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Water leaks can cause a lot of damage to your home, so it’s important to prevent and detect them as soon as possible. There are a few different ways that you can go about doing this.

Having a professional check out your property to look for leaks is one approach to find them. As they will be able to pinpoint problem areas and potential leak sources, this method is typically the most reliable for finding leaks. The staff at Advanced Plumbing has experience finding leaks and can assist you in figuring out the source of your water leak issue.

Common Locations Where Leaks Occur

There are several reasons why pipes can leak. They could also be clogged, damaged, or rusted. Appliance seals where water hoses are attached are another frequent location for leaks to occur. These seals have the potential to let water into the house if they are not properly maintained. The leaks frequently go undetected for a long time since they are in obscure locations. Washing machines, toilets, and sinks are typical locations for these leaks. Under water heaters and sump pumps are additional locations where leaks might happen.

Visual Inspection Should Be Part of Your Regular Home Maintenance

Your plumbing system is hidden from view because it is unappealing. Because of this, homeowners frequently overlook their pipes until a problem arises. It’s crucial to visually inspect all of your home’s exposed plumbing once a year. You have the option of doing this yourself or having a professional handle it for you. In either case, it’s crucial to keep an eye out for any leaks that may be hiding, such as water stains on the walls or ceilings or pools of water near fixtures.

Do you have water that tastes odd or has a bad odor? Are you concerned that there might be a problem with it? To find out what is in the water, you may easily have it tested. However, you might not be aware of how frequently or when to have your water analyzed. For Kansas homeowners, the responses to these queries and more are provided below.

Are City Water Tests Necessary?

If you are connected to the city’s water system, it is typically not essential to test your drinking water. To guarantee the safety of the finished product, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandates routine testing at water treatment facilities. You should notify the neighborhood public utilities department if you detect any changes in your water, such as strange scents or unexplainable colors.

Simple testing can also determine whether city water has a hardness problem. Finding out which minerals are present in the water can help you choose your water treatment more effectively.

When should your well water be tested?

If you use well water instead of city water at home, you are in charge of maintaining its safety and potability. The EPA advises testing your well water for a wide range of contaminants once a year. If you find that the flavor or color of your water has changed, you should test it to make sure it is still safe.

What Qualities Should You Check in Your Water?

According to the EPA, homes should do a minimal E. coli and coliform bacteria test on their drinking water. These two bacteria can cause serious gastrointestinal problems and are harmful to your health. The following minerals, compounds, and substances should also be evaluated:

• Radon
• Arsenic
• Iron
• Manganese
• Nitrates
• Volatile Organic Compounds

It’s wise to check to see if any of the items on the list are present in your well water because some of them may also be damaging to your health.

If your water contains a lot of any of these substances, water filters or water softeners might be able to get rid of them. Your drinking water can be made to be safe, odorless, and free of hard minerals with the help of a qualified plumber.

Does the water in your bathtub drain very slowly? When you finish washing your hands, does the sink fill up before slowly draining out? Any number of potential issues, such as a partial obstruction anywhere in the system, could be present.

At Advanced Plumbing, we recognize how critical it is to maintain a swift flow of water throughout the house. We’ve compiled a list of some typical reasons why drains take a long time to empty as well as some simple DIY fixes you can try in order to save you money on a costly call to the plumber.

The U-Bend Has Hair Clogged Up

Long hair will clog the drain as other hair gets caught on it as it travels down the drain and catches on the pipe walls. This can accumulate over time and either totally clog the drain or cause it to drain extremely slowly. Fortunately, a little upkeep helps prevent this from occurring in the first place.

The drain strainer should be unscrewed and placed aside in order to clear a growing hair clog. The hairball may be visible just inside the pipe. Pulling it out requires a lengthy pair of needle nose pliers. Get a plastic drain snake or hair hook and send it down the pipe to attempt and snag the hair ball to pull it out if you are dealing with a deeper clog. If you are successful, the water will probably start to drain more quickly right away.

Regular Clogged Sink or Toilet

The plunger method is another option if your clog remains recalcitrant. Buy a toilet plunger or sink plunger. In order to maintain pressure when plunging the sink, you must plug the overflow hole. Pour some water into the toilet or sink. Over the drain, position the plunger, and quickly depress it several times. Check to see if the water has drained before taking out the plunger. To clear the partial or complete clog, try this several times.

Be mindful that if the clog is too bad, you can end up damaging the pipes. Simply attempt plunging a few times, and if you are unsuccessful, call a professional to unclog your drain.

It’s quite a shock to switch on your shower or sink in the morning only to find it spewing icky brown water. It undoubtedly stops the entire morning routine in its tracks. What do you do once the amazement has worn off? First off, why is the water brown? Is it harmful to my family’s health? Will it naturally disappear? The list of questions is endless, but what matters most is how you handle this situation and get your home’s water supply back to normal.

Why you may have brown water

If you have brown water coming from your pipes, rust is probably the cause of your issue somewhere in your pipeline. Internal rusting of galvanized iron pipes can cause rust flakes to dissolve in your water, turning it an unpleasant color of brown.
Additionally, the brown water may be coming from your hot water heater. A sacrificial anode rod is used in water heaters to prevent the interior of the tank from rusting. Your hot water tank’s interior will start to rust if that sacrificial anode rod is completely consumed and not replaced.

If a pipe, the question of which pipe is rusting and where it is in the pipeline is altogether another. If you are connected to a municipal water system, the issue could be coming from a rusted city line. If not, the questioned pipe is likely located on your property. Ask your city over the phone if there have been any complaints about rusty water in your neighborhood. It’s time to contact Advanced Plumbing’s experts if they haven’t yet received any.

