Brooks Plumbing Co. Blog: Archive for November, 2014

Reasons for a Sudden Increase in Your Water Usage

Friday, November 28th, 2014

If you keep track of your water bills from month to month, you should have a general idea of how much you pay on average. You can expect fluctuations during certain seasons, or times when you have extra people staying in your home. But if you notice a rise in your water usage that seems unusual, you may have a serious problem with your home’s plumbing.

Below are some reasons that you might see water usage and water bills suddenly increase. In many of these cases, you will need to call for professional plumbers to investigate the issue and see if there are repairs that will solve the problem. Do not hesitate when it comes to repair issues; much more could be at a stake than just high water bills. To reach superb services for plumbing in Olympia, WA, call Brooks Plumbing today. We take pride in putting quality into everything we do.

Hidden Pipe Leaks

This is the most common reason for an unexplained spike in water bills in a home—and in this case, you should be thankful for the rise in your bills, since it’s a warning sign that you need to have professionals take care of leaking and prevent it from causing expensive water damage to your home. Leaking pipes in a home are difficult to notice since they usually occur in areas that are hidden behind drywall and floorboards. It’s very important for you to pay attention to signs that leaking is occurring, such as a water usage rise.

Busted Water Main or Slab Leak

If the water use rise seems remarkably high, the issue may be in the water main that brings fresh water from the municipal supply into your home. A burst water main will result in large volumes of water waste. Check the lawn of your home to see if there are puddles showing up unexpectedly; this is a strong indicator that you need professional repairs or a replacement water line. Another possibility is a slab leak where the water main runs beneath the foundation of your home. These are tricky to locate and require excavation to repair, so call for plumbing experts to handle the problem.

Leaky Toilets

See if any of the toilets in your home are running for long periods of time after being flushed. This indicates a toilet with leaky flappers or a similar problem that is allowing large amounts of water to run. This is often an occurrence with older toilets. When you call on professionals plumbers, they can advise you on whether the toilet needs repairs or if replacing it with a newer, more water efficient unit is the best solution.

If you decide to “settle” on having higher water bills, you could end up with significant damage to your plumbing and your home. Call on Brooks Plumbing in Olympia, WA today to look into those mysterious increases in water usage and find out how to remedy them. You’ll save money not only on water bills but also on future plumbing repairs and fixes to your home due to water damage.

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Will Thanksgiving Turkey Really Make You Sleepy?

Wednesday, November 26th, 2014

We’ve all heard it before: you feel so sleepy after a Thanksgiving meal because of the main event: the turkey. For years, people have credited extraordinary levels of tryptophan in turkey as the reason we all feel the need to nap after the annual feast. But contrary to this popular mythology, tryptophan is probably not he largest responsible party for your post-meal exhaustion.

Tryptophan is an essential amino acid, which means it’s something that our bodies need but do not produce naturally. Your body uses tryptophan to help make vitamin B3 and serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter that sends chemicals to the brain to aid in sleep. But in order to get this essential amino acid, we have to eat foods that contain it.

Turkey has somewhat high levels of tryptophan, but so do many other foods, including eggs, peanuts, chocolate, nuts, bananas, and most other meats and dairy products. In fact, ounce-for-ounce cheddar cheese contains a greater amount of tryptophan than turkey. In order for tryptophan to make you feel sleepy, you would have to consume it in excessive amounts, and serotonin is usually only produced by tryptophan on an empty stomach.

The truth is, overeating is largely responsible for the “food coma” many people describe post-Thanksgiving. It takes a lot of energy for your body to process a large meal, and the average Thanksgiving plate contains about twice as many calories as is recommended for daily consumption. If anything, high levels of fat in the turkey cause sleepiness, as they require a lot of energy for your body to digest. Lots of carbohydrates, alcohol, and probably a bit of stress may also be some of the reasons it feels so satisfying to lay down on the couch after the meal and finally get a little bit of shut-eye.

