FAQ

As helpful as it would be, plumbing problems don’t just occur during regular business hours. When leaks and clogs present themselves on the weekend or the middle of the night, you must determine if it constitutes a call to your SJS emergency plumber. Each homeowner will ultimately decide what ranks as an emergency, but our checklist can help: Does the problem only affect one faucet, drain, or shower? If the problem is secluded to only one pipe, it can likely wait until Monday morning. Can you shut off a water valve to make the problem stop? If you can pause the problem temporarily, wait until normal business hours to call the plumber. Does the water work? If your water is completely shut off (and it’s not a municipality problem) call the emergency plumber. Is flooding occuring? If a burst pipe or water main break is causing flooding in or outside of your home, you’re dealing with an emergency.

Drain cleaners on the shelf – they might work like a charm and the problem will be solved. Other times, however, it barely works against the clog to get it out of the pipes and a plumber is required. It solves the problem but sometimes warns that using a liquid cleaner can damage your pipes. Liquid drain cleaners are chemical or enzymatic based. They burn or eat obstructions in the drains. Enzymatic cleaners essentially digest the blockage and rarely cause damage to the pipes. Chemical cleaners work because of their reactive nature. The interaction of the chemical with the material causing clogging creates a gaseous heat to burn it. When gases burn through the plug, they can also burn through the pipes or fittings of your plumbing system. Houses have pipes made of several different substances. Galvanized steel, copper, and PVC plastic are the most common.

Poor water pressure is often caused by clogged pipes and may also be due to reduced pressure in the water line due to leaks, equipment failures, or blocked service hoses, but most faucets are equipped with a water limiter. For new faucets, the pressure may be lower than the old faucets could provide. When it comes to an old installation, the truth is that we get used to the pressure of the shower faucet and maybe we do not realize that we have only a thin trickle of water and we think it is enough. Contact our professional plumbers if you cannot fix the issue on your own.

If your toilet is clogged you can normally get it back to normal by using a plunger or a bucket of hot water. Make sure to check that there is water in the cistern before trying to flush. If you are unable to get your toilet flushing after using a plunger and hot water or your cistern isn’t filling up with water then we recommend calling your local plumber to come out and take a look.