plumbing disaster Archives

13
Dec 19
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How to Dry Flooring In Case of a Plumbing Flood

Tags : bay area burst pipes eps bay area express plumbing leaky pipes plumber plumbing plumbing blog plumbing disaster plumbing emergency Plumbing flood plumbing tips san francisco

A plumbing flood is avoidable with proper maintenance, but when a pipe bursts in your home, chaos unfolds.

Not only is your furniture at risk of severe damage, but your floors can suffer as well. The porous nature of subflooring, carpet, and wood can retain water for days and even weeks after the leak.

Therefore, you need to be diligent when it comes to cleanup. Before the problem calls for a total flooring replacement, follow these tips to save your floor — and your investment — before it’s too late.

As a Bay Area Plumbing and Engineering Contractor, we want you to avoid plumbing problems all together, but if you can’t, use these tips to help you properly dry the area.

Before You Begin

Before you start to cleanup, photo-document the affected area. Armed with these photos, you have evidence of the flood to give to your insurance company. If you have any cloth furniture that’s salvageable, remove it from the room and set it outside to dry. The power of the sun will take care of most of the moisture. When it’s overcast or cold outside, set the furniture near a heat source.

Soak Up Excess Water Immediately

Use a squeegee or a wet/dry vacuum depending on the location and severity of the problem. You can easily find these tools for sale or rent at a local hardware store.

Once you have the right tool for the job, remove as much water as possible. Speed is crucial. If you can remove a majority of the water within 24 hours, you lessen the chance of irreparable damage. The longer you wait to rid your home of water, the more chance moisture has to seep into hardwood flooring or carpet, necessitating a full replacement.

Use a Fan

The next step to dry your flooring is to use a high-powered fan. A household floor or desk fan usually isn’t strong enough to get the job done, so you may have to purchase or rent a fan with enough power to remove excessive moisture.

If you have wooden furniture such as a dresser or armoire in the room, remove the drawers and open any doors to ensure you remove the moisture from these areas as well. In addition, this fan will help circulate fresh air, which can also lessen the musty, mildew smell caused by flooding.

Unleash the Power of a Dehumidifier

Even with a thorough vacuuming and a fan, your room will undoubtedly still have moisture hiding somewhere. To remove this final bit of water, rent or buy a portable dehumidifier.

These dehumidifiers remove water vapor from the air that you otherwise couldn’t eliminate. Remember to empty the water drawer frequently to make sure you don’t have another water spill on your hands.

Disinfect All Affected Areas

When a pipe bursts, there’s a chance that the water has come in contact with sewage or bacteria. Because of the health risks posed by bacteria and subsequent mold, you should disinfect and sanitize any area touched by the water.

This includes not only the floor itself, but also baseboards, walls, and furniture. In more severe cases, consider hiring a professional.

Any time a pipe bursts in your home, it’s a catastrophic situation that requires due diligence. So push the stress aside and get to work drying your floors. The value of your home and your pocketbook depend on it.

Our professional plumbers are standing by to answer any questions you have relating to plumbing. We service the entire San Francisco Bay Area and are relied upon by residents, commercial clients and municipalities due to our experience, advanced equipment and techniques.

11
Dec 18
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End of Year Household Plumbing Tips

Tags : bay area EPS Inc express plumbing holiday plumbing emergency holiday plumbing problems plumbing disaster residential plumber san mateo

With any luck, you’ve gone another year without any plumbing mishaps. No leaks, bursts, backups, or overflows have damaged your home, and as the year draws to a close, it’s time to give something back.

Before the hectic time around Christmas and New Year’s, follow these end-of-year household plumbing maintenance tips that are sure to keep your fixtures and pipes running like clockwork.

Outside Plumbing Maintenance Tips

You may think only of your sink, washing machine, or bathroom when it comes to plumbing, but don’t neglect the outdoors.

The first step to maintaining your outdoor plumbing is to remove all of your garden hoses.

If exposed to the elements, the water in the hose can freeze and expand, causing significant damage to interior pipes and fixtures. Make sure to disconnect these hoses, turn off the shut-off valve, and drain any excess water.

Insulate Your Pipes

One of the costliest plumbing repairs occurs when a pipe bursts in the home. This can cause excessive flooding and damage that can drain your emergency savings account.

However, the problem is avoidable. Wrap any exposed pipes in your basement or crawl space with foam pipe insulation. Available from hardware or plumbing supply stores, this foam insulation keeps your pipes’ temperature above the freezing point.

Garbage Disposal Maintenance Tips

Whether you’re cooking for 10 or 100 during the holidays, your kitchen goes into overdrive. Your stove, oven, and dishwasher can usually handle the extra workload, but pay attention to your garbage disposal.

