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Archive for the ‘Drain Cleaning’ Category

A clogged drain is an unpleasant and unwelcome experience no matter when or where it happens. While the store shelves are filled with plenty of products promising to get rid of the clog, preventing the situation is a much easier alternative. Our drain cleaning experts at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of San Antonio offer these tips on how to prevent clogged drains in your home.

Drain Strainers

Drain strainers fit into both sink and shower drains to catch the soap scum, hair and other debris that can contribute to drain clogs. Strainers are inexpensive and easy to find at hardware and similar stores. Outfit each drain with a strainer and clean them out on a daily basis to prevent many clogs.

Clean Drain Stoppers

Most bathroom and kitchen sinks are outfitted with a drain stopper or drain plug that can be used to keep water within the sink. Over time, debris can collect on the stopper and cause the drain to empty slowly.

Once each week, remove the stopper and clean it. Be sure to empty the dirt into the trash can rather than washing it down the sink while cleaning.

Drain Maintenance

Regular drain maintenance for the sink and shower drains is essential for preventing clogs.

1. At least once each month, pour half a cup of baking soda into each drain, followed by half a cup of lemon juice.
2. Plug the stopped-up drain and allow these two natural ingredients to bubble for 30 minutes.
3. Turn on the hot water and flush the drains out for three to five minutes.
4. Alternatively, boil a pot of water and pour the boiling water down the drain. The chemical reaction breaks through the clogs and the hot water flushes away debris.

As your San Antonio plumber, we offer drain cleaning services when clogs do occur. For the most stubborn of drain clogs, we perform plumbing camera inspections to identify the source of the problem.

For more information or to schedule an appointment with our professional plumbers at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of San Antonio, call us at 210-549-9944.

Hundreds of people in the San Antonio area will have to undergo some sort of plumbing issue this year. It is important to make certain that all homeowners and business owners know that they can call on us to help them with any water related issue. We are Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of San Antonio and we want to be your plumbing company. Our team of knowledgeable and professional plumbers has already helped many customers in the area, and we continue to receive rave reviews from all of our customers.

Our licensed, bonded, and insured plumbers will do everything possible to fix your plumbing problems. One of the best services that we offer is a professional drain cleaning. This process is great because it cleans out the mold and mildew that may be sitting in your pipes. That mold can cause health problems in the future, so it is imperative to have it removed as soon as possible. A drain cleaning will also get rid of any blockages that may be building up in your pipes. These blockages exert a tremendous amount of pressure on the pipes. This pressure is enough to bust a pipe wide open leading to huge amounts of water in your structure. Our maintenance program can prevent this tragedy from happening.

We are the only San Antonio plumber that you will ever need. We do work with every type of plumbing problem that you may have. We work with septic systems, wells, and we even install appliances. Our professional and punctual plumbers will arrive at your home or business as soon as possible to help and remedy any emergency that you may have.

Our plumbers at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of San Antonio really do work together as a team to solve any issues that may be affecting your home’s water supply. Our plumbing maintenance program is just the start of the things that we can do. Call us today at 210-549-9944 to get the process started.

It’s not uncommon for drains to become clogged over time, and knowing how to fix them will save you time and money. Most clogged drains can be cleaned using a simple drain auger or plumbing snake. For the big jobs, you can always count on a professional plumber from Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of San Antonio. Our drain cleaning service in San Antonio has the efficient, innovative tools to repair the most stubborn clogs.

Fortunately, most clogged drains can be repaired on your own, providing you follow the proper regimen. For DIY plumbing repair, start with a sewer snake that can be purchased at any home improvement store. There are many varieties available, including handheld and electric powered ones; although most homeowners will find a hand operated, 50-foot plumbing snake to be adequate. Before you start, remove the drain cover from the drain you’ll be working on.

