Ken's Plumbing | Blog

If you have never experienced the water turn cold or the pressure change when you're in the middle of what was once a warm, blissful shower, then consider yourself lucky. Many of us have and can't get over why another family member or roommate would flush the commode when they know we are showering. While it's easy to point fingers, the reason really lies within your plumbing system. Let's take this a little further:

How long do you usually wait until you clean your bathrooms and kitchen sink again? If it's been a while since you've last bent over to scrub out the mold and mildew in your porcelain tub, you could be putting yourself at risk of biofilm. To be clearer, this bacteria is the sticky and slimy goo you find in your tub, shower stall, toilet bowl, tiles, and sink that produces a pinkish color. Have you ever pulled a hairball from your shower drain and seen the ooze that comes up with the hairball? That's biofilm as well. We're here to tell you why you need to rid yourself of it. 

While owning a home can bring the greatest joy and be a source of great pride, there are always a number of unanticipated problems that arise. Inevitably you are eventually going to have plumbing, electrical, heating and air, or other major home systems that develop issues, and it can be hard to know what to believe with so many so-called "experts" out there giving conflicting information. Today, we want to walk you through a list of myths that you may hear over time in order to keep your home well maintained and your wallet in your pocket.

When we seem to have issues with our drains, we always reach for the Drano. We think it's the perfect, most affordable solution and will easily reduce any drain clogging. It might be harsh to read, especially if you just finished screwing the cap back on your bottle, but throw the container out! You heard us — throw it out, and let us discuss a few problems caused by the popular product that you may not have known about:

No matter what animal is your favorite, we can all agree there’s a certain level of happiness only a pet can give us when we can cuddle up to our Burmese cat or our Boykin Spaniel. While pets are those perfect companions that find their way into our hearts...they usually find their way into our plumbing, too. If you are a pet owner, we want to walk you through four precautions you might want to take in order to keep your plumbing up to par and your furry friend out of trouble!

Let's say you're at a friend's dinner party when you excuse yourself to quickly use the bathroom, and while you're in there things take a turn for the worst and you find yourself face-to-face with a clogged toilet. After a moment of panic, you look about and discover that this dear friend of yours does not keep a plunger in their bathroom, leading you to panic further.

Fortunately, you regularly read plumbing blog articles and you know there has to be a way to get yourself out of this plumbing predicament — and you're right! So, if you see the water rise after an attempted flush, just stay calm and learn...

There's something just so refreshing about water; we drink it to stay healthy, we bathe in it to stay clean, and we even flock to the water of pools and beaches to relax. We all rely on water, so we definitely understand your concern when you turn on the faucet and are met with anything other than the perfectly clear liquid you were expecting.

Different discolorations of water have different meanings—some of which are harmless, others of which are dangerous. If your dirty water is a cause for concern, check out our list below to see what you're dealing with:

Many households end up putting plumbing problems on the back burner when it comes to calling in a professional to help. Either other expenses come up and eat away at money saved to help take care of that plumbing bill or they just can't afford to take time off work to let the plumber in the house.

By getting caught up in every day responsibilities, it's easy to believe other chores take precedence over a leaky faucet. However, if you continue to neglect "small" repairs, you may find yourself looking at a much larger and costlier repair in the future.

We bet you didn't know that the plants you choose to landscape your yard with could have an affect on your plumbing, but they definitely can! Now, we aren't saying planting marigolds around your mailbox is going to cause your water heater to quit on you, but some larger plants like trees and bushes can actually affect how your toilets, sinks, and showers drain.

To help you avoid problems down the road, here's a list of trees, bushes, and plants that you should keep out of your yard (no matter how pretty they'd look):

You've finally found your dream home! Not only is it beautiful inside and out and the perfect size for your family, it's also close to your work, it's in a great school district, and there are plenty of children in the neighborhood for your kids to play with!

But before you finalize the sale, do yourself a favor and check the plumbing throughout the house to know for sure whether this great house is too good to be true. To help you out, we created this plumbing checklist so you'll know exactly what to look for: