The idea of sewer odors drifting through your home is an unpleasant scenario. Unfortunately, it something that you may have to deal with at some point, and it indicates trouble with the drainpipes or possibly even the sewer line that runs from your house to the center of the street. There are different reasons that your drains may start emitting terrible smells, and most of them will require calling plumbing professionals to fix. Below, we’ll look at 4 of the more common reasons for bad-smelling drains. (more…)
My Drain Company Blog : Archive for the ‘Drain and Sewer’ Category
4 Reasons That Your Drains Smell Bad
Monday, August 1st, 2016What’s That Gurgling Sound from My Drains Mean?
Monday, May 9th, 2016One of the ways to tell that your plumbing system is experiencing problems that may require the services of a licensed plumber is when you hear unusual noises. For example, sharp clanging sounds—known as water hammer—often warn that the pipes have lost their air cushion.
One of the more common warning sounds you may hear from your plumbing is gurgling coming from the drains. We’ll look at what this might mean. (more…)
How Does Trenchless Technology Even Work?
Monday, November 23rd, 2015At My Drain Company, we use something called trenchless technology when it comes to the large job of replacing a broken or decaying sewer line. Trenchless technology isn’t used universally in the plumbing industry yet, but it’s definitely the method you want employed when you need sewer line replacement. Why? Because using these techniques, our plumbers can finish the job in only a fraction of the time compared to more traditional digging methods. Plus, it won’t create extensive damage across your lawn that will require extensive re-landscaping to fix. (more…)
Why Regular Drain Cleaning Is Good for Your Plumbing
Monday, August 3rd, 2015When a serious clog blocks a kitchen or bathroom drain in your house—a clog that a standard plunger can’t remove—you will need to call on plumbing professionals right away for the necessary drain cleaning using motorized drain snakes and hydro-jetters. There is no better way to assure that you’ll have your drain cleared out without causing serious damage to the plumbing or a rapid return of the clog. (more…)
The Best Plumbing Advice You’re Probably Not Taking
Monday, July 6th, 2015There is plenty of excellent advice out there regarding how to take better care of the plumbing in your house so that you won’t run into major repair emergencies or the need to replace pipes and appliances early. Some examples: lists of various substances that you should never let go down the drains, or how to see that the garbage disposal doesn’t jam up. (more…)
What Is Trenchless Sewer Line Replacement?
Monday, April 27th, 2015Replacing a damaged sewer line was once one of the most difficult of all residential plumbing jobs to perform. It required large excavations using power digging equipment, took a few days to complete, and left lawns and gardens looking like archaeological digs. And this is still the way that many sewer line replacements are done. However, better methods have come along to do this job, such as trenchless sewer line replacement. Thanks to trenchless technology, a sewer line replacement job can be completed faster and cleaner and at less expense.
It you need to have your sewer line replaced in Glendale, CA or other parts of Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, call My Drain Company. We offer trenchless sewer line replacement that will solve your problems quickly.
How trenchless sewer line replacement works
The development of trenchless technology emerged out of lateral digging techniques originally used for mining, and which later became an important part of civil engineering to lay pipes and electrical cables in cities without disrupting the streets. Trenchless technology uses hydraulics to draw replacement pipeliners through older pipes, then expands the pipeliner to shatter the aging and damaged pipes and replace them with the liner.
The process only requires digging only one or two small holes. For most sewer line replacement jobs, the technicians only need to dig a hole outside near where the sewer line exits the property and connects to the municipal line. From inside the home, the technicians insert the new pipeliner into the spot where the sewer line leaves the house. A hydraulic device attached to the other end of the sewer line then draws the pipeliner through and sets it into place. The last stage involves drawing a “pipe burster” through the pipeline, a device that expands the lining and bursts the outside pipe so the new pipe takes its place. The technicians finish the job by filling in the single hole and re-landscaping it.
And that’s all it takes. The process requires only a few hours of time and leaves the property virtually untouched.
