Think about all of the plumbing equipment in your Cincinnati area home. From the water heater and sump pump to the toilets and sinks, there are a lot of things that could go wrong and ruin your day. Checking your home’s plumbing is one way to keep disaster at bay, so you won’t have to come home to find your kitchen turned into a swamp.

See these 3 reasons to regularly check your plumbing from:

Avoid A Basement Catastrophe

People like surprises, but finding water in your Cincinnati basement when you expect your sump pump to work is not one of them. Over time, your sump pump may wear out, or the float may get stuck on the side of your sump pump pit.

It’s important to periodically check your sump pump to make sure it is working to avoid a wet basement. It’s also a good idea to install a sump pump battery backup, so your sump pump will work even when the power goes out.

Steer Clear of a Toilet & Faucet Meltdown

As your home’s toilet and faucet get older, it is more likely to need a repair here and there. Before doing repairs yourself, it’s a good idea to check the shut off valves for your toilet, kitchen, and bathroom faucets. That way, if you ever need to shut off the water in the event of an emergency, you will know where they are located and how they work.

You can also inspect the inner workings of your toilet for wear and tear. Over time, the valves in your toilet can wear out, and eventually cause a running toilet. This can cost you money on your water bill in addition to the annoying noise it creates.

Related Reads: 7 Items to Never Put Down Your Drain!

Never Step Into a Freezing Shower Again

Avoid stepping into a freezing cold shower by checking your water heater. This important piece of plumbing equipment is responsible for heating the water in your house. Keeping tabs on it will prevent it from going out when you least expect it to. You’ll want to check it for leaks, but also look for signs of rust near the bottom of the tank. A water heater that decides to fail can be a real messy problem.

These are just a few of the important pieces of plumbing equipment in your home that you need to inspect on a regular basis. For more information about plumbing inspections or to schedule one by a professional, contact Herrmann Services today.

There are a lot of myths out there about what is okay to flush down your toilet or put in your garbage disposal. At Herrmann Services, our plumbers have seen it all. That’s why we came up with this list of items to never flush down your toilet or wash down your garbage disposal. Follow these suggestions and keep your drains clog free.

    Don’t Flush These Items:

1. Hygiene Products: Even if the packaging on feminine products claims they are “flushable”, don’t do it! Some companies may not test their product in real-life conditions, leading to products safe in laboratories but not so safe in actual septic tanks or sewers. Always throw them in the trash instead. 
2. Baby Wipes: These are one of the absolute worst items to flush down a toilet. They do not degrade easily and end up gathering together to make large obstructions that require professional help. 
3. Cotton Swabs: If you are applying cosmetics or cleaning out ears, these tiny, non-threatening sticks with bits of fluff are not going to make it through the necessary twists and turns of a plumbing system. 
4. Toilet Paper: But it’s made to be flushed, right? Um, not always. If you go for the super-plush mega ply brands, you may want to be careful about how much you use. The higher the grade, the higher the risk. If you want to pamper your bum, make sure to only use as much as necessary.
   

   Don’t Put These Down Your Disposal:

5. Grease: After traveling a few inches down the pipes, the heat effect wears off, the grease quickly cools and a buildup of residue clings to pipes which bits and bobs and other particles become trapped in. Not only will a clog eventually develop, but it will be a very smelly process.
6. Coffee Grounds: They seem harmless, right? Surely those fine particles won’t clog the drain, right? They might also mask nasty odors emanating up from pipes, right? Wrong, on all accounts. These particles continue to retain moisture and, in effect, become like a cement alternative. Toss them in the garbage.
   
7. Certain Food Scraps: But you’ve got a disposal installed in the sink, you say. That’s what it’s made for, you say. Then you end up with a terrible clog. Vegetable peels and pasta should never be put down a disposal. Pasta expands and vegetable peels are never shredded into small enough particles. It will take next to forever for even a small piece of potato peel to biodegrade. And it will stink until its final demise.

