Foul Odors

As waste sticks and builds up on the walls of your pipes, it can start to give off a bad stench. This is particularly true in kitchen sink drains, which are subjected to many more different types of waste than bathroom sinks. If you detect a foul odor coming out of one or more of your drains, you should schedule drain cleaning right away.

Slow Drainage

Drain clogs tend to form over time, as food waste in the kitchen or hair and soap in the bathroom sticks to the walls of your drain pipes. The more this debris sticks to the pies, the more the flow of water through the drain will be obstructed. If your drain begins to work more and more slowly, it’s a sign you need a drain cleaning.

Frequent Clogs

Many times, homeowners may find their own solution to a drain clog, in the form of store-bought chemical drain cleaners. If you’re experiencing frequent clogs, however, then your own efforts are probably insufficient to deal with the waste in your pipes. Additionally, these drain cleaners can actually cause corrosion in your pipes and/or build up inside your pipes just exacerbating the problem. Be sure to give our professionals a call if you notice this common problem.

For superior drain cleaning services in Dundee, IL, contact Lifeline Plumbing, Heating & Cooling today.

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Use Mesh Screens

These can be purchased at any home improvement or hardware store. These are placed over your rains to prevent hair, food particles, and other gunk from entering your drains and pipes. This is one of the simplest things you can do to potentially avoid clogged drains.

After Shower, Dispose of Hair in Trash Can

You can protect your bathroom drains by brushing your hair and disposing of it right after a shower, rather than letting any of it fall down the drain. While hair might not seem that damaging, in can certainly cause major blockages in your pipe system if it accumulates.

Start a Compost Bin

Garbage disposals are excellent appliances and are increasingly important. However, there are some items that should not be put down the drain no matter how powerful your garbage disposal is. This includes items like potato skins, coffee grounds, and eggshells. These are all items that could certainly create a clog.

Invest in a High Quality Plunger

Keep in mind there are different types for toilets and for sink drains. Sometimes all it takes is some elbow grease and a plunger to release the smallest of clogs. Of course, if you’ve tried to use a plunger already and still seem to have a blockage, then the best thing you can do is call a professional. We have the experience and the necessary tools available to us to relieve your drains.

For drain cleaning services in Dundee, IL, contact Lifeline Plumbing, Heating & Cooling today.

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Schedule routine drain cleaning

Drain cleaning isn’t just a job for when an emergency clog jams up a sink in your home. Drain cleaning is also a preventive measure that will help keep clogs from starting in the first place. If you’ve never arranged to have professional drain cleaning done, make it a priority this year—and the sooner it’s done, the better it’ll be for your plumbing! Our drain cleaning experts use the best in hydro-jetting and drain auger (a.k.a. motorized drain snake) technology to see that your drainpipes are scoured and scrubbed clean. With this level of cleaning, it’ll be hard for buildup to start again.

Consider repiping

If you live in a home that’s older than 1970, you may have outdated pipes that are in danger of corrosion. The best solution to this problem is to arrange for a partial or complete house repiping. Contact our plumbers and they will help you decide if a repiping will benefit your home.

Find any hidden pipe leaks

Are you suspicious of leaking occurring somewhere in your home? When the water bills start to increase but you know you aren’t using more water than normal, this rise in costs often indicates a leak someplace. To get to the bottom of it, call for plumbers who offer leak detection services. They’ll use advanced equipment to find if you have leaks and their precise locations. You can then have the plumbers take care of the necessary repairs.

When you need comprehensive plumbing service in Dundee, IL call on Lifeline Plumbing, Heating & Cooling.

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Where a drain snake can help you

The standard store-bought drain snake consists of a long wire coil that you insert down into a clogged drain. When you turn the hand crank on the other end, the wires rotate and dig down into the clog like a corkscrew. You can then move the drain snake around to try to break up the clog, or simply drill all the way through it to open up the drain once more. Sometimes, you can draw the clog out using the drain snake. For very basic clogs, a drain snake can offer a good temporary solution to get liquid flowing down the drain once again.

Why a drain snake is usually insufficient

What’s at issue here is that a drain snake isn’t actually “cleaning” the drain. It’s pushing through a clog or breaking it apart, but this will offer only a brief fix. The debris and build-up inside the drain will still be there, clinging to the pipe walls, and the drain will either drain slowly or start to very soon after. Commercial drain snakes simply can provide thorough drain cleaning, and in cases of tough clogs may not do anything at all.