Learning how to use a drain snake is simple and starts by gliding the sewer snake into the drain hole until you reach the blockage. It’s important to push the sewer snake carefully but firmly as it may get stuck on the joints in the plumbing before it reaches the source of the clog. When you’ve finally reached the blockage, move the sewer snake back and forth so that it’s right against the obstruction. Do not push the blockage further down the plumbing.

Next, twist the handle of the sewer snake so that it starts to collect what’s in the plumbing. By rotating the device, the blockage becomes entangled in the coils on the snake. Once caught, lift the drain snake out of the drain and throw away the debris. Rinse the drain with clean water to remove loose debris, and replace the drain cover.

Using a sewer snake is the most effective way to remove stubborn clogs and avoids the need for chemical drain cleaners. If you cannot remove the blockage or the drain continues to clog, call in help from the professionals at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of San Antonio. Our punctual plumbers can be reached at 210-549-9944.

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of San Antonio is the foremost plumbing company in San Antonio TX and surrounding suburbs. They have earned their excellent reputation over the years because of many years of service and commitment to the community. As a franchise location of Benjamin Franklin, our company follows strict guidelines that propelled our company to the top of everyone’s favorite service company list.

With our locally-based, licensed, San Antonio TX plumber staff, we can tackle any plumbing and drain cleaning issue, including water heater replacement, leak detection and other plumbing repairs. In addition, many homeowners can improve their water quality when we install water filters or reverse osmosis systems.

Customers benefit from our “on time” promise and we are known as the “Punctual Plumbers.” We know and respect the value of your time and if we are late for an appointment, we will pay you $5 for every minute we are late. Our customers appreciate our policy of straightforward honest pricing that makes us stand out among other companies doing plumbing maintenance and drain cleaning in San Antonio.

Benjamin Franklin has the ability and personnel to tackle any project and are available 24/7 for emergency service. Look for our money saving coupons on our website. We have earned a Business Excellence Award from Angie’s List. Our technicians keep up with technology and often employ video cameras to inspect your plumbing and locate in-line blockage.

Our customers appreciate that when our plumbers arrive at their home or business, the service truck contains many of the basic parts and tools to get the job done. There is no wasted time going back to the shop for tools or parts.

Contact Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of San Antonio, TX by calling 210-549-9944 for an appointment today.

Plumbing problems plague homeowners all across the San Antonio area, but pinpointing the exact location of the problem can be difficult using guesswork. Today’s best San Antonio TX plumber professionals make use of high-tech equipment such as a camera inserted down the line to look at the problem from inside the pipe. Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of San Antonio goes one step further in their use of a camera. Not only do they use the camera for plumbing diagnosis, they now offer a video camera inspection of your pipes. This lets you see from the inside of the plumbing lines that the problem has been fixed. Their on-time plumbers will be at your home when they promise. Benjamin Franklin is your choice for a trusted plumbing company in San Antonio TX.

The complexity of even the most basic home plumbing systems makes diagnosis of the problem not a task for the layperson. If you find that you have a water line leak, the actual cause of the leak may be much farther up in the plumbing system than the location where you see water. Do-it-yourselfers may cause more problems than they fix when they attempt to repair their own plumbing. Take the problem to Benjamin Franklin’s plumbing experts. They have the experience needed to find where the leak originated with the help of a camera inspection. Using the camera to find the root of the problem lets them get straight to work to make needed repairs.

Cameras are also used by plumbers when they do not know the exact run of a hidden pipe or the location of a clog inside a drain line. The images from the camera show the plumber the direction the pipe or plumbing line moves and where the problem is located. After clearing out a drain, Benjamin Franklin plumbing gives you a view of the inside of the newly cleared line by providing you with picture evidence from their camera.

Benjamin Franklin is not just for water leaks or clogs. They offer an array of plumbing services from drain cleaning to repairing frozen pipes. If you are ready for a camera inspection or have other plumbing needs, call Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of San Antonio at 210-549-9944.