No Clog Is a Match for Our Hydro Jet Clog Buster

If you do get a clog, call the expert clog removers at Herrmann Services. We’ve got the latest equipment including our Hydro Jet clog remover. This tool uses a high-pressure water jet inside your pipes to remove everything from hair and grease to roots and rocks!

Call us at (513) 737-8423 or contact us online when you need your drains unclogged.    

At Herrmann Services, we pride ourselves on our fast, fixed-the-first-time plumbing services. That’s why we invest in the latest and greatest plumbing solutions – like our hydro jet drain cleaning tool. We have always provided full-service drain cleaning for homes in the Cincinnati area, but now, we’ve upped our game.

Hydro Jetting Clears Every Clog Fast

The hydro jet system uses high pressure water jetting inside your pipes to clear anything in its way. Grease, hair, rocks, roots, you name it – they don’t stand a chance against this state-of-the-art drain cleaning tool. Combine that with our video technology that lets our plumbers pinpoint the clog, and your plumbing problems are over.

No Drain Is a Match for Our Hydro Jet

Our plumbers have years of experience, and you will always get the same professionalism every time we enter your home. Our philosophy is to always provide upfront pricing, so you will know exactly what your drain cleaning will cost before we ever start the job. We use the camera to identify broken or collapsed pipe, blockages, corrosion, leaking joints, and even tree root infiltration. This prevents costly digging or damage to your pipe system. Our plumbers can handle:

• Kitchen Drain Cleaning
• Bathroom Drain Cleaning
• Main Sewer Pipe Cleaning
• Toilet Drain Cleaning
• Floor Drain Cleaning
• Window Well Cleaning
• Downspout Cleaning
• Residential and Commercial

Say goodbye to clogged or slow-running plumbing! Just call Herrmann Services and our hydro jetter, the ultimate drain cleaning tool, will have your pipes clean as a whistle in no time. Contact us online or call us at (513) 737-8423.

April showers bring May flowers! Spring is right around the corner, and with it comes the rainy season. While all the rain is great blooming spring flowers, it is not so good for our basements and crawl spaces.

All of this rain greatly increases the odds of basement flooding, even if you don’t live in a flood plain. According to the National Flood Insurance Program, floods are the No. 1 disaster in America, averaging over $3 billion in claims per year.

Repairing flood damage can be extremely costly depending on the extent of water entering your home.

So, what should you do to avoid coming home to knee-deep water in your basement?

Perform regular tests and maintenance of your sump pump! To test your pump all you need is a 5 gallon bucket and some water.

Test the Sump Pump

Make sure your sump pump is plugged in and slowly pour water into the hole where the pump is sitting. When the water caused the float to rise the pump should turn on and begin pumping out the water.

If your pump does not have a float, you can expect the pump to turn on when the water level is roughly 8-12 inches from the top of the floor.

Watch It Pump

Let your sump pump run until the water is low enough to turn off the pump, then fill it up again to make sure it turns on again.

Related Read: Looking for a 24-Hour Plumber in Cincinnati?

Check the Float

If your sump pump didn’t turn on, you may have a problem with your float. Make sure it is not stuck or rubbing against the side of the sump pump pit. The float is what triggers the on/off switch, so if it cannot move freely, it may be why your sump pump won’t turn on.

Try raising the float by lifting it up by hand to see if the pump turns on, or add more water to the sump basin until the float becomes activated. If the pump still does not operate you may have a bigger issue at hand.

Check the Outlet Pipe

Look for the outlet pipe on the outside of your home. This pipe should be directed away from your foundation to carry the water from your basement out, and away from your home.

Check for any clogs, buildup, or debris that would prevent a steady flow of water. You should also check for any obvious signs of damage that would require a repair. Water should be flowing freely and should not run back toward your home.

Consider Age and Condition of Sump Pump

Sump pumps usually have a lifespan of 10 years or so. With the weather we have in Cincinnati, there is a good chance that your sump pump gets a regular workout.

If your sump pump is over 10 years old, or is completely rusted over and ancient looking, there is a good chance you are on borrowed time. Even if it is working, plan to have it replaced soon so you don’t have a failure at the worst possible time.

