How To Prevent Frozen Pipes

How To Prevent Frozen Pipes

With our recent chilly temperatures, common winter home problems may be at the forefront of your mind. Plumbing problems are never convenient, but not having hot water during the harsh winter months is the ultimate in inconvenient. Besides being inconvenient, frozen pipes can present serious compromises to the health, safety, and integrity of your family and your home and property! Frozen pipes can happen to you, even here in Georgia! 

Don’t get stuck with frozen pipes and no hot water this winter. Read on to find out how to prevent frozen pipes. 

how-to-prevent-frozen-pipes

How To Prevent Frozen Pipes- 

  1. Insulate pipes that are in colder areas of your home with foam.
  2. Wrap pipes that are at risk of freezing with heater tape.
  3. Seal any gaps in insulation near your pipes.
  4. Replace older plumbing.
  5. Call a professional plumber to reroute plumbing that is exposed to the elements.
  6. During particularly freezing temperatures, allow warm air to circulate around pipes in cooler areas of your home. This may mean opening cabinet doors or opening the door to your basement or your garage from your main living space.
  7. Consider keeping the temperature in your home slightly warmer than normal overnight when outside temperatures drop the most drastically.
  8. Turn on your faucets to allow a slow drip overnight. This will ensure that water continues to flow through your pipes.

Taking the necessary precautions to prevent frozen pipes is important, but its still not a guarantee that your pipes won’t freeze this winter. If you find that your pipes are frozen and you are without hot water, call a plumber immediately! Many times frozen pipes can be fixed easily and without resulting in any problems, but sometimes frozen pipes can cause major damage to your home and property.

For more information about the safety of you, your family, and your home during freezing winter temperatures, read more from the Red Cross.

For an emergency plumber in your area, call Masterflo Plumbing immediately at (678) 822-7095! We’re on call for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

How To: Unclog A Toilet

How To: Unclog A Toilet

No doubt about it- toilet clogs happen to all of us, and they’re always a nuisance! Toilet clogs are a fairly common plumbing problem that can happen with some frequency to everyone. Although you can always call a professional plumber, generally toilet clogs are a problem you can fix yourself. Here are a few helpful tips on how to unclog a toilet.

 

  1. Use a plunger. Whether you own or rent your home, you should always own a plunger! Plungers are readily available and are cheap, and having one can save your toilet from overflowing and causing water damage to your home. If you don’t have a plunger or you need a new one, purchase a sturdy, rubber plunger with a flange. These are the most effective at plunging clogged toilets. If its time to unclog a toilet and use your plunger, you can add some petroleum jelly around the rim of your plunger to make for an even better seal inside your toilet bowl. Plunge as vigorously as possible, but try not to splash! Usually, a few good plunges will have your toilet unclogged and working again. 
  2. Try the volcano. This isn’t as hard or as scary as it sounds. Baking soda and vinegar- ingredients that most of us already have on hand- are great for fixing a clogged toilet. Boil a large pot of water, then allow it to cool for a few minutes. While your water is cooling, add one cup of baking soda and two cups of white vinegar to your toilet. Then add the cooling water. If possible, let this mixture sit in your toilet for a few hours. This concoction should clear the clog. 
  3. Use some dish soap. Similar to the volcano method above, dish soap can also help unclog a toilet. Boil a large pot of water and allow it to cool. While the water is cooling, squirt a large amount of liquid dish soap into the bowl of the toilet. Once your water has cooled some and the dish soap has settled in your toilet bowl, pour the water into the toilet bowl. Try not to splash, but pour the water from approximately a foot above the toilet. The idea is to use the force of the water and the slipperiness of the dish soap to move the clog along.
  4.  Call a plumber. If these methods don’t work, call a professional plumber! No one wants to go too long without a working toilet.

If you’ve got a tough clog, don’t hesitate to call the professionals at Masterflo Plumbing today! We can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at (678) 822-7095 for all of your plumbing needs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

How To Caulk A Toilet

How To Caulk A Toilet 

After a long, hot, dry summer, cooler, rainy weather is finally here! Here in Cherokee County it seems as though we’ve gone straight from summer to winter, so many of us are spending less time outdoors. Since we’re all spending less time outside, its time to turn our focus indoors. More time indoors sometimes equals more DIY plumbing projects. Today we’re going to make your DIY plumbing list a little bit easier by talking about how to caulk a toilet. 

toilet-repair-services-canton-gaToilets should always be caulked to the floor in order to prevent any movement of the toilet. When a toilet moves, the wax seal could get broken and water can collect under the toilet and rot the floor. Oftentimes, homeowners will set a toilet and then caulk around the outside edge. This method generally isn’t strong enough to hold and it also leaves a large, visible line of caulk. Read on to find out how to caulk a toilet!

How To Caulk A Toilet

  • Set the toilet in place, making sure its square against the wall
  • Use masking tape to make an outline of the toilet on the floor
  • Remove the toilet and lay it on its side
  • Measure the depth and width of the gluing edge of the bowl
  • Use your caulk gun to apply caulk directly to the floor using the depth you measured in the previous step
  • Install the wax ring
  • Lower your toilet onto the floor
  • Stand on the toilet to make sure its properly adhered to the wax ring
  • Use a paper towel to clean up any extra caulk

If you find yourself with extra time on your hands and want to tackle a DIY plumbing project, our post should make it easy for you to learn how to caulk a toilet. For any plumbing projects you don’t want to tackle yourself or for any emergency plumbing problems, call Masterflo Plumbing today at (678) 822-7095!