So what does this mean to local residents to have lime-scale in the water supply?

What Exactly Is Hard Water      

Hard water is water with high dissolved mineral content that often includes magnesium and calcium. Since the terrain in Tennessee has quite a bit of limestone, our plumbing systems carry hard water.

Harmful Effects of Hard Water

There are a number of impacts of having hard water you may not have considered. Hard water is known to cause plumbing issues and other challenges for local residents.

Here are some of the top reasons people prefer to have softer water:

• Consuming too much magnesium and calcium can have ill effects on health.
• Hard water can cause noticeable damage to your plumbing pipes due to increased levels of minerals. These hard water minerals can cause build up on appliances and plumbing fixtures, as well as clog your pipes.
• More detergent is required to do laundry and dishes. The minerals reduce the suds and cleaning power of the detergents, resulting in an additional expense.
• More soap is needed for baths and showers for the exact same reason.

How to Make Water Softer

There is really only one way to get your plumbing to produce softer water. Treat your water by purchasing and installing a water softener. Your local plumber can easily handle this task for you. There are all types of softeners.

Factors to consider in Purchasing a Softener

There are a number of water softeners on the market. You can even purchase one from Amazon and have it delivered to your door in 1-2 days or less. Below are some factors to consider in purchasing a water softener:

Size Needed for the Home – Consider how much water your family uses along with the size of your home and the how much softening needs to be done (based on how hard your water is)

How Long You Need the Softener to Last – Softeners vary in quality. Like most appliances, the higher the quality, the higher the price in most cases. The average softener lasts 10 to 15 years.

The Need for Continual Soft Water – Similar to how a tankless water heater offers continual hot water, some softeners offer continual softening. If this is a requirement for your family, that option exists. A more economical option is to purchase a lower end valve which works on a timer.

Installation Expense – It is definitely worth the research to determine the installation costs for the unit. Most plumbers can install any brand unit. Rates vary and will generally be more if your home is not pre-plumbed.

Fix It All Plumbing is committed to providing you and your family with expert plumbing services at fair rates. Our plumbers are glad to answer any questions or help resolve issues.

Call or text us at (615) 568-5051

Your Master Plumber,

Kevin Sipes

The post Nashville Hard Water first appeared on Fix It All Plumbing.

Diagnosing Rotten Sewer Drain Line

The homeowner called the plumbers Fix It All about a foul smell coming from their basement. The home was off Nolensville Road close to Southern Hills Hospital in Nashville 37211.

The plumbing team at Fix It All Plumbing ran a smoke test and quickly diagnosed the issue. Smoke had arisen through a crack in the concrete. The plumbers determined the cast iron drain pipe underneath was rotten. Next the plumbing team had to break open the concrete and run a new line to the main sewer line.

Repairing Rotten Cast Iron Sewer Drain Pipe

The plumbing portion of the job required 5 hours. The work to bust open the concrete to access the drain line, and then restore all the concrete required 5 days. The only work the Fix It All Plumbing team did not do was replace the carpet and repaint the area. Insurance covered 90% of the job. The only portions not covered were the plumbing diagnosis and installation of the new pipe.

Insurance paid for all expenses involved except the new pipe installation.

The plumbers at Fix It All Plumbing are committed to providing homeowners and businesses with premium plumbing services at fair rates. We are glad to help you with any plumbing questions or issues. Call or text us at 615-568-5051.

The post Nashville Plumbing Broken Sewer Line Repair 37211 first appeared on Fix It All Plumbing.

Our plumbers have assembled a short list of essential affordable plumbing tools to save you from some minor plumbing miseries. It may be that you temporarily hold off a major issue or you repair a minor issue. Know that your local plumbers can take care of the rest.

Home Plumbing DIY Toolkit

1. Plunger (or two)

Plungers are considered more of a safety net than an actual tool such as a snake. Plungers work for toilets and drains. There are two main varieties of plungers that should be around your home at all times; a cup plunger and a flange plunger.

