Plumbing Services

Find Answers to Common Plumbing Questions

Read the plumbing FAQs from Milani Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning and get the plumbing help you need on a variety of topics. We’ve been a trusted resource for homeowners and commercial customers for over 50 years. If you have other plumbing repair questions and would like to ask a plumber, our skilled and highly experienced technicians are happy to help.Select from our plumbing FAQ listed below. For your convenience, we’ve provided answers to questions covering the following topics:

General plumbing questions
Drain cleaning video camera pipe inspection questions
Tankless water heater questions
Water conditioning questions

We hope you will find our plumber FAQs helpful. Milani also encourages you to check out our plumbing tips for more information. Of course, if you have a problem, Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning is here for you with 24-7 emergency plumbing service.

General Plumbing Questions

The white substance is actually mineral deposits. To remove the mineral deposits from the shower head, pour a cup of vinegar into a plastic bag and then place the bag over the shower head fixture and leave it in place overnight. The next day, remove the bag and use an old toothbrush to scrub off the deposits.

This usually indicates that the flush valve in your toilet tank is not seating correctly and water is leaking from the tank into the bowl. This could be the result of the lift chain being tangled, faulty flapper or a problem with the flush valve itself.

The high temperature cutoff may have been tripped, and may need to be reset. Otherwise it’s generally a faulty heating element or thermostat.

The temperature control may be set too low. Otherwise it’s generally a faulty heating element or thermostat.

The pilot light may be out, or you may have a faulty thermocouple or gas valve.

Try removing the faucet aerator at the end of the spout and cleaning the screen of any dirt and debris. The faucet aerator is designed to diffuse the water to prevent splashing, but it can become clogged over time.

It could be the anode rod in your water heater. Which leads to the question…What is an anode rod? On the top of your water heater you will find a plug fitting screwed into the tank. Suspended from that fitting is a solid metal rod of magnesium, aluminum or zinc. The sole purpose of these rods is to slowly corrode away so the tank will not. Also referred to as sacrificial anodes, the rods sacrifice themselves to protect the steel tank from rusting. When the anode is no longer able to give sufficient protection, the steel tank will begin to rust. Anode rods can be changed to aluminum in cases where certain chemicals in your water supply cause undesirable odors. Depending on your water conditions, you should have your rods checked every 2 to 4 years to insure tank’s longevity and your peace of mind.

This problem is usually caused by the water lines not being properly secured. It can be easily fixed but only if your water lines are easily accessible. It means that either in one or many places your water lines come into contact with the wood of your floor joists. All you need to do is get copper or plastic pipe hangers that will secure your water lines to your wooden joists.

Drain Cleaning & Video Camera Pipe Inspection Questions

A main line sewer clean out is one or two pipes that normally stick up out of the ground, usually in the front or back yard of the home, and typically in the flower beds around the home or within 2 to 4 feet of the edge of the foundation. This clean out is one or two pipes that tee directly into the main sewer line, its purpose is to allow for something, normally a sewer machine cable to be inserted into the sewer line to unstop a clogged sewer as necessary. We use these clean outs in order to insert a rubber inflatable test ball into the sewer line, or a sewer camera for testing purposes.

This is a very common problem and there is no definitive answer as each drain could be clogged for a different reason. The best thing to do is to make sure that the drain is not clogged with hair or soap chips. You can do this by visually inspecting the bathtub or sink drain. The best way to clean hair from a bathtub drain is to remove the drain grate and take a coat hanger and put a little hook on the end and scoop out the hair. You could also use a pair of needle nose pliers as well. The easiest way to clean hair from a lavatory sink drain is to remove the pop-up drain assembly altogether and use the same technique as mentioned above.

A bathtub drain is difficult to clear if you have a trip lever because as you plunge the water could push up the trip lever riser. So the best way to use a plunger in a bathtub is to push the plunger in fast and forceful to try to get as much pressure as possible into the p-trap. Plunging a bathtub is not going to work for every clogged drain, and most times you will need something stronger like a snake.

The household plunger is frequently the first defense mechanism used to unclog a toilet. Before using a plunger you will want to turn off the toilet’s water shut-off valve. Turning off the emergency shut-off valve will prevent accidental flushes, which can lead to an overflow. Once you have the water turned off, you are ready to unclog the clogged toilet. The rubber end of the plunger should be soft, flexible and have no cracks. To unclog, place the rubber end of the plunger over the clog and push down with a fair amount of pressure. The clog should eventually break, allowing the water to drain.

A video camera pipe inspection allows for a real-time visual inspection of underground sewer lines and other piping in order to determine the condition inside the pipe. This state-of-the art technology uses a flexible fiber optic cable with a high-resolution video camera on the tip that transmits images back to the camera operator who can make an informed diagnosis of any problems found. As the cable is inserted through the pipe, equipped with powerful lights it is able to record its findings which can be saved to CD for a permanent record. Our professionally trained technicians are able to pinpoint problems with broken, cracked or collapsed drains that require repair or replacement.

Tankless Water Heater Questions

Our trained, professional installers will discuss this with you based on your specific wants or needs.

Tankless water heaters will supply ‘endless’ hot water and can offer ‘instant’ hot water at the same time if used with a recirculation system.

Our tankless water heaters are so small that you can have them installed just about anywhere in your home. A conventional tank-type water heater is about five-feet tall, while a tankless water heater is less than a third of that.

No! Improper installation will void your warranty and could have a potentially harmful effect on you and your family.

Water Conditioning Questions

Hard water is the most common problem found in the average home. Hard water is water that contains dissolved hardness minerals above 1 GPG. Calcium, manganese and magnesium are the most common hardness minerals.

For many uses, it would not matter. For instance, to put out fires, water your lawn or wash mud off the streets, water would have to be pretty hard to cause a problem. However, for bathing, washing dishes and clothes, shaving, washing your car and many other uses of water, hard water is not as efficient or convenient as “soft water”. For instance:

You will only use half as much soap when cleaning with soft water.
Hard water and soap combine to form ‘soap scum’ that can’t be rinsed off, forming a ‘bathtub ring’ on all surfaces and dries leaving unsightly spots on your dishes.

Soap scum remains on your skin even after rinsing, clogging the pores of your skin and coating every hair on your body. This crud can serve as a home for bacteria, causing diaper rash, minor skin irritation and skin that continually itches.

When hard water is heated, the hardness minerals are re-crystallized to form hardness scale. This scale can clog your pipes and water heater, causing premature failure, and repair or replacement.

When the hardness minerals are removed from your water, soap no longer forms soap crud, or ‘bathtub ring’ on your skin, clogging your pores, clinging to every strand of hair. You are now truly clean. That slick “slimy” feeling is your natural body oil without the soap scum. The old saying that you get “squeaky clean” is a myth; the feeling is caused by the soap scum on your skin. Furthermore, that soap scum provides an excellent place for bacteria to hide and grow, causing numerous skin ailments.

Water quality can vary from town to town – even from well to well in the same neighborhood. That’s why we highly recommend testing your water before purchasing any water treatment system. That is also why we carry a broad line of water conditioning systems and filters. Each is designed to effectively treat different water problems. Our wide choice of proven systems makes it easy to match the right system to your specific water quality needs.

Yes. Iron and sulfur bacteria can enter your household plumbing from a well. Once introduced, this bacteria usually remains and multiplies within your plumbing system. The result can be unwanted odors, along with red, slimy stains on plumbing fixtures.

Regional testing continues to reveal ground water contaminants of all kinds. Even municipal water supplies are not immune to treatment failures or accidental contamination. Your best safeguard against contaminants is a point-of-use water treatment system. Not all systems, however, remove the same contaminants.

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