Have Questions About Sewer Video Inspection Services? We Have Answers

Sewer Camera Inspection 101

Plumbing problems aren’t the best part of home ownership, but they are part of life, and one way or another, everyone has had to deal with one and the inconvenience that comes with it. Thankfully, modern technology has made it easier to identify and resolve plumbing problems. A sewer camera inspection is one way to help plumbers more accurately identify sewer line problems so that repair is done correctly the first time. This post will discuss sewer video inspection services, their advantages, and some signs that they may be needed.

The Basics of Sewer Camera Inspection

A sewer camera inspection involves inserting a small camera into the pipelines to check their condition or find the source and extent of a particular problem in the sewer line. The camera is on one end of a long flexible cable that can enter the sewer line through an opening called a sewer cleanout or through drains, so the process is noninvasive and doesn’t require any digging.

This equipment is specially designed to be able to navigate the narrow diameters of a pipe. It can transmit real-time footage to the plumber of the inside of sewer lines as well as the camera's location, which allows plumbers to determine the location of the problem once it has been found to help them better with repairs.

When Would You Need Sewer Video Inspection?

This non-invasive method of inspecting sewer lines uses state-of-the-art cameras to assess the inside of pipes. So, what signs indicate homeowners may need a sewer video inspection? One of the most common signs is slow draining or frequent clogging of pipes. If homeowners notice signs like backups or slow drainage, this could be a sign of a blockage in the sewer line that requires further investigation.

Another tell-tale sign is foul odors coming from the drains or yards. This could indicate a break or leak in the sewer line, causing sewage to seep out or a clog. Other signs to look out for include gurgling noises, patches of lush green grass in the yard, and increased pest activity near the sewer line.

In addition to identifying specific problems, there are other situations where sewer video inspection is also necessary. For instance, if someone is planning on purchasing a new property or selling an existing one, it is recommended to have a sewer video inspection done beforehand. This can help identify any potential issues with the sewer line and allow for necessary repairs or negotiations before finalizing the sale.

Advantages of Sewer Video Inspection

There are numerous benefits to utilizing sewer camera inspection, with its ability to catch all sorts of issues and damage like leaks, clogs, corrosion, intruding tree roots, and more being at the top of the list. One of the greatest advantages of this technology is that it allows for a non-invasive method of identifying potential issues within a sewer system. This means that no property damage or extensive digging is required to locate and diagnose potential problems.

Additionally, sewer camera inspection can be used to identify issues at an earlier stage, preventing more significant and costly damage in the long run. This technology also allows for a more precise diagnosis, ensuring the correct solution is implemented to resolve any problems. With its ability to minimize costs, save time, and prevent further damage, it's no wonder that sewer camera inspection has become so widely used.

About Scott Plumbing

Scott Plumbing is a local,family-owned and operated company serving Huntsville, AL, and the surrounding areas. They offer clear and honest price estimates, same-day service, and a satisfaction guarantee. Call them today for sewer video inspection services in Huntsville, AL.

Distribution Links +

Modern kitchen sink area with organized under-sink storage, featuring sleek cabinetry and stylish faucet by Scott Plumbing.

Best Maintenance Practices to Keep Your Garbage Disposal in Good Shape

How to Take Care of Your Garbage Disposal

The holidays are officially here, and along with the festivities comes preparing big family meals for countless parties, gatherings, or celebrations. For most homes, the kitchen transforms into a busy hub of activity with all the cooking, eating, cleaning, and dishwashing involved.

This also means that the sinks collect mountains of dishes, and the garbage disposal is constantly running in the background. With all the food and cleaning during the holiday, homeowners should ensure that the garbage disposal is in top shape to prevent any unexpected breakdowns or clogs that could put a damper on all the holiday festivities. The following are some of the best ways to ensure the garbage disposal stays in good condition and to prevent clogs.

Food That Doesn’t Belong in Garbage Disposals

The first thing to consider when preventing clogged pipes and garbage disposal problems is to ensure that particular foods don’t go down the drain and garbage disposal. Oil and grease, for example, are big no-nos because they solidify at lower temperatures inside the disposal or pipes and can cause significant blockages. Rice, pasta, and other expandable foods should also be kept out of the drain because they absorb water and can expand to cause clogs.

Other foods to be avoided include stringy, fibrous foods and vegetables that can get tangled up in the disposal, hard food like bones, nuts, and pits that could cause the disposal to break, and things like eggshells, coffee grounds, and seafood shells that can damage garbage disposals and cause clogs. Additionally, large quantities of food should never go down the disposal at once, as it can overwhelm the garbage disposal and pipes and create problems.

