clogged Pipes

   Got a hard to reach clog? The number 1 plumbing tool on our list, the plumber’s snake, will solve the problem. A plumber’s snake is a long flexible auger used to remove those hard to reach clogs that cannot be loosened with a plunger. This versatile plumbing tool, sometimes called the “electric eel”, is made of a coiled metal wire attached to a crank that rotates the wire as it moves through the plumbing pipe. This toilet jack can retrieve the object causing the clog, break up the clogged particles, and even scrape off accumulated pipe matter expanding the diameter of the plumbing pipes.

2. The #2 Plumbing Tool for Homeowners:

   Flange Plunger for Easy Toilet Unclogging

   A good plunger is an important plumbing tool to have on hand. It can stop an overflowing toilet just in the nick of time. But did you know that there are different types of plungers designed to unclog different plumbing fixtures? A flange plunger is specially designed to help unclog toilet bowls. The shape of the plunger allows it to seal tight around the hole at the bottom of the toilet bowl.

3. The #3 Plumbing Tool for Homeowners:

   Cup Plunger for the Sink or Bathroom

   This essential plumbing tool is the most common plunger found in homes. However, most homeowners don’t know that this little plumbing tool is actually the perfect plunger for the sink or bathtub. Just like the name says, this plunger is shaped like a cup; therefore, it is the perfect size for unclogging sink and bathtub drains. Don’t use this one for the toilet though, it is the wrong size and you might end up with an overflowing toilet.

4. The #4 Plumbing Tool for Homeowners:

   Pipe Wrench for Adjustments and Maintenance

   The Pipe Wrench is an important, basic plumbing tool that enables you to tighten and loosen pipes. The pipe wrench is bigger and sturdier than regular wrenches, which allows it to turn pipes very efficiently. This specialized plumbing tool is designed to reach those tough spots under sinks and basins. When you are dealing with a leaky or loose pipe connection, reach for the pipe wrench.

5. The #5 Plumbing Tool for Homeowners:

   Teflon Tape for Sealing Leaks

   Need to seal a leak? Teflon tape is the answer. Designed to wrap around the threaded ends of pipes such as faucets and shower heads, Teflon tape improves the water tightness of the joints. Also, Teflon tape is an important plumbing tool for replacing any pipes with threaded joints. This inexpensive plumbing supply can be a quick fix to a simple plumbing problem. All you have to do is wrap it around the male end of the threaded pipe.

These five basic plumbing tools will help any homeowner handle the simple plumbing fixes every household faces from time to time.  No matter if your plumbing problem is big or small, let the experts at 1-800 Plumbing in San Antonio handle the frustration for you. Contact 1-800 Plumbing in San Antonio today by dialing 1-800-758-6246 in Bexar and Kendall counties, 210-650-3302 in all other areas, or online via our Free San Antonio Plumbing Quote Request.

• Resources about Plumbing Tools:

• Wikipedia: Plumber’s Snake
• Ehow: Toilet Plungers
• HowStuffWorks: Pipe Wrench
• Teflon Tape
• Plumbing Q & A: Top Plumbing Tools

Drain Cleaning Tips from your San Antonio Plumbers

Spring has sprung and it is time to clean. From your kitchen drain to your bathroom’s tub or even your washing machine, an entire home needs a good drain cleaning from time to time. With daily use, it is actually very easy to clog up household drains.

Our San Antonio Plumbers Clean Clogged Drains

• What Causes Clogged Drains?

  • Clogged Bathtubs: simply hair and soap scum can clog a drain over time
  • Clogged Kitchen Drains: usually food scraps and/or foreign objects such as silverware or packaging
  • Clogged Toilet Drains: well, it depends on what’s been flushed down recently, you’d be astounded at some of the items our San Antonio plumbers have encountered, such as plastic bags, styrofoam cups, newspapers and more!

• What are the Signs of Clogged Drains?

  • Bathtubs: Standing water when using the shower, slow drainage of bathtub water
  • Kitchen: Slow draining when preparing food or washing dishes
  • Toilets: Overflowing, if you’ve noticed your toilet tends to get stopped up more than it should, you probably need a drain cleaning

Once upon a time this may have been a tricky task involving hours of digging. However, your San Antonio Plumbers at 1-800-Plumbing always use the most modern technology and the latest drain cleaning and plumbing equipment, making it simple and cost effective to unclog drains and fix your household’s water flow.