Let professionals clean your drains

Plumbers use motorized drain snakes to handle much more serious cleanings and un-cloggings. These devices can potentially damage drains if used incorrectly, so let the plumber take care of the work. For comprehensive cleaning, plumbers will also make use of hydro-jetting equipment, which scours away build-up on the drainpipe walls with blasts of high-pressure water.

Lifeline Plumbing, Heating & Cooling offers top-quality drain cleaning with the finest tools in Dundee, IL.

The post Why That Drain Snake You Own Won’t Clean Your Drains appeared first on Lifeline Plumbing, Heating & Cooling.

What’s so bad about liquid drain cleaners?

Many things, actually. Let’s start with a simple one: they are highly toxic. You just don’t want these chemical stored in your house, and you don’t want their fumes floating through in the air. Not only are these chemicals toxic if swallowed, they are also acidic and can harm skin and eyes with just a single splash.

Beyond this danger, the chemical cleaners are harmful to plumbing as well. The caustic lye and other acids in these solutions eat away at the interior of pipes, especially in the p-trap (the curved section under the sink) where they will often stagnate for long periods.

Finally, these “cleaners” simply don’t do what they say they do. You might be able to break through a clog with a full bottle of chemicals, but the chemicals don’t effectively clean away all the debris. At best, they’re only a temporary solution. Material like hair clots and fats and oils will still remain on the pipe walls, and the clogging issues will soon return.

What you should use instead of chemical drain cleaners

The phone! If you can’t unclog a drain with a basic plunger, use the phone to call professional plumbers. Our plumbers are experienced with using advanced drain cleaning equipment that removes clogs and sees that your drains and completely clean so you experience few troubles in the future.

Lifeline Plumbing, Heating & Cooling offers drain cleaning services in Dundee, IL.

The post A Seasonal Reminder about Liquid Drain Cleaners (Don’t Use Them!) appeared first on Lifeline Plumbing, Heating & Cooling.

Why F.O.G. Is So Bad for Your Drains

Fats, oils, and grease are common products from cooking. When hot, they are in liquid form, and this leads people to mistakenly believe that these leftovers are harmless to pour down drains and garbage disposals.

However, this is one of the worst things that a person can do to a home’s drainpipes. As soon as F.O.G. cools down, it turns into a solid. A waxy, tough solid that won’t get simply washed away over time. F.O.G. will start to accumulate in the pipes, and it won’t take long for it to coat the inside of drainpipe so heavily that it will severely reduce the available volume.

This will make it easier for clogs to start. If you are running into kitchen sink clogs on a routine basis, you probably have a F.O.G. buildup. Stop resorting to the plunger ever few days (and never resort to liquid drain cleaners) and instead call on professional drain cleaners to use techniques such as hydro-jetting to remove the layers of fats, oils, and grease in the pipes.

There are other issues that F.O.G. can create. The reduced pipe volume will cause a spike in pressure inside the drainage system, which can cause leaks. F.O.G. will also start to give off rotten odors, so if your drains smell bad, it might be time to schedule professional drain cleaning.

To arrange for drain and sewer cleaning, give Lifeline Plumbing, Heating & Cooling a call. We serve Elgin, IL and the surrounding areas.

The post F.O.G.: What It Is, Why You Don’t Want It in Your Drains appeared first on Lifeline Plumbing, Heating & Cooling.

We’ll take a look at some of the reasons that drain clogs can become the rule rather than the exception—and what you should do about them.

Is the clog only occurring at one drain?

If the clogging that is continually aggravating you is occurring at a single drain, then the issue is probably heavy build-up along the pipe interior of debris, minerals, soap scum, or hair. If you’ve tried to handle the clogs yourself using liquid drain cleaners, you will not remove enough of this accumulation to stop clogs from coming right back. (Drain cleaners bring with them a host of other troubles as well, so it’s best simply not to use them at all.) In this situation, the best way to treat the problem is with professional drain cleaning services. Skilled plumbers can use mechanized drain augers to completely clear the drain and make it so clogs don’t return. For more serious buildup, they may use hydro jetters.

What if the clogs are happening at multiple drains?

This indicates a deeper problem in the drainage for the house, and it’s something you need to take seriously or it could lead to much worse than slow and clogged drains. The sewer line may be clogged with waste it can’t wash down into the sewer system, or trees roots may have infiltrated into it. Sewer line cleaning from professionals can often fix this. But there are situations where the sewer line will need to be completely replaced.

