When A Water Leak Is Much More: Water Related Hazards That Require An Emergency Plumbing Service | Knoxville, TN
Wednesday, October 27th, 2021
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The emergency plumbing service at My Professional Plumber in Knoxville, TN, is ready to help you whenever you have plumbing problems. Sometimes, those problems can involve a lot more than lots of water, or none at all. When your overflowing toilet or backed up sewer spreads contamination in your home, or that puddle of water in your basement from the water heater is approaching an electric space heater, you have a situation that requires the wisdom and experience of our emergency plumbing service to make sure that property damage is minimized and personal health and welfare is protected. We can also help you understand what kinds of risks are present in your home that are related to potential plumbing issues. With a thorough plumbing inspection, we can assist you in taking measures to ensure that, even if you do experience leaks, toilet overflows, and sink backups, will help you minimize the damage and recovery time.
Avoiding Plumbing Problems and Related Risks
Routine plumbing inspections can catch many plumbing issues that could lead to problems later, including tight faucets that could require too much force to operate and eventually break, fixtures such as sinks and toilets that have no local shutoff valve or have a shutoff valve that isn’t operable. Of course, your home’s main water shutoff should be easy to locate, access, and operate in the case of an emergency. Even make sure that your showers and sinks have some kind of permanent drain plug or strainer to ensure that large items don’t fall in and material like hair gathers in the strainer rather than further down as part of a clog.
Immediate Electrical Concerns
When water leaks or flooding is likely to reach electrical wiring or equipment, there are risks of electric shock through the water. It’s important to get help and not try to resolve the situation yourself, as it requires experience and caution. Our emergency plumbing service can help you take the necessary steps, which often involve an electrician as well.
Hidden Water Damage to Electrical Equipment
Another case in which electricians become involved with water problems is when leaks, especially inside walls, damage electrical equipment causing risk of fire in the short term and also in the long term as contaminated equipment and wiring likely has corrosion that will lead to heating up when power is applied.
Wastewater Health Hazards
Any water that comes from your drains, especially your toilet, can contain bacteria and other pathogens that pose a health risk to your family. It’s important to take precautions when cleaning after an event and make sure that any areas that were affected are also disinfected. Our plumbers can help you contact a professional restoration company if needed. Even kitchen sinks can contain harmful bacteria that have grown in the drain, and periodic drain cleaning can not only help remove clogs that are forming but clear out material that is a host for colonies of bacteria.
Health Concerns from Hidden Leaks
Hidden leaks that lead to dampness inside walls can be the cause of health problems without your knowledge. Family members with respiratory conditions, in particular, may have issues from the mold and mildew growing hidden in the walls. Our plumbers can perform leak detection as part of a plumbing inspection to locate hidden leaks using modern technology, which listens for the quiet sound of water leaking or detects temperature changes nearby, and looks inside pipes with miniature video equipment.
Keeping Drains Clean and Clear
Regular drain cleaning service is drain housekeeping that ensures your drains are clean and clear, which is usually not the case. Especially after years of use, material gathers in your drain pipes such as grease clinging to the pipe walls, and clogs develop from other materials building upon the grease or other initial material. Clog material is common in horizontal pipes, which are supposed to be installed with a slight tilt to encourage drainage, but often still gather material over time. Anywhere clog gathers will eventually be somewhere that your drain flow slows, and its effectiveness will be reduced. All of these factors will eventually lead to emergency plumbing service calls when one clog or another becomes a total obstruction, and the removal of one that formed in your sink or toilet could be only part of the total solution. Having your home’s drains cleaned starts fresh without all these potential clogs and drain slowing obstructions, making emergency plumbing service calls and health hazards or property damage from flooding and backups less likely.
Backflow and Other Water Quality Issues
A critical plumbing concern actually has its origins outside your home in most cases, when a water main breaks or a nearby fire hydrant is put into service and significant quantities of water are drawn from it. These events and similar ones can reduce your public water supply’s pressure, and make it easier for your home’s incoming water to be infiltrated by contaminants. Often, a town will issue a boil water notice when such a situation arises, to ensure that homeowners know their water supply may be unsafe for a while. When the pressure is restored, the potential for “backflow” should be resolved, and you’ll be cleared to use the water as usual. Backflow can also be caused by plumbing problems, and backflow prevention devices are available when needed. Our emergency plumbing service can help when your water quality is at risk.
Your Emergency Plumbing Service in Knoxville, TN
My Professional Plumber in Knoxville, TN provides both on-call and preventive emergency plumbing services, helping you to avoid risks and responding quickly when the unexpected happens with your plumbing. Our professional licensed plumbers have the benefit of experience that makes them prepared for nearly anything, and able to anticipate and correct plumbing problems that could result in danger or damage. Call us for a plumbing inspection, and keep our number handy for emergency plumbing service.