What Else Can You do to Reduce Flood Risk to Your Home?

1. Install a Battery Backup: With heavy storms, there is always a good chance your power may go out. Your sump pump runs on electricity so if the power goes out, your sump pump cannot pump water out of your basement.  Sump pump battery backup systems are available and they allow your sump pump to operate even if the power is out. If your sump pump loses power a battery backup pump may just be the saving grace you need to keep your home dry.
2. Check your gutter system: Rain gutters should be free of debris and cleaned regularly too allow water to flow away from your foundation. Additionally, you can consider purchasing gutter extensions which will attach to your down spouts to carry water further from the base of your home.
3. Waterproof the walls: You can help to limit the amount of water that can enter your basement by plugging gaps and lining the walls. Your local hardware store will sell a waterproofing/sealing paint that you can add to increase the likelihood your walls will keep water out.

I’ve Had Water Damage, Now What?

1. Contact your homeowners insurance immediately to see if you qualify for any coverage. Take extensive photos of the damage if necessary.
2. To help keep costs of repairs low, the next step to take is to dry out the basement. If you’re dealing with standing water left on the floor, consider renting a wet vac to suck up and dispose of the remaining water.
3. A dehumidifier will to help dry out the rest of the basement and reduce the occurrence of mold.
4. Contact your plumber to rectify the problem so it does not happen again.

Herrmann Services offers service and maintenance for sump pumps and we can install a new one or offer a battery backup system. If you need sump pump service or installation, call us at (513) 407-5177.

Your water heater is an essential part of your home’s mechanical system. The words, “There’s no hot water!” preceded by a shriek from the shower, are not something you want to hear from your teenage daughter as she’s getting ready for school in the morning!

According to the American Water Works Association, The average American family uses 45-65 gallons of water per person, per day. And 20-30 gallons of that water is the heated variety — hot water for showers, baths, dishes, laundry, etc.

We depend on our water heater for all of these activities every day of every week. It’s precisely because it’s such a valuable piece of equipment, that when something goes wrong with it, it can feel like a catastrophe!

Sooner or later, every homeowner faces the prospect of having to replace a failed or aging water heater. When that day arrives, which will you choose — one of the new tankless water heaters or a traditional model? Here’s some helpful information on tankless vs. traditional water heaters to help you decide before you actually need to replace yours.

Differences Between Traditional & Tankless Water Heaters

A traditional water heater has a tank that stores and pre-heats anywhere from 30 to 50 gallons of water at a time to use for showers, laundry, etc. Once that hot water is used, the tank starts all over again, refilling and pre-heating another 30-50 gallons.

A tankless water heater doesn’t store any water. Rather, it uses gas or electricity to warm the water as it’s needed. It’s an “on demand” system.

Now let’s look at the pros and cons of each …

Traditional Water Heater Pros

• Lower initial installation cost
• Low venting cost
• Easy to maintain
• Easy to replace
• Still works during power outage (gas powered)

Traditional Water Heater Cons

• Limited amount of hot water available at one time
• Higher energy bills in the winter
• Shorter life compared to tankless water heaters
• Freshness of water – water that is in the tank a while can collect corrosion and rust
• Space – The tank takes up more room than a tankless version
• Over time, the tank could get a leak

Tankless Water Heater Pros

• Never run out of hot water
• Less energy to operate
• Higher efficiency meaning monthly savings on energy bills
• Space-saving
• Lasts longer than a traditional water heater – up to 20 years

Tankless Water Heater Cons

• Higher initial cost
• Basically serves one tap at a time, making it impossible for a person to have a hot shower while the washer is filling with hot water
• Runs on electricity and won’t work during a power outage

It all comes down to the needs of your family and your priorities. If you need a water heater and don’t want to spend more initially, a traditional water heater may be a better choice. If, on the other hand, you prefer your hot water “on demand”, and don’t mind the higher up-front costs, the tankless version may be the right choice for you.

If you are ready to replace your water heater and need professional installation in the Cincinnati area, fill out the form on the top of the page or call (513) 407-5177.