Having a garbage disposal in good working order is essential in maintaining a clean environment for your home and averting any drainage issue in the future. This is one reason why one of your most important criteria for choosing a garbage disposal should be quality and durability.

Here are additional tips for choosing garbage disposal

• Choose a brand or model with a warranty, this proves the manufacturer’s commitment to their merchandise.
•  Take into consideration the extent of the use the garbage disposal will be subjected to. If you want the unit for your home, then choose one that is suited for home use. But if you need it for your business, such as a restaurant, then get a more powerful garbage disposal.
• Another factor to consider is easy and simple installation. There are units that are simple and easy to install, some even comes with a DIY installation instruction.
• Consider also the presence of a septic tank in your sewer system. There are models that are septic tank specific.
• Lastly, compare prices. Some disposals are more expensive than the others even if the specifications and features are the same.

Garbage disposals are very helpful kitchen appliances. If and when you buy one, make sure that you’re getting the best one, at least the best for you. It also pays to ask for recommendation from friends and family and to check comments and reviews of satisfied users for each and every product that you are considering.

Here is how you can unclog your washing machine drain line

• The first thing you need to inspect is the drainage hose of your washing machine. This is the hose attached to your machine and is connected to the drainage pipe. See if there are any bends or twist on the hose and straighten it.
• Detach the drainage hose from the machine and check it for clogs. To remove any soap sludge build-up inside the hose, soak it in the sink filled with a mixture of water and chlorinated bleach( proportion is 2 tbsp of bleach per 1 gal of water)
• The next thing you have to inspect to find the reason for the clog is the pump filter. If the pump filter is clogged with debris this could cause your clogging
• A broken tab located on the washing machine cover could also be the reason why your washing machine is not draining
• Next, check if there is any clothing article – a sock, a small hanky or underwear wedged between the water pump and the drum of the washing machine. This could be the clog you’re looking for.

If after you’ve done all the steps above, and you still have a clog washing machine drain line, then in all probability, the problem is along the drainage pipe. If such is the case, then you will need professional help, call a plumber.

There are several fixes that a homeowner can do themselves.

If there is no water entering the wash tub you should check the water line hoses for crooks or bends. Also check the filter screen. There is a filter screen at the tip of the water line hoses and the inlet valve to trap rubbish and prevent the debris from harming the washer. If the filter screens are clogged then the water pressure will be low or water will not flow or if it is flowing it could be the wrong water temperature. Also check the water inlet valve, timer control, water temperature switch and water level switch.

If the filter screens are now clog- free but the water still does not enter the wash tub, the next thing you need to check is the inlet valve. What you have to check are the terminals and the connectors. Check them for corrosion. If they are rusted they should either be cleaned or if they’re totally corroded, replaced.

If the inlet valve is good, but water seeps through it even when the washing machine is off, then it could be that the valve is the problem. Waste and other debris may be stopping the valve from shutting or the valve could be faulty. Clean the valve, but if it can no longer be cleaned then replace it.

If none of these solutions work, then it is time to call a plumber (864) 517-1251.

A toilet has only two main parts, a fill valve that allows water to fill the tank after it is flushed and the flush valve which allows the water to flood the bowl when you flush it. When a toilet runs or leaks either continuously or sporadically, the reason could be a faulty flush valve or fill valve.

Ways to fix a leaky toilet
To find out which valve is giving you trouble you need to examine the overflow tube. When water spills over into the tube, your fill valve is the culprit. When the water level is lower than the top of the tube, it is your flush valve that is leaking, the reason why water drips into the bowl. The constant and slow trickling of water into the bowl is the reason why the fill valve doesn’t close totally.

• Adjusting the float - If your fill valve has a floating ball connected to the rod, slowly raise the rod and take note if the water stops. You can repair your leaky toilet by fine-tuning the float. This is easily done if your fill valve has a has a float adjustment screw. If there is none, lightly bend down the float arm to put added pressure on the fill valve. To find out if it works, flush down the toilet.

• Flushing the valve - A flush valve may not completely close because of hard water, tiny fragments of debris from a broken water line or old pipes. Flush out and clear this debris by sluicing the valve with water.

• Replacing the washer - Replace a cracked or worn-out washer by removing the worn washer from the cap using a small screw driver. Press down the new washer in place.

• Replacing the fill valve - If the fill valve is beyond repair, then you need to replace it. Shut off the water supply from the shut –off valve before you proceed with replacing the fill valve and drain the remaining water on the tank by flushing the toilet and holding open the flush valve. Make sure that the interior of the tank is completely dry by sponging out any remaining water or moisture

If the cause of your leaky toilet is coming from the flush valve or the tank bolts, you need to detach the bowl from the tank to replace the rubber washer, the tank bolts and the gaskets of the flush valve.

If all else fails, call a professional plumber - 864.517,1251.

Cleaning the Disposal
The key to eliminating garbage disposal smell is to keep the disposal clean at all times. Spraying the kitchen with air – freshener or deodorizing the garbage disposal will not get rid of the smell. The blend of the nasty garbage disposal smell and the deodorizer could even be worse.

