Even if you are experienced with home repairs, many plumbing emergencies and problems will require a trained professional to get the job done properly. In addition to relying on your local plumber for occasional emergencies, the following situations are best left to professionals:
Low Water Pressure
If you have low water pressure throughout the house, talk to the professionals. Several factors can cause this problem. These include obstructions (rust or debris) in the water lines, low water pressure from the city supply, or even poor supply-line design. A good plumber knows how to analyse the problem.
No Hot Water
It’s obvious what happened, but unless the hot water tank is leaking, it may take a while to find out why. If the tank is electric, it could be a bad heating element, a tripped circuit breaker or blown fuse, a faulty thermostat, or a bad overload switch. On gas heaters, thermocouple burners and igniters can fail.
Call a plumber to fix this one — he or she likely has a lot of experience and can tell you if you need a new heater or if the existing one can be repaired. If the heater needs to be replaced, your plumber can carry the new one to the basement, connect it, make sure that it works properly, and dispose of the old one.
Sewer Line Backing Up
If you’ve tried all the tricks you know to get your sewer line to drain properly and it continues to back up, you probably have a bad plug in the line. This line runs out to the main sewer and the damage is possibly caused by a tree root.
Rather than rent one of the big sewer rodding machines, call a plumber or drain cleaning service.
Frozen Pipes
This doesn’t happen too much in Australia, but if the winter is cold enough, it can – and it is bad news. If a pipe freezes, close the main water shutoff valve and open a faucet nearby before attempting to thaw the pipe. You may be able to thaw the pipe yourself but if it isn’t working, or if the pipe has already cracked or burst, you’ll need to call a plumber.
Call the Experts
If you have a plumbing emergency or a problem that is beyond your skill level to fix, contact the team at Boland Plumbing. We have experience with all kinds of household plumbing issues and offer 24/7 emergency plumbing services.