Even one that’s fully functional in mid-November can cause problems come January. During the holidays, use the acronym FOG to avoid:

Fats.
Oils.
Grease.

These three items can gum up your garbage disposal, rendering it inoperable when you need it most. You should keep coffee grounds, egg shells, and bones out of the garbage disposal to increase its longevity. Running only cold water also helps the device from overheating.

If you still run into problems, a trained technician is the only surefire way to repair the issue.

Fix the Leaks

You might notice an occasional drip of water coming from your sink or bathtub, but it doesn’t motivate you to fix it. That said, even a slow drip can add up. Just one drip per minute can add up to 34 gallons a year, wasting tons of money and freshwater in the process.

Drips in other places such as the basement or utility closet can also cause water damage that further drains your bank account. If you notice a leak or drip, the end of the year is the perfect time to fix it so you can start fresh come January 1. Although some of these are easily fixed with the turn of a wrench, don’t hesitate to call a plumbing professional if the problem is over your head or outside your DIY expertise.

With gift buying, parties, and New Year’s resolutions, you have plenty to worry about at the end of the year. Don’t add a plumbing disaster to the list. By following this checklist, you’re assured of a pristine plumbing system that won’t let you down.

All of us at EPS Inc. Express Plumbing wish you and your family a very happy holiday season, free from plumbing disasters and lots of cheer.

08
Dec 17
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Most Common Holiday Plumbing Problems We’ve Seen in the Bay Area

Tags : bay area holiday plumbing problems plumber plumbers plumbing plumbing disaster plumbing emergency plumbing problems san bruno san mateo

You’re right, plumbing problems aren’t specific to geographic locations, but we can only speak about our plumbing emergency experiences in the San Francisco Bay Area.

This time of year, everyone is in a festive mood as they should be, but there’s nothing worse than a plumbing disaster striking right in the midst of a holiday event, but our plumbing crew will tell you it happens all the time.

As a Bay Area plumber since 1989, we’ve been called night and day to deal with plumbing emergencies for businesses, homeowners, even municipality plumbing issues , the number of residential plumbing problem calls always increase around the holidays, why? The plumbing does take a large beating with the above average use during this season. Here are the most common residential plumbing problem calls we’ve received.

Common Plumbing Problems and Prevention

Garbage Disposal Stops Working

With so many tasty dinners around the holidays, of course their are many broken garbage disposals. There are however a few things you can do to prevent this from happening or at least delay it so you can remain in a festive mood. Your garbage disposal is not a dumpster. Keep things out of it, it’s that simple.

Sure, many will tell you to cut things into smaller pieces, or to only put certain types of foods down the garbage disposal. As your trusted Bay Area plumber, we say to avoid it all together around the holidays because we want you to enjoy the holiday season free from any unexpected plumbing issues.

Broken Water Heaters

We get called for this all the time, and it’s always fun when the water heater is not broken at all, the igniter goes off and no more hot water. This is usually a quick fix and we all get back to our holiday festive moods.

One year a San Francisco resident was so excited after finding out her water heater was not broken at all, it had just shut off, she had our tech Joe stay for dinner and celebrate Christmas eve with her family. It’s moments like these that we enjoy and help us love what we do even more.

We serve our community with dedication and a rapid response 24 hour a day, 7 days a week including the weekends and holidays. We do it with a smile. If you have a plumbing problem in San Francisco, call us and you’ll get a live person whenever you call.

Here are a few things you can do if you have a traditional water heater when you’re expecting a few overnight holiday guests.

Turn up the temperature, but never go over 120 degrees, it can be dangerous, this will help you stretch your hot water and insure everyone gets a nice comfy shower. Remember to turn it down right after they’re gone so you don’t waste too much and save energy.

If you have an on-demand water heater (tankless water heater), you don’t have to worry about hot water at all. When you want it, it’s there.

Last but not least, we hate to talk about a pesky, stinky plumbing matter, but we simply can’t avoid it because it’s one of the most common plumbing problems during the holidays.

Clogged Toilets or Sewer

With so many guests in and out of the bathroom, that’s bound to happen. Not to mention, after a few drinks, who knows what’s being flushed down the toilet. If you don’t normally keep a waste basket close, get one!

Remind your guests not to flush sanitary napkins, baby wipes, facial tissues, etc.

We’re always available to help including holidays and weekends, but it’s not a bad idea to keep a plumber near just in case. Leak detection, Sewer repair or replacement is our specialty.

These are just a few of the calls we’ve received in the past, we hope these tips will help you and from our entire plumbing and engineering team at EPS Express Plumbing, we wish you and your family a festive, holiday season filled with love, laughter and free of plumbing problems.

Rapid Response:

The Holidays seasons is one of our busiest months, we serve the entire Bay Area, but call us when you need a trusted, fast response: