Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning Blog

Tag: Drain Cleaning

drain cleaning

One of the most important things to keep in mind when considering HVAC is timing. It’s important to have your air conditioner tuned up in spring, your heater tuned up in fall, and your drain cleaning tuned up on a regular basis. This is why we’re here to talk about drain cleaning in Fort Collins, CO today.

Drain cleaning is something that can be a little tricky. If you’re looking for it to be done the right way, then we suggest our professionals. We strive to make it easy because we’re experienced. When you choose us, you’re choosing a team that’s backed by over 85 years of industry experience. Now, let’s figure out if it’s time to clean your drains.

Clean Your Drains If…

It’s time to clean your home’s drain if you’re experiencing any of the following:

High Water Bills

Have you noticed a spike in your water bills that you just can’t explain? If so, then it’s time to get a plumbing professional out by your side. High water bills are a sign that you’re dealing with significant inefficiency somewhere within your plumbing system. This is never something that we want you to deal with long term. It could be due to a small leak or corroded pipe. We’ll figure it out and get you the right assistance.

Bad Scents

When you think of your sewer system or drains, you probably don’t think of this system smelling like roses. While it’s not necessarily going to smell pleasant, it shouldn’t reek or make your home smell awful. If it does, it’s time to schedule an appointment for a drain cleaning.

Mold

Mold is always bad news. If you notice that you have moldy drains, then it’s likely that you have a clog building up in the same area. This is when we suggest professional drain cleaning. Mold is harmful to your personal health. It’s best to address a problem like this as soon as possible.

Standing Water

Have you noticed that there’s standing water in your sink or tub? This is a nightmare scenario for most homeowners. You never want to walk to a fixture in your home and see a pool of stagnant, dirty water sitting beneath it.

Clogs

Are you having trouble with back to back clogs in your home? This isn’t something that you should deal with. Clogging is something that’s going to happen in every home, but repeated clogging within a small frame of time is terrible news. This isn’t the time to turn to chemical drain cleaning solutions. It’s the time to invest in professional care.

Gurgling Sounds

When you pour something down the drain, is the process accompanied by gurgling sounds? Maybe you even notice it causing a backup in other parts of the house. For example, you could have a double sink and one side could drain slowly and cause the other side to gurgle. Any odd occurrences like this are a sign that your pipes need some hands on care. We’re the team that can provide it for you.

Contact Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning for your drain cleaning this spring.

Twitter

Clean My Drains

If your home’s drains are clogged, you will begin to notice a sign of them soon. You will see a puddle of water in your sink as you load the dishwasher after dinner. Your bathroom sink will become slow to drain water after you brush your teeth. You may also notice water accumulating near the shower drain as it takes time to flow down.

If something like this happens at your home, you should immediately call professional plumbing in Loveland, CO to get the problem fixed. Even if the problem isn’t that big, it is better to get your drains cleaned quickly before it becomes a major headache.

How Often Should You Clean Your Drains

Homeowners are at different risks of clogged drains based on their property and usage. For instance, if you live in an old home with pipes laid down forty years ago, you will need drain cleaning services more often. If you live in a newly built home, you may be able to get by with fewer drain cleanings per year.

Similarly, if you live in your own home, you may treat the drains with care and not need the help of professional cleaners that often. If you are a landlord and rent out your property to tenants, they may not be as careful. They could be pouring down all kinds of stuff down the drain, thinking that it is just a rental property.

Experts recommend getting a professional plumbing service to clean your property’s drains every 6 months. You should also follow proper disposal methods, like using sink sieves and keeping your drains protected from plastic or glass items.

With proper care, you may only need to clean your drains once every year with no problems. However, if you flush rice, grease, oils, and other sticky stuff down the drain, then you will need professional-grade cleaning more often.

Annual Cleaning Can Help

Even if you are extra careful and do not run into any problems with your drains, getting them cleaned and checked once a year is recommended. Getting the drains cleaned regularly will prevent them from getting clogged over time.

Regular drain cleaning can improve the life of the pipes. It helps maintain the system’s efficiency and ensures that you won’t suddenly get a problem that costs you thousands of dollars to repair. If you are looking for peace of mind and want to save costs in the long run, you should get your drains cleaned regularly.

Get In Touch

If you want to get professional-grade cleaning for your drains at a competitive market rate, then get in touch with the best. Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning has built a reputation as a reliable and customer-focused plumbing service in Loveland, Colorado. Trusted by hundreds of homeowners across the city, we are the number one choice for all kinds of commercial and residential drain cleaning. We have the services you need.

Contact Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning. We’re big enough to serve but small enough to care!

Twitter

Drain Cleaning

Spring is here and cleaning is on everyone’s mind. This is the time of year where you’re thinking about cleaning all those nooks and crannies, opening up your windows to let in some warm air, and starting new. Have you given any thought to your plumbing? We’re not here to shame you if you haven’t. Your plumbing is that one area that tends to take a backseat. We’re here today to pull it into the spotlight.

Taking care of your home’s plumbing system is one way to make things much easier for your home. If you don’t know where to start with this care, we’d suggest starting with a drain cleaning in Loveland, CO. Let’s talk about the details below.

Why Clean Your Drains?

Are you wondering why you should even clean your drains? It’s a common question.

The answer is because build-up creates inefficiency within your plumbing system. It can even lead to problems with your home’s health. Back-up creates clogs and sluggish drains. These problems can further snowball into issues like standing water that leads to mold and mildew, foul odors, and unhygienic conditions across your home.

“Do I Need a Drain Cleaning?”

There are signs that point to a need for urgent drain cleaning:

  • Gurgling Sounds: You wash your hands and your sink gurgles for a while after. This is a sign that there is some type of debris within your home’s drains.
  • Clogging: You’re frequently battling against clogs. If clogs seem to happen on a routine basis, then the problem wasn’t solved at its source. Inefficient plumbing work can leave debris in your drain that contributes to more clogs.
  • Fruit Flies: Fruit flies are actually a sign that you have debris in your drains. Don’t stress yourself out trying to keep all your fruit in your fridge or cleaning your counters incessantly. The debris that they’re attracted to is in your drains.
  • You’re Reliant on Drain Cleaner: You can go more than a few months without running out to the store to buy a chemical drain cleaner. It’s not a good sign that you’re struggling with sluggish pipes. The chemical drain cleaner could actually be eating away at your pipes and making it much worse.
  • Standing Water: Are your sinks constantly full of standing water? This is a clear sign that your drains are struggling. A clean foundation can make them much easier to work with.

Professional Service Is Best

You don’t want to trust an amateur for your home services. We understand that amateurs promise a lot, but the reality is that they can’t deliver what a professional can. Professional service is important because it provides quality and longevity. We’re big on both of these things. We make sure that our quality is up to par across the board. This includes tools, team members, and expertise. This contributes to the longevity that you receive on your end. Quality work yields quality results that last you years to come.

Contact Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning to schedule an appointment with our team members today.

Twitter

drain cleaning

With the holidays coming up, and the additional cooking and cleaning that come along with them, you can count on your drains taking a beating. It can be tough to ensure that nothing that shouldn’t go down your drains actually doesn’t go down your drains—especially when you’ve got extra help in the kitchen. But the holidays are not the only time you should be thinking about your drains. They’re also not the only time when things go wrong.

Today, we’ll talk a bit about what can cause drain problems. We’ll also talk about why you should really leave the resolution of those problems to the professionals. We know, we know. They sell drain cleaners at the hardware store. But we also know that that’s not the quick-fix that so many people seem to believe. In truth, nothing beats a good drain cleaning from a professional plumber in Loveland, CO.

 

What Clogs Drains?

So. Many. Things.

We spoke about the kitchen dilemma up above. Failure to drain off fat and grease, or putting starchy materials that can absorb water and swell up down the drain, often account for kitchen drain clogs. However, there is also the bathroom. That’s where hair winds up in the tub drain, where parents mistakenly flush baby wipes, etc.

Put covers over your drains, empty them regularly, and make sure that everyone in your house, resident or visitor, knows the expectations when it comes to your plumbing system. It may seem intrusive to tell someone not to flush wipes or to put rice in the garbage disposal, but it’s a heck of a lot better than needing professional plumbing services!

Why Is Professional Drain Cleaning the Way to Go?

Two reasons. It’s the most effective way to handle the issue, and it can give your plumber the chance to recognize more serious problems brewing. We aren’t saying that you’re not allowed to try and plunge your toilet or anything. That’s totally within reason. However, if you can clear a clog with that simple procedure, you should really stop and think before dumping a bunch of harsh chemicals down the drain—or trying to snake out the drain yourself.

Those harsh chemicals are not easy on the environment or on your plumbing system. And they will most likely just clear enough of the clog to allow the cleanser to pass through. That leaves enough behind that the problem will probably pop back up before long, anyway. And if you try and snake the drain out yourself, you may well just force that snake through the clog. Again, that may give the illusion of having solved the problem, but it’s only a matter of time before you’re dealing with it again.

Let Us Clean Your Drains the Right Way

Our professional plumbers have the tools and training that they need to get your drains cleaned out properly. That way, you won’t have to worry about what’s left behind or how much time you’re buying yourself. Yes, it’s a professional service that comes with a charge, but you’ll be saving money in the long run thanks to the lasting results that a professional provides.

Schedule your plumbing services with Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning. Big enough to serve, small enough to care.

