Chances are, you use at least a couple of gas-burning appliances in your home. Whether it’s a furnace, heater, or some other appliance, you probably rely on natural gas to keep part of your systems up and running. That’s all well and good, but it’s important that you be aware of the risks that it presents, as well. Read on to find out why it’s a good idea to install an earthquake emergency shutoff valve.
Saddleback Plumbing Heating & Air Blog: Archive for the ‘Plumbing’ Category
A Reminder That You Should Install an Earthquake Emergency Shutoff Valve
Monday, September 19th, 2016Why You Should Always Trust a Professional with Your Gas Piping Needs
Monday, March 28th, 2016Natural gas is a primary heating fuel in most homes in America, with good reason. It’s affordable, plentiful, and very good at generating a lot of heat. With the exception of some older homes, most living spaces are equipped with at least one or two appliances that rely on this natural gas to function. However, using gas does come with its inherent risks, which is why you should always trust a professional to handle your gas piping needs. Keep reading to learn more.
Signs That You Have a Plumbing Problem
Monday, March 7th, 2016One of the most frustrating things about a home plumbing system is how difficult it is to detect problems with it. Most of the system is hidden from view, and most plumbing problems are subtle enough in their early stages not to give off any symptoms. This leads to a lot of plumbing problems being discovered only after they’ve started inflicting massive damage to the surrounding area. However, if you know what to look for there are certain signs that you can find that indicate a need for plumbing repair.
The Problem With Slab Leaks
Friday, February 5th, 2016Leaks of any kind are bad news when it comes to your plumbing. They often go unnoticed for a long period of time, until they cause extensive water damage that marks their presence. That is, unless there’s a large rupture, which is more noticeable but causes just as much damage in a much shorter period of time. Slab leaks, however, are quite possibly the worst kind of leaks you can deal with in your home. Read on to find out more about slab leaks, and how to deal with them.
The Problem of Pinhole Leaks
Monday, September 28th, 2015Leaks have always been a problem for plumbing systems, and can never be fully prevented. However, the advent of copper pipes in the 1960’s was a huge step towards lessening the amount of leaks the average homeowner had to deal with. Copper pipes are highly resistant to rust, which was the number-one cause of leaks in the older iron pipes. However, copper pipes are not invincible. Let’s take a look at one of the biggest problems to afflict copper pipes: pinhole leaks.
Signs that You Might Have a Slab Leak
Monday, September 7th, 2015Slab leaks are one of the most damaging problems that can afflict a home’s plumbing. Unfortunately, they’re also one of the most difficult problems to detect and fix. The best way to protect against slab leaks is to keep an eye out for the signs that accompany them. The faster you can identify a warning sign that you have a slab leak, the faster you can have it repaired and the more damage you can prevent. Let’s take a look at some of the signs that you might have a slab leak.
Why You Should Install an Earthquake Emergency Shutoff Valve
Tuesday, August 11th, 2015Natural gas is a very big part of our society, far more than you probably realize. Every time you turn on a furnace, or a gas stove, or an oven, you’re making use of natural gas. Natural gas is so popular as a fuel type because it has a pretty high ratio of energy produced to the amount of gas burned. While this makes the highly combustible gas great for heating, it also makes it very dangerous under the wrong circumstances. That’s why you should install an earthquake emergency shutoff valve. Read on for more information on why earthquake emergency shutoff valves are necessary in Orange County, CA.
Why You Should Schedule Video Pipe Inspection at Least Once a Year
Monday, June 1st, 2015When your furnace or your air conditioner breaks down, you know it. The air stops flowing, or if it keeps flowing it’s the wrong temperature. Sometimes, the whole system may just refuse to start. With plumbing problems, however, it can be a lot harder to detect any symptoms. Sure, sometimes you may have a clogged drain or a burst pipe, but there are plenty of other common plumbing issues that can only be detected by actually examining the pipes. By the time these more subtle issues grow large enough to give off more identifiable symptoms, it is often too late to mitigate most of the damage. That’s why video pipe inspection is so important. Let’s take a look at what video pipe inspection is, and why you should schedule it at least once a year.
