Imagine traveling down the pipes of your home, and seeing exactly what they look like before you run into a problem. You wouldn’t have to guess where a problem was, or wait for the inevitable problem to occur. You would know instantly, and be able to fix it at the root cause.

That’s the benefit today’s plumber can offer you.

When you have a plumbing problem, it can be difficult to determine exactly where the problem is located. You may have a backed up sink. But the sink isn’t the issue. It may be the pipe just pass the drain, or it may be a larger problem located in the main outside of your home. How do you tell?

A video drain inspection can help you discover where the problem is quickly and efficiently. A video drain inspection consists of a professional plumber sending a small camera down your drain. The camera will follow the path of the pipes until it reaches the source of the problem. For instance, the camera may discover a large tree root blocking the flow of wastewater.

Once you have pinpointed the problem, your plumber will determine the location of the problem, and assess the damages from there. In some cases it may be as simple as clearing the pipe. Still in other cases, he may advise you on a bigger potential issues waiting to happen. And if the issue arises from problems outside of your home, and in the city pipe system, you may be able to shift responsibility and have the city responsible for repairs.

If you have an older home, video drain inspection may be the perfect way to monitor your current home needs, and assess potential threats before they happen. Especially if you have experienced a number of backups in the past few months, an inspection can help you rest easier, knowing you won’t wake up to a room full of water. Another reason to have a video drain inspection is during the home-buying process. Because you are unfamiliar with the new home’s maintenance, a video drain inspection can show you how well the water system is working inside and out. This can help you avoid spending a fortune on plumbing bills shortly after closing, and have the original owners in charge of the ever-growing problem.

Video drain inspections are quickly rising in popularity, both with homeowners and prospective buyers. These handy devices make it possible to see what is going on in the places that you cannot see with your naked eye. Before you buy your next home or start digging for clogs, have a video drain inspection and discover the source of any problem.

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When you walk into your kitchen and smell an odor that resembles sewage, do not panic. The smell does not necessarily mean that you have a busted pipe that is leaking sewage in or under your home. The odor could be coming from your drain. Sometimes drains can start to allow sewer gas to leak back into your home. Fortunately, it is usually not a difficult task to stop the smelly odors and get your home back to its regular, fresh scent.

The first step to restoring the “good” smells is to determine which drain is the bad guy. You can do this by simply plugging/blocking one drain, wait a few minutes, remove the plug, and take a whiff. If it knocks you over, you have found the culprit. If not, move on to another drain. Once you know which drain is the stinker, you can get started on eliminating the problem.

Clogs lead to bad smells. If the smelly drain is a slow drainer, you most likely have a clog building up. You can use a drain snake to clean the drain. You can find drain snakes at your local hardware stores or, if you are not comfortable doing it yourself, you can hire a plumber to clean the drain with a professional, heavy-duty snake. You can always try liquid drain cleaners, too, but a snake is the best way to get rid of the clog, along with any other potential clogs in the pipes, like other build-ups or tree roots.

Finally, if a clog is not your problem and the odor you smell is sewage, your trap may be dry, making it possible for sewer gases to come up through the drain. Run some water down the drain and smell. If you cannot smell anything with water now in the drain (and the trap), your trap is going dry. You can replace the trap or have a plumber do it for you. It is a quick fix and should take care of the problem. You can also install a pipeless air vent to get rid of the smell. If ever in doubt, contact a professional for assistance.

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When you run the water in your kitchen sink, it can be quite discouraging to notice that the water is not draining. You naturally expect that your plumbing will stay clog-free and drain without fail each and every time you use it.

If you have a clogged drain, there are various ways you can attempt to fix the problem. You can try a plunger or a drain snake to physically break through the clog. If these do not work, your next step is to try a drain cleaner.

Drain cleaners come in liquid, gel and powder forms. Oxidizing cleaners are composed of chemicals that work to oxidize the clogs. These cleaners weigh more than water, so they can slide right down to the source of the clog, releasing gas and heat to attempt to dissolve the clog. Caustic cleaners work to dissolve clogs by causing a chemical reaction. These cleaners are also heavier than water, so they, too, can reach the clog with ease.

Acid drain cleaners are usually only available to plumbers. These cleaners also release heat to help dissolve the clog. (The reason for all of the heat is that one of the most common types of clogs is a grease clog – heat softens the grease and helps it move down the drain.) Most drain cleaners require that you wait about 15 minutes before flushing the drain with hot water. Sometimes, it is necessary to repeat the process.

Drain cleaners are created from toxic chemicals that can be dangerous to your health. If you use these cleaners, it is imperative that you follow the directions and avoid any contact with your skin or eyes. It is also important for you to keep in mind that if your plumbing is old, the cleaners could cause damage to your pipes. This will only result in more trouble.

