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Happy Plumbing New Year!

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The New Year is here again.

Some of us are we are thinking about our New Year’s resolutions. The usual promises to eat better and shed some pounds. Well how about saving some money this year with some plumbing resolutions as well?

All home owners know maintaining good care of your investment will pay off in a multitude of ways specifically in regards to your home or business’s plumbing.

It’s sometimes easy to forget that the plumbing works all day. This makes it susceptible to problems. Don’t call the plumber if you don’t have to in the New Year!

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Add a few plumbing resolutions to your list and don’t worry about your plumbing in 2019.

Your garbage disposal is not a garbage can – Though it does say the word garbage, trust us, all garbage is not for your garbage disposal. Promise yourself to properly dispose of food waste in the New Year. It will save you a few hundred dollars in the end. 

Take Charge – A lot of times a minor leak or clogged pipe or drain can turn into a real pain. Pay very close attention to all things that don’t seem right, loud sounds, water that doesn’t get hot or stays too hot, water squirting or a change in the color of your faucet water.

These small hazards will not stay small. They often end up being expensive emergency calls.

Get new appliances if possible – Are some of your appliances 7, 10 or even 15 years old? 

Appliances at the end of their shelf lives can cause more problems then they are worth.  Invest now and save later.  A busted water heater can turn into a flood real fast in a hurry. 

Having a good functioning water system means fewer chances of issues that will cause emergency hazards in the future.

TIP: Consider ENERGY STAR labelled products as they will be more energy efficient, saving you some cash on your total energy bill. 

Talk To A Professional Like Us– If you have any questions or concerns about your home or business’s plumbing system, having an expert like Fox Valley Plumbing & Backflow in Elgin Illinois to come for an inspection to make sure everything is running properly and efficiently will give you a peace of mind.

In 2019 and for years to come whenever you have a plumbing problem you cannot or don’t want to solve yourself,  Call 847-624-3872 and we’ll take if from there. 

Happy New Year… 

Call Us At (847) 624-3872

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Safety First

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In order to cut down on the chance of hot water burns, Fox Valley Plumbing recommends a temperature setting of 120°-125° F. Always keep safety in mind when it comes to water heaters.

Never store paints, solvents or combustibles near the unit due to the obvious risk of fire.

At Fox Valley Plumbing we use Bradford white water heaters, which carry a 6 year warranty. Customers can purchase an additional warranty. All water heater installations include a new ball valve on cold-water inlet, die electric unions and a one-year warranty on workmanship.

If your water heater needs to be replaced or repaired, Fox Valley Plumbing are the industry leading experts in water heaters. Satisfaction is guaranteed and customer satisfaction is our number one priority starting with our pricing all the way down to our cleanliness.

Fox Valley Plumbing is an Illinois licensed plumbing contractor and the installation technician will always be an Illinois licensed plumber. We are fully insured and bonded for your protection and ours.

Call today to schedule the installation of your new Bradford white water heater today.

Prices subject to change if the current condition of piping is of poor quality, not up to plumbing code or location of water heater is not easily accessible. Prices include disposal of old water heater.

Call Us At (847) 624-3872

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What’s Causing Your Leaking Pipes? Elgin, IL

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What Causes a Pipe to Leak?
When pipes corrode, they leak and cause many unwanted problems to your home.

High Water Pressure:
High water pressure can cause wear and tear on your pipes. Water running through your pipes at high speeds can cause your pipes to burst or leak.

Tree Roots:
Roots of trees, bushes and big shrubs growing in through the connection points of the pipes can cause obstructions that are tough to deal with as a homeowner.

The long thin roots form masses that can grow into tight balls and then grow until they fill the pipes in every direction causing them to leak.

Keeping your home drains free of roots and obstructions is a worthwhile endeavor. Tree roots can apply a lot of pressure to the system as they grow. They can even crush pipes rendering them useless.

Power rodding can save you the hassle and expense of such repairs. To date, power rodding remains one of the best ways to deal with this invasive and irritating problem.

Broken Water Line or Leaking Pipe in Elgin IllinoisTemperature Changes:
Winter in Elgin and most of Illinois, brings snow, ice and plummeting temperatures that can wreak havoc on plumbing. A ruptured water line can cause extensive, costly damage and disrupt your life or business.

Make sure you winterize your property outdoors, draining pools and irrigation systems and hoses, insulating and covering outdoor faucets and securing doors and windows in garages and outbuildings with water supplies.

Foundation Shifts:
Small shifts in your home’s foundation as it settles over time can create your water lines to move, causing them to disconnect or rupture.

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Schaumburg, Il – Do you have basic plumbing skills?

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Can you tell if the plumbing in your home needs work?

Would you like to learn ways to make plumbing improvements yourself? If you want to learn more about how to better maintain your home’s plumbing, read on for some ideas. The advice in this article will show you how to streamline your own plumbing.

