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Drain repair is one of the least glamorous subjects to approach within the scope of home improvement. However, it is right up there with all the other number one most important things to know about home care.
The bottom line is always money. A leaky drain or faucet, especially one that is not obvious, can cost hundreds of dollars in water waste. An interesting fact is that a faucet that drips only two times every minute could waste up to a gallon of water in a week’s time. Transferred into dollars, that will add a big expense to the water bill for water that was virtually wasted. A leak in the pipes connected with a toilet could be a major problem, since 38% of a typical home’s water usage is the flushing of the toilet. If a homeowner even suspects that there could be a leak somewhere in the line, they should not waste any time in finding a plumber.
There are many do it yourself tasks to be done around the house, and most people take full advantage of learning to make minor repairs on their own. However, when there are plumbing issues, for instance drain repair or leaky pipes, it is probably a good idea to contact a good commercial plumbing contractor. When inspecting a possible water leak connected to the toilet, a homeowner might consider the possibility of installing a toilet with a low flush feature. These types of toilets actually save up to 18,000 gallons of water every year, a tremendous savings on the water bill.
A low flush toilet, also labeled a high efficiency toilet, uses only 4.8 liters of water with each flush, whereas, other toilets will typically use as many as six liters, or even more, every time they are flushed. In order to replace an old toilet with a low flush toilet, the entire plumbing system needs to be looked at to determine whether or not the age of the pipes will handle the new fixtures that would be necessary for the switch.
If a homeowner enlists the services of a professional plumbing contractor who, after investigating the system, feels that the home’s plumbing will not be able to handle a low flush toilet, another option is to install a pressure assisted flush. A compressed air tank is installed into the toilet tank which is charged with water pressure. When the toilet is flushed, compressed air is quickly released, forcing the water down the drain and into the sewer fast so that waste is carried away. Even if a low flush toilet is not a viable option for a home and a system with a pressure assisted flush is the decision, there is still a good 20% rise in efficiency.
A very interesting fact that relates to plumbing is that copper piping is the number one choice material used in today’s plumbing systems. What is amazing about this is that copper was the choice material used by the Egyptians when putting down their own pipes all of 3000 years ago. This must be where the expression if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it comes from!
When people think about drain repair, it is common for the mind to go directly to indoor plumbing, specifically, sinks, bathtubs, and toilets. However, there is also another, very standard drain located on the roof of a home. A roof drain is installed to redirect water caused by storms to a storm drainage sewer. There are several ways this can be done. The first way encompasses the storm water entering the roof drain; from there it goes into the storm drainage sewer, and eventually ends up in the main sewer system of the city or town. Another way a roof drain works is by taking the water from the drain right into a reservoir or retention pond. Lastly, storm water will go down the roof drain, through the storm drainage piping, and will end up on the ground where it will eventually evaporate. When a roof drain becomes clogged, it does not need what would be thought of as typical drain repair. It is usually done by a roofing contractor, rather than a plumbing contractor.
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