At Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Charlotte, one of the most common mistakes we see our clients make is waiting too long to call in professionals for emergency plumbing repair services. While home plumbing systems can withstand years of regular use, they are not designed to last indefinitely. The good news is that you can keep your repair expenses down to a minimum by calling a professional Charlotte plumber as soon as you spot a problem. Additionally, learning more about common plumbing emergencies and the problems they sometimes cause can help you understand why it is so important to let only professionals handle complex plumbing repairs.

Burst Pipe Problems

Burst pipes can quickly flood your entire home, so you should call a professional pipe repair service as soon as you notice a problem. In most cases, you can tell right away that a pipe has burst based on the amount of moisture you see or if you hear the sound of flowing water. However, pipes that burst within walls or underneath the floor can be harder to spot because they are hidden from view.

To be on the safe side, you should always call an emergency plumbing repair service if you see wet patches on your floors or walls.

Leaking Pipe Problems

Normal pipe leaks do not sound as serious as burst pipes, but they can also lead to flooding and other problems if they are not inspected and fixed within a specific time frame. What looks like a small leak to you can quickly get worse, turning into a massive plumbing problem.

Another problem with leaks is that it’s often very tough to tell how big they are if they are not visible to the naked eye. Just because you see a small wet patch on your wall does not necessarily mean that it is hiding a small leak.

Call in the Professionals

The reason for calling a Charlotte plumber as soon as you see wetness where it does not belong is simple: small emergencies that are relatively inexpensive to fix can turn into very big and very expensive problems, like flooding, severe moisture damage, and dangerous mold growth. Since your home is your biggest investment, you don’t want to let it be damaged over something you could have prevented.

Our experienced team at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Charlotte is here to help you with any plumbing emergency. If you have any questions or need immediate help, simply call 704-461-1700.

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Charlotte helps customers each year with frozen pipe repair. One might think that in living this far south, frozen pipes would not be that big of a problem. However, frozen pipes are caused by several issues:

• Homes in the south have less insulation than homes in the north, where temperatures are often much colder.
• Some underground pipes are not buried very deep, which can be a problem for wells and water lines.

Preventing frozen pipes is pretty straightforward. The pipes need to be protected from dropping to freezing temperatures by insulation or a heat source. Grandma may have just needed to open the cabinet doors under the kitchen sink to keep the pipes there from freezing when the mercury dips. However, this is not a foolproof method. There are now modern heat tapes that are safe to use and will protect pipes that cannot be adequately insulated, like those in crawl space.

Sometimes adding pipe insulation will give enough freeze protection. This can be a fiberglass wrap or foam pipe insulation. Pipes that are buried above the frost line need enough dirt on top of them to prevent them from freezing. This can be accomplished by adding dirt in some instances or reburying water lines.

There are unfortunate tragedies each year when fires are caused by homeowners attempting to thaw frozen pipes. The best thing to do when you wake up to frozen pipes is to call a professional to fix the problem. They have the tools to thaw the pipes safely.

When you need a Charlotte plumber, call Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Charlotte at 704-461-1700. We are here to serve any residential or commercial plumbing need. We can help you avoid frozen pipes this winter, thaw them safely if they freeze, and fix any plumbing problem you may have. Our top notch certified plumbers are ready when you need them.

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.

Rather than contend with a low drizzle of water from your shower, install a new head. Showerheads are available in a wide range of styles including water conserving or massaging jets. If you have an existing shower, replacing the head is a simple project that you can do on a weekend afternoon in under an hour. Should you need to install new plumbing behind your shower, that is a more difficult task, best suited to a professional bathroom remodeling service in Charlotte like ours at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Charlotte.

The process for installing a showerhead is simple enough for even a novice DIY project. All you need to do is unscrew the old showerhead. If it refuses to come off, make sure you are turning the head counterclockwise. Should you still be unable to remove it, use pliers with the ends covered in duct tape to get a better grip on the end of the showerhead.

Once the old showerhead is off, clean the threads on the exposed pipe and wrap them with teflon tape. This will help to prevent leaks after you install the new showerhead. Screw the new head onto the end of the pipe, turning it in a clockwise direction until it is tight. Turn on the shower and check for any leaks around the new showerhead. Yes, the installation really is that simple. You don’t even need to shut off the water to the house because the taps for the shower control the water flow to the showerhead, and those will be turned off anyway.

While replacing your showerhead is a simple project, not every plumbing project around the house is. If you need assistance with installing a new shower or any other type of plumbing installation in your home, call us at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Charlotte at 704-461-1700. You can also schedule a service online.

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.

When it comes to the plumbing in your home, there are many problems that can potentially occur within your system. Whether it is a backed up bathtub or a stopped up sink, there are many times you will need to rely on a licensed professional to get your systems back up and running. Oftentimes, these problems occur outside the typical 9-5 hours most businesses operate it. That is why our Charlotte NC plumbers at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing offer 24-hour emergency repair, seven days a week.

With our 24-hour emergency repair services, you will never have to worry about a sudden system breakdown shutting down your plumbing. Our trained and knowledgeable plumbing professionals can make sure your system is running smoothly and efficiently, no matter what time of day or night. We are always available to answer the call, and possess the equipment, skills, and tools needed to handle any project effectively, large or small. And as part of our professional policy, all of our plumbing repairs come with a satisfaction guarantee.

When you find yourself in need of a sudden plumbing repair, you often don’t have time to wait until the morning. With the 24-hour emergency repair services provided by the reputable and reliable plumbing professionals at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, you won’t have to. For additional information regarding emergency plumbing repair in Charlotte and the surrounding area, give us a call at 704-461-1700 or contact us online today.