Commercial Plumbing Blog

Ice Dam Prevention Tips for Gutters

November 27, 2017 By Action Plumbing

Although it’s extremely important to keep your gutters clear of debris throughout the entire year, it can be especially challenging during the winter months when Mother Nature strikes the hardest. Clogged gutters can easily trap water that will inevitably freeze, leaving you with a potential hazard sometimes referred to as an ice dam.

What is an Ice Dam?

An ice dam often occurs along the edge of your roofline or in your gutters depending on the orientation, style, and pitch of your roof. The culprit is often melting snow that refreezes, clogging your gutters and preventing water from draining properly. When this happens, water can easily get backed up, causing havoc with your shingles and eventually leaking into your business.

How to Recognize an Ice Dam

One of the best ways to check for an ice dam is to take a close look at the ceilings of your exterior walls and attic. If you notice moisture or water stains, there’s a good possibility you may have an ice dam.

Inspect any icicle formations you may have around your business’s exterior to discover whether they are trapping any water. Icicles can often lead to additional problems blockage problems and potential dangers for those walking below.

Prevention Tips

Be sure to clean your gutters regularly, even during the winter months whenever it’s possible.
On mild winter days, inspect your gutters and the areas around your business for any signs that an ice dam may be forming.
Safely remove icicle formations and remember … never stand directly underneath an icicle when inspecting your gutters, cleaning, or performing icicle removal.

Lastly, one of the best ice dam prevention strategies is to hire a professional to handle your routine gutter cleanings to ensure you always have a clean gutter system. For more information on our professional gutter cleaning services, contact an Action Plumbing representative.

Avoid Frozen Pipes by Planning Ahead

November 2, 2017 By Action Plumbing

Bitter cold temperatures may already be here, but it’s not too late to take the necessary steps to avoid frozen pipes and other costly plumbing issues. Whether you rent or own your own business, there are a few things to consider in order to protect your property from unnecessary damage.

Of course, not all frozen pipes result in catastrophe, but it is common for expanding ice to break pipes that are vulnerable, and this often results in damaging leaks or flooding. So, how do you these kinds of problems? The answer is simple … you can avoid frozen pipes by planning ahead using a few of the following tips:

Locate Your Pipes

In order to ensure your pipes are protected you need to know exactly where they’re located. While a pipe may be well insulated in one area of your business, there’s a good possibility that it’s exposed to freezing temperatures in another. If you’re unsure about how your plumbing system is laid out, Action Plumbing can work with you to complete an audit of your plumbing system.

Insulate

Once you have a better idea of where your at-risk pipes can be found, you need to make sure they are protected with insulation. While a newspaper can sometimes be adequate for pipes found in a cold basement, others at greater risk should be insulated with foam tube or heated tape.

Let It Run

If the temperatures have already plummeted and you’re concerned, allowing the water to run even slightly can prevent pipes from freezing. Although it’s true you’ll be wasting water, it’s better than facing the alternative.

Let in the Heat

On particularly cold nights it’s a good idea to open the cabinets or drawers under your sink. This will allow the heat from your business to enter in order to prevent your pipes from freezing.

Find the Main Shut-Off

If you are faced with damaged or leaking pipes, it’s important that you know how to shut off the main water supply in order to prevent serious flooding. And remember, Action Plumbing is available 24 hrs a day 7 days a week in the event you have an emergency and need assistance.

Your Sewage Trucks Can Smell Like Chocolate Too

October 28, 2017 By Action Plumbing

No one likes driving behind a sewer truck … unless you live in Japan, apparently. One of their most recent breakthroughs is making their sewage trucks smell chocolaty delicious. Sounds crazy? Maybe. But it’s absolutely true.

This unbelievable solution is the brainchild of four Osaka-based companies who teamed up in an effort to mask the foul-smelling sewage trucks that often send Japanese citizens running in the opposite direction. Now that they have achieved the unachievable, the announcement has been made that sewage trucks in Osaka will now smell like chocolate instead of … well, sewage.

This new solution is based on a five-year-old deodorizing product made by Shikido, a manufacturer of industrial products, and Yamamoto Fragrances, which was typically used in pet odor eliminating products and baby diapers. When the engineers came up with the plan to infuse an updated version of the project into the sewage trucks’ lubricating oil, they decided that a strong chocolate fragrance would best mask any lingering odors.

