Category: Home Tips

Because of the record-breaking cold front, plumbers are having a difficult time meeting the demand for the services. Old pipes, water pipes and drain pipes have frozen.   Thousands of homes have been affected and a lot of families won’t have running water for the holidays. There’s going to be even more problems when thawing comes into play.

 

Don’t forget to call The Scottish Plumber for any of your plumbing and boiler needs this winter. We serve the whole Chicagoland area, including Villa Park, Joliet, Aurora, and of course, Chicago.

www.scottishplumber.com

Sewer Gas – Chicago & Suburbs

If you smell sewer gas in your home, you shouldn’t ignore it. Though It is a fairly common problem in Chicago area homes, and more often than not has a very simple solution, it could also be a sign of a more serious issue.

What Causes the Sewer Gas Smell?

The smell is caused by a gas called hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell) which can be dangerous even at low levels. It can affect both people and pets, and prolonged exposure to the gas can cause symptoms like headaches, dizziness, and sinus infections.

What Can I Do to Make the Smell Go Away?

Often, the smell is caused by something as simple as a dried-out trap in a floor drain, so the first thing you should do when you smell sewer gas is check any floor drains in the house to make sure that there is water visible at the bottom of the pipe.

That section of the pipe is called the trap, and it is designed to hold water and prevent gases and odors from traveling from the pipe into your home. If the trap is empty, pour a cup of water into the drain.

What If the Problem Persists?

If the problem continues, it could be a sign of a larger problem like a broken sewer or vent stack. At this point, you should contact The Scottish Plumber for a free assessment.

Our technicians are trained to track down the source of sewer gas and can often do so with just a visual (and nasal) inspection. But for the more difficult-to-track situations we use a process called a smoke test to safely locate the leak using non-toxic smoke.

How Do I Schedule an Appointment?

To schedule an appointment for a free assessment, give us a call at 888-451-6137, or click here.

 

Part 4 of 4: Plumbing Services

Some checkups are best done by professionals- but they’ll often save you from unexpected breakdowns and expensive repairs.

 

For snow birds – A professional plumbing winterization should be performed to keep your house safe from plumbing disasters while you are gone.  This will keep fixtures, water heaters etc form freezing if your furnace shuts off while you are away. Any unattended home should be winterized even if you have a working furnace you plan to leave on.  Make sure signs are placed on winterized toilets and other needed fixtures so someone does not inadvertently use them while you are gone.  Things happen and sometimes the furnace goes off – even if you only have no heat for 12-24 hours your homes pipes can freeze.

Old water heaters are a disaster waiting to happen. Replace them every 10 years (even this is not a guarantee they won’t fail).  Make sure to shut the water to them off if you are leaving the house for an extended vacation.  If your water heater breaks while you are gone it will be like leaving on a faucet on- pouring water onto the floor for however long you will be gone. Unfortunately we have gotten calls from snow birds that have come home to such disasters and insurance did not cover the damage! Always let your insurance person know that your home will be vacant for an extended period -no matter what the reason- and get the proper coverage.

 

Call a professional for any of the above listed maintenance if you are not capable of performing the maintenance yourself.  The Scottish Plumber can perform most of the above maintenance. Just do it and spend your vacation relaxing instead of worry about your home sweet home. We serve Hinsdale, Chicago, and the Chicagoland area.

 

Part 3 of 4: Appliances

Checking up on your home appliances and drains before the winter begins will wind up saving you time and money.

 

Old garbage disposers can cause clogged drains.  Disposer blades wear out over time so they no longer do a good job of grinding up food.  When chunks of food get into drains lines it’s only a matter of time before a clog forms. Replace garbage disposers older than 10 years.

If you have slow drains now have a preventative drain cleaning performed.  This will save you from the embarrassment of a clogged drain or sewer once the house fills up with holiday guests.

Always keep your garage door closed in the winter so frozen pipes do not occur in the ceiling or walls of the garage. This is a common problem when the winter winds decide to blow.

