Entertaining during the holiday season brings friends and family into your home.\u00a0 During this busy time if there’s a plumbing problem it seems like the worst possible time.\u00a0 But that’s not a coincidence — heavy uses brings additional stress, sometimes to the breaking point.\u00a0 And you want it fixed as soon as possible, before your guests arrive.<\/p>\n
With all that extra cooking it should come as no surprise that clogged garbage disposals and kitchen sinks are the most common problem.\u00a0 But water heaters, showers, toilets, and more are also\u00a0put to the test.\u00a0 Sometimes there’s a quick fix, sometimes you need emergency plumbing\u00a0or same-day service for those urgent holiday problems.<\/p>\n
Now, about those headaches and how to deal with them.<\/p>\n
Slow drains can seem like just an annoyance, but that’s a clue you’ll soon have a backed up sink.\u00a0 Fats, oils, and grease building up in the drain lines are usually the cause.\u00a0 Add some food debris and you have an instant blockage.<\/p>\n
Don’t panic — it may just be the drain strainer doing its job.\u00a0 But more likely you’ll need to deal with the drain itself.\u00a0 Running really hot water with a little dish-washing liquid may be enough.\u00a0 If not, the best next step is using a plunger.\u00a0 Liquid drain cleaners aren’t as effective on grease as they are on other clogs, so rather than loosing time heading off to the store you may want to try removing the U or J trap and clearing the line with a bent coat hanger.<\/p>\n
Many people send more than they should down the garbage disposal, and it’s even more tempting to do so during the holidays.\u00a0 Fibrous materials such as potato peels and celery are often the culprits.<\/p>\n
If you hear the garbage disposal trying to run but not rotating, it’s jammed.\u00a0 Unplug it, then loosen it up using the special tool that came with it, inserting the tool into the bottom and working back and forth.\u00a0 Lost that tool?\u00a0 A large Allen wrench may fit.<\/p>\n
If there’s no sound at all it’s probably an electrical problem.\u00a0 A circuit breaker\u00a0or the overheat-protection on the disposal may have tripped.\u00a0 Check your “fuse” box, and press the red\u00a0reset button on the disposal.<\/p>\n
Dishwasher overflow?\u00a0 That’s probably food debris blocking it’s internal drain.\u00a0 Bail it out, and find the drain basket.\u00a0 You may need to unscrew and remove the basket in order to clean it out.<\/p>\n
More people in the house mean more people using the bathroom.<\/p>\n
If a toilet starts running continuously, remove the lid of the tank and have a look.\u00a0 The chain linking the flush-handle to the flap valve at the bottom of the tank may have caught on something.\u00a0 Or the flapper may be misaligned, or be simply too old to make a good seal.\u00a0 Toilet won’t flush?\u00a0 Maybe the tank is empty due to a failed float or valve.\u00a0 Or the flap valve may be leaking so much the tank can’t fill.<\/p>\n
Then there’s those dreaded back-ups and overflows.\u00a0 They’re usually the result of some “foreign” object getting flushed.\u00a0 Especially if there’s curious young kids around.\u00a0 For these situations, sanitation is paramount.\u00a0 Open the bathroom window but keep the door closed.\u00a0 If you’re trying to remedy the situation yourself, wear rubber gloves and a face mask.\u00a0 If there hasn’t been an overflow, hot (but not boiling) water with a little shampoo may resolve the problem.\u00a0 But a plunger is more likely to work.\u00a0 If you’re desperate you may be able to dislodge the blockage with a bent coat hanger.<\/p>\n
Drain problems in a tub and shower are usually caused by hair and soap scum.\u00a0 You may be able to simply pull out a clog if it’s right at the drain opening.\u00a0 Again, a plunger is your best friend although liquid drain cleaners can be pretty effective for hair clogs if you give them plenty of time to work.<\/p>\n
More people also means using more hot water.\u00a0 If you run out it’s often just a matter of allowing time for the tank to heat back up.\u00a0 You make this a little less likely by turning up the thermostat.\u00a0 But that wastes energy and anything above 140 deg. F can cause serious scalding.<\/p>\n
Hot water heater leaking?\u00a0 If it’s just a little dripping you may be able to get by for a few days.\u00a0 But small problems can suddenly become big ones, especially with a failing temperature\/pressure relief valve.<\/p>\n
You can probably put up with a leaky faucet over the holidays.\u00a0 But any plumbing leak that dampens furniture or your home will soon cause water damage.\u00a0 So it’s time to call in a plumber. But if you have a gusher, the first step is to close the main shutoff valve, usually in front of your home near the street or sidewalk.<\/p>\n
Whenever these do-it-yourself tips aren’t enough, we’re ready with emergency and same-day holiday plumbing services.<\/p>\n
We’re A+ BBB rated<\/a> and have been serving San Diego since 2001. Learn more<\/a> or contact us<\/a> any time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Entertaining during the holiday season brings friends and family into your home.\u00a0 During this busy time if there’s a plumbing problem it seems like the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13510,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-slab-and-water-leaks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12264"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12264\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13512,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12264\/revisions\/13512"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}