My Drain Company Blog : Archive for June, 2014

Advantages of Tankless Water Heaters

Friday, June 27th, 2014

Water heaters are an essential part of your plumbing system, designed to provide piping hot water for bathing and cooking on a moment’s notice. Most people are accustomed to traditional tanked models, and they often work just fine. They’re not the only option, however. Here in Glendale, CA plumbing services can install a tankless water heater system, which eschews the use of a giant tank. Instead, it passes the water through a series of superheating coils, warming it instantly as it travels to the faucet. Tankless water heaters cost more to install than tanked models, but they provide numerous advantages to offset the cost. We’ve included a breakdown of some of the larger advantages below.

  • Instant hot water. Unlike tanks, which often take time to “warm up” in getting the hot water to you, tankless models provide hot water instantly. Furthermore, they never run out of hot water the way tanked models do if you run them for long enough.
  • Cheaper costs. Furthermore, a tankless water heater ensures that you never waste water waiting for the heater to kick in. furthermore, it doesn’t rely on natural gas or similar types of fuel. All of that translates to significant savings in monthly costs over the tanked model. In addition, you can receive a tax rebate from the federal government to help further offset the cost of installation.
  • Less space. Tankless water heaters don’t take up nearly as much space as their cousins, allowing them to readily be placed anywhere that fits in your house.
  • Less damage. When tanked water heaters rupture, they can make a considerable mess, as the water spreads out all over the area. When tankless heaters encounter problem, there’s no mess. You’re simply denied hot water until a technician can get in to repair it.

For more advantages of tankless water heaters, or to schedule an installation in your home, call upon the experts at My Drain Company. Plumbing companies in Glendale don’t come more professional than us. We can assess your needs and make the right recommendation before installing a system with courtesy and care. Pick up the phone and call us today. You’ll be glad you did!

 

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When You Should Consider Whole-House Repiping

Tuesday, June 24th, 2014

All plumbing will need repairs at some point or another; the amount of work that the pipes in a home do on a daily basis means enough wear and tear to eventually cause leaks and clogs. In some cases, repiping is the best solution to these troubles. Plumber will remove the old pipes and replace them with newer material such as copper or one of the different kinds of plastic pipes (PEX, CPVC, etc.).

But there are times when a more drastic solution is necessary for a home’s plumbing: whole-house repiping. This may sound like an extreme measure, but for older homes it is often the best and most cost-effective way to solve numerous plumbing issues. If you hire an experienced company in Northridge, CA for plumbing work of this magnitude, the job should go fast and with little disruption to your life.

My Drain Company handles whole-house repiping. We can help you decide if repiping is the best solution, and if it is, we will take on the job and provide you with the best service possible.

When whole-house repiping becomes an option

  • You have a house with galvanized steel piping: For many decades, even through the 1960s, the main material used for home plumbing was galvanized steel, which was known for its durability. Unfortunately, what the installers at the time didn’t realize about galvanized steel was its eventual susceptibility to corrosion that would weaken it to the point of extensive leaking and eventual breaks. Copper has long superseded steel for this reason, and if you have a pre-1970s home, you should check to see if you have galvanized steel plumbing. If you do, or if you are encountering numerous corrosion leaks in an older home, it’s time for full repiping services.
  • Constant repair issues: Whether you have older steel pipes or poorly installed copper and plastic ones, experiencing continual plumbing repair issues is a good indicator that the material is simply not up to the task. These repairs don’t need to be just leaks; continually clogging is also a sign of deteriorating pipes that are keeping water from efficiently flowing. High water pressure is another sign of poor quality or deteriorating pipes.
  • Rusting: This is an issue that can strike galvanized steel pipes, but isn’t restricted to them. Copper pipes are rust-resistant, but not rust-proof, and the flux that seals the join pipes is susceptible to rusting. When rust starts to become a frequent issue, it usually means that you should replace all the piping in a home (usually with truly rust-free PEX plastic pipes).

You can rely on skilled Northridge, CA plumbing services to select the best material for repiping so that your home will have many decades of pipes capable of handling the stress you and your family will put on them. Contact My Drain Company today to schedule an appointment to look into the possibility of whole-house repiping.

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What Slab Leak Repair Is and Why You May Need It

Friday, June 20th, 2014

You may have heard the term “slab leak” before and not understood exactly what it meant, except that it sounds like it would take a great deal of difficult work to fix and you don’t want one to happen in your home. You’re right on both counts (you don’t want any kind of leaks in your home) but with the right plumbers on the job, you can expect to have a slab leak fixed fast and correctly so it won’t threaten the rest of your property or plumbing.

Slab leaks, as we’ll explain, are serious business. The moment you think you have one in your home, you need to call the professionals at My Drain Company. When it comes to plumbing in Glendale, CA, we are one of the most experienced full-service contractors. Our plumbers can handle jobs large and small, from solving a household leak to handling commercial installation.