Water Use in the Home

The water thus is brown. That doesn’t mean life can come to an end! Simply put, it indicates that for a while, much of the ease of flowing water is being lost. Washing your garments in brown water may cause the rust to damage the majority of bright colors, notably white. We also do not advise using rusty water for cleaning or cooking. To tide you over until the issue is rectified, we advise going to laundromats and buying big jugs of fresh water at your neighborhood convenience shop.
The toilet, on the other hand, needs to function normally.

One of the frequent plumbing issues that homeowners occasionally encounter is low water pressure. Nothing is more annoying than turning on the hot water faucet or the shower only to get a trickle.

Low water pressure in your home is not only an annoyance, but it may also be an indication of a plumbing problem that needs to be fixed right away.

At Advanced Plumbing, we are dedicated to serving both residential and commercial clients with all of their plumbing requirements, including leak detection and low water pressure.

In this post, we’ll examine the reasons why a home’s water pressure is low and offer solutions.

Check Your Water Meter Valve

Your home’s low water pressure could be caused by problems with the main water valve. You can notice a variation in water pressure if the water meter valve isn’t fully open.

A partially closed water meter valve may be to blame if you’re experiencing low water pressure after having repairs done on your home.

Finding the valve and fully opening it is the only step required to fix a partially closed water meter valve.

Check Your Pressure Regulator

A broken pressure regulator is one of the reasons why there is low water pressure in a home. The pressure regulator, like other plumbing appliances, is susceptible to damage for a number of causes, which might result in an abrupt drop in water pressure.

Each fixture in your house will be affected if the pressure regulator malfunctions. If you believe that your low water pressure may be caused by a malfunctioning water pressure, contact a local plumber to examine the problem and offer a fix.

A pressure regulator is not a fixture in every home. This solution is not for you if you don’t have one.

Fix Water Pipe Leaks

Before the water gets to your faucet spout and other fixtures, leaking pipes may siphon it off, leaving you with barely a trickle. Call a qualified plumber to do accurate leak detection and repair any leaking pipes if you believe that a leaky pipe may be the root of your home’s low water pressure.

Shut off all of the water in your home and check to see if the water meter is still moving to determine whether you have a leak.

Clean Up Blocked Water Lines

Water pressure may be impacted by clogged pipes. Invading tree roots, mineral deposit buildup from hard water, and pipe corrosion can all cause your pipes to get stuck. Over time, clogs can reduce the piping’s diameter, resulting in reduced water pressure. If you hear loud gurgling sounds coming from the pipes, your water lines are probably obstructed.

A skilled plumber can evaluate your pipes and provide you a remedy if you have clogged pipes.

Low water pressure may occasionally be a result of problems with the water provider. In order to learn if your water provider is having any problems, you might need to call them first.

Call Advanced Plumbing for assistance if you need to address low water pressure in your home.

Your toilet will operate well if a new flapper and fill valve are installed.

Up to 150 gallons of water per day, or 4,500 gallons per month, might be lost by a leaky faucet. To conserve water and lower your water bill, fix the faucet. For a thorough plumbing examination, contact Advanced Plumbing.

For year-round protection against plumbing issues, Advanced Plumbing provides key maintenance advice.

It may be a much-anticipated time for family fun, but for Kansas homeowners, fall also means one extra thing: rain. A lot of it, too! It pays to start making all your preparations now, including the crucial duty of inspecting your sump pump, to prevent damage to your home during the impending rainy season.

Having trouble testing your sump pump? Before the rain storms arrive, check out these easy tips to make sure your pump is reliable.

How to Test Your Sump Pump in Four Easy Steps

Your sump pump, which is often installed in the basement, drains water that seeps into and accumulates in the foundation of your home. This is especially important during and after powerful storms. If your sump pump isn’t functioning properly, pooled water can result in a variety of tiny and big issues, like as decay, floods, and mold and mildew.

Thankfully, it’s generally not too difficult to test your sump pump. Simply follow to these four steps:

1. Check for damage to the sump pump.

The sump pump should be examined for any signs of damage first. Remove the cover and inspect the interior of the crock for any obstructions, fissures, or other obvious accumulation, particularly near the drain. Check the check valve for clogs and make sure it is operating properly.

2. Inspect the drainpipe.

Making sure there are no obstructions in the pipe that transports water away is the next step after testing your sump pump. Remove the drain line and use a plumber’s snake, wet-dry vacuum, or high-pressure nozzle to clear any obstructions.

3. Unplug and then replug the pump cord.

Two electrical cords are most likely attached to your sump pump: a float cord that connects into the wall and a pump cord that attaches to the back of the float cord.

Unplug the pump cord from the float cord and plug it straight into a wall outlet to verify that these electrical parts are functioning. As soon as you accomplish this, your pump should start to function, as evidenced by a whine or hum. Make sure to place the cords back where they were if everything is operating as it should.

4. Fill it with water and watch it drain.

Checking to see if the sump pump actually removes water is the last step in the “how to test your sump pump” puzzle. Watch what happens after adding some water from a bucket to the sump pump. If everything is working properly, the switch will turn on when the water level is sufficient. Make sure the pump also turns off by waiting for the water to drain.

Don’t hesitate to get in touch with Advanced Plumbing if your sump pump fails any of these tests or if you’re unsure whether its performance is satisfactory. All of our Kansas plumbers are completely licensed and experienced in providing sump pump services. They are skilled not just in sump pump testing but also in making rapid work of any problems.