If it’s time to replace your sewer line, you don’t have to make it into a nightmare for your home. Just call on a company that handles trenchless sewer line replacement, like My Drain Company, and let them do the job fast and right.
The Dangers of F.O.G. (Fat, Oil, Grease) and Your Kitchen Drains
Monday, April 6th, 2015Drain cleaning is a service that you should have done on a regular basis for your kitchen. Professionals will use a variety of high-end equipment, such as motorized drain snakes and hydro-jetters, to thoroughly cleanse the drains in the kitchen of built-up food particles. This will help keep your kitchen efficient and avoid trouble from slow drains and full clogs in the future.
For professionals drain cleaning in Glendale, CA, call My Drain Company Inc. We offer 24-hour emergency service for times when you have surprise clogs or other urgent plumbing repair needs.
Aside from arranging for routine drain cleaning from experienced plumbers, there are some important steps you can take to see that your drains stay in the best shape possible, for as long as possible. One of these is to avoid pouring F.O.G. down any of your kitchen drains.
Wait… what is F.O.G.?
The initials F.O.G. stand for “fat, oil, and grease.” These products of cooking, food preparation, and clean-up are one of the worst enemies your drains pipes and sewer lines have. Restaurants and other food service companies use special grease traps to prevent these substances from harming the plumbing and the sewer system, but residential kitchens usually aren’t equipped with these appliances, so you will have to take care that you keep F.O.G. out of your drains in the first place.
The reason that fat, oil, and grease are so problematic for a home’s plumbing is that in their hot, liquid form they appear harmless and often get poured down the drain or the garbage disposal without thought. They can infiltrate a long way down into the pipes before they cool down and start to transform from liquids into waxy solids. This is when they begin to create trouble.
Solid F.O.G. will coat the inside of drainpipes, significantly reducing the volume available for waste water. This will make it easier for clogs to up, and much harder to remove them. If F.O.G. gets into the garbage disposal, it will eventually jam up the flywheel and other mechanical components, requiring that the system receive repairs.
The best way to deal with liquid fat, oil, and grease is to pour it out into a separate receptacle that you remove to the regular trash. Clean off excess F.O.G. from plates with a paper towel and put the towel in the trash. If you do start to encounter problems due to fat, oil, and grease in your kitchen drains, call for a professional plumber to use hydro-jetting to cleanse it out.
My Drain Company Inc offers excellent drain cleaning service, and we will take care of any major clogs you may encounter. We have provided high quality kitchen plumbing services with the best equipment for over 15 years.
Signs that You Need Drain Cleaning
Wednesday, March 11th, 2015Everyone knows that when your drain isn’t, well, draining, that you should call a plumber. Is that the only time that you should call for professional drain cleaning, though? In fact, there are a number of warning indicators that you should have your drains cleaned. Not all of them constitute a plumbing emergency. However, if you ignore these signs you may find yourself with a much bigger plumbing problem on your hands in short order. Let’s take a look at some of the signs that you need drain cleaning.
Slow Draining
Most people first notice a problem with their drains when they become completely clogged. If you pay close attention, however, you can actually identify a problem with your drain long before it gets to that point. Drain clogs form from the outside in, as the material sticks to the inside of the pipe and begins to build toward the center. This gradually restricts the flow of water through the pipe, until it finally clogs up completely. So, if you notice that your drain seems to be draining more and more slowly, you should call for a plumber to inspect it as soon as possible.
Bad Smells
Your plumbing system is designed to vent sewer gases away from your drains and out of your house. Without this ventilation system, you’d have a perpetual miasma of stink wafting out of every appliance in your house connected to the sewer system. If this system becomes blocked or otherwise compromised, it can allow sewer gases to drift up through your drains. If you only notice bad smells coming out of one of your drains, then there’s a good chance that you need that drain cleaned or repaired. If the smell is coming from every drain in your house, the problem is rooted deeper in the plumbing system. Either way, you’re going to need to call a professional plumber.