Because pipes have a tendency to freeze in the winter months, it’s a good idea to insulate pipes that are in colder spaces. Think about crawl spaces, basement bathrooms, outside water sources, etc. Insulation can be wrapped around pipes, and is available at any hardware store. Proper insulation will save your pipes from any damage, and as an added bonus, your hot water will stay a lot hotter as it travels from the water heater.

When attempting to tighten a pipe, you should know that over-tightening the pipe is bad news. Only tighten until leaks are stopped, because going further can damage threads, and maybe cause pipe cracks.

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Pump your septic tank every five years to keep it working well. Doing this prevents any sediment from getting built up within the tank, which causes a backup in your home or causes your entire septic system to fail. Although it could cost a good deal of money to pump out your septic tank, it will cost a lot more to have a backflow emergency, having to clean sewage backup, or having to fix or replace a septic tank.

Property owners have the option of installing flood alarms to alert them of flooding danger. Flood alarms work on the same principle as smoke alarms. They run on batteries and will have an alarm go off when they touch water. Flood alarms can alert you to leaks or potential floods.

Now that you have the advice in hand, you can get going on taking care of your own plumbing needs. These new ideas may help yield positive results in your work. If they do not work, keep trying until you get pleasant results!

Talk To A Pipes & Drain Specialist Today

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Elgin, Il – Get Those Pipes Working Again With These Tips

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Drain and Pipes Maintenance Tips

Take a few minutes to read these helpful maintenance tips in the article below. You’ll be glad you took the time to learn more knowledge about plumbing in case any issues arise.

You have an easy repair if you hear hammering and squeaking noises coming from your pipes. You must anchor exposed pipes to get rid of the noises. You may want to call a plumber to help with pipes that require you to cut a hole in a wall, ceiling or floor.

The Powerful Use Of Baking Soda & White Vinegar
A cup of baking soda followed with a cup of white vinegar each month will keep your drain running smoothly. Cover the drain and wait for the chemical reaction between the vinegar and baking soda to happen in your pipes.

Wait for at least 10 to 15 minutes before you pour boiling water down the drain. This method should clear your pipes of accumulated hair and soap scum.

Use Lots Of Cold Water
To keep your garbage disposal working at its best, use lots of cold water when it’s on. The cold water helps keep the blades nice and sharp and will allow for a much smoother disposal.

When you use hot water, any grease that is in the garbage disposal will melt and be more prone to stopping up your drain.

fox valley plumbing kitchen garbage disposal install

A Water Hose That Has Been Improperly Installed
If you have water leaking into the dishwasher, luckily it’s an easy fix. The hose that runs from the kitchen sink to the dishwasher is not installed properly, and can be corrected quickly. The hose going from the dishwasher to the sink must go downhill, and then uphill, to prevent water mixing from the two devices.

Knowing some basics about general plumbing will help save you a bunch of money!

fox valley plumbing dishwasher water hose

Talk To A Pipes & Drain Specialist Today

Call Us At (847) 624-3872

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Barrington, Illinois – Is your water bill increasing?

Are you wondering why your water bill has been increasing over the past few months?

At the end of the year when you pay your taxes and you glance at your expanses, you’re not looking for any surprises. If you look at your water bill and compare them to last years, you will probably wonder why are they increasing.

There are a lot of reasons as to why your water bill is rising that are not so evident. The good news is once you can identify these reasons, getting your water bill back were you like it. Let’s take a look at some of the common reasons water bills increase under the nose of the homeowner:

1. Your Toilets Won’t Shut Off
Some “classic” toilets use as much as five to seven gallons of water per flush. Commodes use more water than any other fixture in a home. When they’re not working like they are supposed to, the water usage could rise.

When your water bill surprisingly jumps north, check your toilets. Toilets that are not working properly will run forever. Running toilets are the most common source of high water bills. It could be because of a seal issue, if that’s the case it’s going to keep running to refill itself. This uses a lot of extra gallons of H20.

2. Unseen Leaks
Unseen leaks are another culprit that can cause a increase in your water bill. An Unseen leak, by definition, is usually a leak not visible to the naked eye. If you cant see it, you don’t know to fix it. Even worse, an unseen leak can damage your home.

Unseen leaks can lead to mold growth, water stains, rot, and flooding. If you suspect a hidden leak you might consider hiring a Barrington Illinois plumber who can check your water pressure and then know where to look.

Call Us Today (847) 624-3872

3. Dripping Faucets
They don’t seem like much at first, but over time a ghost drip adds up. One dripping faucet left unrepaired for a month can end up expelling hundreds of gallons of wasted water. Drips are not just annoying–they can cost!

If you are unable to remedy the drip yourself, hire a professional plumber to help you out. Plumbers are good at sniffing out problems like locating and fixing a leaky faucet, solving the pesky problem of no hot water in the shower, and dishwasher leaks, just to name a few.

4. Not WaterSense Approved
The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) created the WasterSense Program to help promote water conservation efforts. If your appliance comes with a WaterSense label, it means it is 20% more efficient than comparable products.

The efficiency is achieved through ecologically-friendly technology. Measurable results are available, so you can compare appliances yourself. If you’ve changed out an appliance with one that is not WaterSense approved that could be the culprit for your rising water bill.