Lifeline Plumbing, Inc. offers drain and sewer service, including drain cleaning, in Dundee, IL.

The post I’m Running into Drain Clogs All the Time… What’s Wrong? appeared first on Lifeline Plumbing, Heating & Cooling.

But if you’re like any other homeowner, you’ll want to take preventive measures to ensure that you don’t have to call for an emergency plumber. Therefore, you’ll need to know about what clogs drains and how to avoid putting substances down your kitchen and bathroom drains that could lead to problems in the short and long-term. So, let’s get started.

• Toys. If you have young ones scrambling around your home’s interior, then you’ll need to educate them on the dangerous of putting their action figures, legos, and bouncy balls down the drains and toilets. What seems like a fun experiment to them at the time will be a real hassle for you.
• FOG. No, not water vapor, but Fats, Oils and Grease. Most homeowners are aware that these substances are no good for the drain, but it bears mentioning. Inevitably, some FOG will enter your drains, but you’ll want to avoid dumping whole pans of bacon grease or a cup of oil down the drain.
• Coffee grounds. Whether you use a French press or a filter, make sure to avoid putting coffee grounds down the drain. Over time, these may combine with other substances to produce a blockage.

If you’re having any trouble at all with your drain and sewer system, then just let us know. We are your drain and sewer specialists in the greater Dundee area. Call Lifeline Plumbing, Inc. today!

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ONE: Pouring FOG down them

Of course, we don’t mean literal fog. FOG is an acronym that stands for “fats, oils, and grease.” These three organic materials left over from cooking are a leading causing of drain clogging. In hot liquid form, they appear innocent enough. But they harden as they cool down, and the residue they leave behind in drainpipes is hard to get rid of. To keep FOG from your drains, pour it into a separate receptacle and remove it to the trash.

TWO: Using store-bought chemical for “cleaning” them

Never use liquid “drain cleaners” on your drains when you encounter a clog. These chemical concoctions are not very effective, and worse, they can actually harm drainpipes with their corrosive action and leave behind toxic residue. Use a plunger to clear your drains, and if that doesn’t work, call a professional plumber.

THREE: Not scheduling routine cleaning

Drain cleaning isn’t only something you should arrange when you have a drain clog. Annual drain cleaning from professionals who use tools like hydro-jetters and motorized drain snakes will help keep away problems from slow drains and blockages, and will result in healthier plumbing in general. You can expect to keep repair emergencies to an absolute minimum thanks to drain cleaning services.

To arrange for drain repair and regular drain cleaning in Elgin, IL, call Lifeline Plumbing, Inc. We offer 24/7 urgent care when you have emergency repair needs.

The post 3 of the Biggest Mistakes You Can Make with Your Drains appeared first on Lifeline Plumbing, Heating & Cooling.

But… this philosophy isn’t strictly true. There’s no way that you can avoid all drain clogs, but you can lower the chance of them occurring so that only on a rare occasion do you need to scramble to get a professional plumber on the line to fix it. We’ll look at three of the most common reasons that drains clog and what you can do to prevent them in the future.

#1

The problem: Hair.

The lowdown: This is the main reason that drains in the bathroom, such as in the sink and the shower, develop clogs. Hair catches easily down inside the p-trap of the drainpipe (the curved section directly beneath the drain) where it will traps more hair and lead to a tangle that closes off the drain.

How to avoid it: Install covers for the sink and shower drains that will catch the majority of hair that tries to slide down the drain.

#2

The problem: Liquid fats, oils, and grease, a.k.a. FOG.

The lowdown: This is the great enemy of kitchen sinks, since these liquids seem harmless when they hot after use in cooking. But when they cool down, they change into solids that will quickly build-up along the drainpipe wall, leading to numerous clogs.

How to avoid it: Pour out FOG into a separate receptacle rather than pour it down the drain. Put the receptacle in the freezer, then deposit the solid FOG into the trash later.

#3

The problem: Hard water deposits.

The lowdown: If hard water is entering your home, it will leave calcite deposits on the inside of your drains, and the build-up will eventually make clogs into frequent troubles.

How to avoid it: Hire a plumber to install a water softener. This will not only help with clogging, it will keep your entire plumbing system in better shape.

For help with keeping your plumbing in excellent condition, whether with drain cleaning or other services, call on Lifeline Plumbing, Inc. in Dundee, IL.

The post 3 Major Reasons That Drains Develop Clogs (and How to Avoid Them) appeared first on Lifeline Plumbing, Heating & Cooling.