How Do I Know If There Is A Grease Clog In The Kitchen Line?

Posted on October 2, 2020 | by JD Precision Plumbing & Air

Grease clog in kitchen line illustration, before and after plumbing solution.

It is almost impossible to know if it is a grease clog without getting a look in the pipes themselves. Without the proper tools it will be hard to determine if the clog in your kitchen sink is grease clog or food clog. Check out this link for more information of what causes kitchen clogs.

We recommend never putting grease type products down the drain, but it does end up happening sometimes and there are solutions!

Should I Use A Liquid Drain Cleaner?

There are many reasons we never recommend a liquid drain cleaner, it could potentially poorly effect your fixtures, your skin, lungs, and might not even work. Check out this page about safety risks associated with using these products.

Is There A Natural Option To Drain Cleaning?

Short term, yes!
Long term, no..

Combinations like those found here are great all natural solutions

Mixtures like salt and baking soda or vinegar and baking soda will work for simple problems, but if you have a grease build up that’s been growing for years a natural product like these will not be the forever solution for you. As long as there is grease in the pipe the accumulation of build up will continue to come back time again.

What Are The Long Term Kitchen Grease Clog Solutions?

Cabling the line will be able to break through the problem most times, but if it break through the build up it may leave the residue on the sides of the pipe. If you hire a plumber to cable the line for you they will be able to cable in a fashion that will get more of the grease of the sides of the pipes giving you a better chance of the problem leaving, but even still-as long as there is grease on the sides of the pipe there is a chance more grease will attach to that grease and cause the same problem for you over time.

What is The Best Solution To A Kitchen Sink Grease Clog?

Best option is to have it hydro-jetted! A jetting machine will use 4,000 psi to remove every single thing in your pipe! This will remove the problem completely. Click here to learn more!

Why Does My Shower Back Up When I Flush The Toilet?

Posted on September 28, 2020 | by JD Precision Plumbing & Air

Why Does My Shower Back Up When I Flush The Toilet?

Sometimes you get a back up when you flush the toilet because there is a clog in the main line or the branch line having to do with both that toilet and the nearest shower.

Main Lines are the sewer pipes that take all the waste from your entire homes plumbing to the city sewer or septic system.

Branch line is the sewer pipe that connects one plumbing fixtures sewer line to another on its way to the main sewer line. It has this name because some sewer piping under homes looks like a tree.

You know it is the main line if you go to another bathroom and turn the water on and see that the shower once again has a back up.

You know its the branch line if you turn water on elsewhere in the house and the backup does not occur. When you've narrowed the problem down to the branch line it could be the fixture itself with a backup or it could be anywhere in the branch line between the fixture and the place where this line connects to the main line.

What is a clog?

A clog is a shoe with a wooden sole. For more info on that go here: https://didyouknowfashion.com/the-evolution-of-the-wooden-clog/

But, seriously, a clog is officially an encumbrance or impediment. In the plumbing world a clog is a mass of waste/debris built up hindering the water and sewage from traveling down to the city sewer pipes, also called a backup.

What causes a shower back up?

A clog can be caused by many things from something other than human waste going down the drain to something being wrong with the sewer drain lines themselves- for more detailed information on what could be causing the clog visit our sewer backup page.

What can be done to fix the shower back up?

The smallest fix would be cabling the sewer line from the shower drain line if possible to clear any debris that is causing the back up. After cabling the line we recommend putting a sewer camera down the line to ensure the problem is gone for good. Worst case scenario would be something wrong with the sewer line itself. To learn more about our camera inspection services please click here.

Clogged A/C Line, Should I Hire An A/C Technician Or A Plumber?

Posted on September 28, 2020 | by JD Precision Plumbing & Air

Man pondering who to hire for A/C drain line plumbing issues.

If you find yourself with a clogged A/C line wondering whether to call an A/C technician or a plumber, this page will help you answer that question! Do you find yourself in any of the following situations?

My sink fills up by itself.
There is water leaking out the side of my house near the roof.
Water is coming from the ceiling.
I have a backup only in my bathroom sink.
If you are in one of these situations, you may very well have a clogged A/C line.

How Do You Know It's an A/C Drain Line Back Up?

