My Drain Company Blog : Posts Tagged ‘Plumbing’

Grease Trap Repairs in Commercial Plumbing Systems

Friday, May 9th, 2014

Grease occasionally goes down the drains of residential kitchens, where it solidifies into a solid waxy material that can lead to clogs. However, this is nothing compared to the volume of grease, oil, and fat go down the drains of a commercial kitchen every day, whether it’s the kitchen of a restaurant, hotel, or cafeteria. These kitchens require industrial strength grease traps to keep their plumbing working, and also to comply with local codes prohibiting excess waste entering the sewer system. Commercial grease traps need to remain in excellent condition with repairs and maintenance.

To protect your commercial kitchen, schedule repairs for your grease trap as soon as you notice any problems from it. You can call My Drain Company any time of the day or night when you need repairs now. We know how important your business is to you, and we will strive to give you the professional service you require to keep it running the way you want it.

Repairs for Grease Traps

You can avoid many common grease trap repairs if you clean out the trap regularly and schedule annual maintenance for it to make sure it isn’t developing issues that could lead to repairs. However, you cannot avoid all problems, and sometimes repairs are necessary.

A common trouble that can affect a commercial grease trap is when the pipes that either enter or leave it develop clogs. Plumbers can assist with this using hydro-jetting equipment, blasting high pressure hot water along the pipes. The scalding temperature of the water is particularly effective at clearing out grease clogs. Drain snakes, which are used to clear standard drain pipes, are not powerful enough to unclog grease traps, and since hydro-jetting can be harmful in untrained hands, this is a service you must leave to professionals.

Grease traps will produce noxious smells if the food waste inside them begins to rot. If these smells continue even after you clean the trap, you may have an issue with the odor baffles. Poor installation could also be at fault, usually from a trap that was incorrectly sized. Call for professionals to investigate; you don’t want terrible odors affecting your business.

Keeping the grease traps for your commercial kitchen in good shape not only makes for a better kitchen, it keeps your business within the parameters of health and sewer codes. Don’t let a malfunction in a grease trap threaten your company: Call for the Glendale, CA plumbing professionals at My Drain Company right away.

Tags: Glendale, Plumbing
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3 Different Ways to Clean Your Drains

Thursday, May 1st, 2014

Most people think of drain cleaning as a simple task easily accomplished with a store-bought cleanser. In point of fact, however, such simple solutions usually only defer the problem instead of properly solving it. If you live in Northridge, our plumbers are nearby who can perform drain cleaning services that properly correct the problem instead of just papering it over with a one-size-fits-all solution. Drain clogs are often very different, and food particles in your kitchen plumbing can differ a great deal from hard-water build up in your bathroom. The professional Northridge plumbers at My Drain Company can tailor the solution to fit the problem, using a wide variety of options.

Here are 3 different ways to clean your drains that plumbers often make use of:

Video cameras. Video cameras don’t strictly clear out the drain, but they can be used to get a better idea of what’s causing the cog. The plumber can send a tiny camera down the drain on a flexible line, then monitor what it sees through a video screen on the other end. It lets him or her determine exactly what you’re up against, then find the right tool for the job.
Drain snakes. Drain snakes are basically flexible wires with bristle heads on the end, and like cleansers, you can buy generic models in any store. But professional plumbers often use mechanized snakes with a lot more power behind them, as well as snakes with rotating heads that can match the exact nature of the clog. They’ll use that to break up the clog into small pieces, or flat-out pull it up in the case of smaller clogs.
Hydro jetting. Hydro jetting uses a fitted hose that shoots concentrated bursts of water down your pipes. The water’s extreme pressure levels scour the pipes clean – dealing with all the build-up, not just the specific clog – while leaving the pipes themselves untouched. Hydro jetting is very safe, but requires a plumber’s training to use properly.

Here at My Drain Company, we are familiar with the different ways to clean your drains and we know how to use them right. If you live in Northridge, our plumbers are just a phone call away. Contact us today to make an appointment!

Tags: Northridge, Plumbing
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Reasons to Get a Sump Pump in Glendale

Thursday, February 6th, 2014

A sump pump is placed in your basement and acts to keep your home safe and dry in the event of flooding. As water seeps into our basement, it gathers in the pit holding the sump pump, and the pump can then move it safely out of your home via a drain pipe. It’s very useful in places prone to flooding, and here in Glendale, plumbing services can install one quite easily. But that doesn’t cover why you might need a sump pump here in traditionally dry Southern California. Believe or not, you do. Here are some reasons to get a sump pump in Glendale.

The biggest reason entails the suddenness and ferocity of our rainstorms and the way they can result in flooding. Our sewer system can’t always respond to a sudden deluge of rain, and when our local hillsides have lost vegetation due to wild fires, a little rain can turn into an ugly mudslide very quickly. Homeowners in Glendale can often be caught flat-footed by such development, precisely because they’re a winter phenomenon and we don’t need to worry about them for the rest of the year. When those moments come, however, a reliable sump pump is worth its weight in gold.

Then there’s the threat of burst pipes and similar damage, which again isn’t normally a concern here in So Cal since we don’t get a lot of freezing temperatures. We do, however, see our share of earthquakes, and even a mild one can rupture your plumbing with little or no warning. When that happens, you can use the sump pump to quickly remove the flooding water before it can cause much damage. It beats bailing your basement out with a bucket by a long shot.

Other reasons to get a sump pump in Glendale include improving the resale value of your home and helping with potential costs of homeowner’s insurance. If you live in Glendale, plumbing services like My Drain Company can install a sump pump safely and with a minimum of fuss. If you’re interested in a sump pump in your home, pick up the phone and give us a call today.

Tags: Glendale, Plumbing
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Benefits of Calling a Professional Plumber

Monday, November 4th, 2013

Plumbing is one of those things that homeowners often decide to take into their own hands. While anyone can spend a few minutes on the internet researching their plumbing problem, it’s usually not a good idea to attempt any plumbing repair or installation without the assistance of a professional plumber. Here at My Drain Company Inc, we offer a full range of plumbing services in Glendale, CA for all types of plumbing components and we wanted to share some of the benefits of working with a professional plumber.

Why Call a Professional Plumber

There are a few very important reasons why you should call a professional plumber when you need any kind of installation, repair, maintenance, or replacement service.

Speed of service – Many homeowners think that if they just take care of their plumbing problem on their own that it will take them less time because they won’t have to wait for a plumber to arrive. However, here at My Drain Company Inc we guarantee that we’ll show up the same day that you call which means that you don’t have to wait long at all or waste any time wandering around the internet looking for the right solution to your particular plumbing problem.
Quality of service – Another huge reason to call for a professional plumber is that the quality of work that gets done will be much higher. With all the years of experience and training that a plumbing contractor has, they will be able to fix any plumbing issue that you’re having with the highest possible quality. Not only will this ensure that the job gets done right, but that it will also last. There’s nothing more frustrating than spending all this time fixing something and then having it break down again shortly afterwards.

Call Glendale plumbers at My Drain Company Inc for all your plumbing repair service needs as well as installation, replacement and maintenance.