Most of the family has cleared out of the house and preparations are underway for New Year’s celebrations with friends. The season’s festivities undoubtedly will put a strain on your plumbing, particularly your drains. Your San Antonio TX drain clog experts at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing are here to help with some preventative maintenance. If the problem becomes too great then Benjamin Franklin Plumbing is the preferred plumber in the San Antonio area.

Water is not the only thing pouring down our pipes and drains. This is the main cause of drain clogs and being aware of what things are being put into your drains is an important part of knowing how to best proceed in clearing the clog. The kitchen sink is the most used drain in your home and anything from small food items, leftovers, cooking oils and grease, and non-food items are put into our garbage disposal or sink. Bathroom drains in the shower or toilet present a different kind of problem with anything from clumped hair, toilet paper, and anything kids might put down the drain.

For serious clogged drains, call the experts at your San Antonio TX plumber, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, for professional service. For mild drain clogs, remove the stopper or strainer and remove any objects you find before pouring hot water down the drain. Usually, hot water can solve slight clogs as the heat will loosen any clumping.

If hot water does not work or if you’re dealing with a toilet drain, a plunger should be used. It is a good idea to keep a plunger in each of your toilet areas and bathrooms as you never know when you will need one. If you are comfortable with a sewer snake or auger, one of these plumbing drain cleaners should be the course of action after a plunger fails. Always call a professional plumber at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing if you are uncomfortable cleaning your own drain. Often it is best to let a professional handle it so as not to make matters worse leading to more costly plumbing repairs.

Some best practices to prevent drain clogs from happening are bulleted below:

• Avoid dumping food, grease, and coffee grounds into your sink drain
• Install sink strainers and sink stoppers in drains and consistently clean them
• Run cold water in your garbage disposal while using it to chop up food
• Never flush paper towels or non-toilet paper products down the toilet
• Pour hot water down drains often to prevent buildup in pipes

Call Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, your San Antonio plumbing company, at 210-549-9944 or visit their website for more information and to schedule service.

Many large meals will be cooked over the holidays with family in town and it is important to keep in mind the strain one can put on drain pipes. Fat from cooking, oil, grease, leftover food, bone scraps, and many other thick and congealing substances will be tossed down the sink drain without a care. Your San Antonio TX drain cleaning experts at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing want to remind you of a few things before you scrape off your plate or dump your leftover oils into your drain pipes.

Much of the traditional holiday food menu contains fatty oils and grease. Items such as roasted chicken, pie, cookie dough, sauces and gravy, oils, butter, and steak juices have clog creating substance. Water can’t carry all of these substances down the sink drain pipes and too much of them will create a major backup.

Also, some of these oils are not environmentally friendly, aside from the danger of clogging your drain. In most cities and metropolitan areas, you can take up to 10 gallons to local landfill’s that have household and hazardous waste collection facilities. Check your local San Antonio TX city website to find where these landfills are located.  Oils are often reused in an environmentally friendly way and recycled to make another usable product.

Your local San Antonio TX plumber at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing most likely has family of his own in town over the holidays. And while emergency plumbing service is offered, following these simple steps to keep your plumbing draining smoothly over the holidays can’t hurt:

• Do not dump cooking oils and grease into sink drains
• Food scraps should be put into a plastic trash bag
• Cooking grease should be cooled and then scraped into trash bags
• “Unflushables” such as baby wipes, diapers, rags, paper towels, toilet bowel cleaning pads, hygiene products and anything that will not breakup or dissolve in water should not be flushed down the toilet

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, your San Antonio TX plumbing maintenance specialists, can provide you with drain cleaning service should you have trouble this holiday season. Give them at call at 210-549-9944 or visit them online to schedule plumbing service now.

Clogged drains in your kitchen or bathtub or sink are common occurrences and can quickly put a halt to your normal routine. Drain cleaning service from your San Antonio TX plumbing company, Ben Franklin Plumbing, can alleviate any problems you have and prevent stoppage from becoming an issue again.