If it hits the three C's, you can almost guarantee it is an A? drain line clog.

AC drain lines become clogged when a buildup of dirt or algae collects from the AC system. This may start out unnoticeably small, but it builds up over time.

People don't always know who to call because you are dealing with water and piping, which is usually a plumber's domain, but it is a problem caused by the A/C line that was installed by your A/C company.

Why Should I Call A Plumber Instead of an A/C Technician?

An A/C technician will be able to blow the line to get rid of the buildup causing the stoppage, but if the pipe is bigger than the 3/4 inch drain line, the A/C technician is not going to have the tools needed to tackle the larger problem and is going to recommend you call a plumber.

Calling a plumber first could save you from paying extra fees other companies may charge, like a trip fee or estimating fees.

If you call a plumber, we will most likely blow the line just the way an a/c tech would- but once we blow the line, it could cause the buildup to gather in the p-trap of your sink. If this buildup gathers in the p-trap, it will cause your drains to slow or back up altogether. At this point, we, as plumbers, are equipped to handle the new problem of the p-trap having a clog. Click here to learn more about our drain cleaning services. https://www.jdprecisionplumbing.com/plumbing/drain-cleaning/

PREVENTATIVE TIP

Add 1 cup of blean once a month during the hot summer months. It will help eat away the algae. See the video below to help find where to put the cup of bleach at the A/C unit.

Why Is My Toilet Overflowing?

Posted on September 10, 2020 | by JD Precision Plumbing & Air

We had a customer call in our office with the problem of a spare toilet overflowing. She said even when her husband turned the main water off to the entire home the toilet was overflowing out of the bowl and even seeping out of the base of the toilet, between the toilet and the floor.

Anytime something is coming out of the bowl the only explanation is a toilet clog. Our dispatch team knew instantly to send a technician with a toilet auger.

cleared out toilet — Toilet after cable was put through to clear line.

Photo showing the stoppage after a simple toilet paper test.

When he arrived he ran the toilet auger and was able to remove the blockage. We always like to check our work, so he followed that up by flushing some toilet paper down the toilet. Not too much, just about as much as any average flush. When our technician did this test- the toilet backed up again immediately.

Having another backup immediately after clearing the line is an indication that there is a bigger problem than just a simple tissue blockage.

The technician then pulled the toilet from the floor and called in a drain specialist. Our drain specialist arrived on the scene with his sewer camera.

This is a special tool with a camera on the end of a long reel that can go into the sewer line to show us exactly what we're looking at under the home. To learn more about this click this link.

When he put the camera in the line you can see here in the video, he saw water standing in the pipe.

In a typical homes sewer pipe you should not be able to see any water standing, but this was about 4 inches of water standing in at least 25 feet of this families line under their home. We knew from just looking at it the problem was a belly in the line. A belly in the line is most likely caused by a foundational shift. To learn more about the things that cause backups click here.

gap between drit and foundation — In this after photo of the new sewer line you see the black shadow showing the separation between the foundation and the clay under home.

Once we explained to the homeowners what exactly was going on and had the OK we hired a professional excavator team to dig under her home giving us a 39 foot working space. When these excavators had performed their job you could see 6 inches between the base of the foundation and the clay under the home. See photo to the right.

There is no denying at this point that there is definitely a foundation issue. Because of the excavation we had to do in order to access the pipes we were able to alert the homeowner to the larger problem that was the foundation issue so they could address it properly.

To make sure that our repair stands the test of time regardless of what is happening to the foundation in the future we use a special type of hanger to secure the pipe to the foundation itself. This secures the pipe from moving up or down, as opposed to the other option to use a hanger that only prevents a downward motion, our team here at JD precision knows these tend to fail so we avoid using the teardrop hanger. After we laid the new pipe and secured this pipe with the hangers we installed two additional clean outs for any future issues that may arise so that the homeowner will not have to tunnel under the home for any clogs.

If you believe this might be a problem you are experiencing, if you find your toilet overflowing constantly or just occasionally, in your home please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We are always a call or text away, or if you'd rather have us reach out to you please fill out the schedule now form and our office will call you!

Why Was The Toilet Clogging Up?

