Drainage problems are no match for a good plumber

Plumbing is one of those systems we often take for granted, until something stops working. Take, for example, drainage problems in your sinks, toilets and sewer lines all need to flow freely and usually can’t wait to be fixed.

What to know about plumbing and drainage problems

Mike Karpata with Bumble Bee Plumbing says that, for internal plumbing, there are two types of drain lines within the confines of your home. Some pipes are visible and accessible while others are hidden beneath floors or behind walls.

• Exposed piping can have a clog in the trap. Take the trap apart, clean it, and that problem may be solved. If there is a clog in the line, it can be cut out and the pipe replaced. These are some of the more obvious fixes.
• Inaccessible drains and pipes: How are these repaired? Mike says that while more challenging, they do have ways to locate and repair hard-to-access, damaged piping. There is a process.

Mike starts with a camera dropped into the line from an accessible point. The camera will show them what the problem is. It could be a line break, root intrusion into the main sewer, or a blockage.

• Clogs: Once the plumber knows the cause of the problem, the fix can be addressed. Rooting out the tree roots or other blockages is the obvious fix.
• Breaks: What about line breaks that are not readily accessible, like an under-slab line break or a line buried in the yard? What now?

Methods you should know about

The conventional way to repair underground plumbing has been both invasive and expensive. This method starts with tearing up whatever is covering the broken pipe. The pipes can be located outside the home, which involves tearing up the landscape, or inside, requiring the removal of floor covering and saw cutting the floor slab.

The repair costs for the broken plumbing can add up if the slab, floor covering, or landscape need to be repaired as well. That is on top of several days of not being able to use that part of your home.

A better way: Bumble Bee Plumbing offers a solution that minimizes disruption to your property and lifestyle, being both less invasive and more cost-effective. Mike told us about a sewer or pipelining process that can be completed without tearing it up. Here is the process:

First, use the camera to determine where a break or root intrusion is occurring.

Next, remove the roots or any debris that is blocking the pipe.

Take the fabric sleeve product soaked in epoxy, insert it into the line, and under pressure, it coats the pipe walls, sealing them after the epoxy hardens.

Hidden leaks

Another concerning problem is a leak that is not visible because there is no visible dripping or pooling of water. So, how does one know there is a leak?

Close-up of a receipt

The simple answer is to watch your water bills each month for unexpected increases. If your water usage has remained consistent and the amount of water you use has increased, you may have a leak.

According to Mike, finding the source of an unknown leak, while challenging, is quite doable.

Searching for the source of a hidden leak involves temporarily isolating each of your home’s systems, including landscape, pool, and household systems.

When a system is drained of water, air pressure can be introduced, and a pressure valve will indicate if there is an air leak. Where air can leak, so can water.

Using this process, a leak source can be determined. It may take some sleuthing, but Mike assures us it is possible.

So, what frustrates a plumber?

Since plumbers are so good at figuring these things out, we wondered what some of the frustrating aspects of plumbing repairs are.

Mike was quick to point out that any reputable plumbing company has a primary goal: a satisfied customer. There are a number of situations that occur where a company will send out a tech in response to a customer’s perceived plumbing problem. Upon arrival the tech finds the problem is due to something not plumbing related.

An example might be a service call for a water heater that is not working. The plumbing tech comes out, and lo and behold, the reason it isn’t working is electrical, not the water heater failing. The good news is that the heater probably doesn’t need to be replaced.

Here’s one more thing you should know

The frustrating part is that the plumber is not licensed to repair the electrical issue, and the homeowner now needs to engage another contractor to address the problem. This situation frustrates the plumbing company because the customer has not been taken care of.

Often, plumbers acquire licenses in other areas of home repair to provide repairs in those areas as well.

Another frustrating circumstance is when a tech is called out to repair some facet of a home plumbing system that is caused by a lack of maintenance.

A solution that several of our Rosie Certified Partner companies have instituted is an annual maintenance contract. This type of contract is a yearly renewable contract for plumbing, HVAC, or electrical services, where professionals visit your home regularly to thoroughly inspect and report on the status of your home systems. This practice can save homeowners a lot of headaches and dollars.

Mike’s annual maintenance is called the Bumble Bee Club. Check it out on their website.

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