Your San Antonio Plumbers share
4 Ways to Maintain Healthy Drains

After a household’s drains are cleaned it is important to take measures to keep them that way. Here are four simple ways to prolong the cleanliness of drains:

1. Keep a drain trap in your bathtub and bathroom sink
   This will catch hair and soap scum. Simply clean the trap out after each shower.
2. Use a drain trap for your kitchen sink
   This will prevent forks, bottle caps, and other non-food particles from going down your garbage disposal.
3. Use your garbage disposal religiously
   Most modern homes come equipped with a garbage disposal, if your home has one, make sure to use it after preparing food, washing dishes, and after family parties. If your home does not have a disposal, it is absolutely necessary to have one installed immediately. Your San Antonio plumbers at 1-800-Plumbing can recommend and install a garbage disposal system, request a consultation with one of our San Antonio Plumbers today!)
4. Use jars to dispose of your cooking oils and grease
   Saved cooking oil will save your drains and the planet. It’s easy to recycle these jars of grease at local restaurants, or they are great for compost.

Don’t wait to start fresh with clean drains call 1-800-Plumbing in San Antonio today at 1-800-758-6246 in Bexar and Kendall Counties, or 210-650-3302 for all other areas, or, request a consultation with one of our certified San Antonio plumbers right now (don’t forget to ask about our $95 Drain Cleaning special)! Whether your drain is clogged or just running slow we can solve all your plumbing problems.

Resources:
Article on clogged drains
Article on modern drain cleaning techniques
Article on recycling used cooking oil

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Become a Diamond Club Member and Save on
San Antonio Plumbing Maintenance

Spring has sprung! Time to get out the broom and put on the fresh coat of paint. The usual spring-cleaning list consists of cleaning out the closet, waxing the floors, and painting the front gate, but don’t forget to add your household plumbing system to that list.  The winter months can be the harshest time of year for plumbing systems with cold showers, damaged radiators, seepage, freezing pipes, and flooding, but annual plumbing maintenance can fix the wintry months’ damage and prevent more significant problems. 1-800 Plumbing in San Antonio offers the perfect service to fulfill your plumbing maintenance needs this spring. Our “Diamond Club” is a private membership club that provides regular plumbing maintenance services. This club is aimed at customers who believe in saving money by preventing plumbing emergencies with regular care.

Below is a list of the top 6 reasons to sign up for our “Diamond Club” Plumbing Maintenance Program:

1. To identify potential plumbing problems before they become an emergency through our yearly 323 point, whole house plumbing inspection (a value of over $200) – absolutely free to members.
2. To save money by finding energy saving leaks.
3. To perform plumbing maintenance and assure the safe and efficient operation of your water heater.
4. To obtain preferred customer status. This means, you go to “the front of the line” and receive preferential emergency service for any and all services.
5. To save you money throughout the year by providing San Antonio Plumbing services at preferred customer value rates. That’s 25% percent off the regular price!
6. To stay informed with San Antonio Plumbing industry updates and money saving tips on a regular basis.
7. And best of all, it’s FREE for the first 30 months! Your $7.95 monthly subscription fee accumulates for 30 months, and, any time you request service, your accumulated balance is applied to the price of the plumbing service, on top of the 25% discount you already receive!

To learn more, visit our “Diamond Club” Plumbing Maintenance Program page, call 1-800-Plumbing (in San Antonio and surrounding areas) today, or submit a San Antonio Plumbing request and type “Diamond Club” in the message box and one of our plumbers will be in contact with you in no time.

3 Ways To Keep Your Plumbing System Spick and Span Without Polluting the Environment.

Conserving water, saving energy, and protecting the environment do not need to be difficult, especially when it comes to keeping your plumbing system green and clean. The environment is front and center.  Discussions about environmental impact and stewardship permeate the conversations of policy makers, friends, and families.  The task of living a “greener” life can seem overwhelming, but this doesn’t have to be the case.  Simple adjustments to the things we use everyday will make monumental differences without drastically changing your life.

Here are the top 3 simple ways to keep your plumbing system clean and environmentally friendly.

1. Use biodegradable cleaners for eliminating build-up in drains:

   These environmentally friendly cleaners contain enzymes that eat up all the nasty, greasy build-up that can clog up drains.  These cleaners operate similarly to human body digestive enzymes.  They eat away all the junk and then biodegrade safely.  Chemical free and easy to use, special biodegradable drain cleaners can be purchased from 1-800 Plumbing.

