Not sure how to unclog grease, oil and fat from pipes? As emergency plumbers in Charlotte, we see a lot of clogged pipes. Much as people try to keep their pipes clean, it seems they get clogged with all kinds of debris, from hair to floss, grease to oil. It’s just the challenge of keeping your pipes clean and clear.

Please Don’t Use Caustic Chemicals to Unclog Your Pipes

There are several ways you can keep your pipes free from build up. Unfortunately, most people here in Charlotte grew up using a caustic chemical, like Drano. While caustic chemical drain cleaners can be somewhat effective, they can also be dangerous. When you use a caustic drain cleaner, you run the risk of:

• Chemical burns
• Splashing of the chemical into your face or eyes while trying to unclog the drain
• Damaging the environment with the flushing of these toxic chemicals
• Ruining our groundwater and freshwater drinking sources through the disposal of these toxic chemicals.

Fortunately, there are many safe, environmentally-friendly ways to keep your pipes clear of grease, oil and fat build up.

Flush Your Pipes With Hot Water

If you run hot water down your drains often, you can clear out some of the build up. Hot water plus rock salt or hot water plus vinegar are two good drain cleaners that are both safe and effective. This is something you can do regularly as part of your home maintenance.

Use a Green Drain Cleaner Such as BioOne

Sometimes you need something stronger than hot water and vinegar, so you’ll want to use a product like BioOne. BioOne uses naturally occurring cultures that are perfectly safe for your plumbing and for your septic tank. BioOne has EPA’s Design for the Environment DfE approval, which means it is better for the environment and overall human health than other drain cleaners.

To learn more about BioOne, go to their company website and read up on the science behind the drain cleaning technology. You’ll see they have both residential and commercial grade drain cleaning products for purchase.

ER Plumbing  Services – Emergency Plumbers in Charlotte

Here at ER Plumbing, we are proud to use products like BioOne. Contact us if you’ve got a clogged drain or need help with any residential or commercial plumbing problem.

Did you know that Charlotte has historically had high water pressure problems? While most homes and residences only need about 50 psi, most Charlotte homes and businesses have higher water pressure than is needed for optimal appliance function. That means a lot of Charlotte homes and businesses are losing money and at risk of appliance and plumbing damage due to high water pressure.

What is Considered High Water Pressure?

Anything over 80 psi is considered high water pressure. Most home appliances, showers, faucets, and pipes work best when water pressure is around 50 psi. Our technicians frequently come across homes and businesses with water pressure of 120 psi and higher.

What Problems are Attributed to High Water Pressure?

The following are problems we commonly see here in Charlotte when investigating high water pressure problems:

High Water Pressure Results in Appliance and Plumbing System Deterioration

High water pressure can cause hot water heaters to leak, pipes to burst, faucets and showerheads to leak, and appliances to break down early. In other words, high water pressure damages your pipes and appliances.

High Water Pressure Results in Water Waste

For comparison, consider that a faucet with a water pressure reading of 50 psi will put forth about 30 gallons of water in ten minutes. That same faucet, with a water pressure reading of 100 psi will put forth about 45 gallons of water per ten minutes. As you can see, high water pressure results in water waste. This is bad for the environment – and your water bill.

What Should Be Done About High Water Pressure?

If you have high water pressure, call ER Plumbing Services of Charlotte to install a water pressure reduction valve. This is a simple, inexpensive service that will save you money.

How Installing a Water Pressure Reduction Valve Will Save You Money

Most homes and businesses save enough in water costs to pay off the installation of the water pressure reduction valve in 6-12 months.

The average home will save about 30,000 gallons of water in a year’s time if they have a plumbing professional install a water pressure reduction valve.

You’ll reduce your risk of leaking pipes, which can prevent water damage in your home and reduce future plumbing expenses. You’ll also extend the life of your appliances such as your hot water heater, which is a significant expense.

Charlotte Tankless Water Heater Sweepstakes

(Brand: Rinnai 9.4, Cash Value: $1,500)

Why Are We Giving Away a Free Tankless Water Heater?

Here at ER Plumbing, we value our loyal customers. As a token of our appreciation for all the referrals and repeat business we’ve gotten from loyal customers, we’re giving away a free tankless water heater to a Charlotte area resident.

Like any other small business here in Charlotte, we need exposure. We’d appreciate it if you gave us a shout out on Facebook or other social media sites. If you haven’t liked us on Facebook yet, please do! We provide free plumbing tips and advice on our Facebook page that we hope you will find helpful.

ENTER FREE WATER HEATER SWEEPSTAKES BY CLICKING HERE!!