The cup plunger works best for cleaning out drain clogs where the drain rests on a flat surface like skins, tubs, showers etc. whereas the flange plunger with the long handle is best for toilets.

2. Hand Auger

If the plunger fails to clear any clog, you next best bet is a hand auger. Hand augers are designed to easily move through a drain to hook onto any potential clogs and pull out the impediments. This can be used for tubs, showers, sinks, toilets and drain lines. As opposed to a plunger which applies force with a thrusting motion, the hand auger is a tool you rotate to enter the clogged area.

3. Basin Wrench

Having a wrench allows you to tighten a pipe or turn off the water main. It is a staple tool in any plumber’s tool kit. It has a long shaft and a swivel, claw-like head at the end. It is made to be able to access deep and narrow spaces behind sink faucets. It is a handy tool to help with leaks in such areas.

4. Adjustable Wrench

Be sure to keep at least one adjustable wrench in your kit. This wrench is a multi-purpose and multi-functioning tool essential to a plumber’s tool kit. It has a jaw with adjustable width which can be used to tighten or loosen nuts and bolts of compression fittings, supply lines, and other plumbing parts that have hexagonal-shaped nuts; you may find yourself reverting to it more often than you anticipate.

While shopping make sure you purchase an adjustable wrench with a good grip and the jaw that holds firm. You may want to include both a six-inch and a ten-inch adjustable jaw wrench for your tool box.

5. Pipe Wrench

A pipe wrench is usually heavier than an adjustable wrench as it‘s intended to tighten or loosen parts that are difficult to grip with other tools. It has backwards facing teeth that help you better grip when water and waste are present on connecting pipes while tightening and loosening, removing or replacing them. This makes them an ideal home plumbing tool to have on hand for plumbing emergencies.

6. Plumbing Tape

All licensed and DIY plumbers should have plumbing tape handy for leak emergencies quick fixes. Plumbing tape’s ability to withhold significant amount of pressure and resist water makes it a perfect rough and ready solution between finding a leak and a permanent fix for both gas and water leakages.

The 6 tools for your toolkit will help you be prepared for minor plumbing repairs that surface in your household from time to time.

Call or text our Nashville plumbers if there are plumbing issues you cannot fix immediately. Remember, with one call, we fix it all.

Fix It All Plumbing is committed to providing you with premium plumbing services at fair rates. We are glad to help you with any questions or issues.

Call or text our Nashville office at (615) 568-5051

Kevin Sipes, Master Plumber

The post Six Essential Plumbing Tools to Have on Hand first appeared on Fix It All Plumbing.

The plumbing in your house is a complex network of water and sewer pipes that work together and run through your walls to deliver hot and cold water and eliminate your waste upon the flush of a lever. Paying attention and looking for plumbing warning signs can make your plumbing systems and units last longer and potentially save you and your family from a plumping disaster that could cause significant costly damage.

Here are some plumbing warning signs and symptoms to pay attention to and some ways to avoid or resolve major plumbing problems before they even surface.

Five Plumbing Maintenance Tips to Avoid Costly Repairs

Keep an Eye on Water Pressure

After a hard day at work, many family members enjoy a nice long high-pressure hot shower. The thing that we do not know is that if the pressure is too high, our interior pipes can receive excessive impact, which makes our home’s pipe joints, faucets and appliance valves work harder. In order to avoid this, you can measure your water pressure with a hose bib gauge which is readily available at Lowe’s or Home Depot, or Amazon for under $10. Normal pressure should register between 40 and 85 pounds per square inch (psi). If pressure is above the normal range, consider installation of a pressure reducer and give our plumbers a call or text

Prevent Clogging Beforehand

Clogs obviously prevent water from draining and your sink or tub from being used. The backed up water also places unnecessary stress on your water pipes. Such pressure will eventually shorten lifespan of your home’s water pipes.