Run It With Water and Ice

Whenever homeowners run their garbage disposals, and for a bit after it’s turned off, they should also run cold water from the kitchen tap. Cold water can help clear food debris from the garbage disposal, keep it moving down the pipes, and prevent the motor from overheating.

Also, running a handful of ice cubes through the garbage disposal occasionally is a good practice because it can help clean any food debris that has gotten stuck while also helping keep the blades sharp. Following these simple tips at home can help keep the garbage disposal working well and prevent clogs in drain and sewer pipes.

Leave Garbage Disposal Repair and Replacement to the Pros

While prevention is a big part of keeping garbage disposals in excellent working condition, problems can still arise occasionally despite preventive measures. This is why it’s crucial to have a trusted, professional plumber come in for complex repairs and services that cannot be resolved with the push of the garbage disposal reset button. However, if the reset button must be used often, this likely indicates an underlying problem that a professional should handle.

Garbage disposal installation and replacement should also be left to a plumber to ensure they are installed correctly and safely. Some more signs of garbage disposal problems indicating a plumber should be called include hearing strange humming noises, foul smells, if it isn’t working well anymore, or a garbage disposal that is leaking.

About Scott Plumbing

Scott Plumbing is a local, family-owned and operated company serving Huntsville, AL, and the surrounding areas. They provide clear and honest price estimates, same-day service, and trusted technicians. Call them today for kitchen plumbing and garbage disposal services in Huntsville, AL.

Distribution Links +

Person operating a labeled “PERFORMANCE" water heater, pressing a button with visible valves and cautionary labels.

Signs That the Water Heater Needs Replacing

Three Signs That It May Be Time for Water Heater Replacement

Nothing lasts forever––and that also goes for water heaters. Standard storage water heaters only last around 10 to 15 years. But how can homeowners know when it may be time for a replacement? Here are some common signs that water heater replacement is needed.

There’s Corrosion

Once there’s corrosion of the water heater, the entire unit generally needs replacing. That’s because:

A rusted tank compromises the entire unit’s integrity: With a corroded water heater, homeowners could find themselves dealing with chronic leaks, low water pressure, and high energy bills.
It can lead to water damage: As noted, a rusted storage tank can cause leaks. This does more than wastewater. It can also damage homeowners’ property, including flooring and sideboards.
Rust can lead to safety hazards: Rust can damage the tank’s integrity, causing the system to leak or burst and flood the home. This does more than damage property. If the water comes into contact with electricity, there could also be an electrical hazard, making the home unsafe.

It Doesn’t Heat Water as Well

There’s no use in having a hot water heater if it doesn’t do its job properly. While some reasons for cold, lukewarm water, or hot water that runs out quicker are fixable, some issues causing them may warrant replacing the entire system. A plumber can determine the best solution for the water heater. Some possible causes of water heating issues include:

There’s an issue with the heating element: While this component could be replaced, if the system itself is more than 10 years old, it’s more cost-effective to just replace it. Water heater life expectancy plays a critical role in when it’s time to replace it.
There’s a problem with the pilot light: The pilot light turns on the heating element and heats the water inside the tank. If there’s something wrong with the pilot light, chances are, there are other components that need replacing.
There are gas supply problems: Many water heaters rely on gas to operate. If there’s a gas leak, not only does this make a home unsafe, but it can affect how the appliances that use them operate.

It’s Old or Constantly Needs Repairs

It’s not uncommon for a water heater to need repairs now and then. Yet, if it always seems like a plumber is needed to fix a problem with it, this could warrant replacing the system. It can save money since older water heaters are less energy efficient, and the repair and energy costs add up.

Additionally, if a traditional storage water heater is past the 10-year mark or a tankless water heater is nearing the 20-year mark, it should be replaced. This can be beneficial as a new energy-efficient water heater will cost less to operate, and homeowners won’t have to deal with the problems of an aging water heater or a loss of hot water.

About Scott Plumbing

Scott Plumbing is a local family-owned business serving Huntsville and the surrounding areas. They offer straightforward pricing, same-day service, and always on-time service. Call them today for water heater installation and repair services in Huntsville, AL.

Distribution Links +

Woman in gray tank top lying in bed, covering ears with a pillow, in a soft-lit bedroom, suggesting themes of discomfort.

It's Not a Halloween Haunting. It's a Water Hammer!

How to Deal With the Noisy Pipes Behind Your Walls

It may be the appropriate season for haunted houses, scary movies, and spooky sounds, but while most of these are for Halloween, that loud banging sound behind the walls is not. They are likely the result of a plumbing phenomenon called a water hammer and should be fixed before they cause damaging consequences.

Water Hammers Explained

The sounds of banging pipes indicate a water hammer, which is often a result of increased pressure that occurs when the quick-moving flow of water is stopped or forced to change directions abruptly. Water hammer can be caused by issues such as fast-acting valves, worn valves, clogged air chambers, and loose pipes that aren't properly secured.

In plumbing systems that are correctly installed and regularly maintained, this hydraulic shock doesn’t often occur because devices like water hammer arrestors and air chambers cushion the shock and prevent the vibration of pipes. However, when these air chambers become clogged or filled with water, or water hammer arrestors break, the buffer that prevents water hammer from occurring becomes nonexistent.

Hazards of a Water Hammer

While the first symptom of a water hammer homeowners notice, noisy pipes, may seem like a minor inconvenience that can be easily ignored, professional plumbers caution against neglecting this plumbing problem as it can lead to much worse problems for the pipes.

The hazards of a water hammer are severe enough to warrant immediate attention because the stress it causes on the pipes can cause them to crack or burst. When a leak or rupture occurs in the piping, homeowners could find themselves with significant water damage to their homes, which can be costly and time-consuming to repair.

Fixing a Water Hammer

Fortunately, fixing water hammer is something that plumbing professionals can do in a number of ways. One method for solving this problem is simply adjusting the water pressure-reducing valve to decrease the pressure in the pipes if high water pressure is causing it.

Another potential fix is the installation of water hammer arrestors. A water hammer arrestor is a device that contains air-filled cylinders that are designed to absorb the hydraulic shock of a sudden valve shutoff. Air chambers filled with water will need to be drained to fix the water hammer if that is a cause.

Other possible methods to get rid of water hammers include fastening loose pipes with straps and screws to decrease movement or buffering pipelines with insulation to absorb shockwaves. Any number of these methods should be able to fix the problem, and plumbers can determine which needs to be done in a home to stop water hammers.

About Scott Plumbing

Scott Plumbing has nearly ten years of expertise serving Huntsville and the surrounding areas. They offer straightforward pricing, on-time service, and a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Call them today for plumbing services in Huntsville, AL.

Distribution Links +

Chrome faucet with a droplet, representing plumbing maintenance and water conservation at Scott Plumbing.

Keep an Eye Out for Water Leaks

Tips for Identifying a Leak Early

A water leak in a home’s plumbing is an issue that isn’t entirely unavoidable. Most homeowners will have dealt with a water leak at some point, and the best thing for them to do is to catch it early before it becomes a full-blown plumbing emergency that causes extensive water damage that requires significant time and money to resolve. To find leaks early, homeowners must know what to look for.

Common Symptoms of a Leak at Home

Some leaks at home will be visible and easy to spot, such as dripping faucets, leaking toilets, and puddles of water around fixtures. However, some leaks aren’t as apparent and require homeowners to know some of the common signs that point to a leak.

Some indicators of a leak include poor water pressure from plumbing fixtures, mold growth, the sound of water running when nothing is using water, and signs of water damage, such as water stains, peeling paint, sagging ceilings, and damaged or warped floors.

Monitor the Water Bills

While most signs of a water leak rely on a homeowner’s senses of sight and hearing, another important sign of leaks requires homeowners to develop a habit. Homeowners should track how much they spend each month on water costs, as a spike in the water bill can also indicate a leak.

If the water bill is higher than what the household is usually charged, barring any drastic changes in water consumption, then chances are high that the cost difference is due to a leak. Even small leaks like a dripping faucet can waste significant amounts of water, which is reflected in the water bills.

Watch the Water Meter

Homeowners can also use their home’s water meter to determine the presence of a leak. Some water meter models have a built-in leak indicator, which usually takes the form of a red or blue triangle that moves or spins when it detects a leak. But even without this built-in leak detector, water meters are still a helpful tool for homeowners to identify a leak.

A homeowner should first shut off all appliances and plumbing fixtures that use water and then take note of the water meter reading. After a few hours, the water meter should be rechecked, and if the reading has changed, it means that water has continued to run even when it wasn’t being used, which points to a water leak. Then, homeowners can move on from confirming its presence to scheduling professional services for water leak repair.

About Scott Plumbing

Scott Plumbing is a family-owned and operated business serving Huntsville and the surrounding areas since 2014. They offer same-day service, straightforward pricing, and on-time service. Call them today for water leak detection and repair services in Huntsville, AL.