To thank those who do share about our contest, we’re rewarding them with extra entries into the contest. This is how it works:

If you share the link to our contest on your Facebook page, Twitter, or Linked In, and someone enters the contest as a result of that share, you’ll get an automatic additional ten entries, increasing your chances of winning the contest by ten times. This will happen every time someone you shared with enters the contest.

You’ll find the share links on the second page of the contest entry form. These links are tracked electronically so that you will get credit for any entries resulting from your shares on Facebook, Twitter, or Linked In.

The following are the Free Charlotte Tankless Water Heater Sweepstakes Rules:

The winner must be 18 or older and must live with a 30-mile radius of ER Plumbing Services Headquarters (Matthews, NC).

To be considered for our contest, you will need to enter your name and email address in the contest entry form. We will not sell or give away your name or email address, but we will send you an opt-in email asking you to please confirm your contact information. You must confirm your email address to be entered into the contest. You will be alerted through this email address when our winner is chosen.

The winner of the contest will be chosen at random, electronically, after 6:00 p.m. on August 10, 2012. The winner will be contacted via email and the name of the winner will be announced on our website and on Facebook.

We will be giving away a Rinnai 9.4 tankless water heater like the one featured here (click to get details from the Rinnai website).

If you don’t know why tankless water heaters are so special (and sooooo much better than traditional hot water heaters, check out our page on tankless hot water heaters here.

Thank you in advance for getting the word out about our contest and our service to the Charlotte area. Good luck, and God bless!

ENTER FREE WATER HEATER SWEEPSTAKES BY CLICKING HERE!!

Did you know that more than 2,500,000 American homeowners lose money to water damage from plumbing failures? It’s true: every year billions of dollars of claims are filed with insurance companies, all due to preventable water damage.

What causes water damage?

• Aging plumbing
• Faulty plumbing
• Appliance breakdown
• Improper installation of appliances
• Leaks inside walls and crawl spaces

What if Your Washing Machine Breaks Down?

This is a scenario we see all too often. If your washing machine breaks down, your machine may continue to run, causing extreme flooding. Even if you have a drip pan under your washing machine (go check now and see if you have one), your machine will probably keep pumping out water, flooding not only that floor, but seeping through the floor to whatever is below your washing machine.

Now that so many people have washing machines on upper floors, we’re seeing more and more water damage to multiple floors. It can be even worse in apartment complexes, where a flood can damage several floors.

Typical Water Damage

In most cases, water damage includes:

• Flooring, walls, and ceilings
• Artwork
• Heirlooms
• Pictures
• Electronics (computers, laptops, televisions, etc)

In some cases, flooding causes electrical outages and risk of electrocution.

If untreated, water damage causes mold and mildew, which can cause very serious health problems, including death.

How Can You Prevent Water Damage?

ER Plumbing Services provides 24/7 emergency plumbing services in Charlotte, but we prefer to prevent water damage before it even occurs. That’s why we offer water cop installation, which can prevent water damage effectively and conveniently.

What Are Water Cops?

Water cops are sensors that are placed around your house. They sense the presence of water in places where there should not be water.

How Do Water Cops Prevent Water Damage?

The water sensor senses a leak and sends a wireless message to the water cop. The water cop turns off the water source, preventing flooding and water damage.

Water Cops Installation Will Save You Money

How will water cops installation save you money?

• You’ll save on insurance premiums
• You’ll protect your home and belongings
• You won’t have to replace items ruined by water damage

Most people don’t realize this, but water damage claims may increase your insurance premiums. If you have had to file a claim with your home owners insurance before, you’ll want to install water cops to protect yourself in case of a future claim. The presence of the water cops will show you were trying to prevent water damage. Some insurance companies may even give you a discount on your insurance premiums just because you’ve had the water cops installed.

While your insurance company may cover some of your water damage claims, this is never a guarantee. The best policy is to prevent water damage instead of hoping you can recuperate some of the costs of water damage.

Some water damage can never be recovered. Electronic data, pictures, and heirlooms and three examples of water damage that you probably won’t be able to restore. In most cases, electronics are not covered by warranties against water damage, so you might not be able to recuperate expenses in this common area.

Where Does ER Plumbing Install Water Cops?

Most people want water cops installed near one or more of the following places:

• Washing machines
• Water heaters
• Dishwashers
• Toilets
• Refrigerators
• Automatic Humidifiers
• Sinks

If you want to go with high end protection, ER Plumbing Services of Charlotte can:

• Integrate the water cops with your security system
• Install a push-button main water control (which is much easier to use than the traditional water main lever)
• Sensors that detect and prevent pipes from freezing

If you have questions, contact ER Plumbing Services for details on water damage prevention in Charlotte.

