Encountering clogged drains in your home can be extremely frustrating. Many people try to remedy the situation on their own with at-home chemical drain cleaners; however, these are expensive and rarely work on stubborn clogs. What’s more, chemical drain cleaners are not only bad for the environment but are also damaging to your pipes and your plumbing system. If you need plumbing repair, your first step should be to call a Charlotte plumber, like Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Charlotte, who can assist you with proper professional plumbing techniques. If you do want to attempt to unclog the drain on your own, avoid using chemical drain cleaners. Instead, here are some tips for unclogging drains on your own.

Manually is the first step to try. Use a plunger to try and unstuck the clogged pipe. If that doesn’t work, try to unclog your clogged pipe with hot boiling water. Most clogs in sinks, tubs, and other drains are caused by a combination of built-up hair, soap scum, and tepid water. If you have metal pipes, hot boiling water can be an excellent remedy for even the worst clogs. However, do not use boiling water on plastic PVC pipes or pour it on the porcelain sink because boiling water can soften PVC pipes and loosen joints. If you are not sure whether you have metal or plastic PVC pipes, don’t risk it by trying it anyway. Call a professional to check for you.

Also, simply turning on the tap as hot as it will go will not work. You must boil water on the stove and put boiling water down the drain for it to efficiently clear the built-up blockage. If this does not work, your clogged pipe needs professional help.  At this point, it’s time to call the experts. Even though the situation seems hopeless, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Charlotte can help you get out even the worst clogs. Call us at 704-461-1700 for quick and immediate assistance with your clogged drains.

Many large meals will be cooked over the holidays with family in town and it is important to keep in mind the strain one can put on drain pipes. Fat from cooking, oil, grease, leftover food, bone scraps, and many other thick and congealing substances will be tossed down the sink drain without a care. Your Charlotte NC drain cleaning experts at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing want to remind you of a few things before you scrape off your plate or dump your leftover oils into your drain pipes.

Much of the traditional holiday food menu contains fatty oils and grease. Items such as roasted chicken, pie, cookie dough, sauces and gravy, oils, butter, and steak juices have clog creating substance. Water can’t carry all of these substances down the sink drain pipes and too much of them will create a major backup.

Also, some of these oils are not environmentally friendly, aside from the danger of clogging your drain. In most cities and metropolitan areas, you can take up to 10 gallons to local landfill’s that have household and hazardous waste collection facilities. Check your local Charlotte NC city website to find where these landfills are located.  Oils are often reused in an environmentally friendly way and recycled to make another usable product.

Your local Charlotte NC plumber at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing most likely has family of his own in town over the holidays. And while emergency plumbing service is offered, following these simple steps to keep your plumbing draining smoothly over the holidays can’t hurt:

• Do not dump cooking oils and grease into sink drains
• Food scraps should be put into a plastic trash bag
• Cooking grease should be cooled and then scraped into trash bags
• “Unflushables” such as baby wipes, diapers, rags, paper towels, toilet bowel cleaning pads, hygiene products and anything that will not breakup or dissolve in water should not be flushed down the toilet

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, your Charlotte NC plumbing maintenance specialists, can provide you with drain cleaning service should you have trouble this holiday season. Give them at call at 704-461-1700 or visit them online to schedule plumbing service now.

Clogged drains in your kitchen or bathtub or sink are common occurrences and can quickly put a halt to your normal routine. Drain cleaning service from your Charlotte NC plumbing company, Ben Franklin Plumbing, can alleviate any problems you have and prevent stoppage from becoming an issue again.

Many store bought drain cleaners will only temporarily prevent drain clogs and for heavy buildup, often can’t handle the job. Your Charlotte plumber, Ben Franklin Plumbing, will use professional services like drain snaking, hydro jetting, and video camera inspection to find the root cause of your clogged drain. Clogged drains can become worse over time, often due to material buildup that continues to collect, so it is essential that you relieve these issues as soon as you notice water buildup.

One of the most common causes of household drain clogs is grease, soap, and hair buildup. Manmade obstructions from unacceptable items not meant for residential pipes and drains are often flushed or dropped in sinks. These unwanted items cause major backups more quickly and need to be addressed as soon as possible. With the punctual plumber promise, Ben Franklin Plumbing is your Charlotte drain cleaning service of choice. Emergency drain cleaning service, available 24 hours a day, is just a phone call away.

Drain snaking is one of the most common and effective approaches to clearing clogged drains. Hydro jetting clean tougher buildups with high pressure water making sure the walls of the pipe are also clean. Video camera inspection can pinpoint the cause of a clogged drain with state-of-the-art cameras fed down the drain line to the source of the buildup. Video camera inspections can also confirm a drain is cleared after using other methods of unclogging the drain.