Twitter

Drains Clogged

Maybe you truly love hosting friends and family around the holidays, cooking meals for them and maybe even putting them up for a few nights. Maybe you’re only lukewarm on the proceedings, but go with the flow because you’re thankful for the people in your life. Whatever the case, whatever your excitement level surrounding the responsibilities of hosting, one thing is certain—plumbing problems can put a damper on even the cheeriest of celebrations!

Among the most common of all plumbing problems, and definitely a very common issue during the holiday season, is the clogged drain. When you are cooking for and cleaning up after more people than normal, and when you potentially have a lot more strain put on your bathroom plumbing than is normal, you can understand how these problems may develop. Be sure to reach out to a member of our team with any concerns that you may have. You can count on our drain cleaning service in Loveland.

What You Can Do to Prevent Clogged Drains

Quite a lot, actually. Now, much of this is going to fall squarely on your shoulders. However, if you are hosting guests, you have to get over any hesitation that you may have in explaining some ground rules about your plumbing. This is especially true for those visitors that have young children with them. There is nothing wrong with requesting that some care be taken with your plumbing system! Keep the following in mind, and share anything relevant with any guests that you’re hosting.

The Kitchen

Do not pour any FOG down the drain. This means fat, oil, or grease. Roasted a beautiful bird to feed the crew? Pour the FOG from the roasting pan into a can, freeze it, and toss it in the garbage when you’re ready to take it out for the week. You don’t want to pour FOG down your drain, because it’s only a liquid when warm. When it cools in the plumbing system, it can and will congeal, and that can cause major clogs. Also, make sure that you’re not putting fibrous or starchy foods down the garbage disposal. Fibrous foods can jam up the impeller mechanism, while starchy foods can expand in moisture and lead to blockages.

The Bathroom

Nobody wants to talk about the business that individuals take care of in the bathroom. It’s a private affair, we get it. However, you need to make sure that everyone using your plumbing knows how to use it properly. Make sure that there is a trash bin right next to the toilet for any sanitary products that need to be disposed of. Make sure that any parents visiting with their children understand that no baby wipes, even those claiming to be flushable, are, in fact, flushable. Trust us on this one—you don’t want to learn this lesson the hard way.

If your drains are moving slowly, gurgling, or backed up completely,  just give a member of our team a call. We’ll make sure that they’re cleaned effectively and thoroughly.

Schedule your drain and sewer services with Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning. Big enough to serve, small enough to care.

Twitter

Drain Cleaning Loveland CO

If there were a way in which you could completely avoid clogged drains in the future, trust us: we’d share it with you. Sure, it would cut into our service calls, but we would never withhold that kind of information just to keep some revenue coming in! Unfortunately, your drains are going to get clogged up from time to time. It’s not about eliminating drain clogs, but about limiting them as much as possible.

How do you do that? Prevention. While there are  situations in which drain clogs cannot be avoided, more often than not they are the result of user error. Oversights happen, but being more careful to do what you can to avoid clogs is really the best way to keep them to a minimum.

So keep the following in mind and, when your drains do stop flowing, remember to schedule your drain cleaning in Loveland, CO with our team. 

Put Drain Covers In—And Clean Them!

First things first—cover your drains. No, not with plugs that won’t let water pass through. With straining covers that will only let water pass through! That will keep hair in the bathtub from making its way down the drain and food scraps from going down the kitchen sink drain. Then, there is the matter of cleaning your drain covers regularly.

If you let the cover clog up, some of those trapped materials are likely to be forced through or around the covers. Plus, you’ll have your tub or sinks back up on you. Then, when you remove the submerged trap, some materials in the water are going to make it down the drain. Don’t let things get so clogged that your drains become vulnerable!

Do Not Flush Anything Other Than Toilet Paper

Well, and bodily waste, but that should go without saying. Yes, some baby wipes are going to claim to be “flushable.” We’re very familiar with such products. We often remove clogs that developed because of these “flushable” wipes! Waste and toilet paper, seriously. That’s it.

This applies to your company, too. Look, no one wants to stick their nose in other people’s business. Just remember that your plumbing system is your business. Let guests know, especially if they have kids, that nothing other than toilet paper should be flushed. And make it easy for them by having a trash bin right there in the bathroom!

Scrape Those Plates, Drain Those Pans

Cooking is a fun family activity. Sometimes it is a less fun necessity. Whatever the situation, remember that cleaning those dishes after cooking can make or break the plumbing system. Do not let food scraps go down your drain, unless you have a garbage disposal and you are disposing of appropriate types of food scraps.

Even trickier is the role grease plays in clogging drains. Yes, we know, it’s a liquid that easily pours down the drain when it’s hot. When it cools down, though, grease will congeal and trap other scraps in the drain, leading to serious clogs. Drain off fat and grease into empty cans, freeze it, and throw it out to avoid clogs in the drains.

Schedule your drain cleaning services with Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning. Big enough to serve, small enough to care.

Twitter

Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning Blog

Search

Archive

Archive

Categories

Categories

Tags