Many store bought drain cleaners will only temporarily prevent drain clogs and for heavy buildup, often can’t handle the job. Your San Antonio plumber, Ben Franklin Plumbing, will use professional services like drain snaking, hydro jetting, and video camera inspection to find the root cause of your clogged drain. Clogged drains can become worse over time, often due to material buildup that continues to collect, so it is essential that you relieve these issues as soon as you notice water buildup.

One of the most common causes of household drain clogs is grease, soap, and hair buildup. Manmade obstructions from unacceptable items not meant for residential pipes and drains are often flushed or dropped in sinks. These unwanted items cause major backups more quickly and need to be addressed as soon as possible. With the punctual plumber promise, Ben Franklin Plumbing is your San Antonio drain cleaning service of choice. Emergency drain cleaning service, available 24 hours a day, is just a phone call away.

Drain snaking is one of the most common and effective approaches to clearing clogged drains. Hydro jetting clean tougher buildups with high pressure water making sure the walls of the pipe are also clean. Video camera inspection can pinpoint the cause of a clogged drain with state-of-the-art cameras fed down the drain line to the source of the buildup. Video camera inspections can also confirm a drain is cleared after using other methods of unclogging the drain.

Do not hesitate to call a plumbing professional to clear your clogged drain. Schedule a drain cleaning with Ben Franklin Plumbing by visiting them online or calling 210.549.9944.

There are many problems that can occur with your plumbing that put a stop to your everyday activities. A clogged kitchen sink or backed up bathtub is just one of these common occurrences.  A slow-draining sink can prove a major inconvenience in your home, and is not a problem to be put off for another day. Rely on a professional plumbing company to get your drain back to flowing freely in no time, meaning you’ll never have to be without proper plumbing. Our San Antonio TX plumbers at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing can clear your clogged drains, ensuring peak performance for your plumbing system today.

While there are many things that can clog your plumbing system, there is only one company to count on when it comes to clearing them. Using the latest technological advancements in drain cleaning, we can get your drain back to working order in no time. Clogged drains can become worse over time, often due to material buildup that continues to collect, so it is essential that you alleviate these issues as soon as they start. Our plumbing experts rely on various methods of drain cleaning, and we can diagnose the root of your clogging concern and devise the best plan for clearing it.

Oftentimes, the cause of these clogs can be material buildup, be it excess food and grease in your kitchen sink or hair and soap scum buildup in your shower drain. However, sometimes the issue is much larger, like a tree root growing into you sewer system causing a massive backup. This can be an emergency plumbing situation, which is why we are fully outfitted to handle such a situation and offer 24 hour emergency service.

When it comes to dealing with drain clogs in your home, do not hesitate to trust a plumbing professional to take care of this inconvenience today. With any comments, questions, or to schedule a drain cleaning service today, give us a call at 210-549-9944 or contact us online today.

Routine maintenance on your garbage disposal is simple, quick and can keep your disposal running for an extended period of time. Use these home garbage disposal maintenance tips to help prevent odors, blockages, costly repairs, and early replacement.

Remember to run cold water during use for at least 20 seconds. Garbage disposals need water running through the pipes to flush waste and prevent stoppages.

Limit the amount of food you put in your garbage disposal at one time. Allowing too much food into the pipes, although chopped, can quickly cause them to back up. Should you encounter a clogged drain or clogged pipes, Ben Franklin Plumbing, your San Antonio TX plumber, is available for immediate plumbing service.

Avoid pouring harsh chemicals, foreign objects, coffee grounds, or bones into the garbage disposal. Also, grind small scraps of citrus peels in the garbage disposal to keep it smelling fresh.

Grinding ice cubes while running cold water in the garbage disposal will help sharpen the blades and keep it clean. Always call your local San Antonio plumbing company when routine residential plumbing maintenance is not enough.

The experts at Ben Franklin Plumbing are available 24/7 to help you with any plumbing repair or plumbing installation.