What slab leaks are

The term “slab leak” is the plumbing industry name for any pipe leak that occurs under concrete or other hardscape material in a building. Your home’s foundation is a large concrete block, and a number of important pipes, such as the water main, run through it. Although well-protected from damage because of the hard casing, these pipes can still break due to corrosion (especially for older plumbing), the house shifting, or (and this is a serious concern for Southern California) earthquakes.

A slab leak not only wastes immense amount of water, it can inflict serious damage to a home’s foundation as it increases pressure within the slab.

How will I know I have a slab leak?

The first sign of a slab leak you may notice is a sudden elevation in your water bills for which you cannot account. Other indicators are the appearance of cracks along your home’s foundation due to water pressure, the faint sound of running water, and unusual warm spots across the concrete slabs of your home. Call for plumbers the moment you encounter any of these warning signs.

How does slab leak repair work?

Not all slab leak repairs work the same way. Skilled plumbers will use leak detection equipment to pinpoint the leak location and determine the best way to repair the problem. Sometimes the plumbers will need to use jackhammers to access the leak, and then fill the hole in afterwards. Other times, the leak can be repaired through additives placed into the plumbing that will seal the leak from inside. Regardless of the method used, professional plumbers will make every effort to leave your home looking exactly as they found it.

For the fast and effective plumbing services in Glendale, CA that will take care of any leak your home may have, trust to the 24-hour service of My Drain Company.

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How Earthquakes Can Damage Your Plumbing System

Thursday, June 12th, 2014

Here in Burbank, plumbing companies have to deal with more than just leaky pipes and clogged drains. We’re living in earthquake country, and temblors are a regular occurrence throughout the year. Even minor quakes can shake up your property, and when it comes to plumbing, the damage can be much worse: breaches, leaks and even destroyed pipes in need of full-bore replacement.

Here’s A Quick Breakdown on How Earthquakes Can Damage Your Plumbing System

The big issue arises with the main water and sewer lines connecting your home to Burbank’s civic system. These are usually located underground, where they can’t be seen by the naked eye. Earthquake damage could cause a breach immediately, and it could also shift the ground around the pipe: avoiding an instant rupture but increasing stress at certain points along the line. That means a breach can occur days or even weeks after the quake, even though things look peaceful initially. Monitor your yard closely in the period immediately following an earthquake, and look for signs such as strange puddles of water, dripping sounds, or grass and shrubbery suddenly becoming much greener than the surrounding flora.

Inside the home, the damage is usually easier to detect. Beyond the obvious signs of a leak or a breach (i.e., water leaking out across you bathroom floor), listen for signs of leaking or dripping in your walls and pay careful attention to the water pressure in your various faucets. A good catch-all test is to check your meter, then wait two hours without using any of the water in your home. Then check the meter again. If the amount has changed, then you probably have a leak somewhere in the home.

The plumbers at My Drain Company fix all kinds of plumbing problems, and we know how earthquakes can damage your plumbing system. More importantly, our trained staff has the skills to repair the problem once it’s been detected, and can replace damaged pipes with speed and efficiency. If you detect any plumbing damage to your property after an earthquake, pick up the phone and schedule your plumbing services in Burbank with us. You’ll be glad you did!

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What Is a Sump Pump?

Thursday, June 5th, 2014

Here in Southern California, sump pumps don’t get a lot of attention. We lack basements in most of our homes, and our overall dry weather means we don’t worry much about flooding. But here in Glendale, plumbing repair services see their share of flooding, especially when the rains come in the fall and the top soil turns our hills into mudslides. A sump pump can be your best friend in such circumstances.

What Is A Sump Pump?

We’ve provided a brief outline below.

A sump pump is placed in a small pit dug at the lowest point of your property. A drain line is run from the pump to the outside of your house and in many cases, the pump needs to be connected to your electrical grid as well. When a flood hits, the water moves to the lowest point in your house, where it enters the pit. A floating sensor activates the sump pump, which spins a centrifugal fan in the center of the system. That pushes the water to the outside of the pump and creates a vacuum at the center, which pulls the water up out of the pit, into the line and out of the house. As a result, your basement is kept dry and the rest of your property remains safe.

As we said, sump pumps see a lot of use back East, where heavy rains and foods are more of a problem. But Glendale’s hilly landscape has made flooding recurring issue for certain households, especially older ones that feature a basement. If you know what a sump pump is and you think you may need one for your home, then now is the time to act: in the summer before the rains start.

Here in Glendale, plumbing repair services like the professionals at My Drain Company can discuss the ins and outs of sump pump repair with you, then help you decide which particular model will fit your needs. We’re absolutely dedicated to your satisfaction and we won’t rest until the job is done right, so give us a call today if you need plumbing repair services in Glendale!

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