Saddleback Plumbing Heating & Air Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Kitchen Plumbing’

How We Can Help Improve Your Kitchen Plumbing

Monday, August 22nd, 2022
kitchen-faucet-running

The kitchen doesn’t have the largest concentration of plumbing of any room in the house (that’s the bathroom), but it does have a variety of fixtures, appliances, and a complex network of freshwater pipes and drains. Handling repairs, replacements, new installations, and maintenance for kitchen plumbing is a large part of our job. Today, we want to tell you some of the ways that we can make your kitchen plumbing better.

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How Video Pipe Inspection Works for Kitchen Plumbing Repair

Wednesday, September 17th, 2014

Many people do not think much about the drains in their kitchens and how much they do on a daily basis. But your kitchen plumbing system makes it so that wastewater and food scraps move into the sewage system without any trouble. And without a functioning drain system, cooking and cleaning would be a lot more difficult. So when the drains clog in your kitchen, you want immediate repairs from a professional. But you shouldn’t choose just any plumber for the job. In this guide, we’ll look at why you should choose a company that relies on video pipe inspection for kitchen plumbing repair.

Video pipe inspection involves using a fiber optic cable with a small camera attached at the end. A technician pushes this camera into the pipes and views the live feed on a screen. This helps the plumber to find the precise location of clogs. This is important because some clogs require a different piece of equipment than others. It would not help for a plumber to use an auger that can only reach clogs close to the drain opening, when the blockage is actually deep within the sewer line.

With a fiber optic camera, a technician can also tell whether fat, oil, and grease (F.O.G.) affects your pipes. These substances may seem innocuous, but they may actually solidify and collect inside of the pipes until they clog. During video pipe inspection, a plumber may inform you of this problem. To be safe, always throw F.O.G. into a separate trash container.

Video pipe inspection may also tell you whether hard water poses a threat to your plumbing system. If your water has too many minerals such as calcium and magnesium in it, deposits may build along the insides of pipes. With video pipe inspection, the plumber can detect this and recommend solutions for your home, whether it’s pipe repair or a whole-home water treatment system.

When you need any kitchen plumbing services in Mission Viejo, CA, call the professionals at Saddleback Plumbing. We use video inspection to make sure your pipes are clear when we leave your home. Give us a call!

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How to Maintain Your Kitchen Garbage Disposal

Wednesday, August 20th, 2014

The garbage disposal is a convenience that few people think about until it runs into problems. But the garbage disposal is a useful appliance, and without it you may clog your drain more often, and cooking or cleaning may become more difficult. That’s why you should do everything in your power to keep your garbage disposal working its best.

The following tips can help you keep your garbage disposal in top shape so that it can last for years. If you do run into problems that require the services of a kitchen plumbing expert, be sure to call a professional, like the plumbers at Saddleback Plumbing in Irvine.

  • No non-food items: First and foremost, you should never put non-food items down the disposal, and this includes your hands! Non-food items can damage the disposal blades and clog your pipes. If you run into repair needs, be sure not to put any items down the drain, and call on a kitchen plumbing professional instead.
  • Small quantities only: The garbage disposal chops food into smaller pieces so that it can move down the drain easily with the rest of your home’s wastewater, but you should still break up larger food items to make the job easier for your unit and to avoid over-exhaustion.
  • Avoid these foods: There are many foods you should avoid putting into the disposal entirely. These include hard foods like popcorn, the hard shells of shellfish like crabs, and animal bones. You should also avoid fibrous foods like celery and corn husks, as well as any grease or oils.
  • Run cold water: Running cold water every time you use the garbage disposal can help break down oils so they’re easier to process.
  • Sharpen the blades: You can keep the blades of your unit sharp by throwing in a few handfuls of ice cubes occasionally.
  • Keep blades clean: You can also clean the blades by adding in some baking soda and vinegar or lemon juice.

These tips can help you get a longer lifespan out of your garbage disposal. But if the need for repairs or replacement comes up, call the professionals at Saddleback Plumbing for kitchen plumbing services in Irvine.

