Emergency Plumbing Services

Posts Tagged ‘Cold Water’

This article was originally written by Pat Perkins, it was so good I wanted to re post it!

How many times has someone asked you ?Know a good plumber?? Would you even recognize a good plumber if you fell over one? Most of us give little thought to the health of our home?s plumbing, never mind the maintenance of our pipes, hoses, toilets, sinks, tubs, hot water heaters or garbage disposals until we are in the middle of a crises, like when the engagement ring goes down the garbage disposal or the hot water heater gives way suddenly and floods the basement.

At one time or another, each of us has probably experienced at least one of the following common plumbing problems:

* The toilet in your mother-in-law?s home won?t flush, the bowl won?t fill and you are expected at the dinner table momentarily.

* You are scalded in the shower when your wife flushes the toilet.

* You run out of hot water when showering and finish in a shivering rise of cold water.

* The leaky faucet or the running toilet keeps you up at night.

* You turn on the faucet to the hose expecting the water to come out the end of the hose; instead, the water blasts directly at you from the hose-faucet connection. Whoops, unexpected bath.

* You feel guilty wasting water at the kitchen sink but you run it anyway waiting for it to become hot.

* You try to scrub the tub, but the water takes so long to drain that you are always left with a puddle of grunge at the drain. Yuck!

* Your toilet overflowed while you were away and now you are standing in 2 inches of water.

Plumbing problems and emergencies are no joke, especially when you are in the throes of attempting to resolve one. When you need a plumber, who will you call? How will you know if your plumber is qualified to resolve your issue?

What It Takes To Become a Plumber

In a nutshell, the trade of plumbing involves working with pipes and equipment that are specifically designed to transport and drain water. As simplistic as this definition seems, the trade of plumbing includes a large number of specialties: pipe laying and fitting; HVAC, septic and sprinkler (interior and exterior) installation; and the management of drainage for public works projects (roads, bridges, developments) and utility providers. To further complicate matters, there are specialties within specialties too, each requiring specific training.

Plumbers work in commercial and residential settings and at infrastructure sites like highways and tunnels. They can be self-employed, work within an industry like construction or be hired as a contractor by a plumbing company or a government entity.

Career counselors report that successful candidates for the trade of plumbing typically exhibit high mechanical aptitudes, above average manual dexterity, solid math and problem-solving skills, and an ability to tolerate working in cramped spaces.

You might be surprised to know that plumbers are among the highest paid technicians in the construction industry, a fact that is directly related to the years of education and experience that are required to become a licensed plumber. Plumbers are expected to complete a professional training curriculum in a trade or vocational school, a 4-5 year apprenticeship and in most states, a state licensing exam.

Plumber licensing requirements vary from state to state and some states delineate between levels of plumbing expertise by correlating years of experience with various licensing levels. The most typical licensing levels are: apprentice, journey plumber, and master plumber.

There are two important factors for consumers to consider when hiring a plumber other than making sure that he/she is properly licensed. The first is to determine the plumber?s experience level and the second is to match the plumber?s specialty with the task you want done. For example, there is no point in hiring an expert pipe fitter if what you really need is a general household plumber to unstop a drain.

Protecting Your Plumbing

As much as you may admire your plumber, if you care about saving money there are a number of things that you can do yourself to protect the functioning and longevity of your home?s plumbing systems.

Garbage Disposals

* To clear a jam: Turn off the motor and the water. Find the disposal unit under the sink and insert a

Water always seeks its own level. That is the physical law in which plumbing is based. If you are a homeowner with zero plumbing awareness, this is one fact that, at the very least, you should be aware of. Take this to heart, because this water principle, coupled with the natural law of gravity and pressure, will make or break your home, bank account, and state of mind, depending on your actions or lack of it.

Plumbing systems work in two ways; one is to take water in, and the other is to take water out. In summary, it’s clean water in, dirty water out. If that simple order or sequence gets mixed up, it’s time to call a plumber to fix a monumental plumbing disaster.

How does clean water come into your home? That is explained by the natural law of pressure. Pressure allows clean water to pass through pipes, travel upwards to one or several floors, move left or right into this room or that, wherever it’s needed. Those ubiquitous water valves control the way these pressurized water move in and around your home. Cold water flows from the primary pipes following the process described above. But if you need hot water, the cold water is first redirected to an installed water heater in your home that warms it up. The heated water then travels along the hot water line that again brings the water to all outlets in the home that requires hot water, like the dishwater, the bath tub or the shower.

If water intake is a simple science, so is water and waste outtake. But often, plumbing problems caused by waste outtake result to more costly repairs than the intake. You could try to fix it on your own, but it’ll require dedication and determination. Overall, it’s probably worth your while to seek the help of a certified master plumber.

Dirty waste water, after all, leaves your house following the law of gravity. Waste flows down to the sewer or septic tank in a gentle and easy manner. Behind this simple rule is the multitude of vents and traps to keep the process of waste removal possible. Vents cause air to fill drain pipes, which in turn creates pressure that causes dirty water to flow out. The S-shaped portions of the pipes underneath the sink drain are traps. Traps perform a crucial role in forcing most of the water through the drainpipe, but leaving some to seal the area and prevent sewer gas from backing up.

Plumbing, as you see, is a science. Ignore the science behind it and your home will either be flooded, or you will encounter water damage of varied proportions. For any severe or major plumbing problems, the repair should be left to experience plumbers. Some areas have particular local plumbing codes that need to be checked on whether or not a homeowner is allowed to self-repair plumbing problems.

Over time, understanding the science behind plumbing can save you money and help to better know your own home.