MANITOWOC PLUMBING SERVICE Inc.
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WATER HEATER MAINTAINANCE,
Your gas water heater might look benign, but if it's improperly installed or maintained it's a potential ballistic missile that could erupt with enough force to lift your house off its foundation. Every year a few water heaters explode with devastating results. To make sure yours is safe, follow these simple steps:
Remove paper, accumulated dust or other combustibles from the water heater enclosure.
Extinguish the pilot light before using flammable liquids or setting off aerosol bug bombs near the water heater. Never store combustibles close to your water heater.
If the device is in the garage, raise it so the pilot light is 18 in. above the floor. This can help prevent ignition of gasoline vapors that collect near the floor.
Inspect the flue for breaks or gaps that could leak deadly exhaust gas. (This is a good practice to do on other gas appliances.)
Ask your plumber to check the temperature pressure-relief valve, a faucet-like device mounted on the top or side of the heater. Excessively high temperature or pressure causes this valve to open, relieving pressure and preventing a steam explosion.
Consider installing an automatic gas-shutoff valve (below) that stops the flow of gas if the ground moves or if gas flow increases dramatically. The valve, which costs around $300, prevents fires when a gas line breaks due to flood, earthquake or other disaster. Some utility companies will install one and let you pay it off monthly.
WHEN TO REPLACE AND WHEN TO REPAIR,
In most cases if the water heater is leaking you will need a plumber to replace it. If the pilot light is not lit it may just need to be re-lit by following the manufactures lighting specifications. If pilot does not light or stay lit the next step would be to change the thermo couple. If this does not work, the last step would be to replace the gas valve.
DRAIN CLEANING,
Most homeowners know how to work a plunger and pour chemical drain cleaners down a clogged drain. Yet, sometimes these measures are insufficient for drain cleaning. Either the drain remains clogged or the drain perpetually re-clogs. When this happens, often because something unusual was pushed or flushed down a drain (think children), more dramatic measures are needed.
If a liquid drain cleaner doesn't take care of the clog, physical drain cleaning is usually the only way to get rid of the clog. A plumbers snake should be fed down the pipe to see if the clog can be reached. For clogged sinks, you should also try cleaning the trap and feeding the snake down the pipe that way. Covering the overflow valve for sink drains can help build pressure and may help bust through the clog.
If this doesn't work, a power auger that can more effectively cut through the clog will be needed. This machine should only be used by people who have some basic plumbing knowledge to avoid further harm to your draining system. Pipes aren't indestructible. Nobody particularly revels in calling a plumber, but sometimes it's the wisest and even the most frugal course of action. Be as specific as you can with the plumber on the phone and you may want to take the time to have him or her inspect all your house drains to reduce the risk of a return visit.
If your basement floor drain appears to be blocked, be careful, this could be the main sewer line to the street or septic system. This can be determined by watching the water level as you run water in other areas of the house. If the water level rises the main sewer is blocked. If the water does not rise the floor drain is the problem.
MAIN SEWER DRAIN MAINTANCE,
If an ongoing tree root problem consists you can by products from your plumber to keep these under control.
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