My Drain Company Blog : Archive for the ‘Plumbing’ Category

Grease Trap Repairs in Commercial Plumbing Systems

Friday, May 9th, 2014

Grease occasionally goes down the drains of residential kitchens, where it solidifies into a solid waxy material that can lead to clogs. However, this is nothing compared to the volume of grease, oil, and fat go down the drains of a commercial kitchen every day, whether it’s the kitchen of a restaurant, hotel, or cafeteria. These kitchens require industrial strength grease traps to keep their plumbing working, and also to comply with local codes prohibiting excess waste entering the sewer system. Commercial grease traps need to remain in excellent condition with repairs and maintenance.

To protect your commercial kitchen, schedule repairs for your grease trap as soon as you notice any problems from it. You can call My Drain Company any time of the day or night when you need repairs now. We know how important your business is to you, and we will strive to give you the professional service you require to keep it running the way you want it.

Repairs for Grease Traps

You can avoid many common grease trap repairs if you clean out the trap regularly and schedule annual maintenance for it to make sure it isn’t developing issues that could lead to repairs. However, you cannot avoid all problems, and sometimes repairs are necessary.

A common trouble that can affect a commercial grease trap is when the pipes that either enter or leave it develop clogs. Plumbers can assist with this using hydro-jetting equipment, blasting high pressure hot water along the pipes. The scalding temperature of the water is particularly effective at clearing out grease clogs. Drain snakes, which are used to clear standard drain pipes, are not powerful enough to unclog grease traps, and since hydro-jetting can be harmful in untrained hands, this is a service you must leave to professionals.

Grease traps will produce noxious smells if the food waste inside them begins to rot. If these smells continue even after you clean the trap, you may have an issue with the odor baffles. Poor installation could also be at fault, usually from a trap that was incorrectly sized. Call for professionals to investigate; you don’t want terrible odors affecting your business.

Keeping the grease traps for your commercial kitchen in good shape not only makes for a better kitchen, it keeps your business within the parameters of health and sewer codes. Don’t let a malfunction in a grease trap threaten your company: Call for the Glendale, CA plumbing professionals at My Drain Company right away.

Tags: Glendale, Plumbing
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3 Different Ways to Clean Your Drains

Thursday, May 1st, 2014

Most people think of drain cleaning as a simple task easily accomplished with a store-bought cleanser. In point of fact, however, such simple solutions usually only defer the problem instead of properly solving it. If you live in Northridge, our plumbers are nearby who can perform drain cleaning services that properly correct the problem instead of just papering it over with a one-size-fits-all solution. Drain clogs are often very different, and food particles in your kitchen plumbing can differ a great deal from hard-water build up in your bathroom. The professional Northridge plumbers at My Drain Company can tailor the solution to fit the problem, using a wide variety of options.

Here are 3 different ways to clean your drains that plumbers often make use of:

Video cameras. Video cameras don’t strictly clear out the drain, but they can be used to get a better idea of what’s causing the cog. The plumber can send a tiny camera down the drain on a flexible line, then monitor what it sees through a video screen on the other end. It lets him or her determine exactly what you’re up against, then find the right tool for the job.
Drain snakes. Drain snakes are basically flexible wires with bristle heads on the end, and like cleansers, you can buy generic models in any store. But professional plumbers often use mechanized snakes with a lot more power behind them, as well as snakes with rotating heads that can match the exact nature of the clog. They’ll use that to break up the clog into small pieces, or flat-out pull it up in the case of smaller clogs.
Hydro jetting. Hydro jetting uses a fitted hose that shoots concentrated bursts of water down your pipes. The water’s extreme pressure levels scour the pipes clean – dealing with all the build-up, not just the specific clog – while leaving the pipes themselves untouched. Hydro jetting is very safe, but requires a plumber’s training to use properly.

Here at My Drain Company, we are familiar with the different ways to clean your drains and we know how to use them right. If you live in Northridge, our plumbers are just a phone call away. Contact us today to make an appointment!

Tags: Northridge, Plumbing
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Common Causes of Plumbing Repairs in Northridge

Tuesday, April 29th, 2014

No matter how well we maintain our home’s plumbing, eventually we will encounter a problem that needs the services of a professional plumber. Leaks, clogs, loss of water flow, dripping faucets… you’ve probably encountered all of these at one time or another. But remember: a good plumber has encountered them numerous times, and will have no trouble fixing whatever ails your pipes, drains, water heater, or faucets.

My Drain Company has 15 years of working with all types of plumbing repairs in Northridge, CA. We’ve put together a list of three common causes for the repairs we often perform. If any of these afflicts your plumbing, contact us right away (any time of the day or night) and we’ll rush out to help you.

