Tag: Rohrersville

Williamsport Plumber’s Guide: Reasons to Consider a Drain Tile System

Posted on by Larry & Sons

A drain tile system uses perforated pipes to move water away from the foundation of your Williamsport home. The primary reason for having a drain tile system installed is to prevent water from collecting in your basement.

Water can get into your basement in a number of ways, often through cracks in the foundation introduced during construction. Water in the soil or runoff from a hard rain may enter these cracks and accumulate in the basement. Water leaking from the underground water supply lines could also collect in your basement. You have little control over how much water is absorbed by soil or how much it rains, but you can prevent it from flooding the basement of your home.

When you have a tile drain system installed, or to be more specific, an exterior tile drain system installed, your home is protected from such leakages. The other reason for considering a drain tile system is to avoid water leakage from the walls. Water seeping out from cracks in the walls may collect at the points where the walls and the floors meet, causing moisture or humidity to build up in the basement. Over the years, this may cause significant damage. So the drain tile system is the most proficient method to protect the basement of your home from all sources of water.

How does it work?

Water will always follow the path of least resistance. Because of this, drain tile systems are made up of a collection of selectively perforated pipes. These pipes are installed along the path that water would take when heading towards your basement, so that when the water reaches the pipes, it will simple flow into the holes and follow the pipes away from your home. Basically, the water is redirected to a public drainage system through a sump pipe.

How a Williamsport Plumber Installs a Drain Tile System

  1. First, they dig a channel around your home using heavy equipment till you reach the foundation.
  2. Set a water filter to avoid blockage due to sediment.
  3. Seal up the ditch above the drain tile with washed gravel.
  4. Cover the ditch and the drain tile using the soil removed in step 1.

Because of the complicated nature of this procedure and the potential form problems to develop if it’s done incorrectly, it’s always good to have a Williamsport plumbing professional like Larry & Sons install the drain tile system for you. Call us today to learn more!

Hagerstown Plumbing Question: Why Does My Tub Faucet Leak when the Shower Is On?

Posted on by Larry & Sons

Here is a common and yet seemingly complex problem you can have with your Hagerstown plumbing. You turn on your shower, flip the switch to go from tub faucet to shower head and the tub faucet continues to leak. Not only is it rather irritating, but it draws from the water pressure in the shower head. Let’s take a look at why this happens and how to quickly fix it.

 Why the Leak?

There is a valve in your tub’s faucet that diverts water from the tub to the shower head when the switch or lever is pulled to turn on your shower. Because the valve is not a perfect seal, the tub faucet will drip a small amount during a shower. However, if a large amount of water is coming out of the tub faucet and very little is coming from your shower head, it is likely a problem with that valve.

In some cases, the only way to know the root of the problem is to take apart the assembly and check all of the valve parts individually for damage. The specifics of the repair process will depend largely on the type of shower and diverter valve you have.

Fixing the Problem

To fix this problem, a plumber can either replace part of or the entire shower diverter valve. They start by removing the faucet and pulling the screw that holds the shower diverter valve in place. Once the screw is removed, they take out the rubber washer and replace it. Many times, this is enough to fix the problem.

If it is not, however, you may need to have the entire shower diverter valve replaced. There are some situations that make it hard to reach the shower diverter valve, such as when you have a shower handle instead of a faucet knob. If this is the case, you may need special tools or professional assistance in removing the knob to access the valve.

Contact the Hagerstown plumbing professionals at Larry & Sons who are experienced in removing and replacing shower diverter valves.

Rohrersville Plumbing’s Guide: Signs of a Broken Water Line Outside the House

Posted on by Larry & Sons

If you have a leaky pipe inside your Rohrersville house, chances are you will notice it pretty quickly. Water seeping through the walls or the ceiling is a good indication that something is wrong and it is a hard thing to ignore. However, if there is a leak in your pipes outside of your home, it can be a bit harder to detect. Fortunately, there are some things you can keep an eye out for that will alert you if this does become a problem.

One of the first places to look for signs of a leak outside your home is your water bill. While your bill may not be exactly the same every month, chances are that it generally stays within a certain range. And if you use a ton of water one month for some reason, you will probably be aware of it. But if your water bill suddenly goes up for no reason that you can discern, there is reason to suspect that a leaky pipe somewhere is the culprit.

Keep in mind that unexplained puddles in your yard can also be an indication that a pipe underground is leaking. If you notice something like this, it is a good idea to call a professional plumber right away. Fixing underground pipe leaks is a challenging chore and requires special equipment that you most likely do not have lying around your home.

There are several reasons that leaks in your outdoor pipes can develop. For one thing, the pipes may be old or they may have been defective to begin with. Improper installation or shoddy workmanship can all lead to problems later on. As frustrating as it is, there is very little you can do except have the leaky pipes fixed.

No matter what caused the problem, though, or how you realize that it exists, it is important to get leaky outdoor pipes fixed right away. The problem will only continue to get worse if you do not act.

Rohrersville Water Treatment Question: What is the Difference Between Water Filtration and Water Softening?

Posted on by Larry & Sons

If you’ve ever considered installing a water filtration system for your Rohrersville home, you probably ran across water softening and wondered how this is different than normal filtration. The two are similar in that they improve the quality of your water, protecting both you and your home’s plumbing system. However, filtration and softening are two very different things and you may not need both of them.

Water Softening

Water softening is a process designed to minimize the impact of hard water on your home’s plumbing. Hard water occurs when certain minerals like iron and magnesium are present in high levels in your water supply. The problem occurs when those mineral settle on your fixtures and pipes, leaving behind a residue that builds over time and can block the pipes or ruin the fixtures.

Hard water isn’t generally dangerous to your health, but if it is bad enough, it can result in poor tasting water and will cost you money as it does an increasing volume of damage to the system. To fix the problem, you soften the water with a chemical treatment that keeps the minerals from settling on their way through. They simply go straight through the pipes and fixtures and no damage is done.

Water Filtration

Filtration on the other hand is designed to remove key contaminants from your water – things like sediment, bacteria, mold, nitrates, and arsenic – things that can actually cause harm to you and your family if not properly treated.

While water filtration is not the same as water softening, the two often go hand in hand. Not only does water softening have the potential to add unsafe levels of sodium to your water (which then needs to be removed through filtration), but usually when water is hard, there are other contaminants as well that can cause harm if left unchecked.

The only way to be truly sure of which problem you have and which solutions are best is to have a full test of your water supply done. This will help you determine which of the many water cleaning solutions on the market will be best for your Rohrersville home.