What to Do When Your Toilet Keeps Running
Wednesday, March 25th, 2015On average, the toilet accounts for a third of all indoor water use in a home. This is why it’s important that you make sure the toilets in your home receive attention from professional plumbers whenever they malfunction. If you let a problem like a toilet continually running go without repairs, you might end up with an enormous spike in your water bills. Worse, you might end up with a non-working toilet, which is never a pleasant situation.
At Saddleback Plumbing, we offer professional bathroom plumbing services in Mission Viejo, CA that will get any faulty toilet back in working order. Don’t try any DIY tricks beyond using a basic plunger: give us a call and we’ll see that you receive quality service, done fast and done right.
Is your toilet is running nonstop? Here’s what to do
If the toilet continues to run water into the bowl a few minutes after a flush, it could mean a variety of problems. Although the situation shouldn’t threaten your home with flooding or water damage, it will waste a great deal of water and needs to be dealt with right away.
The first thing to do is to flush the toilet again and see if the problem continues. If it does, turn off the water flow at the feed line so the toilet will not continue to waste water.
At this point, you’ll feel tempted to lift off the cover on the tank and attempt to figure out what’s causing the trouble. You should think twice about trying to tamper with the components in the tank, however, since it’s not always easy to determine the source of a malfunction. The problem could be with a tangled flapper chain, the float, a deteriorating flapper, or a defect in the fill valve. Some of these problems are easier to fix than others, but you don’t want to guess and end up trying to repair something that isn’t broken. If the problem lies inside the fill valve, repairing it is a job that requires professionals. In some cases, the whole overflow tube and flapper may need to be replaced, which is a tricky task that will require removing the entire tank to perform, and that’s something you only want a plumber to handle.
But in general, no matter what the trouble with the toilet is, you want to have a plumber investigate it and handle the repairs to make sure that they are done right. A plumber knows the correct parts for any necessary replacements and can take care of the job in a brief time. The next time your toilet starts to run without stopping and you need bathroom plumbing in Mission Viejo, CA, give Saddleback Plumbing a call and we will send one of our skilled plumbers to the rescue.
Why Am I Not Getting Enough Hot Water from My Water Heater?
Friday, March 20th, 2015You’ve been relying on the same water heater for years. It has always delivered the right amount of water to keep your family happy: every morning, everyone gets to enjoy a hot shower (as long as they don’t stay in too long). But then one day, the hot water starts to run out earlier. There is more of a rush not to be the last person to hop in the shower each morning. And perhaps you’ve started to notice the hot water running out at other times of the day.
What’s wrong? Does your water heater need to be replaced? Or does it only need repair work?
To answer these questions requires professional plumbers with experience repairing water heaters. You can call Saddleback Plumbing and talk to our experts in water heaters in Orange County, CA to find out if you need repair work—or a new water heater.
Water heater repairs
There are a number of malfunctions that can cause a water heater to start to lose its supply of hot water. One of the more common is a broken dip tube. The dip tube is responsible for drawing in cold, fresh water into the storage tank, and then depositing it at the bottom of the tank where it receives heat. If the dip tube breaks, it will mean the cold water will start to gather at the top of the tank, where the pump removes the rising heated water to distribute it through the house. If cold water starts to mix at the top of the tank, it will soon replace the hot water, making it seem as if the system is running out of heated water too quickly.
Another problem that can result in a loss of the hot water supply is trouble with the burners in a gas furnace. If the burners are not igniting or not receiving sufficient natural gas, they will struggle to warm up enough water for your needs. If you have an electric water heater, loss of hot water can occur if one of the two heating elements fail.
Water heater replacement
At a certain point, a water heater will simply start to work inefficiently due to age. If your water heater is at or past its manufacturer’s estimated lifespan and it starts to lose heating power, you should probably have it replaced. Consult with a water heater professional to make sure that this is the best choice.
Call Saddleback Plumbing today for answers about water heaters in Orange County, CA. We have more than 30 years of experience installing, repairing, and maintaining water heaters in the area.