By taking a quick look around to make sure that everything is in order around the home, you will significantly decrease the likelihood of requiring emergency plumbing this winter. Stay warm, folks.

Part 2 of 4: Home Maintenance

Some basic maintenance around the home and garden will better protect your plumbing system against the cold.

 

Check gutters and downspouts for debris.  If there are leaves, twigs, etc. in them – clean them out or you will have a problem with ice dams on your roof.

Empty and turn any rain barrels upside down until the spring.

If you have had any rehab projects done over the summer -make sure to check for any openings that may have been left behind in the siding, which will allow freezing air to blow into.  When freezing air finds its way into your walls you will have problems with frozen pipes. Frozen pipes occur when it’s below 32 degrees with high winds. 

With these simple steps, you can save yourself a huge headache down the line.  To help prepare your home plumbing for the winter, give The Scottish Plumber a call. We serve Hinsdale, downtown Chicago –  the whole Chicago  metro area.

The Chicago area has had some cold weather lately- with temperatures averaging around 10-20 degrees Fahrenheit and wind chill factors bringing it below zero in the last couple weeks.  And with cold weather and especially chilling winds, comes frozen pipes.

It’s important to keep the water pipes in your home from freezing: frozen pipes can burst and cause thousands of dollars of damage in flooding and destroy drywall, furniture, flooring, and can even harm the foundation of a home.  If you turn on your tap and water does not come out or it’s in a very slow trickle, your pipes may be frozen.  If they have already burst and you have flooding, shut off your water main immediately and all gas or electric water appliances, such as a water heater, washer, or dishwasher, and call The Scottish Plumber immediately.

Do not attempt to thaw the pipes on your own- many fires are started in homes every year by attempts to thaw pipes with open flames or unattended electrical appliances.  Licensed plumbers have specialty pipe thawing equipment that is safe and more effective.

Follow these tips to prevent your pipes from freezing when temperatures get as low as they have been this winter:

1.  Close outside vents that can let in cold air: check your crawlspace, laundry room, and under the kitchen sink for open vents.
2. Make sure pipes along an exterior wall have access to the heat in the house. For example, if the water pipe for your kitchen sink is along an exterior wall of the house, keep the cabinet door open so heat from the house can enter the cabinet and warm the pipe.
3. When insulating pipes, make sure you insulate them between the cold outside of the house and the warmth from the inside of the house. Don’t put the insulation between the pipe and the indoors, which will block the heat from reaching it.
4. Check to see if you have water pipes on walls or ceilings/floors that are attached to the garage. The garage can get just as cold as the outside, so make sure these pipes are well-insulated.
5. At night, when temperatures drop and everyone is asleep and not running the faucets, pour a little table salt down the drain to keep the drain from freezing, and let a slow drip or trickle of water flow out of the faucet to keep the water moving.
6. Keep doors to crawlspaces open so heat from the rest of the home can enter the crawlspace and keep a pipe from freezing.
7. If you’re going on vacation or leaving the home for an extended period of time, don’t turn the heat completely off. Keep it from 55-60 degrees, and open all of the kitchen and bathroom cabinets, crawlspace doors, and make sure the basement also has access to the home’s heat.

Most of us in the Chicago area may have looked out our windows today and saw the first snow flurries of the season. It was a pretty sight to see the fluffy flurries fluttering through the air… and an even prettier sight to see that they weren’t really sticking to the ground…

With the temperatures dropping and snow in the air, it’s a good time to finish some last-minute winterizing around your house in regards to pipes and drains. It’s important to keep water out of exterior pipe systems that won’t be used in the winter because trapped water can freeze and expand, causing cracks and breaks and even bursting pipes.

After using the garden hose all summer, it’s easy to overlook it when the temperature drops and to leave it connected to an outdoor faucet or spigot. Don’t do this! Make sure you disconnect any garden hoses and tighten the faucet to be sure the water is turned off for the winter. If you leave a garden hose attached, a small amount of water can stay lodged in the pipe by the spigot and will quickly freeze. This ice can damage your faucet and pipe: so prevent a costly repair by disconnecting that hose today!