Looking for green approaches to drain cleaning >>

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1. Check the drain for a visible clog. It is common for a bathtub drain to get clogged with hair and soap scum right where the drain sits. Remove the drain stopper (if your tub has one) and check for a visible hair clog.

2. Use a plunger. If you cannot see the clog, it may be further down the drain. Using a plunger might force the clog to move along.

3. Try a liquid clog remover. If the plunger does not remove the clog then purchase a liquid clog remover. Follow the instructions on the bottle. Be aware of green technology, and select cleaners that meet green specifications.

4. Use a drain snake. When all else fails, try a drain snake. A drain snake is simply a metal apparatus that is fed down the drain. It will push through and clogs, allowing them to break up and move on down the drain.

5. Call in the professionals. Sometimes a clog is just too much for household remedies. If you have tried every avenue and your bathtub still will not drain, call a plumber. Check with your friends and family for advice on which plumber to call because someone might know of a qualified plumber with lower hourly rates.

The best way to deal with a clogged tub drain is to avoid the clog. Remember to check your drain periodically for hair, soap scum and other things that might result in a clog. If you notice your tub starting to drain slower, but still draining, take action right away to prevent the partial clog from becoming a solid one. With just a little effort, you can keep your pipes flowing freely.

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One of the most indispensable items in today’s kitchen is the garbage disposal. While its attached underneath your kitchen sink, and quietly sits away from public view, it is the one appliance that keeps your kitchen in full working condition.

A garbage disposal works by chewing up food scraps and waste, and feeds them down the drain and out to the sewer system via a heavy flow of water. A shredder breaks up each piece into smaller, more manageable pieces. Then a rotating impeller plate breaks down the food particles, forcing them through tiny holes, and down into the drainage system.

A good garbage disposal will last anywhere from 8 to 12 years, depending on use and care techniques. While simple problems are usually fairly easy to fix, larger, more complex problems usually result in replacement of the entire unit. Some simple tips to keep your garbage disposal in top shape are:

• Feed your garbage disposal in a similar fashion to the way you eat. Send food items down a little at a time, mixed in with water to follow it up.

• Don’t stuff a disposal completely with food and waste before you turn it on. Packing food will only result in the disposal having to work harder in order to move the material through the system.

• Use cold water instead of hot. How water can melt fats, and will actually clog the disposal and pipes faster.

• Don’t grind hard, fibrous materials. Avoid things like bones, coffee grinds, corn husks, glass, metal or rubber.

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Want a simple way to go green? Start by looking at what’s really in your drain cleaner.

When you experience a clog in your bathroom or kitchen sink, it’s easy to reach into the cabinet for a trusted bottle of drain cleaner. Or head to the store and select one from many on the shelves. Because we’ve been using them for years, we tend not to think beyond selecting our favorite brand.  All of the major brands market them for their effectiveness, yet most don’t think about the dangers of the products. To truly go green, you have to reach beyond the warnings, and look for things that are safe from beginning to end. If they are effective at removing the clog, yet can severely affect our water supply, is it truly worth using this product over and over again? Or is there a better way? Here are some things you may not know about drain cleaners.

Sodium hydroxide is the main chemical found in drain cleaners. Although sodium hydroxide does the job well, it has a number of problems as well. It is corrosive and can lead to extensive damage within drains and pipes. And even more deadly is the effect it can have on the surrounding environment, people included.

The most obvious danger comes from swallowing drain cleaners. It can burn one’s throat, poison a body, and possibly be fatal. Even the fumes from the simple act of pouring drain cleaner can harm the respiratory system and lead to poisoning. These fumes can also escape into the atmosphere and can help slowly infect surrounding oxygen in a house and even build up enough to impact our outdoor pollution levels as well.

Contact to the eyes and skin can cause burns and can lead to blindness. While grown men and women should be well aware of these dangers, without simple precautions in place, they can easily spill or even take in the fumes as they are working with it. Worse, drain cleaners left unattended under a cabinet, or in a basement or garage can lead to poisoning or even death to a young child or pet that comes across the bottle and is unaware of the dangers.

If you’ve begun limiting the number of poisons and chemicals you bring into your home, continue by looking for green drain cleaning options. Simple approaches such as baking soda can remove simple clogs, while a plumbers snake may be needed for more stubborn problems. Pressurized gas and pressurized air have also been found to work the same way, and both also do not have the adverse affects found in drain cleaners.

For even more tips, check with your local green plumber, and find a solution that works best for you.

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Whether its early morning before work, or in the final preparations before a dinner party, finding a blocked drain can be more than a minor inconvenience. It can be hours of work determining where the problem lies, and finding the right tools to handle the situation.