3 Common Culprits Behind Plumbing Repairs

Pipe corrosion: If you live in a house built before 1970, chances are high that the plumbing consists of galvanized steel pipes. This is strong and durable material, but it has fallen out of favor among plumbing installers because it eventually corrodes. Corroded pipes will spring leaks, break, and develop blockages. If you encounter numerous problems because of older pipes, you may wish to consider a whole-house repiping to replace the outdated pipes with copper or plastic ones.
Fat, oil, and grease: Collectively known as F.O.G., these hot liquids often go down kitchen drains where they create numerous troubles from clogs and high water pressure. Although F.O.G. in liquid form seems innocuous enough, it changes into a waxy solid when it dries. This will start to coat the inside of pipes and choke off the space for water. Clogs will become frequent, and water pressure will spike as the room in the pipes shrinks, leading to leaks. Regular drain cleaning will help get rid of F.O.G., and you should also avoid pouring these substances down your drains and instead put them in a trash receptacle.
Hard water: This describes water with a high level of mineral content, principally magnesium and calcites. Hard water comes from the municipal water supply, and it is rarely unhealthy to drink. However, it can damage your plumbing. Hard water leaves calcite deposits inside pipes which will contribute to higher water pressure and clogs. It will also damage appliances like your water heater and promote corrosion.

Call for Professional Plumbers in Northridge, CA

Homeowners often try to go the DIY route with plumbing repairs, but simply owning a set of wrenches doesn’t mean you can effectively solve most plumbing issues. You might make the problems worse and end up flooding a room in your house. Let professionals take care of all your plumbing repairs in Northridge, CA. Call My Drain Company the next time you have clogs, leaks, or any other plumbing hassles.

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Dangers of Poor Plumbing Installation

Thursday, April 24th, 2014

Cutting corners on almost any task can lead to poor outcomes. But for plumbing it can be especially disastrous. If you hire amateurs or an inexperienced plumbing contractor to handle your plumbing installation, you could end up with a horde of problems that will far overwhelm the meager upfront savings.

Let’s look at some of the big dangers of a bad plumbing installation. Make sure none of this happens to you: for your plumbing installation in Northridge, CA, use My Drain Company and our experienced team of professional plumbers.

Here is what’s at risk with poor and amateur plumbing installation

Almost anything could go wrong with plumbing because of inferior work. These are three of the issues that show up the most frequently.

Constant leaking problems: This is the #1 most common problem you can encounter from a shoddy job installing in pipes. With inferior workmanship, incorrect gaskets, and poor quality material will come continual leaking at various connectors. Bad caulking or using cheap caulking on toilets and sinks will also lead to leaks. If the installers put in the incorrect pipe sizes, it will also lead to high pressure in the plumbing, and this will trigger leaks (as well as many additional troubles).
Insufficient hot water: Here’s trouble that comes from poorly sizing the water heater, which is a difficult job that requires balancing a number of factors in a home: average water usage, time of usage, number of taps, number of people, etc. This is an easier fix for a professional to remedy, but it is expensive since the whole heater must be replaced, and often the pipes connecting to it as well.
Clogging sinks: Piping in a home must create an easy flow for wastewater that collects at the sewer line out to the street. Poor plumbing management will interrupt this flow and make it easier for sinks, toilets, and various drains around the house to clog, and may lead to serious plumbing problems.

Start off your plumbing installation right: with skilled, experienced professionals handling the job. Your home’s plumbing is too vital a system for your health and comfort to risk with amateur work that may save a little at the front, but end up costing you enormously for many years afterwards.

For your plumbing installation in Northridge, CA, contact My Drain Company. We are a full-service plumbing, drain, sewer, and water heater company with over 15 years in the business. We are fully licensed and insured for your protection.

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Understanding Your Plumbing Installation Needs

Wednesday, March 19th, 2014

The plumbing system in your home encompasses more than the pipes running through the walls and floors. Your plumbing consists of all the systems hooked up to water lines and waste water lines, which includes the sewer line, the fixtures in your kitchen and bathrooms, and large appliances such your hot water heater and your laundry machine. Sometimes it can be difficult understanding what new installations you’ll need to get the most from your plumbing. What updates are best? What fixtures will help you reduce water?

There’s no better way to understand your needs for plumbing installation in Glendale, CA than to seek help from professional plumbers. Call My Drain Company today and make use of our more than 15 years of experience in the plumbing industry so you’ll receive the installation that will improve your life and your budget.

What are some possibilities for plumbing installation?

We’ve listed some options to consider for your plumbing that will help you start thinking about how you want to upgrade.