If you’re adding a bathroom to your home, you’ll want to make sure you know the Charlotte plumbing basics that govern a new bathroom addition. Adding a bathroom may seem like a simple job, but there are several complicated sides to this fun and interesting DIY job.

Doing a Bathroom Addition the Right Way – Doing the Job to Code

The most important thing to keep in mind when you are adding a bathroom is that everything has to be done to code. That means you’ll need to:

• Draw up a blueprint of your planned bathroom addition
• Get the space and plans approved by an inspector
• Have the inspector out after the job is done to approve the work

If you don’t do things according to code, you’ll have problems when your plumbing acts up or you try to sell the house.

Common Bathroom Addition Challenges

When adding a bathroom, you’ll want to watch out for the following issues:

• Wiring Issues – Make sure you know what you’re doing when dealing with electricity. A mistake can be fatal.
• Pipe angle Issues – If the pipes are not angled properly, you won’t get good draining or flow, which can result in backed up plumbing and some nasty reworking of the job after you’ve already walled everything in.
• Positioning issues – Make sure you position the toilet, sink, shower, or tub so it all connects properly with the rest of the plumbing system in the house.
• Demand – Make sure your existing plumbing system can handle the additional demand on the water pipes, sewer pipes and hot water heater.

Bathroom Addition Tips

Before you take on this project, make sure you get advice and training. Attend a few DIY classes and read up on the topic. If your work doesn’t pass inspection, give ER Plumbing Services a call. We’ve been handling plumbing jobs of all sorts for decades. We can help you with your bathroom addition with no problems at all.

Why are tree roots wreaking havoc on Charlotte plumbing systems? Tree roots break pipes, clogging them and causing expensive leaks. It can be tough to clear out a tree root obstruction inside a pipe, but it’s an even bigger job to dig up the pipes, cut the tree roots, (avoid the wires for electricity, cable and phone), replace the broken pipes, and then restore the landscaping to excellent condition. If you want to see what a job like this requires, check out our videos and pictures of just a few of the many root jobs we’ve handled over the years.

Tree Roots and Charlotte Plumbing Systems

Tree roots are always a problem for plumbing systems no matter where you live. Here is Charlotte, we have a lot of clay and rock, so the rain often runs right off lawns and doesn’t soak into the ground very well. The trees, desperate for water, search far and wide for a water source. If your pipes have even a teensy tiny crack in them, those tree roots will find it and will force their way into the pipe. Tree roots are a lot stronger than you’d imagine; they can crack open a pipe and clog it up in no time.

How We Handle Charlotte Plumbing Problems Like Root Invasion

You might be tempted to try to repair your broken pipes yourself, but this is a job for professionals. There are many dangers to this sort of job, including the following:

• You might hit a wire while digging and electrocute yourself. You’d be surprised at how often we find pipes laid right next to wiring for phone, cable, or power for a home.
• You may not know how to turn off the water or sewer source properly and may end up with a serious mess on your hands.
• You may dig up half your lawn looking for the location of the leak.
• You’ll have to repair that lawn after, which is very laborious and time consuming.

ER Plumbing Services – Charlotte Plumbing Experts Who Know Tree Roots

Let us repair your broken pipes and deal with your tree roots. We always restore your property well and will resolve the problem completely. We have over two decades of experience with leak detection, repair, and the restoration of Charlotte plumbing problems.

Here at ER Plumbing Services we are the best Charlotte pipe leak detection experts. We’ve been detecting and repairing leaks in the Charlotte area for years. We come highly recommended because we’ve saved Charlotte homeowners and business owners money by immediately determining the location of the leak and then fixing the leak quickly and efficiently.

You may wonder how on earth you’ll know if you’ve got a leak, especially with it being spring and you watering your grass seed and new garden and all. Your water bill may have shot up, and you may blame the garden or your attempts to grow grass in those bald spots for the high water bill. Don’t be so fast to blame your watering efforts; leaky pipes and irrigation systems cost Charlotte homeowners thousands of dollars every year.

Signs You’ve Got a Leak – Charlotte Pipe Leak Detection Tips

If you’ve had a water bill spike, you’ll want to check out the following:

Look For a Charlotte Irrigation System Leak

Most homeowners won’t notice an irrigation system leak for weeks if not months. Others assume the leak doesn’t really matter, not realizing that irrigation system leak is probably costing you hundreds of dollars every month. Irrigation system leaks may be caused by someone running over the irrigation spigot with a car or lawnmower. They also can be caused by kids tripping over the spigot and breaking it. In most cases, no one realizes they broke the spigot, and the water leaks slowly but steadily undetected.