With mostly positive feedback, there are, of course, those who still aren’t satisfied with the outcome. Some have mentioned on social media that they fear children may be encouraged to eat feces due to confusion, but hopefully some common sense parenting will help to circumvent that particular problem. Otherwise, the new chocolate smelling sewage trucks seem to be a big hit.

“Where can I get me some of that?” you may ask. Fear not, fellow Americans. Another company that participated in the development of the deodorizer-infused lubricating oil, Toho, reports that the Deo Magic VC1 oil in 5.3-gallon cans will soon be available to the general public for a mere $344.

How to Test for a Leaky Toilet Tank

October 20, 2017 By Action Plumbing

A toilet that’s always running is more than just an annoyance; it’s wasteful and can cost you money. If you let it go on without repair, you’ll definitely regret it. But, unfortunately, a leaky toilet tank may be harder to spot than you’d expect. Luckily, there are some signs to watch for and also a conclusive test that can be performed to find out whether or not you actually have an issue.

It’s better to find the problem before you open your water bill and see a huge jump. If you take the time to listen while you’re in the bathroom and you notice your toilet is running, don’t hesitate to check into it further. It’s not just a coincidence if it seems to be happening every time you’re in there … you likely a problem.

Other than the obvious sound of flowing water you hear when the toilet is running, a tip-off that you may have a leak is the minor rippling of the water along the edge of the bowl. You should only see this rippling effect when your toilet is actually filling. If you notice it at other times this is a good indication of a leak.

Test for a Leaky Toilet

Believe it or not, all you need to test for a leaky toilet is a little bit of food coloring. Just open the lid of the tank and squeeze in a few drops of your choice of color. And whatever you do … don’t flush! Just sit back and patiently wait for a few hours.

After about an hour or two, have a look inside the bowl. If you see food coloring, then you definitely have a leak.

How to Fix a Leaky Toilet

Depending on the severity of your problem, you may be able to fix the leak yourself. Common causes of leaks include dirt, sediment, or rust build up on the tank flapper. You should turn off the water supply before attempting to clean the flapper, which you can do with a sponge or paper towel. Once you’ve completed your cleaning, it’s a good idea to use the food coloring to run a second test to make sure everything is working properly.

If you’re in need of any assistance, have questions on how to test for a leaky toilet tank, or suspect you have a leaky toilet and would like to talk to a professional, reach out to one of our Action Plumbing experts today.

Preventative Maintenance Contract

October 18, 2017 By Action Plumbing

If you wait until you experience a leak, flood, or another unexpected disaster to call your plumber, you’ll often find that many of your problems could have easily been avoided. Preventative maintenance is the key to keeping your business’s plumbing running as smoothly and efficiently as possible, and Action Plumbing is here to help you keep everything on track with our expert services.

Now is the time to talk with an Action Plumbing expert about the possibility of arranging a preventative maintenance contract in order to get ahead of pesky plumbing issues before they wreak havoc. Preventative maintenance contracts can include a wide variety of services, and some of the most popular include:

Drain Cleaning

Regularly scheduled drain cleaning or sewer jetting is an important part of preventative maintenance to help you avoid a flooded basement, sewer backups, costly repairs, and the disruption of day to day activities in your business. These services involve cleaning your plumbing lines in order to remove any build-up or debris including grease, sludge, leaves, and other inhibitors.

Camera Inspections

Utilizing this high tech tool, our Action Plumbing experts can locate potential problems quickly and efficiently while keeping your costs down through extensive diagnostics. A camera inspection allows our plumbers much more flexibility and makes finding clogs or more serious problems like broken and leaking pipes a more direct process. A camera inspection is vital for ensuring you have the most in-depth look into what’s really going on in your pipes and sewer.

Catch Basin Cleaning

The most important use of a catch basin is to keep your local water supply free of debris like leaves, sticks, rocks, garbage, and much more. Unfortunately, these materials can build up quickly, which is why it’s important to have your catch basins maintained on a regular basis. Professionals often rely on an industry-standard vacuum to remove debris, while also relying on shovels and other devices.

With a contract for regularly scheduled preventative maintenance, you don’t need to worry about when these types of services need to be performed in order to keep your plumbing in good standing. To find out more about Action Plumbing’s preventive maintenance contract offerings, contact one of our experts today.