Low-flow toilets: Let us take out your old toilet and put in a unit that will make a significant cut in your water bills each month. Low-flow toilets can work as effectively as standard models. According to the U.S. EPA, a low-flow toilet will reduce water use from 20–60%, approximately 13,000 gallons for the average family.
Garbage disposals: Older homes often do not contain garbage disposals, and installing one can make much easier, as well as eliminate a large amount of food waste. Installation requires professional plumbers to hook up your new disposal to a waste water line.
Whole house-repiping: Here’s another option to consider for an older home. The pipe material for most homes used to be galvanized steel. A durable material, but one also prone to corrosion with age. A whole house repiping job will prevent numerous repair problems as well as increase the value of your home.
Sump pumps: If you live in an area with a high-water table, you can experience high levels of moisture and even flooding in your basement. A sump pump will remove excess water from an area and place it into the waste water system, helping to prevent damage to your home and the growth of mold and mildew.

There are many more possibilities for upgrading your plumbing with new installation. Call our specialists at My Drain Company today and talk to them about ways to better your home and your life with new plumbing installation in Glendale, CA.

Tags: Glendale, Plumbing Installation
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Common Problems with Storm Drains

Wednesday, March 5th, 2014

Here in California, we don’t normally get a lot of rain. Unfortunately, that often means that our civic drainage systems are unprepared for any kind of serious storms, like the kind we experienced at the beginning of the month. Storm drains exist to prevent the kind of flooding that heavy rains engender, keeping your property safe and dry during even the biggest winter storm. Here in Glendale, drain cleaning services can install a storm drain for you, as well as correcting with your existing storm drain. Common problems with storm drains are usually something a trained expert can fix.

Most storm drain problems all stem from the same source: clogged or overloaded pipes. Clogs can occur via build-up in your system, damage to the pipe itself, and saturation of the ground, as well as more direct causes like tree roots or even animals lodging debris at the grates. When rain storms hit like they did at the beginning of the month, those clogs can quickly turn disastrous, leading to all manner of serious problems. What kinds of problems? The most troubling is flooding, which can severely your yard and basement, and lead to a great deal of costs to repair. Yard erosion can be a particularly big problem, especially if your home is on a hill or somewhere else with higher elevation (very common in Glendale)

In some cases, storm drains that are too small can also cause flooding problems. This is actually fairly common in California, where we consistently underestimate the severity of our rains. In any event, the result is much the same as it is with clogged storm drains: flooding, backing up and wreaking havoc on your property in the process.

A reliable professional service can come to the rescue when you’re dealing with common problems with storm drains. Drain cleaning and repair services in Glendale, CA can be performed by the experts at My Drain Company. As our name implies, drain cleaning is our specialty and we have years of experience treating problems with storm drains. We also offer 24-hour emergency service for those times when the flood waters are rising. California’s rainy season can be a lot more destructive than people give credit for. Call us today and let us help you cut the damage off at the pass.

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Why You Should Get an Estimate Before Plumbing Installation Begins

Thursday, February 27th, 2014

Plumbing installation is a big job, and requires a lot of planning and foresight on the part of the homeowner. A proper installation can enhance your home for years or even decades to come, while a poor installation means leaks, burst pipes or worse coming far sooner than you would like. Here in Glendale, plumbing installation also needs to account for earthquakes and shifts in the ground. These are only a few of the reasons why you should get an estimate before plumbing installation begins.

The most important ones involve money. A proper estimate will itemize all of the expenses and explain them to you before you sign anything. That way, there’s no surprises along the way and if additional, unexpected work required, the service can’t simply tack it onto your bill without your knowledge. And just as an estimate protects you, so too does it protect the installing technician by ensuring that all work is okayed beforehand.

Beyond that, however, it also buys you peace of mind. With an estimate, you can see how the project is going to come together and understand all of the pieces involved. If something seems out of place, you can speak to the plumber about it, but otherwise, you’re left relying on whoever you’ve hired to do the job properly. An estimate acts as a piece of insurance against that, allowing you to relax while the plumber sets about his task.

Good plumbing services know why you should get an estimate before plumbing installation begins, and work with the homeowner to provide that. Plumbing installation services of all sorts are provided by the expert Glendale, CA plumbers at My Drain Company. We’re fully insured, our plumbers are all trained and licensed, and you can request an estimate from us anytime on our website. Beyond that, our staff works with only your complete satisfaction in mind, and we will go the extra mile to make sure you leave the experience happy. Give us a call today to set up and appointment and discuss your options. You’ll be glad you did!

Tags: Glendale, Plumbing Installation
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Reasons to Get a Sump Pump in Glendale

Thursday, February 6th, 2014

A sump pump is placed in your basement and acts to keep your home safe and dry in the event of flooding. As water seeps into our basement, it gathers in the pit holding the sump pump, and the pump can then move it safely out of your home via a drain pipe. It’s very useful in places prone to flooding, and here in Glendale, plumbing services can install one quite easily. But that doesn’t cover why you might need a sump pump here in traditionally dry Southern California. Believe or not, you do. Here are some reasons to get a sump pump in Glendale.