A weekly or even twice a month cleaning of the garbage disposal will effectively get rid of the garbage disposal smell. One way to clean the garbage disposal is with a mixture of baking soda and white vinegar. Pour the substances one at a time, baking soda first, followed by the white vinegar, plug the sink with its stopper and leave it there for about 15 minute. After the set time, uncap the sink, pour a kettle of boiling water onto the sink and turn on the machine. This process will wash out the rotten food particles clinging to the cutting blades and the interior cylinder.

Cleaning the splash guard
Another source of the odorous garbage disposal smell could be the slime and grime coating the splash guard’s underside. A regular cleaning of the splash guard by wiping it with a sponge soaked in water and bleach mixture or kitchen cleaner and deodorizer might just be the solution to your smelly garbage disposal.

Citrus peel and mint freshener
After cleaning the garbage disposal, the best way to deodorize to the machine and get a fresh and lemony scent to the whole kitchen, is to grind some lime, lemon or orange peel in it. If you are not partial to the citrus scent then try mint. Dribble several droplets of mint extract in the garbage disposal, let it stand for several hours before washing it off. You not only got rid of the garbage disposal smell in your kitchen, you also now have a clean and fresh smelling kitchen.

The first tool to try is the old reliable toilet plunger that can be placed over the throat of the bowl and pushed down gently to create suction action in the toilet’s drain chamber. Doing this several times is often enough to unclog toilets where minor blockages due to paper products is the problem. If you try plunging a half dozen times and see no results, it’s time to move on to the next tool in your closet: the handheld auger.

If you have small children in the household who sometimes drop toys in toilets or even pets that may think the inside of a toilet is a great place to hide bones, a handheld auger can be a great addition to your home tool collection. Many times a small item can get lodged in a toilet’s drain lines and cause paper and waste to collect so that the resulting blockage can’t be cleared with a plunger. A handheld auger excels at unclogging toilets with these sorts of jams and they are fairly inexpensive.

The end of the auger has a 90 degree bend that allows it to be placed into the toilet bowl throat and you simply crank the auger so that the snake moves through the drainage chambers. When the snake has reached its maximum length (usually about 4 feet) pull it back out and try flushing the toilet. Be careful you don’t scratch the inside of the bowl while cranking the auger or pulling it back out. If the blockage still isn’t cleared, you now have two choices: clear your schedule for the next several hours for a fairly large project or call a plumbing contractor.

Pulling the toilet up and using a large plumbing snake or power auger to clear the blockage in the main line isn’t the most pleasant job in the world which is one of the reasons why plumbers stay so busy. Plumbing snakes and power augers are available at most tool rentals and don’t forget to purchase a new wax seal that will be needed for the toilet before it is sat back into place.

If all else fails, give us a call or contact us online.

Light switches and electrical outlets that don’t work but have been okay in the past may simply be due to a breaker tripping in your main electrical panel. If that turns out to be the case, there’s a possibility that you may have overloaded the circuit with the tools or appliances that were plugged into the outlets controlled by that breaker. Unplug a few items and try flipping the breaker into the on position until it locks in place. If it refuses to lock or immediately flips to the off position again, your work is done – call a professional electrician to look at the problem that could be a faulty breaker or a short in the line somewhere. Under no circumstances should you remove the cover off the electrical panel unless you have experience in this area.

If the breaker wasn’t in the off position, there’s a good chance the problem is at the outlet or switch. It isn’t unheard of for either to go bad on occasion. While replacing electrical outlets or light switches is a fairly simple operation, it’s still a good idea to use a qualified electrician for the project. If you insist on trying it yourself, ensure that the breaker controlling the switch or outlet has been turned off before removing the fixture’s cover. The best way to make sure is by using a professional tester available at most hardware stores and electrical supply distributors. Do not attempt to work in the fixture box until absolutely sure the juice is off to the outlet or switch.

Removing the switch or outlet is fairly easy and normally a just matter of loosening a few screws. Take the faulty switch or outlet with you when purchasing a replacement to ensure you’re getting an identical match. Put everything back together and make sure you don’t have any wires touching each other in the box. If the fixture still doesn’t work, call an electrician to take a look.

Handheld augers are handy for clearing a drain pipe near a sink trap or adjacent to a toilet without a lot of trouble – in many cases you don’t even have to pull the toilet. However, for a big job where the blockage is further down the sewer line, the best tools are a plumbing snake or power auger and both are normally available at your local tool rental store.

Most homes have an exterior sewer cleanout adjacent to or in front of the house which provides an access point for the snake or auger into the sewer line. If you take the cap off of the exterior cleanout and see a buildup of waste in the pipe, it is a good indication that the problem is in the main sewer line between your home and the street. If that’s the case, use the auger or snake in that direction to loosen any blockage.

An exterior sewer line blockage may be due to normal waste, but there is also a possibility that there could be an issue with tree roots infiltrating the line or possibly even a yard landscaping project damaging the pipe. You may be able to clear the current blockage, but these types of problems will normally allow a recurrence of the backup.

The one sure method for discovering the condition of your exterior sewer line is to have a plumbing contractor camera the pipe to determine if there is any damage or other issues that are causing the blockage. A small camera on a cable is lowered into the pipe and allows every inch of the line to be inspected on an above ground video screen. You then know exactly what damage you may have and where it’s located.