Many homes built more than ten years ago were plumbed with a “builders grade” two or three handle tub or shower faucet. The left and right handles controlled the hot and cold water valves and on three handle units, the middle handle operated the diverter valve which controls whether the water comes out of the faucet or the showerhead.

After ten to 15 years of use, these faucets start to wear out and leak. Parts can be hard to find and frankly these faucets look a little dated. Many homeowners have continued to put up with these old faucets because replacing them is challenging, especially if there is no access to the plumbing from behind the shower or tub wall.

Well, you don’t have to put up with your old tub and shower faucet anymore. Your plumber can replace your three or two handled faucet with a modern new single handle faucet using a conversion plate designed to cover the holes where the old handles were. Your plumbing contractor can do the entire job from the tub or shower side – no access is needed to the back!

Talk to a reputable plumbing contractor in your area about converting your two or three handle tub and shower faucets to a beautiful new single handle faucet. Residents of Northern Virginia know that the expert plumbers at Kiddco Plumbing are the Northern Virginia plumbers they can depend on for faucet replacements and all their plumbing needs.

Alpharetta plumbers for top quality plumbing services including bathroom remodeling. If you reside outside the Alpharetta area, ask your friends and family for recommendations of reputable plumbers.

A bathroom refresher can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. If your budget doesn’t allow for a complete remodeling, replacing tired fixtures with high quality new fixtures can give your bathroom a fresh new look at a fraction of the cost of a full remodeling. Ask your plumbing contractor for ideas that will maximize your budget.

A full bathroom remodel includes new flooring, cabinets, tubs, sinks, and showers that in many cases have different configurations than the existing fixtures. In addition, remodeling often involves relocating plumbing, electrical outlets, and lighting. These types of changes add tremendously to the expense of a bathroom remodeling.

On the other hand, if you don’t need to relocate the sinks, toilets, tub and other fixtures, you can save a lot while still giving your bathroom a great new look. If the replacement fixture fits in the same area as the old fixture you will get a much bigger bang for your buck. The same goes for faucets and the like. If the new faucets have the same configuration as the existing faucet, replacement is much less labor intensive and more cost effective. Throw in new flooring or new paint and your new bathroom will look great for years to come!

The drum auger, also known as sink auger, drum auger or canister auger comes in handy when dealing with clogged drain repairs. The cup plunger is a must have and a very common plumbing tool in any home. It is shaped in a rubber cup form with a wooden handle and helps with unclogging showers, tubs and sinks.

The faucet valve seat wrench for typical compression faucets are the oldest styled faucets and least expensive. The faucet valve seat wrench comes handy in grabbing a nylon or rubber washer opposite a valve seat in faucet bodies. Teflon tape technically known as PTFE (PolyTetraFluoroEthylene) is a silky textured, strong tensioned tape breaks in a stringy style preventing leakages at threaded water line links, plumbing links, sealing pipe threading and shower heads. Teflon tape is typically white in color. The closet auger consists of a hand crank, a lengthy sleeve grip, and a strong auger bit at the end. A flexible shaft connects the auger bit to the crank handle, reaching about 3 feet. This tool will help with any stubborn clogs in the toilet drain line.

The flange plunger is a special shaped ball plunger comes in real handy in clearing congested toilets by applying vacuum and water force. Unlike a standard goblet shaped plunger used in tubs and sinks, this tool’s unique silhouette shuts the gap at the floor of a toilet bowl. A faucet valve reseating tool, also called the valve seat grinder or dresser, aides in smoothing out the valve seat of the faucet. The tube cutter is an ideal tool when working with copper pipes for smooth, well fixed joints. The adjustable pipe wrench, a quintessential plumbing tool, this provides incredible force and grip. The wrench tightens around pipes by jabbing its spiky saw–like teeth into the pipe with the pressure increasing on turning the wrench. Faucet packing and washers/compression faucets are still old fashioned with nylon/rubber washers with sealed faucet stems. Newer models come with rubber washer or O–rings for the stem–retaining nut.

A homeowner will usually have most, if not all, of these tools in their arsenal. These plumbing tools will make dealing with plumbing problems much easier for either a homeowner or professional plumbing contractors.

THE BASICS
When you flip the switch on your garbage disposal, blades start to spin to pulverize the food and debris you have thrown into it. Once pulverized enough, these articles flow downstream through your plumbing system as liquidized waste.  Since the blades of your garbage disposal are very fast and strong, an odor problem may arise when you try to grind up some item that gets stuck against the walls of the disposal. If allowed to remain in the disposal long enough (a few days), you’ll have quite an unpleasant odor on your hands.