Walk through your yard, checking each irrigation system spigot carefully. Feel the grass or dirt, searching for moist areas. Sometimes you’ll see pooling or a tiny stream leading away from the irrigation system spigot that is broken, but in most cases, the water will just soak into the ground in a two-foot radius around the sprinkler head.

Check Your Yard For Pooling of Water

Sometimes pipes break under the ground. This can cause pooling of water in your yard, a slight depression that forms in your yard or water bubbling up in the middle of your lawn. Check extra-green parts of your lawn carefully, searching for evidence of a leak.

Check Your Crawl Space or Basement For Pooling of Water

Sometimes pipes break inside the house or under the house. Look for signs of water dripping or pooling in the basement or crawl space. Keep an eye out for leaks inside walls as well.

ER Plumbing Uses Only the Best Charlotte Pipe Leak Detection Methods

In most cases, leaks go undetected because the leak is hidden too deeply underground or in a place you can’t see the evidence (like under a sidewalk). We’ll use fail-proof Charlotte pipe leak detection methods to detect the leak and then will fix the leak right away.

It’s spring! That means rain is coming down and sump pumps are working overtime! If you’ve been having problems keeping your crawl space or basement water-free, you’ll want to learn these sump pump basics.

What is a Sump Pump?

A sump pump is a pump that you have installed in your crawl space or basement to keep the area under your home or place of business dry. It prevents flooding of basements or crawl spaces. The American Society of Home Inspectors tells us that over 60% of homes have problems with basement or crawl space wetness, something that can cause mold and water damage.

Mold can also lead to serious health problems. In fact, if you have respiratory problems, you might want to have a professional come out and assess your home for mold. Clearing up the mold problem may relieve your respiratory health problems, greatly improving your quality of life.

Where Does a Sump Pump Go?

Most sump pumps are installed in something called a sump pit ,which is a hole in the very lowest part of your crawl space or basement. The pit has gravel in the bottom of it. If water comes into your basement or crawl space, it will fill the sump pit and activate the sump pump, which pumps the water out of the crawl space or basement.

There are two main kinds of pumps: submersible pumps and pedestal pumps.

What if My Sump Pump Isn’t Working?

If your sump pump isn’t working, you’ll want to check the following:

• Is the sump pump still plugged in?
• Has the sump pump tipped over? If it’s not upright, it won’t work right.
• If it’s a submersible sump pump, you may need to clean the grate.
• Check the outlet pipes to make sure they are properly joined together.
• Check the discharge pipe vent hole to ensure it is clear.

Need Help With Your Charlotte Sump Pump?

Contact ER Plumbing Services if you need a sump pump installed or serviced in Charlotte.

ER Plumbing Services is committed to educating the community about Charlotte plumbing basics such as how to find your cleanout valve.

If you call a plumber and say you have a clogged drain or toilet, the plumber will probably recommend that you open your cleanout valve. This is tough to do if you don’t know what a cleanout valve is or where your cleanout valve is!

What is a Cleanout Valve?

Your clean out valve is the place where your sewer line has a valve that can be opened to facilitate clearing of clogged pipes. It is usually made out of white plastic or steel and looks like a cap. It is usually about 3-4 inches in circumference.

Why Do I Need to Know Where My Cleanout Valve Is Located?

Most of your pipes are hidden from view. They are either located inside walls, in your crawl space, under the ground, or under the street. When you’ve got a clogged pipe, your clean out valve gives you access to part of the pipe system. You may be able to clear a clogged pipe by accessing the cleanout valve even if you couldn’t unclog the pipe using a snake or plunger.

How Do I Locate My Cleanout Valve?

You can locate your cleanout valve by following these simple steps:

• First, find your man city sewer line. If you can’t find the manhole above the sewer line (in the street), call the city and ask for help.
• Walk from the main city sewer line location in the street towards your home. The clean out valve is somewhere in front of your home, in between the sewer line and the front wall of your house.
• If you still can’t find the clean out valve, go into your crawl space or basement and find a pipe from a bathroom in the home and follow it to the wall. Figure out approximately where this is on the front wall of your house. Now go back outside and check the ground in that area.
• You may need to dig around in mulch, flowerbed dirt, or grass to find the clean out valve if it has been covered up by landscapers.

Let ER Plumbing Services Help You With Charlotte Plumbing Basics Such as Finding Your Cleanout Valve

If you need help locating your cleanout valve, contact ER Plumbing Services for this service and other Charlotte plumbing basics.