Category: Plumbing

Is It Time to Replace Your Bathroom Toilet?

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The toilet is about as functional an item as a home has: a necessary fixture, but probably one which you don’t give much thought unless it needs repairs. This means that you might ignore the age of a toilet and not realize that it’s due to have a replacement. Below, we’ll take a look at indications that you should contact our bathroom plumbing professionals and arrange to have them install a new toilet (or toilets) for your house.

The toilet is a water waster

The bathroom is the room in your house that uses the most water, and the toilet can account for up to 40% of that amount. This means the toilet contributes a significant part of your monthly water bills. If your toilet is an old model, it probably uses around 6 gallons a flush—and that’s far too much! A newer toilet, even one that isn’t a special low-flush model, uses less than 4 gallons per flush. If you have high water bills, it might be time to replace the toilet.

Leak repairs (and other repairs) are becoming common

Have you called for repairs for the toilet more than once per year to fix the development of leaks or other issues, such as when the toilet won’t stop running? These malfunctions are a sign of a fixture that is wearing down to the point where it will only be able to continue to run with repair after repair—and that’s a large waste of money that a new toilet will help you fix.

Constant clogging

Toilets clog up now and then, that’s simply the way it goes. A plunger will usually solve these problems. But if you find that you’re using the plunger all the time, then you should consider if the age of the toilet is at fault and it no longer has the flushing power or drainage ability to do its job.

If you’re unsure about whether it’s time for a new toilet, get in touch with our plumbers and let them examine your bathroom plumbing. They’ll provide expert advice.

Call Mallick Plumbing & Heating in Silver Spring, MD to arrange for bathroom plumbing services.

How Plumbers Do Leak Detection for a Home?

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Leaks are one of the more common, aggravating, and damaging plumbing problems a home can face. Even a small pinhole leak can destroy drywall and lead to other major issues—not to mention wastewater and drive up your bills.

However, leaks present a special problem when it comes to repairs: finding the leak in the first place! Unless the leak springs up in one of the few visible pipes in your home, you probably won’t know where leaks are located. This is one of the reasons that you must rely on experienced plumbing professionals to handle the repair work. Leak detection is an important service that plumbers offer. Using the techniques below, licensed plumbers can find exactly where leaks are occurring so they can accurately and quickly repair them.

Acoustic listening devices

Ground microphones and listening discs are among the basic tools that plumbers use to pinpoint leaks. Using sound technology, they can hear the noise of escaping water and dripping even through a layer of concrete.

Heat scanners

In areas that are too noisy or too deep for using acoustic listening methods, plumbers use scanners that pick up temperature changes. Escaping water causes temperature shifts that will show up on the scanners.

Video pipe inspection equipment

For the most precise leak detection, plumbers use a miniaturized camera mounted on long fiber optic cables. The camera relays images back to a monitor where the plumber can see the condition of the inside of the pipe. Not only does this show where leaks are, but it also provides the plumber with extra information that will make it easier to repair the leak.

Training

There’s one other invaluable tool plumbers have for leak detection: their own professional training. Licensed plumbers know enough about plumbing systems that they can rapidly narrow down the search area without requiring any special technology at all. That’s why you should only call on plumbers with the right experience.

Mallick Plumbing & Heating is the Service Contractor of Choice in Silver Spring, MD and Montgomery County.