 

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3 Causes of Problems With My Kitchen Faucet

Thursday, June 12th, 2014

Your kitchen faucet is one of the most heavily used appliances in your home, and when it runs into trouble, you need to get it fixed immediately. Problems with your faucet can range from leaks to clogs to issues with water pressure, but here in Mission Viejo, CA, kitchen plumbing can always be fixed by trained experts. In most cases, you should always call in a plumber when you encounter an issue with your faucet, to ensure that it gets corrected efficiently. Here are 3 causes of problems with your kitchen faucet that you should look out for.

  • Food clogs. Not every piece of food should be rinsed away down the sink. Fibrous vegetable matter such as potato peelings can easily block the flow of water, as can chicken bones, peach pits and other hard materials. In particular, beware of hot grease or fat poured down the faucet. As it cools down in your metal pipes, it will solidify, and create a serious back-up. Plumbers can treat the problem with specialized equipment designed to correct the problem properly.
  • Leaks. Leaky faucets are a considerable nuisance, and while the causes can be simple, they need proper training to correct. The common cause of a leaky faucet is a faulty valve or washer in the faucet head, which means he head needs to be dismantled and then put back together with the replacement part in place. Leaks stemming from the pipes themselves – under the sink, for example, are more series and usually require the plumber to install a replacement length of pipe.
  • Backflow. Backflow in your kitchen faucet is usually caused by problems elsewhere in your plumbing, resulting in unbalanced pressure and contaminated water flowing back out of your faucet. It can be solved with the installation of safety valves to help equalize the pressure.

Here at Saddleback Plumbing, we can spot the causes of problems with your kitchen faucet, and make corrections with speed and efficiency. Kitchen plumbing needs to be handled by people in the know. Give us a call today; we’ll fix the problem right! We provide a wide array of professional plumbing services in Mission Viejo, CA.

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3 Upgrades for Your Kitchen Faucet

Friday, May 9th, 2014

Your kitchen is one of the busiest places in the house, and your plumbing needs to be ready for the task. Here in Lake Forest CA, kitchen plumbing needs to be ready for anything, from earthquakes to sudden dinner parties. But just because your faucet and other amenities have been working fine for years doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider taking advantage of new advancements and features available on the market. If you’re remodeling your kitchen or even just want a little change of pace, here are 3 upgrades for your kitchen faucet that you should consider.

  • Pullout spouts. Pullout spouts use a detachable faucet head, attached to a hose that allows you to extend it and then retract it back into the main faucet thanks to a counterweight in the mechanism. It helps lower splashing and allows you to get at every corner of the sink without difficulty.
  • Alternating streams. New faucet types offer buttons on the sides or top, allowing you to switch from a spray to a steady stream at will. The spray setting helps you washing the dishes and performing other cleaning functions, while the stream setting gives you a steady flow of water for cooking or drinking.
  • A stronger finish. Most sink finishes are fairly durable, but you may wish to change the finish for something to stand the test of time a little better. Alternately, you may wish to change the finish on your sink in order to better match other changes in your kitchen, such as remodeled cabinets or even just the purchase of a new refrigerator.

If you’re thinking about adding upgrades to your kitchen faucet, then contact the experts at Saddleback Plumbing for help. We can help you find a new sink that matches your needs, and that stays within whatever budget you have in mind. Kitchen plumbing needs to be both functional and aesthetic: working day in and day out without problems while still making your kitchen a pleasant and enjoyable place to be. For professional plumbing service in Lake Forest, CA, our plumbing experts are on call to help make your visions a reality. Call us today and let us show you what we can do!

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Can I Move My Sink During a Kitchen Plumbing Remodel?

Wednesday, February 19th, 2014

One of the best ways to enhance your home is with a full kitchen remodeling. The kitchen is often located near the center of a house, and will usually become an informal gathering place for family and guests.

Although the outer appearance of your kitchen will be on your mind during remodeling, how much of the vital hidden workings, the plumbing, can you change? Specifically, can you move your sink during a remodel, or must the remodeling work around the sink’s fixed location?

The simple answer is: Yes, you can move your sink during a plumbing remodel. But you’ll need special assistance with it.

Contact Saddleback Plumbing when you want extensive work on your kitchen plumbing by an exceptional plumbing service in Laguna Hills, CA during your remodel.