The most logical starting point is trying powders, clog removers and a number of home made remedies. If you are trying to avoid harsh chemicals in and around your home, you may even experiment with Green Approaches To Drain Cleaning.

But what do you do when that simply doesn’t solve the problem? Or if it becomes worse than just a drain that is clogged – it actually backs up and begins flooding your basement or crawl space as well?

The drain system is typically a single stack system where waste water and the soil pipe both connect to a common drain leading away from the property to the sewer line.  The clog can be a simple block just a few inches from your sink, or can be several feet away, somewhere within the pipe between your drain and the sewer. Drain cleaners may affect a simple clog a few inches from the drain; but will do no good if the clog is further down the pipe.

Professional plumbers go beyond solving the issue, and go straight to the source of the problem. They have the diagnostic tools to identify the location of the block and the knowledge to eliminate the problem.

If the block is located deep within the line, a plumber can access sophisticated closed circuit systems to pinpoint the block, knowing right where to go to clear away the problem.

Older homes offer a lot of charm, but also many challenges in navigating construction details that date back to the pre-World War II era.  With older homes come older trees with elaborate root systems.  Or pipes and water systems that simply weren’t designed to meet today’s codes. It may take special tools and knowledge to know when to fix something, and when to replace it to avoid future problems.

Blocks in the trap can be very difficult to get to and may cause the drain line to become backed up.  The trap is the point in the line where two or more pipes join and connect to a larger central line.  Often a foul odor is the first indicator that the drain may be plugged.  And it can quickly escalate into a much larger problem requiring the removal of walls, floors, or ceilings.

Unless you have experience in this area, call someone who does. Call your local plumber today.

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Every day we cook three times a day. And if you’re cooking anything on the stovetop, chances are you’ve had cooking oil you drain off before you continue cooking your meal. What do you do with the excess cooking oil?

If you’re putting it down the drain, you could be doing more than clogging your drain. Grease actually begins to solidify fairly quickly, and will build up in a variety of ways. As you pour it down the drain, it combines with other particles in the wastewater, and begins sticking to the pipe walls that move through your home. Over time, this same buildup can attach itself to more that the pipes in your home – it can also move outside of your home and block the lines in and out of your home, resulting in a wastewater spill and potential hazard to you and the community around you.

Instead of creating a potentially expensive and chaotic situation, avoid the situation all together by keeping grease out of your drain. When cooking with grease, pour leftover oil into a jar or container and place into the trash. Wipe away any residue with a paper towel to avoid rinsing any down the drain.

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1. Vegetable peelings
If you are peeling a bunch of potatoes or carrots, place them in your garbage instead of sending them down the disposal. The peels in excess can gum up on the blades and in the pipes, backing up the system.

2. Fruit pits
Cherry pits, peach pits, nectarine pits – any type of fruit that has a hard, middle seed.

3. Celery stalks
Celery is string-fibrous and can produce the same affect as vegetable peelings. Avoid sending celery down in excess.

4. Fats and grease
Fats and grease will adhere to the pipes over time, creating backups and clogged pipes.

5. Pasta
Starchy substances will stick to both the blades and the pipes. In excess, pasta can quickly cause backups.
6. Rice
Rice is similar to pasta, and will cause backup when put down the disposal in excess.

7. Coffee grounds
Coffee grounds in excess can act in a similar manner to rice and pasta, clogging up both the blades and the pipes.

8. Paper, plastic, glass
Avoid sending down paper such as coffee filters, or bits of packaging as you are taking items out of their wrappers.

9. Egg shells
The pieces of shell can linger in the pipes and eventually cause a clog.

10. Shells from shellfish or bones
Bones from items like chicken, or shells from shellfish can break off and get caught in the blades.

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·    Inadequate water used for flushing food through the garbage disposal
·    Too many starchy foods, such as potato peels, pastas or banana peel
·    Grinding coffee grounds
·    Grinding eggshells

If your disposal is having trouble draining, or won’t drain at all, the problem most likely resides in the drain trap. The drain trap is the P or S shaped plumbing line following the disposal discharge.

To get rid of the clog, start by disconnecting the drain trap, and removing the trap from the discharge drain attached to the disposal. Remove and clean out any clogs or obstructions.

If a clog doesn’t exist within the trap, then the clog exists in the line connecting to the wall.

Start by using a plunger to see if you can dislodge the clog with water and force.

The next step is to use a sink auger.  With the sink stopper removed, extend the auger cable into the drain. Turn the crank handle of the auger until you feel the clog. Continue with gentle pressure until you’ve worked through the clog. Continue to repeat until the clog is removed. Flush the pipes with hot water once the drain is clear.

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