Do not hesitate to call a plumbing professional to clear your clogged drain. Schedule a drain cleaning with Ben Franklin Plumbing by visiting them online or calling 704.461.1700.

There are many problems that can occur with your plumbing that put a stop to your everyday activities. A clogged kitchen sink or backed up bathtub is just one of these common occurrences.  A slow-draining sink can prove a major inconvenience in your home, and is not a problem to be put off for another day. Rely on a professional plumbing company to get your drain back to flowing freely in no time, meaning you’ll never have to be without proper plumbing. Our Charlotte NC plumbers at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing can clear your clogged drains, ensuring peak performance for your plumbing system today.

While there are many things that can clog your plumbing system, there is only one company to count on when it comes to clearing them. Using the latest technological advancements in drain cleaning, we can get your drain back to working order in no time. Clogged drains can become worse over time, often due to material buildup that continues to collect, so it is essential that you alleviate these issues as soon as they start. Our plumbing experts rely on various methods of drain cleaning, and we can diagnose the root of your clogging concern and devise the best plan for clearing it.

Oftentimes, the cause of these clogs can be material buildup, be it excess food and grease in your kitchen sink or hair and soap scum buildup in your shower drain. However, sometimes the issue is much larger, like a tree root growing into you sewer system causing a massive backup. This can be an emergency plumbing situation, which is why we are fully outfitted to handle such a situation and offer 24 hour emergency service.

When it comes to dealing with drain clogs in your home, do not hesitate to trust a plumbing professional to take care of this inconvenience today. With any comments, questions, or to schedule a drain cleaning service today, give us a call at 704-461-1700 or contact us online today.

Purchasing water is a popular trend these days. From the gym to the grocery store people are carrying bought plastic water bottles. A water filtration system can ease the cost and preserve the quality of water you already pay the city to use in your own home. Your Charlotte North Carolina water filtration plumbing service can install and service water treatment and softeners for your home.

Bottled water is cleaner, healthier and tastes better than tap water. House tap water often contains the taste and odor of chlorine, lead, mercury, agricultural pollutants and often local sediment. These pollutants can come from corroded plumbing systems, decay, landfill run-off or local croplands. Unfiltered house water not only affects your drinking water, but the water you use for laundry, washing your hands, and washing off in the shower. What if you could have that same clean, healthy, tasty water without having to go to the store or recycle bottles after use?

Ben Franklin Plumbing, your local Charlotte NC plumbing service, can provide a professionally installed home water filtration system. Our water filter and water softener systems will guarantee purified water throughout your home. From drinking water to faucet, shower, and laundry water; your water will be clean and healthy.

Ben Franklin Plumbing will also check the water for hardness, iron and PH levels. Treating your water efficiently is just as important as having clean water on hand. Our most valuable resource, water, should be treated as such and your Charlotte plumber is here with expertise on local water conditions and how to treat them.

Give our Charlotte NC plumbing service a call today or request service online.

Routine maintenance on your garbage disposal is simple, quick and can keep your disposal running for an extended period of time. Use these home garbage disposal maintenance tips to help prevent odors, blockages, costly repairs, and early replacement.

Remember to run cold water during use for at least 20 seconds. Garbage disposals need water running through the pipes to flush waste and prevent stoppages.

Limit the amount of food you put in your garbage disposal at one time. Allowing too much food into the pipes, although chopped, can quickly cause them to back up. Should you encounter a clogged drain or clogged pipes, Ben Franklin Plumbing, your Charlotte NC plumber, is available for immediate plumbing service.

Avoid pouring harsh chemicals, foreign objects, coffee grounds, or bones into the garbage disposal. Also, grind small scraps of citrus peels in the garbage disposal to keep it smelling fresh.

Grinding ice cubes while running cold water in the garbage disposal will help sharpen the blades and keep it clean. Always call your local Charlotte plumbing company when routine residential plumbing maintenance is not enough.

The experts at Ben Franklin Plumbing are available 24/7 to help you with any plumbing repair or plumbing installation.

In most cases, a plunger – whether it be a regular-sized plunger (for toilets) or smaller-sized plunger (for sinks) can resolve any drain clog problem you have. There are cases, however, where the plunger just isn’t enough.

This is when a plumber’s snake becomes the tool of choice. Also known as either a toilet jack or an auger – or even an electric eel – plumber’s snakes remove clogs that are too difficult for plungers to handle. They consist of a coiled metal reel that is attached to a rotating crank, which works in a corkscrew motion to break down particles and grit that can cause a clog.