Everything and the kitchen sink

An experienced plumber will know all about how to plan moving a sink during a plumbing remodel. One of the key ideas during remodeling is to retain the kitchen’s “footprint,” that is, the basic layout (L-shape, U-shape, etc.). It is still possible to retain that footprint while moving one of the major appliances. In fact, some appliances can be shifted without changing their plumbing hook-up. A good example: you can have your sink moved to the other side of the dishwasher because the hookup for both doesn’t depend on whether the sink is on the left or the right of the dishwasher.

Consult with your plumbing professional regarding how you want to renovate to relocate the sink, and he or she can discuss the options for you that will work best with the remodel and how much the changes will cost. Often the plumber will have ideas for moving the sink that hadn’t occurred to you, and which will save time and money, as well as mesh easily with the plans of the remodelers.

Saddleback Plumbing can help you

If you do wish to move your sink during your upcoming kitchen plumbing remodel, have a professional plumber involved early on to work with the remodelers and determine the most effective way to move the sink. This will make the job easier for everyone and result in lower costs and a faster job. Contact Saddleback Plumbing when you want remodeling for your kitchen plumbing in Laguna Hills, CA.

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I Use My Kitchen a Lot: What Can I Do to Keep My Drains Working Well?

Sunday, November 17th, 2013

If you spend a large amount of time in the kitchen, you don’t want to encounter troubles with the drains. Clogs, leaks, or bad odors in the drains can turn into nightmares if they don’t get repaired quickly. But prevention is always the best way to deal with these problems, so what steps can you take to keep your drains in good condition?

Our kitchen plumbing experts at Saddleback Plumbing have some tips for you. When you need further help with your kitchen plumbing in Ladera Ranch, CA, contact us.

  • Do not abuse your disposal! If you are in the kitchen many hours during the day, you are probably putting a large amount of food waste down the disposal, which links into your drainpipes. Although the disposal seems like a magical machine that can make anything vanish, it does have limitations you should be aware of. A good rule of thumb: if you can’t chew it, your disposal can’t either. So don’t put bones or unpopped popcorn kernels or inorganic garbage into them, because it will lead to junk clogging your drains.
  • Do not pour oil/grease/fat down the drains! And this includes the disposal. Although the liquid form of oil, grease, and fat seems innocuous enough, it is one of the most dangerous things you can pour down any sink in the house. Once the liquid form cools off, it congeals into a thick, waxy substance that will block off the drains.
  • Do have regular maintenance done! Problems can develop in your drainpipes and the rest of your kitchen plumbing out of your sight: corrosion, loose connections, pinhole leaks. With regular maintenance, you’ll find out about places where clogs have started to build up and sections of the pipe need replacement. A regular drain cleaning will keep the water flowing free through the drain pipes.

We know that having a working kitchen means a lot to you, especially if cooking is more than a necessity, but also a joy and a hobby. Following these steps will help make the kitchen the wonderful place you need it to be. Saddleback Plumbing has a MVP Preventive Plumbing Inspection program that will help keep your kitchen’s drains working well—as well as all the other parts of your kitchen’s plumbing system.

If you need any type of plumbing services in Ladera Ranch, CA, we can answer the call as well with fast and professional service.

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Ways of Improving Your Rancho Santa Margarita Kitchen Plumbing

Monday, August 12th, 2013

Your kitchen is one of the most used and important rooms in your home. Whether you’re cooking or cleaning your kitchen’s plumbing system gets a ton of use as well. Homeowners are always looking for ways to improve their comfort and we often get asked about what ways people can improve the functioning of their kitchen’s plumbing. We thought it would be good to put together a few things that you can do to improve the operation of your kitchen plumbing.

Give us a call here at Saddleback Plumbing, Inc. if you need Rancho Santa Margarita kitchen plumbing or if you have any questions for our expert plumbers.

Rancho Santa Margarita Kitchen Plumbing Upgrades

Here are some of the things that homeowners can do to keep their kitchen plumbing system working well.