CLEANING A STINKY GARBAGE DISPOSAL
Once odor has invaded, the simplest way to rid your garbage disposal of that odor is to fill the disposal with soap and water and flush it out.  To accomplish this task, stop up the sink where your disposal is located, fill your sink with enough soapy water to fill up the disposal, and then release the stopper while turning on your garbage disposal to have the disposal’s submerged blades spin the mixture around and hopefully dislodge the odor-producing gunk in your disposal.  If this is a successful procedure, you’ll notice an immediate improvement in the odor.

IF SOAP AND WATER DON’T WORK
If soap and water don’t clear the odor, try the same flushing procedure and use baking soda and vinegar (½ cup of baking soda plus ½ cup of vinegar added to water) to partially fill your sink.  Immediately following the last gurgle of the water going down the disposal, follow the mixture with boiling water. 

If the above measures are unsuccessful, contact experienced licensed plumber for a guaranteed solution to that garbage disposal clog or odor problem.

Blog Post provided by:  Marietta Garbage Disposal Plumbing service

Many homeowners dream of a bathroom make-over.  You need more space, more lighting, a larger bathtub or shower, or a new look.  Bathroom improvements don’t have to be costly to be worthwhile.

Some ideas that may prove useful in transforming your old bathroom into a stylish new one that won’t break the bank include:

· Freshen up your bathroom with a new coat of paint on walls and ceiling.  This is by far the least expensive bathroom make-over strategy.
· Remove old cracked, aged, and dirty caulking around your shower and/or tub with new caulk. 
· Purchase and install a new toilet.  With lots of toilet colors available, you’ll be able to coordinate your new toilet with other bathroom décor to create a new look.  Get a dual flush toilet and you’ll also be contributing to the preservation of the environment. A licensed plumber can help with the purchase and installation.
· Replace your old vanity with a new one.  Or, if that is too expensive, consider replacing the top of your vanity or sink.
· Add stylish new taps and a matching showerhead for a quick modernization of your old bathroom.
· Upgrade your light fixtures with some new, energy efficient and more stylish models.  You may have a hard time deciding on this one if you haven’t looked at light fixtures lately as the variety is almost overwhelming.
· Replace your worn and probably dulled shower door with a new clean door.  If you coordinate it with your new fixtures, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the result.
· Replace towel bars, your toilet paper holder, and shower rod.  These are available in multiple styles and materials so you’re sure to find one that will improve your bathroom’s appearance.
· Finish any upgrade or improvement with new towels, bathmats, and accessories to pull your room together.

Try some or all of these suggestions.  You’ll enjoy the process and the new bathroom.  Should you need the services of a qualified, licensed plumber during your bathroom make-over project, contact one of our plumbers at www.find-plumbers for an estimate.

Blog Post provided by:  Atlanta Bathroom Plumbing Specialist

There are two styles of washerless faucets available (single lever or two-handled) and three types of washerless faucets (ball, disc, and cartridge).

BALL FAUCETS
Having a free-moving handle that attaches to a rotating ball inside the faucet body, a ball faucet works when the rotation of a ball stops at a position where the ball aligns with the water flow of your hot water or cold water inlets to dispense water.  When the handle of one of these type faucets leaks, a tightening of the ring or replacement of the cam washer usually solves the problem.

DISC FAUCETS
Disc faucets have a ceramic disc assembly at their core.  These handles rarely wear out but leaks do develop when any of the faucet’s rubber seals become corroded.  With three rubber seals for hot, cold, and mixed water flow, you’ll need to remove and replace all three seals when leaks occur.

CARTRIDGE FAUCETS
Most cartridge faucets are of the single-handed variety and are easily identifiable by their narrow metal or plastic cartridge sitting inside its faucet body.  Cartridge faucets develop leaks when their O-rings or cartridge assembly becomes worn.  To alleviate these leaks, you’ll need to replace either or both of these parts.  The main thing to remember with a cartridge faucet is to make sure you replace the O-ring or cartridge assembly with an exact duplicate part; otherwise, you’ll still have a leak when you finish your repair job.

If you have a more extensive leaky faucet problem that isn’t solved by the above suggestions, contact qualified plumber contractor to take care of that leak for you.

Blog Post provided by:  Marietta Licensed Plumbers

Are you tired of wasting your time and energy solving your home’s plumbing system problems? Well, if you find yourself in such a situation, then you need to get in touch with a licensed plumber as soon as possible. However, if you have not faced any plumbing related problems yet, then do not wait till these problems catch up with you. There are plenty of things that you can do in order to avoid plumbing related problems in your home.