5. Situational Factors
A rising water bill can also be the result of other factors like hosting a guest or family member for an extended period of time. According to the USGS Water Science School , one person uses about 80-100 gallons of water per day in the U.S.

You can easily see how additions to the family can spike your water bill. Ultimately, if you’re not sure why your bill is rising contact a trusted plumber and chances are they’ll be able point you in the right direction.

If you need help, call Fox Valley Plumbing & Backflow.

We offer 24 hour emergency plumbing services; even if it’s a holiday weekend, or late at night, we will help you..

Call Us Today (847) 624-3872
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Barrington, Illinois – Plumber Shares Water Heater Maintenance Tips

Plumber share’s all the water heater maintenance tips you need.

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Elgin, Il – Plumber Uses A Drain Camera To Find Your Lost Valuables

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Watch This Before You Hire A Plumber To Find Your Valuables

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Barrington IL – Sump Pump System Prevention

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When it comes to your sump pump system, a little bit of prevention can be worth thousands.

So does it makes sense (and dollars) to replace your sump pump system every few years?

The function of your sum pump system is to remove water that my builds up around the foundation of your home during heavy water flow. If you have a toilet in your basement, you may have a sump pump system as part of your plumbing system to eject water out of your basement.

The way a sump pump operates is that it has a float attached to a switch. When the float rises with the level of the water, it tells the pump when it’s time to get to work according to the level of the water. Due to wear and tear the off & on switch might wear out.

Once the microswitch switch wears out, a couple of things might happen:
1) The worn-out switch can fail to tell your pump motor to turn on, which results in flooding in your home.
2) When the microswitch fails, it can fail in the open position causing your sump pump to run without shutting off, and as a result burning out the sump pump’s motor, which once again results in water overflowing.

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The problem with your sump pump is that you’ll never know when the microswitch is going to conk out until it’s too late and you have a flood on your hands in your home.

It’s therefore recommended that you replace your sump pump motor every 5 to 6 years even if it appears that your sump pump is running fine, because you never know when your switch is going to fail. And although it seems like an unnecessary expense, the cost of replacing your sump pump is small compared to the high cost of damage caused by home flooding.

The other thing to consider with your sump pump, is having some sort of backup system. When you have the highest water levels around the outside of your home during major periods of rainfall, these storms can cause a power failure. The combination of high water levels and a power failure can lead to flooding in your home.

Therefore it’s a good idea to install a backup power source for your sump pump. This can be a battery type backup system, or you might want to consider a hydraulic backup system which uses the water supply from your home to run a backup pump that can run for as long as the power is out, whereas a backup battery will run out of power eventually.

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Barrington, Illinois – Does Your Home Have A Good Sump Pump System?

The April rains are our friends but the flooding, leaks, mold, and other plumbing hazards they can cause will put a poop on your party. The good news is with a little preparation you can avoid all the mess that goes along with a flooding home…

Beat The Storm

Be Sure Your Home Has A Good Sump Pump System: Does your area get hit with tons of water? If you live in Illinois, the answer is yes. It’s time to ponder a sump pump system. Sump pumps redirect water from your home to the outside. If your basement sits below the water table and is a continual flood hazard it would be a good idea to get a backup support sump pump system during a big storm. Large volumes of water will rush into your basement if you do not have the correct system in place.

Remove Clutter: Make sure storm gutters and drains cleared of all debris. It’s a good practice to routinely inspect your water flow stays free. This will ensure your pipes remain free of debris to prevent blocked pipes.

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After A Bad Storm

Watch for Mildew: Mildew is caused when moisture accumulates in dark places where not a lot of air flows. Not only can it destroy things, but it can seriously cause issues with your health (and possibly could affect the resale value of your home).

Mildew Can Be Recognized by:

  • Visible mold (generally, black texture)
  • Stinky smell
  • Peeling drywall
  • Breathing issues

 

Mildew isn’t just limited to basements. Check for moisture or smells in your floors and walls. Slow pipe leaks as well as steady leaks can go without being noticed for a long time. This is what leads to treacherous Mildew growth. Also over time it can cause critical issues to your home’s foundation.

Run the Tap Water: Run your shower & sink faucets. If you notice a slow down in the water pressure, it might mean that you have a busted pipe or leak of some kind caused by heavy rains. Be sure you keep an eye out for dirt, debris, or generally funny colored water. This could signify damaged or corroded pipes.

Watch for Blocks: Pipes can become backed up after rainstorms due to debris deposited into storm drains and downpipes during storms. This type of clog is best left to the pros — not corrosive cleaners.

Call a Pro: If you’re unsure how to detect or repair plumbing damage caused by storms, it’s best to call the pros. Fox Valley Plumbing & Backflow’s professional plumbers have the expertise and tools needed to replace sensitive plumbing components like sump pump sensors, pipes, and fittings.

At the first sign of storm damage, call Fox Valley Plumbing & Backflow to keep your plumbing flowing…

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