The biggest reason entails the suddenness and ferocity of our rainstorms and the way they can result in flooding. Our sewer system can’t always respond to a sudden deluge of rain, and when our local hillsides have lost vegetation due to wild fires, a little rain can turn into an ugly mudslide very quickly. Homeowners in Glendale can often be caught flat-footed by such development, precisely because they’re a winter phenomenon and we don’t need to worry about them for the rest of the year. When those moments come, however, a reliable sump pump is worth its weight in gold.

Then there’s the threat of burst pipes and similar damage, which again isn’t normally a concern here in So Cal since we don’t get a lot of freezing temperatures. We do, however, see our share of earthquakes, and even a mild one can rupture your plumbing with little or no warning. When that happens, you can use the sump pump to quickly remove the flooding water before it can cause much damage. It beats bailing your basement out with a bucket by a long shot.

Other reasons to get a sump pump in Glendale include improving the resale value of your home and helping with potential costs of homeowner’s insurance. If you live in Glendale, plumbing services like My Drain Company can install a sump pump safely and with a minimum of fuss. If you’re interested in a sump pump in your home, pick up the phone and give us a call today.

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Signs of Earthquake Damage to Your Plumbing

Monday, January 27th, 2014

We get our share of earthquakes in Southern California, and sometimes the damage can extend well beyond the temblor itself. The ground can shift beneath your home and formerly stable elements can become dangerously unbalanced. The especially applies to components of your home such as the electricity and plumbing. Here in Glendale, plumbing repair services can fix many problems associated with plumbing, but you need to know what to look for before you can call them in. Here are some signs of earthquake damage to your plumbing.

Of paramount concern is the main line from your home to Glendale’s public sewer system. If it ruptures or breaches, you’re likely to notice. The grass could suddenly become greener in the patch of ground above it, as the leaking sewage serves as a de facto fertilizer for your lawn. You may also notice puddles of liquid forming in your yard and/or unpleasant odors coming from your pipe. Water mains will result in puddles as well, in addition to a severe drop in the water pressure in your home.

Damage inside the home is likely to be more localized, and may affect only one single room or unit. You may turn on a sink or shower and find no water coming out. You may also see signs of backup in toilets and sinks, or discolored water emerging from your pipes. If you detect any such signs, shut off the main water valve to you home and call a plumber to fix the problem immediately. Under no circumstances should you drink or cook from water delivered by pipes that have been damaged in an earthquake. Use bottled water until a plumber has had a chance to take a look at it.

If you spot signs of earthquake damage to your plumbing, the Glendale plumbing repair experts at My Drain Company can help. We offer plumbing repair services, from earthquake damage falls under our purveyance, and we can even install additional safety features to help your system better endure the next quake. Give us a call today and let us show you what we can do!

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The Best Ways to Prevent the Need for Plumbing Repairs

Monday, January 20th, 2014

Here in Glendale, CA plumbing repair services are used to handling all kinds of issues. But better than waiting for plumbing problems to crop up, homeowners can save themselves a lot of time and heartache by taking preemptive measures with their plumbing. An ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure as they say, and you can often stop a significant problem before it starts. Here are some of the best ways to prevent then need for plumbing repairs:

For starters, watch what you pour down the drain. Certain materials such as grease or fibrous vegetables will increase the chances of clogs. If you throw them in the trash instead of letting them wash down the sink, you’ll keep them out of the pipes and thus prevent damage. The same principle applies to hair and shampoo in your bathroom drains. Use a screen or strainer on the drains, and clean it out every time you shower or bathe. It will keep the pipes free of detritus and reduce the risk of clogs and drains.

In addition, it pays to know where the main shutoff valve in your home is: the one that controls the entire water supply in the household. If a leak springs up or some kind of plumbing disaster looms, get to the valve and shut it off. It could prevent a huge amount of water damage to your home and cut down on repair bills accordingly. The shutoff valve is usually on the bottom floor of your house (or your basement if you have one) near an outside wall or the street.

Finally, it always pays to have a reputable plumber ready to go; someone who can perform basic maintenance services as well as big repairs. Good plumbers would rather help you prevent big problems instead of ripping you off, and once you find one, he or she can be worth their weight in gold. Plumbing repairs in Glendale, CA can be performed by the experts at My Drain Company. We know the best ways to prevent the need for plumbing repairs and can help you keep your pipes clean and free of detritus. Pick up the phone and give us a call today!

Tags: Glendale, Plumbing Repair
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