To avoid clogs, do the following:

• Watch carefully what goes down your drain
• Install screens or guards over drains in showers and tubs.
• Scrape food into the trash before doing dishes and never put liquid grease down the drain. Pour it into a sealable container for proper disposal.

Keep Tank Clean

When you flush your toilet, water travels from the tank at the back of the toilet to refill the bowl. You need to make sure that your water tank remains clean in order to avoid any buildup like metal stains, bacteria, mold, mineral deposits, and mildew over time. When your tank is dirty, the unclean water feeds directly into your toilet bowl, making it difficult to clean and maintain. You can avoid this problem through cleaning beforehand. Draining the tank and using vinegar is a good way to combat the buildup in your toilet tank.

Toilet Maintenance Check-ups

Toilets like any other plumbing fixtures are prone to leakages and the hard part in the equation is that it’s not always easy to detect. The tank is a good place to start you maintenance check-up. In most cases the culprit for leakage is a faulty flapper. The flapper is a rubber cover at the bottom of the tank that permits the tank to fill and release water. Being in water all day long eventually wears down the rubber and loosens the seal.

One way to check that whether the flapper is faulty or not is to add a few drops of food coloring in the tank and leave it overnight. If you find color in your toilet’s bowl next morning then make sure you have your local plumber replace the flap. For do it yourselfers, you may buy a kit from Amazon or your local hardware store. Fixing the flap will save on your water usage and associated bill.

Keep the Bowl Clean

It’s always a good idea for hygiene and germ prevention to maintain a clean toilet bowl but it should not be the only reason that compels you to do this job regularly. Cleaning the bowl keeps it free of corrosion and prevents clogging. The best way to clean a toilet bowl is to focus on the siphon jets. These jets are best cleaned with a mixture of vinegar, baking soda, and water.

Fix It All Plumbing is committed to providing you with premium plumbing services at fair rates in the Nashville area. Our plumbers are glad to help you with any plumbing questions or issues.

Call or text us at (615) 568-5051

Your Nashville Plumber,

Kevin Sipes

The post 5 Easy Ways to Prevent Plumbing Problems first appeared on Fix It All Plumbing.

In most cases, I do need to take a look at this issue. It could be that your sewer line has an issue and water is not able to flow freely through the system. Your main sewer line may be clogged.

Why Do Sewer Lines Get Blocked

So what clogs your sewer pipes? Anything short of solid waste and regular toilet paper. To be on the safe side, those are the only things that should go down the toilet. Other things can get caught up fairly easily, especially if there is an imperfection in the pipe, such as when pipes get bellied or pushed down into the ground. Pipe corrosion can limit the flow of water. Tree roots that grow into the pipes themselves are one of the most common occurrences that limits the flow and increases the chance something will get stuck in the pipe and create a clog.

Items that Commonly Clogs Sewer Pipes

Some of the most common items that clog sewer lines are listed below. Think about it this way, if the item you are flushing cannot disintegrate in water, it is best not to flush it. Yes, you may be able to flush items other than toilet paper, but why take that chance and risk a clogged sewer line that requires yard digging to get to it.

Sanitary Pads and Tampons

Grease and Oil

Cloth Diaper Inserts

Disposable Diapers

Flushable Wipes

Baby Wipes

Paper Towels and Napkins

Cat Litter

Swiffer Pads

Hair

Vitamins

Plastic from Packaging

Cardboard

Dental Floss

Coffee Grinds

Cell Phones 😊

Guardians of The Galaxies figures

Coffee Filters

Yes, these items are commonly flushed and yes, sometimes they succeed in making it through the system. The risk is not worth it. Simply throw these items away in the trash rather than risking a costly repair.

Fix It All Plumbing is committed to providing you with premium plumbing services at fair rates. We are glad to help you with any plumbing questions or issues.

Call or text us at (615) 568-5051

Your Nashville Plumber,

Kevin Sipes

The post Backed Up Floor Drains & Sewer Line Problems first appeared on Fix It All Plumbing.