Monday, June 24, 2013

How To Avoid Plumbing Disasters

Plumbing disasters can be unexpected and costly. The good thing is there are ways to prevent plumbing disasters from happening in the first place with a little bit of preventive maintenance. This could save you hundreds -- if not thousands of dollars.

The following are a few tips that will hopefully help you avoid plumbing mishaps in the future:

Familiarize yourself with your main house shut off valve, where it is located and how to turn it off in case of an emergency. It may be a ball-valve or a gate-valve. These can be tricky to locate sometimes. It could be in the basement, a crawl space, or buried somewhere in your front yard so it's great to know where it is before you're in a dire situation.

If you have older plumbing look for rust and corroded areas on the pipe. If you think you have a problem, our plumbers are only a call away. They can come out, inspect your plumbing, and give you an estimate on repairing or replacing lines.

Be sure to inspect your water heater periodically. This is one of the most common causes of interior water damage. Again, you'll want to look for rusty pipes going into the water heater and check for leaking or rust spots on the tank itself. Also, if your water heater is located inside your house you should have a drain pan installed under it. This way, if it does leak the water will drain all over your floor. Call us if you think you have a problem. Remember, preventive maintenance can save you in the long run.

If you're going away for just the weekend or on a long vacation, let a neighbor know where your main shut off is in case of an emergency. If you're not comfortable involving a neighbor, you can shut off your water at the main valve before you go out of town. This way you won't come home to a flooded house!

If you live in Naperville-Plainfield-Aurora, Geneva-Batavia-St.Charles or Wheaton-Winfield-Warrenville-Glen Ellyn area, contact AquaTech Plumbing at 630-416-3555, 630-377-9555, or 630-462-3555 for assistance with preventing or fixing plumbing disasters.

Monday, June 3, 2013

When Was The Last Time You Cleaned Your Sewer And Drains?

When was the last time you cleaned your sewer and drains? Recently? Most people may answer ‘no' to that question. Did you know that hundreds of variations of bacteria and mold can be easily carried throughout the entire house by way of your pipes? It doesn't take much. Often, we assume since water is always flowing through the pipes and not sitting idle that we are always keeping the pipes clean. Not the case, in fact, water is a great source for bacteria and mold to thrive and water-flow is its carrier.

Here are a few reasons why you should consider cleaning your drains and pipes annually...

The Hazards of Sewage Backup

A sewage backup will commonly present a serious health hazard mainly caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Sewage backup is dangerous due to the many ways it transmits diseases and because it is sometimes hard to predict.

What is Sewage?
Sewage backup hazards are better understood once you learn what sewage is. It's also known as raw sewage, sewage sludge, or septic tank waste. Raw sewage is mainly gray or black water. It usually contains the organic waste and waste water produced by household and industrial sources. Sewage typically contains everything from soap to solid waste, human excrement, industrial effluent, and debris. It is discharged by drains and sewer lines. Excrement is the major source of harmful microorganisms such as coliform, fecal coliform, Escherichia coliform (E. coli), and Enterococcus.

Exposure to sewage or its products may result in a number of diseases:
  • Gastroenteritis
 - An inflammation of the stomach and the intestine. Gastroenteritis may result in diarrhea with vomiting and cramps when irritation is excessive. When caused by an infectious agent, it is often associated with fever.
  • Hepatitis
 Hepatitis - Inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis caused by a virus is known as viral hepatitis. When Hepatitis is a result of sewage backup it is often characterized by inflammation of the liver and jaundice.
  • Occupational Asthma
 - A respiratory disorder characterized by attacks of breathlessness, chest tightness and wheezing.
  • Weil's Disease - An acute feverish disease marked by gastroenteritis, mild jaundice, persistent and severe headache.
Those are just a few reasons to have your sewer cleaned. If you live in Naperville-Plainfield-Aurora, Geneva-Batavia-St.Charles or Wheaton-Winfield-Warrenville-Glen Ellyn area, contact AquaTech Plumbing at 630-416-3555, 630-377-9555, or 630-462-3555 for a thorough inspection and cleaning of your sewer.