Posted on September 3, 2020 | by JD Precision Plumbing & Air

I want to walk you through a recent call for a toilet clog that we received here in the JD Precision Plumbing office. A woman called stating that her toilet is continuously backing up which, which can be a big problem.

When we came out we pulled the toilet and put a snake down the drain line. This snake is like a big coil machine and it's pretty strong. It has these devices on the end that can get through whatever it needs to get through in the sewer line.

After the plumber cleared the blockage we wanted to get to the root of the problem for her. Because there is almost always a bigger issue than just a simple toilet clog.

We took the sewer camera, which is very similar in appearance to the snake just not quite as hardcore. When we stuck that down the toilet sewer line we were able to see in this woman's sewer line exactly where there was build up.

You can imagine what was being flushed in the average families toilet, and that is what was there. When our technician saw the image on the screen he saw a crack in her sewer line. Upon further examination hes saw that he could get the camera to actually go through a crack! When he got the camera down there he was able to see the seepage, the toilet paper, and the debris was supposed to be going through to the city sewage system.

In this families case the crack was large enough that the sewage was getting out under the foundation which is a huge problem. If this goes untreated and the family continues to use this toilet for years that's a big problem. So obviously something needs to be done but the question now arises where is the problem occurring?

Here is the crack in the PVC causing the toilet clog!

Here is the photo we took with the camera of under her foundation!

We actually have technology that we call a locator, we leave the camera end at the point of the problem and move the locator over it, sort of the way a metal detector is used, our technician is able to sweep until they find exactly where that end of the camera is, so when they find it they can say okay this is where the problem is exactly.

For this family that was between one child's bedroom and another child's bedroom. The sewer line that connects one toilet to the other. So we have to explain that she has this is a huge problem right in the middle of her home underneath the ground.

We then presented the problem to the homeowner and showed her all of the research we'd done and how we knew exactly where the problem was and how big of a problem it was.

As our technicians was talking to her she was reminded that a foundation company had come out in months past and leveled the home. When they leveled the home one of the PVC connections didn’t hold and most likely got a hairline fracture that worsened over time.

Luckily for this homeowner it was completely covered under warranty by the foundation company. And they are taking care of it completely!

Had this not been the case our solution would have been to tunnel under her home to gain access to the sewer pipe and make the proper repairs needed.

This is just a sample problem that we get a call about multiple times every day. Now, this is a worst case scenario, sometimes it's just a little too much toilet paper got flushed or a toy is lodged inside the sewer line, but from the smallest problems to the biggest problems we have the tools and the resources to get the job done with Precision!

Check out this link for more information on sewer camera inspections.

What Causes The Sewer Line To Back Up?

Posted on August 25, 2020 | by JD Precision Plumbing & Air

What causes the main line to back up?

There are many things that cause a main line to back up. Some of those could be a belly in the line, roots, bad glue joints, burrs from a cut pipe, no fall in the line, or foreign objects in pipe.

What is a belly in the line?

A belly is any lower portion of a drain line that holds small or large amounts of sewage. This will cause any solid that hits the belly to slow down or stop causing a stoppage or slow drain.

How do roots cause a main line back up?

Roots get in the pipe at any connection point. As the root grows inside the pipe they will begin to catch solid objects and hold back the proper flow of the drain.

How can bad glue joints effect my sewer line?

A bad glue joint results in a poor connection for the pipe. This poor connection leaves room for roots to grow, cracks to form, or if the pipe separates- accumulation of solids.

What is a burr?

A burr is any unsmooth area of cut pipe. This jagged edge can grab onto toilet tissue and other solids to prevent them and things behind them from moving down drain line.

What does proper fall in the line mean?

Proper fall means when a level is placed on the pipe there should be a 1/4” to 1/8” fall on 4” and 3” pipes and 1/4” fall on 2” pipes angled down until the city connection point. If this proper fall does not exist you can have backups from improper flow.

What foreign objects should not go down the drain?

Anything beyond human waste, toilet tissue, and the small scraps you put in your garbage disposal.
See these two links for more explanation of why check out these other blogs below.

https://www.jdprecisionplumbing.com/what-can-i-flush-down-the-toilet/

https://www.jdprecisionplumbing.com/what-can-i-put-down-the-garbage-disposal/