   Contact 1-800-Plumbing of San Antonio today for pricing.

2. Get your plumbing lines Insulated:

   Insulating interior plumbing lines can reduce energy costs by keeping the temperature more regulated which keeps the water coming from your hot water heater warmer. Insulating exterior plumbing lines will help keep exterior pipes from freezing and bursting. That means longer lasting pipes for the home and less pipes in landfills.

   Contact 1-800-Plumbing of San Antonio to schedule Plumbing Line Insulation for your home.

3. Have a point-of-use or whole household water filtration system installed:

   Do you avoid drinking your home’s tap water at all costs?  Stocking up on plastic bottles of water from the store?  Plastic bottles can cause a lot of extra waste, 38 million plastic bottles go to the dump per year in America from bottled water!  Having a filtration system installed will reduce the level of pollutants in tap water, making it safer and yummier to drink.  A point-of-use system is installed at one faucet, such as the kitchen sink.  A whole-household system treats all of the home’s water supply.  Both of these systems provide savings for the environment and for the wallet by allowing households to drink tap water instead of stocking up on wasteful plastic bottles.

   Contact 1-800-Plumbing of San Antonio today to schedule Water Filtration System installation at your home.

Apart from reducing your carbon footprint, implementing any one of these options at your home promotes a healthier lifestyle and can contribute to improving your overall quality of life. Our certified, San Antonio Plumbers, are here for all of your home plumbing needs, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

How Hot Water Heaters Waste Water

Does your daily shower routine involve standing around waiting for the running water to finally become warm? Waiting for hot water is a common problem in households. It can take several minutes for the water to reach the desired temperature.  When the hot water isn’t used, the water within the plumbing lines sits and becomes cold. Then, when the hot water valve in the shower or sink gets turned on, hot water must be pumped all the way from the water heater. This chilly waiting period can be even worse in larger homes where plumbing fixtures are far away from the water heater.  Waiting for the hot water to arrive is more than an annoying inconvenience. While you’re shivering and waiting to get into a hot shower, all that running water is wasted! Households waste an average of 9,000 gallons of water every year just waiting for shower and sink water to get hot!

About Hot Water Re-Circulating Systems

But you don’t have to let this happen to you.  There is a way to save gallons of water and get instant heat when you turn on the sink! A hot water re-circulating system moves hot water through the hot water pipes so that it is always immediately available. A circulating pump pulls hot water quickly and efficiently from the water heater while sending the cool water back to be reheated.

Activating a Hot Water Re-Circulating System

There are several different ways for the hot water re-circulating pump to be activated:

1. Older models of this pump system are continual, meaning they constantly re-circulate water so that the hot water pipe is always full of hot water. These models, while still saving water, waste energy. There is no need to constantly re-circulate hot water when the hot water isn’t being used.
2. Other models run on a thermostat, timer, or activation button.
   1. Systems with a timer or thermostat turn on at a predetermined time or when the water drops below a certain temperature.
   2. With an activation button system the hot water pump can be turned on manually whenever hot water is needed.

   All three of these models  ensure hot water is immediately available whenever needed, eliminate water waste and greatly reduce the amount of energy used.

No more wait and no more waste! Contact 1-800 Plumbing of San Antonio, Texas to find out how you can save water and energy with a Hot Water Re-Circulating System.

Drip … Drip … Drip.

Is this a familiar sound? A chorus of dripping, leaky faucets and toilets permeates the early morning or nighttime silence of households across the state of Texas. Dripping faucets or leaky toilets are more than pesky plumbing problems or simply annoying sounds; they are also an enormous waste of thousands of gallons of water every year.

Dripping Faucets/Toilets waste 1000s of Gallons a Year

A single dripping faucet averaging 1 drip per second in one’s household can waste more than 150 gallons of water in a month and 2,082 gallons in a year (source: U.S. Geological Survey)! Even more astonishing, one leaky toilet can waste up to tens of thousands of gallons of water in a single year, which is enough water to fill up an entire swimming pool in the backyard. Unfortunately this is a very unpractical way of filling swimming pools for those hot summer months, so the waste of a precious resource is all that results.

Visit the U.S. Geological Survey’s site to see how much water you are wasting.