These are just a few of the signs that you need drain cleaning. If you suspect that your drains might need cleaning for any reason, call My Drain Company. We provide quality drain cleaning services throughout Chatsworth.
Why Do I Need Clean My Drains Regularly?
Friday, January 30th, 2015Clogged drains are a frequent and frustrating problem for homeowners everywhere. They can be caused by a wide variety of factors, depending on the location of the drain. Regardless of the type of clog, however, none of them are good for your plumbing or your peace of mind. A lot of people hold off on hiring a plumber until the drain really starts to back up. While you probably don’t need to hire a plumber every few weeks, you should be cleaning out your drains yourself on a fairly regular basis. Let’s take a look at why you need to clean your drains regularly.
An Ounce of Prevention…
Cleaning your drains to prevent clogs is all about preserving the health of your plumbing, which also saves you money. A clog can cause a great deal of damage, depending on how bad it is. If a clog crops up that you can’t handle, which will happen if you don’t clean your drains regularly, you’ll need to hire a plumber to deal with it. The plumber will often be able to unclog the pipe using special equipment. However, the problem can sometimes necessitate replacing an entire section of pipe, which is a cost you don’t want to accrue.
Cleaning your drains on a regular basis also drastically lessens the frequency of major clogs occurring, saving you a call to the plumber and increasing the lifespan of your drains.
Procedure
So, how to you actually clear out your drains without the specialized knowledge and tools that a plumber possesses? Well, there are a couple of different ways to do it. The most popular way is to pour about half a gallon of hot or boiling water down your drains. This flushes out any detritus that might be building up on the walls of your pipes. Baking soda and vinegar are also quite popular solutions, and are excellent at removing grease and oils from the drains.
If you do have a clog that you can’t seem to get rid of, call My Drain Company and schedule an appointment with us today. We provide professional drain cleaning services in the Glendale area.
Why Install a Storm Drain on Your Property?
Friday, April 4th, 2014It may sound odd to suggest that people who live in Southern California install storm drains on their property. Isn’t it too dry here and the rain too irregular for us to worry about storm drainage?
On the surface, the answer would seem to be “yes.” However, there’s more to storm drainage than the name implies, and there’s more to Southern California weather than the rest of the country knows about. A storm drain may be an ideal way to protect your home from water damage that might ruin its integrity and create safety issues.
My Drain Company offers storm drain installation from experts. We also do drain cleaning in Glendale, CA that will maintain your storm drain, no matter what disasters it may protect your home from.
The uses of a storm drain
Southern California doesn’t experience frequent rainstorm conditions, but the ones that have struck us have caused enormous amounts of damage… principally because our hills and streets do not have sufficient drainage to accommodate such a high level of water flow. Hillsides often wash away or turn into landslides because of heavy rainfall, and continuous rain—even moderate—will lead to street flooding because of poor drainage. If your property is in an area that has or could potentially have flooding issues during rainfall, the additional drainage ability of a storm drain will keep the excess water siphoned away from your home. A quality installer will know which type of storm drain installation will work best for your property: drain tile system, yard drain, or stairwell drain.
But flooding damage can come from sources other than harsh weather. A burst pipe in a water main can lead to massive amounts of water flooding onto your property that will continue until emergency repairs can shut off the water and fix the break. If you live on property that has a low water table, excess water can come up through the ground, and this will require a specific approach to storm drain installation in order to prevent it from damaging your home.
Maintenance and repair
After you have the proper storm drain put in, make sure that you keep it in good repair and well-maintained. Like any drain inside your home, a storm drain can develop clogging that will need cleaning. The extent of a storm drain requires that only professionals handle this task.
For professional drain cleaning in Glendale, CA and for all your needs for storm drain services, contact My Drain Company. If you are unsure about installing a storm drain, contact us for advice.
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