FAQs
These are the most frequently asked plumbing related questions that we get from our customers. If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.
What is an Ejector Pump Used For?
Ejector pumps are used in situations where taking waste water to the sewer is not possible with gravity. The pump will take the water up to the sewer where gravity can take over. The discharge for this pump should be connected into at least a three inch pipe minimum. If this line is connected to a pipe for a kitchen, bathtub, shower, or bath sink, it will cause a gurgle when the pump is activated. Solution is to run the discharge to larger pipe.
What is a Sump Pump Used For?
Sump pump is a pump that should be monitored regularly. Its sole job is to keep the ground water under your home under control. If this fails your basement or crawlspace will flood. If the power goes out you will flood. Granted there are people that don’t even have a sump pump or they do have one but it never runs. You are few and far between. For the rest of you get a battery back up.
Why Should I Have a Back-Up Sump Pump?
Why Do Main Sewer Backups Occur?
Main sewer back ups occur most of the time due to roots. Most can be maintained by rodding the line periodically. Some sewer back ups are due to the village main is overwhelmed with rain water. If it’s raining it doesn’t hurt to contact the village. Main sewer back ups are when other fixtures in the house are affecting the floor drain and toilet or visa versa. Where the line is rodded from makes a huge difference. There is no substitute for a 6 inch outside clean out. Rodding from inside the house is messy and tough to remove some of the larger roots. These are the roots that will eventually cause damage to the sewer. Most of the bits we can fit through a 4 inch inside clean out are under sized for the 6 inch sewer outside. Only larger bit we get through the inside if we are lucky is collapsible, it can collapse over the roots rather than clearing them.
Why Should I Have an Outside Clean-out?
Outside clean outs are good for everyone. Keep the mess of rodding where it belongs. Gives the tech a better opening to send larger bits toward the issue. This can reduce the number of times you need to call to have the sewer rodded. If you have considered doing it but the pricing has you scared, you need to do two things. First, drive around in your neighborhood and see how many of your neighbors have one already. Second, call Center Guard Plumbing to have your line looked at. If you have questions try our live chat feature at the bottom of the screen. The guy that will survey your sewer also runs the live chat for the web site. Nice Easter egg for reading this far!
What Causes Pipes to Bang?
Water has momentum/ kinetic energy when flowing through your pipes. When a fixture suddenly shuts off like a toilet, ice maker, washing machine, or dishwasher, (there is more but thats a decent list for our purposes) the water wants to keep moving. This is why air chambers are installed and why it is very important to brace water pipe. It can also mean the expansion tank on the water heater has failed or is starting to fail. This will be for situations where the noise seemed to start out of nowhere, it could also cause the PRV on the water heater to start dumping water. The fix for pipe noise if the expansion tank is fine requires access to the pipes. This is fine if the noise can be traced to the unfinished basement or crawl space. But if its behind the drywall, it may need to be cut. If pipes can’t move they can’t make noise, the hot line needs to be braced with thermal expansion in mind or it can cause a tick as it heats up or cools down. Pipe can also be over braced pushing it against the wooden structure of the home causing a “tick”. PVC will act the same way as it heats up with tub/shower, dishwasher, or laundry water. The tick can be very hard to locate and fix.