One of the most basic things that you can do in order to avoid plumbing problems is to make sure that you drain the hot water heater every now and then. One of the most common plumbing problems in households is the growth of sediments in the water heater over time. Sediments start to build up just after the hot water heater installation. A typical homeowner does not draining the water heater periodically. However, by draining it on a regular basis you would ensure that there are no accumulated sediments and save yourself from a very common plumbing headache.

Another very important thing which you can do is simply keep a check on the pipes and make sure that there is no leakage. Many plumbing problems are a result of a leakage in one of the pipes in the house. Keeping a check on the pipes on a regular basis also means that you would be able to repair the pipe in case you come across a leakage. This could be as simple as checking the fittings to make sure they are securely tightened.

Many homeowners, especially in the United States, follow most of the above suggestions and therefore, avoid situations where they have to worry and fret over plumbing issues.

A general issue faced by homeowners on a regular basis is a clogged sink. However, with the following tips, it will no longer be a Herculean task. First, check the kind of drain that is being used (i.e. – metal J–Trap kind or a PVC kind of tubing). Generally a J–Trap would create a 180 degree bend in the tubing causing a water clog between the sink and the remaining drain system of the house.

Next proceed to detach the drain stopper, which is normally done by lifting it up after turning it right or left to 90 degrees. Also, don’t forget to disconnect the pivot rod beneath the sink below the drain’s tail pipe. Now if the J–Trap is connected with couplings, it can be unscrewed either with your hands or with channel pliers, in case of tight ones, not to forget to put a bucket below the J–Trap to catch the stranded water. Having removed the couplings, now all you got to do is to slither down the J–Trap off the sink’s drain sleeve away from the rest of the house’s drain system.

After having emptied the contents of the J-Trap into the bucket, you can now remove the semi solid and solid culprits that were the reason for the clogged drain. Finally, using a brush or rag, thoroughly scrub the J-Trap. After taking these steps, you will have a free flowing sink drain.

Have you ever wondered how you would live in your home without a sewer or septic system? Well, don’t even try to imagine because the result would be so horrifying to say the least. Well, a sewer and septic system are an integral part of any household.

One of the most important advantages of both sewer and septic is the fact that they dispose off the human waste out of the home in a systematic manner. Human waste is biodegradable in nature. However, this human waste has to be disposed out of the home in a proper manner as this human waste is nothing but the dirt coming out of the body. Sewer and septic systems make sure that this dirt does not spoil the home.

Another very important advantage of sewer and septic systems is the fact that it also disposes off all the other household waste out of the home. This waste mainly consists of all the waste water which is left over after washing the clothes, utensils, your home, and also all the left over water after the process of cooking. Another advantage of sewer and septic systems is that kitchen waste water as well as bathroom waste water can cause clogged pipes in your plumbing system. However, a sewer and septic system makes sure that this does not happen and disposes the waste in a very sophisticated manner.

These reasons are why it is very important to make sure that your sewage and septic system is maintained properly to avoid any unwanted problems in your home.

Blog Post provided by:  Atlanta Sewer & Septic Plumbers

The wastewater disposal system is probably one of the oldest systems in the world. Infact, most of the experts believe that humans invented waste water and sanitation system many centuries ago. However, one can always argue for the fact that the methods and ways used during that era were completely different than what they are used today!! One of the most important differences between the methods used then and today is technology of course.

Many experts believe that the septic tank was first invented in France. The septic tank first came in use in the year 1860 and the credit of this discovery goes to John Mouras. John built a septic tank himself and placed it in the backyard of his home. He used the septic tank for as long as 10 years. Finally, after 10 years John decided to dismantle the septic tank. Many people in his town believed that the tank would still have all the solid human waste inside it. However, this was not to be the case. There was absolutely no solid waste in the septic tank when it was opened.

On the other hand the exact origin of the sewage system is not very clear. The sewage system was invented in more than a couple of places around the world and hence the exact origin is very difficult to trace. However, one of the first cities which started using the sewage system was Melbourne.

Melbourne is one of the biggest cities in Australia. By the year 1881 Melbourne was facing a pollution problem. At that time the sanitation system was extremely basic. All the human waste and other household waste was simply dumped into street channels which were open and then this waste was disposed off in the rivers. However, in 1897 the first sewage treatment plant started functioning in the city.

Blog Post provided by:  Mobile AL Sewer & Septic Plumbers