Brooks Plumbing Co. Blog: Archive for January, 2014

What Is a Sump Pump and How Does It Help My Plumbing?

Monday, January 27th, 2014

In a place that receives as much rain around the year—especially during the winter months—as Washington State, one of the potential problems that homeowners face is basement flooding. But even if your home does not experience major flooding issues, water can slowly seep into the basement and become a chronic problem. It doesn’t take much water to cause thousands of dollars of damage

This is where a sump pump can become one of the most useful appliances in your home. To contact a plumber in Olympia, WA who can install a sump pump to remedy your flooding and water problems, look to Brooks Plumbing. We’ve served the Olympia area since 1994… 20 years of excellent service.

Sump pump basics

A sump pump is a water pump that is installed in your basement, where it takes excess water from flooding or chronic seepage and then uses a motorized pump to remove it out into a drainage system. There are two basic types of sump pumps: the submersible sump pump and the pedestal pump. A submersible pump sits down within a depression (sump pit) where the water collects and stays beneath the water. It draws water into an intake and them pumps it out. A pedestal sump pump sits above the sump pit and uses a float to determine when the water level is too high. It then turns on and pumps out the water until the level is restored.

If you have a sump pump with the power correctly matched to the amount of water entering into your basement, you won’t have to worry about water build-up that can damage your home’s foundations or enter other parts of the house. Keeping water out of the basement will also prevent the growth of mildew and other unwanted bacteria.

According to the American Society of Home Inspectors, more than 60% of homes in the U.S. have below-ground wetness, so a sump pump is an important addition to assisting plumbing for many homes. The percentage of homes with dampness issues is much higher for a place like Olympia with our frequent rains, so you should consider a sump pump installation to help keep your home dry, safe, and free from unnecessary developing repair needs.

Call Brooks Plumbing today to speak to one of our Olympia, WA plumbers who has experience with sump pump installation. The plumber will be able to tell you all the details you need to know about sump pump installation and maintenance. There are few better additions to your plumbing than a sump pump, and few places better suited to installing one than Brooks Plumbing.

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Common Kitchen Plumbing Repairs

Wednesday, January 22nd, 2014

The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in a home, and keeping all the appliances in it working in top condition is important for enjoyable daily living. The most crucial component of all in a kitchen is its plumbing: without running water, it’s impossible to cook, clean, run the dishwasher, or even get ice from a refrigerator’s ice-maker.

Here is a list of the more common kitchen repairs that plumbers need to perform. This will help you know where to look for problems in the future, as well as how to avoid them. For your plumbing repair in Olympia, WA, turn to a company that has served the city with quality work since 1994: Brooks Plumbing.

Frequent kitchen repairs

  • Garbage disposal fixes: The garbage disposal in a kitchen does a tremendous amount of work daily. Considering how much food product goes down into a garbage disposal, it’s surprising that they don’t break down more often. When disposals do break, it usually because of jamming of the flywheel or clogging from items that shouldn’t have gone down into it. (Important tip: if you can’t chew it, your garbage disposal can’t dispose of it—so put whatever it is in the garbage instead.) Don’t risk sticking your hand down the disposal: call in a plumber to take care of the problem. Sometimes the whole disposal unit might need replacement.
  • Unclogging drains: Drain clogs, along with pipe leaks, are the most common troubles that can affect the plumbing in a home. Drain clogs are especially common in the kitchen because of all the organic material that does down them. Drainpipes will begin to develop a lining of build-up that can lead to clogging—especially if liquid grease, fat, and oil have been poured down the drain. (These liquids should be disposed of separately.) Plumbers can clear thick clogs as well as do thorough drain cleaning to eliminate organic build-up.
  • Replacing leaking drain baskets: Some drain baskets are made of poor quality material, and they will soon develop leaks. In most cases, it is easiest for the plumber to replace the basket with one made of better material. A professional plumber will identify the perfect replacement part to ensure that you won’t need a replacement any time in the near future.

