Design Comfort Blog: Archive for the ‘Plumbing’ Category

A Guide to Plumbing Maintenance

Monday, July 4th, 2022

family-at-kitchen-sinkWhether you’ve been in your home for decades and never had your plumbing inspected outside of the initial home inspection (which, by the way, doesn’t involve checking for everything that could impact your plumbing–such as your risk, of experiencing slab leaks or how old your pipes actually are) or you’re having plumbing newly installed, there is one thing we encourage you to keep in mind. This is, how important plumbing maintenance is.

Your plumbing system works hard to bring you many of today’s modern conveniences–warm showers, the ability to keep beautiful landscaping, the ability to cook and clean, etc. But without proper care, your plumbing system won’t be able to work reliably forever. But what does plumbing maintenance look like? Can you maintain your plumbing on your own?

Sure, there are definitely some plumbing maintenance tasks you can do on your own! We’ll outline these below. It’s also important, though, to trust the pros for the pig stuff. And that’s where we come in. Read on to learn more!

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How to Protect Your Kitchen Sink Drain and Garbage Disposal

Monday, May 9th, 2022

sink-drain-that-has-garbage-disposalBefore you decide to toss those potato skins down the drain, read this blog post. Although it is meant to be very convenient and easy to use, your garbage disposal system wasn’t designed to chew up everything you throw down it. There could be other items, too, that are bad for your kitchen sink in general.

Fortunately, you’re in luck! We’re here to provide homeowners just like you with expert guidance about what can and can’t go down the garbage disposal, and in doing so we hope to help you prevent some common plumbing problems. Read on to learn more!

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How to Avoid Problems with your Bathroom Remodel

Monday, October 11th, 2021

beautiful-bathroomIf you came across this blog post, then we’re going to guess that your bathroom doesn’t look the way you would like it too, right? Maybe it is not as functional as you think it could be, or perhaps you’re having trouble moving around the space with ease.

Depending on your specific scenario, a bathroom remodel can be a great idea! After all, aside from your kitchen, the bathrooms are often the most used rooms within a living space, and remodeling can give you a great new space.

But it’s very important that when you’re considering a bathroom remodel, you consider what that remodel means for the plumbing. Preparing and planning the right way for all components of your remodel job will make a huge difference in your results. There might even be things you haven’t consider at all about your bathroom plumbing. Read on to learn what they are and to avoid some of the most common problems with your bathroom remodel.

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Beware These Common Holiday-Time Plumbing Problems

Monday, November 23rd, 2020

older-couple-cooking-holiday-mealThe holiday season is upon us, and one thing is for sure—things are going to look different this year! However you choose to celebrate, the fact is that even if it is with your immediate family only, or perhaps your “quaranbubble,” you may very well have guests over and big meals to serve.

That said, we would like to help you enjoy your festivities, by providing you with some tips to avoid major problems with your home—namely, the plumbing system in your home. After all, is there a worse time of the year to deal with a plumbing emergency? Sure, plumbing problems are never convenient, but this is really not how we want our customers to end 2020!

Read on as we uncover a couple of common holiday plumbing woes and what you can do about them for a pain-free holiday season.

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How to Avoid Drain Clogs

Monday, June 22nd, 2020

sink-faucet-with-water-going-into-drainWhat do you think about when you hear the phrase, “plumbing problems”? if you’re like many homeowners, you probably immediately think about drain clogs or slow drains. Almost every homeowner at some point has run into the problem of a clogged drain, and this is a problem that impacts homes a few times a year.

Often, the instinct here is to reach for store-bought, chemical drain cleaners. Unfortunately, these drain cleaning “solutions” are very caustic and can actually eat away at the inside of your pipes, leading to unexpected needs for pipe replacement. Professional drain cleaning is the answer here—our plumbers have the tools and methods to effectively remove clogs and prevent them from coming back.

But what if you could prevent drain clogs? The good news is, you can! Keep reading as we uncover a few of the most common drain clog types and how you can avoid them.

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What You Can Do to Prevent Frozen Pipes

Monday, October 28th, 2019

icicles-hanging-from-pipeIf you’ve lived in the Holladay area through even just one winter, then you know we’re notorious for our cool and dry temperatures during the winter. You also, of course, know that colder weather comes with snow, and ice!

The development of ice means you need to move fast to protect and prepare your home before winter arrives in earnest. Do you have drafty doors allowing warm air to escape from your living space? Is your indoor air quality in good shape, or could you use a whole-house humidifier this season? Last but certainly not least, is your plumbing system prepared for the season? Just a couple of consecutive days of below 30°F temperatures can result in frozen pipes, which create a huge problem. We’re going to discuss below how you can prevent this, but first, why is it such an issue?

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How to Determine If You Need a Water Softener

Monday, October 14th, 2019

tapwater-flowing-into-sinkToday, most municipal water supplies have a heavy level of filtration and conditioning before they get to your home plumbing. And if you’re using ground water through a private well, then you may have your own water treatment system on-site to filter out contaminants. Something most homeowners don’t realize, however, is they may be missing protection from hard water.

What’s hard water, you ask? It’s water with a high level of minerals in it—namely, calcium, magnesium, and iron. They’re all harmless to ingest, but can do a whole lot of damage to your plumbing system over time. Hard water should be taken care of with a whole-house water softener right when the water enters the home, before it has a chance to put your pipes out of commission. Keep reading to learn some signs that you may be suffering from hard water, and therefore would benefit from a water softener!

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These are the Biggest Threats to Your Plumbing System

Monday, June 24th, 2019

plumber-using-wrench-to-fix-plumbingNo matter what time of the year it is, there is one system in our homes we use to stay comfortable—our plumbing system. Between your water heater, washing machine, dishwasher, and toilets, could you even imagine going without your plumbing system for a day?

This is why we stress how important it is for homeowners to take good care of their plumbing systems. It’s easy to forget. After all most of your pipes are hidden behind walls, beneath flooring, and in cabinets under sinks. But yearly maintenance from a trusted and reputable plumber will help ensure the entire system performs well and doesn’t suddenly fail on you throughout the years.

Of course, it’s up to you, as well, to avoid some of the biggest threats to your plumbing system. These include:

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Will Frozen Pipes Thaw On Their Own?

Monday, March 18th, 2019

pipe-with-icicles Yes, but you don’t necessarily want them to.

What do we mean by that? Well, frozen pipes lead to burst pipes. Most homeowners aren’t aware of this (unless they’ve experienced it already) but as the ice inside frozen pipes thaws out, the water caught between the ice and the closed faucet creates an increase in pressure within the pipe. This leads to your plumbing pipes shattering from the inside out.

Therefore, as temperatures warm in preparation for spring, right now is when you should be the most concerned about running into a plumbing problem.

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Now Is the Time to Check Your Sump Pump

Monday, February 4th, 2019

sump-pump-in-basementIn some areas of the country, homeowners have no idea what a sump pump even is, and they never really need to know. Their homes may be in a position that flooding is unlikely, or that their home doesn’t have a low enough point that it would be impacted—such as a basement or crawlspace.

We aren’t so fortunate though—flooding is an issue where we live and basements are prone to its impact. Spring temperatures begin thawing out the snow and can send water into your home faster than you know it. Fortunately, you needn’t look very far for professional Salt Lake City sump pump services. In the meantime, we want to help you perform a little sump pump maintenance on your own to make sure your home is ready for the change of seasons slowly but surely on its way!

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