If you feel the need to indulge in a heaping dose of tryptophan this year, go ahead! Turkey also contains healthy proteins and may even provide a boost for your immune system. Here at Brooks Plumbing , we hope your Thanksgiving is full of joy and contentment this year. Happy feasting!

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Services You May Need to Schedule for Your Drains

Friday, November 14th, 2014

One of the most common reasons people call on professional plumbers is to schedule drain services. Drainage systems are something that no homeowner wants to deal with on their own, as these are responsible for carrying wastewater out of your home. When you need professional drain services in Olympia, you need a quality experienced plumber with the right tools for the job, like the folks at Brooks Plumbing. Give us a call to schedule any of the following services.

Video Pipe Inspection: In general, it’s a good idea to have someone check your pipes from time to time to inspect for any leaks or major clogs that may end up causing backup to infiltrate your home. Leaks can be tough to detect on your own, as they won’t always cause a noticeable effect right away. By the time you discover a leak, it may be too late, as wastewater and sewage may have already infiltrated your property. What better way to inspect for leaks then with modern video inspection technology? A small video camera is fed through the pipes at the end of a cable, so that plumbers can locate the exact source of a leak as they view live footage of the camera’s path. You can do this as part of annual plumbing maintenance, or with drain cleaning service.
Drain Cleaning: When you have a major drain clog, sometimes a plunger just won’t do the trick. And those liquid drain cleaning solutions advertised on TV and in hardware stores can be toxic to the skin and eyes and may actually damage your pipes. Professionals know the tricks for clog removal and have tools that are safe for your drains, removing clogs completely and preventing future blockage from forming as well.
Drain Replacement: Unfortunately, no plumbing component can last forever, and this is certainly true of your drain pipes. A major block in the pipes can cause a pressure imbalance that allows a sewage pipe to burst. Tree roots or standard corrosion may also be responsible for a pipe’s demise. Whatever the case, don’t wait for repairs, as a drain pipe leak can mean severe consequences for your family’s health.

Call Brooks Plumbing today to speak with an experienced Olympia plumbers about drain services for your home today!

Tags: Drain, Olympia
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Tools Professionals Use to Clean Your Drains

Friday, November 7th, 2014

Chances are, you’ve had the misfortune to encounter a drain clog at some point in your life. If this happens in the shower, you’re left standing in a pool of dirty water. And if a drain clog occurs in a sink, even a small task like brushing your teeth becomes quite a chore. A lot of the time, homeowners rush out to buy anything that will make the clog disappear, including plungers and drain cleaning liquids.

While plungers are a great way to knock clogs loose from the drain and send them down the pipes, blockage further away from the drain opening may be too far for a household plunger. And chemical drain cleaning solutions are not safe for your pipes and are toxic to humans. Professional drain cleaning is the way to go for a particularly tough clog, using tools that won’t harm your pipes and take care of any type of obstruction. Let’s take a look at some of this equipment.

Small Drain Augers

For some clogs, a plumber will simply insert a drain auger into the drain opening in order to pull out the clog. These are long pieces of metal or plastic with a rigid or coiled end that will latch onto most types of clogs.

Large Motorized or Hand-Cranked Drain Snakes

Drain clogs that are located deep down in the pipes can affect multiple drains. Most plumbers are also equipped with large drain augers (or drain snakes) that can be fed through the pipes either via a crank or automatically with a motor. These may have a coiled end for clog removal, or additional detachable components. A plumber may decide to switch out the coiled end for a sharp tool to try and break up tougher clogs like tree roots and send them down the pipes.

Video Pipe Inspection

One of the most important pieces of equipment that professionals use is video pipe inspection. Before a plumber can begin to decide which type of tool to use, they must know the location and type of blockage. Technicians feed a long wire with a fiber optic camera at the end so they can view a live feed and decide on an appropriate course of action.

Looking for a quality plumber in Olympia? Call Brooks Plumbing for thorough professional drain cleaning services.

Tags: Drain Cleaning, Olympia
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