  • Get regular cleaning – Probably one of the best ways that you can keep your plumbing system working well is to get it regularly inspected and maintained. Usually, kitchen plumbing issues like clogs and leaks develop slowly over time. Getting regular maintenance visits will allow your plumber to find those problems and fix them before they actually turn into full-blown repairs.
  • Get professional installation – Another important thing for homeowners to do is to make sure that their plumbing system gets installed by a professional plumber. Poor installation is one of the most common causes of plumbing issues that we see. If you’re remodeling your kitchen or building a new kitchen make sure that you get the plumbing system installed by a trained plumber.
  • Protect your plumbing – Many people assume that because their kitchen’s drain has a garbage disposal that they can put whatever they want down it. However, this is usually not the case. Things like melted fat, fruit pits, animals bones, starchy foods and stringy foods (celery) shouldn’t be put down your garbage disposal as they can cause issues in your drain.

Whenever you need any kind of Rancho Santa Margarita kitchen plumbing installation, repair or maintenance the experts at Saddleback Plumbing, Inc. are here to help.

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Plumbing Tip: Why Proper Drain Installation is Important

Monday, October 22nd, 2012

The drain and sewer system in your home is a very important component of residential plumbing systems. It is the one system that is responsible for removing the waste water from your home to ensure that your home environment remains sanitary. Not only does this system include the drain lines and main sewer line, but there are other components that are integral to this process.

The plumbing experts at Saddleback Plumbing, Heating, & Air Conditioning are committed to educating our customers about their plumbing system and why it is important to have it properly installed and maintained. We’ve included a list of the main parts of the drainage system in your home and how each of these components work together to make sure that your plumbing system is effective and worry free.

Drain Lines

The drain lines in your home should be able to remove heavy volumes of waste water from your home. That’s why it is imperative that they do so without getting clogged by materials, such as paper products or food waste. While homeowners can help by being careful about what they put down the drains or flush down the toilets, the installation of the drain and sewer system also plays a role in waste management for your home.

The plumber who installs the system should take into consideration the number of bathrooms and kitchen plumbing appliances you have, the age of your pipes for additions, and other considerations that are related to the layout of your home and local plumbing codes. These calculations will help to prevent any issues with the drain system in your home.

Sump Pumps

The drainage inside your home is just as important as the outside drainage, which includes sump pumps in some areas. Sump pumps remove any groundwater that gets into the lower parts of your home, and in areas prone to flooding, this is an essential part of preventing water damage. If you decide that you need an outdoor drainage solution for problems related to heavy groundwater, we install and maintain sump pumps and can create a custom plan fitted to your situation.

Proper installation applies whether you are adding a new fixture, a full bathroom, kitchen, or whether you are simply replacing any part of your existing drain and sewer system.

Call the professional plumbers at Saddleback Plumbing, Heating, & Air Conditioning for all plumbing needs in Irvine, CA!

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Common Kitchen Plumbing Problems in Orange County

Monday, July 30th, 2012

Below are some of the most common kitchen plumbing problems in homes.  These tend to be the kitchen plumbing problems that we get the most repair calls for, and they can be quickly handled by our professional plumbing repair or plumbing replacement services.

  • Clogged or Broken Garbage Disposals:  Clogged or broken garbage disposals are high on the list.  This is normally because of something which should not be in the garbage disposal, or possibly that the garbage disposal broke due to age.
  • Leaking or Blocked Faucets:  Faucet leaks can be because of broken internal seals or washers.  Blocked faucets can indicate an issue with an aerator that has gotten blocked with debris in the water lines.
  • Clogged Drains:  Drain clogs can occur because of foreign objects that have managed to make their way into the drain, food which was not properly cut up by the garbage disposal, or cooking grease or other oils that have clogged the pipes.
  • Noisy or Leaky Dishwashers:  Noisy dishwashers that make thumping or other loud noises tend to indicate problems with an internal part, such as an inlet valve which needs to be replaced.  Leaking dishwashers could have loose or broken hoses, or a defective pumps seal.

As a professional plumbing company in Orange County, Saddleback Plumbing has a team of licensed plumbers who are highly skilled and have years of hands-on experience in dealing with all sorts of kitchen plumbing problems.  Let us ensure that you receive quality plumbing services, from the most common kitchen plumbing problems with garbage disposals, faucets, drains and dishwashers to kitchen plumbing replacement or repiping.

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