Plumbing Leaks: Wasting Water means Wasting Money

Also, we can’t forget that there is a utility bill attached to all this wasteful water, which means there is also a whole lot of cash leaking out of wallets. Even the smallest of leaks, one drip per second, costs one extra dollar each month. Studies show that approximately 20 percent of toilets leak! Not including all the pipes and faucets. That is a lot of dripping which comes a high cost for you and the planet.

Green Screened™, Certified San Antonio Plumbers

There is an easy solution to wasting water and money: eliminate the leaky faucets and toilets! 1-800 Plumbing is a Green Screened™, certified, San Antonio plumbing company, a mark given to companies dedicated to helping its customers conserve and protect the environment. Only 1% of contractors in all of North America qualify for this certification. As a Green Screened™ certified company 1-800 Plumbing understands the importance of saving water and is committed to providing its customers with the benefits of a green plumbing system. Call 1-800 Plumbing and we will repair and eliminate all your household plumbing leaks.

Toilets use 30% of a Home’s Water Supply

What do you think uses the most water in your home? Are you guessing the dishwasher? How about your high school football or soccer player? Actually, toilets are the single highest water consumer in your home. Alone, toilets use 30% of your home’s water supply. This means there is a lot of waste involved when it comes to toilets. That’s why water conservation laws target them. In fact, in 1994 the National Energy Policy Act was passed mandating only 1.6 gallons of water per flush. This was a considerable reduction compared to the pre-1994 toilets that used up to 7 gallons of water with each flush! The “low-flow” toilet had arrived.

Originally “low-flow” (or low flush) was a dreaded word because the new designs to use less water did not make adjustments to propel all the waste away. It turns out Thomas Crapper’s (yes that’s really his name) gravity-assisted flushing didn’t work very well with the new water mandate.

Modern “low-flow” Toilets are more Efficient and Cost Effective

Now if “low-flow” still conjures up a dirty image, then here is some great news! Fortunately for you, your wallet, and the environment a little horsepower has been added to going green. Today there are all kinds of low-flow toilet models designed to propel everything away efficiently. One of the most common methods for home and commercial use are pressure-assisted toilets that use pressurized air to strongly force all the water in the bowl out.

Now that low-flow isn’t a problem there isn’t any reason not to conserve water and save money at the same time. Homes built before 1994 likely have toilets using twice the amount water than is necessary, which ultimately means twice the amount of money spent on the utility bill. Switching to water-saving fixtures can save 3,400 gallons of water per year and as much as $100 a year in utility costs!

Contact us today to find out if your toilet is in accordance with the National Energy Policy Act, and we can help you install a new water and money saving low-flow fixture.

According to the EPA, South Texas has some of the hardest water in the country. Water touches everything in your house, and that creates some special challenges for homeowners. Here are a few examples.

1. Dishwasher – excessive wear on the appliance and on dishes. Dishes appear less clean.
2. Sink and toilet – water spots and stains on the porcelain.
3. Tub and shower – hard to clean soap scum build up.
4. Water heater – lower heating efficiency.
5. Pipes – clogged pipes leads to a decreased flow rate and the pH levels can cause pipe erosion.
6. Drying effect on hair and skin.
7. Drinking water with a strong unpleasant taste.

Hard water also targets your checkbook in other ways:

1. Hard water requires up to 75% more soap to clean up. This also applies to hand soap, shampoo, shaving cream, bubble bath, toilet bowl cleaner, dishwasher detergent, dish soap, soap scum remover, spay on cleaner, laundry detergent, bleach, stain remover and a host of other detergents.
2. Most plumbing repairs are caused by hard water.
   1. Water heater failure.
   2. Leaking faucets and fixtures.
   3. Clogged drains due to soap curd.
   4. Toilets and sinks experiencing “hardness-block”

It is estimated that installing a water softener can save you roughly $100 each month on plumbing repairs, detergents, shampoo and other chemicals and countless hours in wasted housekeeping time.

How do Water Softeners Reduce Costs?

The calcium and magnesium ions in the water are replaced with sodium ions.

How do I know if I have hard water?

Except for the usual symptoms described above, our technicians can do a test that will tell us if a home has hard water, and, if it does, how hard the water is. This test also determines if current softeners are working correctly or if service or replacement needs to be considered. Contact us today to schedule your hard water test and stop guessing about the quality of your water.