Take good care of your plumbing

As you can tell from reading above, you can help your kitchen plumbing stay healthy by keeping certain items out of the drains. Another way to keep it healthy is with regular maintenance from plumbing professionals to catch potential leaks, loose connections, and organic build-up. Call Brooks Plumbing today for maintenance or plumbing repair in Olympia, WA.

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Should I Install a Tankless Water Heater?

Tuesday, January 14th, 2014

Tankless water heaters stand as a viable alternative to traditional tanked models, getting rid of the large, cumbersome tank in favor of a system that heats the water instantly. As the water passes through the heater on the way to your faucet or shower head, it is instantly heated via a series of electrical coils or a gas heater. That spares you the expense of maintaining gallons of hot water in a tank, though installation costs for a tankless heater can be larger and the system works better in some circumstances than others. Here in Tumwater, tankless water heaters are a solid option, but the question remains: “should I install a tankless water heater?” The answer depends on your circumstances.

The first question comes with the number of people in your household. Tankless water heaters can become overwhelmed if they are saddled with too many demands at the same time, which means that smaller households benefit from it more than larger households. That also counts for the number of fixtures a tankless water heater needs to supply. If you have a lot of sinks, you may need to install multiple units in your home, which will increase the overall installation cost significantly.

Then there’s the question of amount of use. A tanked heater can be very expensive to maintain in a second home or a vacation home, as well as requiring regular maintenance in order to keep ahead of general wear and tear. A tankless system can mitigate that, since it doesn’t rely on standing water and can usually be activated instantly. That makes them quite desirable for homes that are left unoccupied for certain parts of the year.

And of course, you need to consider the savings over time versus the initial cost of installation, which can be influenced by your present circumstances and needs. A good advisor can help you with all of that, then set up an installation schedule that meets your specifications. In Tumwater, tankless water heaters can be installed by the experts at Brooks Plumbing. Our staff of trained professionals is on call to answer any questions you may have. If you’re asking “should I install a tankless water heater?” contact us today. You’ll be glad that you did!

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What Are the Advantages of a Tankless Water Heater?

Friday, January 10th, 2014

The standard type of home water heater is known as a “storage” water heater. It keeps a supply of water inside a tank, where it uses gas or electricity to heat the water for use in the home. Many people think that this is the only kind of water heater available, but today you can have a tankless water heater installed in your home.

How does that work? Tankless systems run the water in the pipes through coils that pass over gas burners, heating the water as it is needed at a tap. Some tankless systems use electrical power installed at individual tanks, so the tankless system can be used only for specific taps instead of the whole house.

Brooks Plumbing installs both storage and tankless water heaters in Olympia, WA. Here are some of the benefits we’ve found people get from going with a tankless heater.

  • No running out of hot water: Storage water heaters only have a limited supply of hot water available at any time; once you exhaust the supply in the tank, you have to wait for the heater to heat up more before you get hot water again. With a tankless system, you don’t have to worry about this because it heats up the water as you need it, so you won’t run out.
  • Space-saving: A water tank takes up a large amount of space. A tankless system is relatively small, and some can even be installed hanging on walls.
  • Energy efficiency: Storage water heaters must maintain a constant temperature in their tanks so the hot water is ready for use. Since tankless systems only use heat when someone requires water, they consume far less energy than storage tanks—sometimes up to 20% less.
  • Longevity: On average, a tankless system lasts 5 to 10 years longer than a storage system.
  • No flooding worries: You no longer have to be concerned that a ruptured water tank will flood part of your house.

There are some drawbacks, however, such as high initial installation cost and a longer lag time waiting for the water to heat up. If more than one tap is operating at once, a tankless system can lose its efficiency. Ask an expert in water heaters if your household will benefit from going tankless.

At Brooks Plumbing, we take our motto seriously: “Quality in Everything We Do.” We’ve striven to uphold that promise since 1994, and when you contact us to install a tankless water heater in Olympia, WA, we will give you the quality service that you deserve.

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