The most common plumber’s snakes are operated by hand (cranking), but some are motor-operated. The more high-tech plumber’s snakes come with a small camera to help a plumbing professional diagnose a problem. Plumber’s snakes come in all sizes (length and width) and operate with the goal of breaking down excess material that can slow down water flow in your pipes.

If a plunger isn’t doing its job, try using a plumber’s snake. Our Charlotte NC plumbing professionals are experts with plumber’s snakes and can offer quality residential and commercial service to you at an affordable rate. Call our Charlotte plumbing company today, or visit us online for more information.

Let’s be honest with ourselves: Plumbing appliances and fixtures will wear down around the house.

Plumbing repairs can make a homeowner moan and groan, but regular maintenance will keep your fixtures and pipes in excellent standing, which in turn can help in keeping the resale value of your home above market price. Your home is an investment and should be treated as such, and all investments deserve proper maintenance.

It’s a good idea to have a professional plumber inspect your home for potentially hazardous problems before they become major, high-dollar repairs. There are several common problems that every home, old or new, seems to have. Be on the lookout for the following mishaps:

Clogs: A clogged toilet can be fixed with a plunger or a plumber’s snake. A clogged drain can be fixed with liquid drain cleaner (Drano, for example). If these don’t work, there could be something severe that will need the service of a licensed plumber.

Gas leaks: These can be extremely dangerous. If you smell gas, leave the facility immediately, and then call an emergency plumber. Gas leaks, in addition to being harmful, also can be detrimental to your neighbors and your surroundings.

Bad pipes: If a pipe cracks or bursts, make sure you find the main water valve and shut your water off. The last thing you want is to have a broken pipe and water flooding.

Frozen pipes: This may be a two-month or three-month ordeal, depending on the climate, but winter temperatures can make life miserable if a pipe bursts because of freezing. To avoid frozen pipes, let your faucets drip a small stream of water to maintain the flow.

Make sure you and your family members are ready for these common plumbing mishaps. You never know when they can happen, but it’s always good to be prepared for them. Feel free to contact our expert Charlotte NC plumbers for additional information. Call us today, or contact us online.

At Ben Franklin Plumbing in Charlotte, NC; we specialize in unclogging drains. A clogged drain is the most common type of plumbing malady. There are several types of clogs for several types of drains. Often, plunging is not enough.

Over time, you may notice your shower drain is slowing to a crawl. Suddenly, you find yourself ankle deep in water. This is a common occurrence for many Charlotte homes. You may find yourself reaching for the plunger first, however, the drain clog is likely too stubborn for simple plunging. A shower drain is often caked with hair and soap.

Then there are drain clogs in your sink. Your sink drain takes a beating. Food particles, grease, and everything else you throw at it accumulate; and you’re stuck with a stubborn drain clog. When these elements form their synergistic clog; there is little hope that simple plunging will remedy the issue at hand.

Your toilet is the site of the most dreaded clogs in known history. Various hygiene products or a child’s toy cause clogs that eventually overflow and damage your flooring. A dollar store plunger is never going to break this beast of a clog!

Your solution to all of these problems is the Charlotte Plumbers at Ben Franklin. We provide expert drain cleaning services with camera inspection. Our master plumbers will schedule regular drain maintenance for every drain in your home; so you will never have to face a clogged drain again. We use Drainvision to detect any potential clog or leak.

Call the professional plumbers at Ben Franklin of Charlotte, NC today for all of your drain clogs! 704-461-1700

Our Charlotte NC Plumbing Company has the capability of snaking a video camera into the depths of plumbing system to find unwanted blockages or leaks. Here are some of the benefits of taking advantage of our camera inspection:

Preventative Measures

When our Fort Worth Plumbers use video line inspection, they can take note of growing flaws in your piping system. We can then present you with the option of repair, costing you far less than a potential full-out pipe break that could occur as a result of unmaintained piping lines. Slab leaks are a major problem that can be prevented with proper video line inspection.

Locating Damage

No longer do plumbers have to dig up piping to locate damage – they have cameras that do the digging for them. Digging up the lines to find damage wasn’t only a gigantic mess, but it was expensive as well. A video inspection now allows the plumber to locate any broken areas within the piping – and locate their exact position. Translation: lower repair bills and less time spent in your home.

Locating Blockages

Although hair is a common form of drain blockage, other debris and tree roots can dangerously come into play as well. Depending on what is causing the blockage in your sewer lines, you could discover that a video pipe inspection is just what you need. Often times, knowing the root (no pun intended) of the problem is enough to have it remedied without any required digging.

To take advantage of our state-of-the-art video line inspection technology for broken or clogged piping lines, call our Charlotte Plumbers at 704-461-1700.