Water hammer—it’s an intimidating name. But it’s appropriate, because the sound that water hammer makes in your plumbing can be quite intimidating. It’s the sound of a shockwave going through the pipes, an alarming thump! noise as if someone took a hammer to the piping. Water hammer has sometimes made people believe ghosts were behind the activity. The reality is much less spooky, but it’s something that requires attention from plumbers.
THUMP! Water Hammer Is Hitting Your Plumbing!
February 25th, 2019Corrosion vs. Your Water Heater: A Fearsome Tale
February 11th, 2019
How long can you expect the water heater in your home to last? The average lifespan for storage tank water heaters is around 20 years, although with the best possible care, they can last longer.
The biggest threat that can bring a water heater’s service life to an early end is corrosion. Corrosion is the enemy of any metal in contact with water, but a water heater is designed to resist corrosion for many years. We’re going to look at what corrosion can do to your water heater, how to prevent it, and what to do if it starts.
Some Unusual Clogs That Can Affect Your Drains
January 28th, 2019
Drain clogs are just about as common a problem as can affect the plumbing in a home. The usual culprits for clogged or slow drains are hair clogs, FOG (fats, oils, and grease), hard water minerals, soap scum, food, and more serious problems with the sewer line. If you can’t clear out a clog using a plunger or a basic hand-cranked drain snake, then it’s recommended you call for a plumber in San Juan Capistrano, CA who’s licensed and equipped to take care of the problem.
We have a long history with drain cleaning and unclogging, so we’ve seen many of the more … unusual things that can clog up drains. In this post, we’re going to look at some of these odder sources of blocked drains. Some may sound bizarre, but any of them could happen to you—and any of them we can fix.
Saddleback Plumbing Wins the Angie’s List Super Service Award—Again!
January 23rd, 2019
Everyone here at Saddleback Plumbing is proud to announce that we’ve again won the Angie’s List Super Service Award, this time for our work in 2018.
This award reflects our consistently high level of customer service. The Super Service Award honors service professionals who have maintained exceptional service ratings and reviews on Angie’s List during the year. According to Angie’s List founder Angie Hicks, “Service pros that receive our Angie’s List Super Service Award represent the best in our network, who are consistently making great customer service their mission. These pros have provided exceptional service to our members and absolutely deserve recognition for the exemplary customer service they exhibited in the past year.”
To win the Super Service Award, a contractor must meet strict eligibility requirements, which include maintaining an “A” rating in overall grade, recent grade, and review period grade. Winners must be in good standing with Angie’s List and undergo additional screening.
For over two decades, Angie’s List has been a trusted name for connecting consumers to top-rated service professionals.
Saddleback Plumbing has served Orange County since 1981. Rely on our award-winning customer service.
Is an Electric Furnace the Best Choice If My Home Doesn’t Use Gas?
January 14th, 2019
The use of natural gas is widespread, but it isn’t universal to all homes in Orange County. Some homeowners prefer not to use natural gas at all because of concerns about safety. Of course, it’s easy to operate a home entirely through electricity—but it can present a few tricky questions when it comes to an appliance like a heating system. Homes with natural gas will almost always use a gas furnace—it’s simply the most powerful and most energy efficient option. There are also gas boilers, but these are less common in Southern California.
The heating option for all-electric homes that most commonly springs to mind is the electric furnace. Is this the best choice, however? Well, like so many things in life, it depends.
How Video Pipe Inspections Make Pro Plumbers Better Than Ever
December 31st, 2018
Digital technology has changed the world in significant ways. For example, tiny digital cameras are now installed in the phones most people carry around with them, allowing them to take pictures almost anywhere to capture any moment.
One place where the digital camera has been helpful is in the world of professional plumbing. Although “plumbing” may not be the first thing that pops to mind when you think about the benefits of digital tech, you’ll be thankful for it the next time you need plumbing in Irvine, CA to help with trouble with hidden leaks, drain cleaning, or sewer line issues. The video pipe inspections that digital technology has made possible have improved the power of your plumber.
A Reminder About Maintenance for Your Heating System
December 17th, 2018
Winter may not be ice-cold in Orange County, but it’s still a busy time of the year for almost everyone. This makes it easy for many routine tasks to slip off our personal “To-Do” lists, or fall so far down them that they never go from “To-Do” to “Done.”
One of the most often neglected of these December jobs is heating maintenance. Even when the weather gets a touch nippy, heating systems aren’t foremost on residents’ minds.
We’re here to remind you that professional heating maintenance is a job to schedule each year! It’s not too arduous, since the expert technicians do most of the work. You only have to remember to call to set a date.
Signs You Should Install a Water Treatment System?
December 3rd, 2018
“Do I need to have a whole-house water treatment system?”
This is a question many homeowners in Orange County ask themselves. Water quality is often in the news, and people are more concerned about the health conditions of the water they drink and cook with and bathe in. Simple filtration pitchers don’t seem like enough if there are high levels of impurities in the water entering a home through the water main.
We’re a plumber in Irvine, CA who handles water treatment system installation. We can provide guidance for whether putting in a water treatment system is a good idea. There are ways you can tell you have too many impurities in your household’s water.
Is There Supposed to Be Ice on My Air Conditioner?
November 19th, 2018
The simple answer is: No. If you see ice forming on your air conditioner (probably along the indoor coils), turn off the system and call for repair services from our team right away. The AC needs to be fixed, and it’s a repair only professionals can correctly diagnose and perform.
So, while you’re waiting for us to deliver you the Irvine, CA air conditioning services that will ensure you have a healthy air conditioning system, we’re going to fill you in on why ice on the AC shouldn’t be there and why it might happen.
Water Heater Issues You Should Watch For
November 5th, 2018
Water heaters may not run into problems as often as with heating and air conditioning systems, but they are still going to develop issues every once in a while. Even if you schedule preventive maintenance on a regular basis for your water heater, you need to make sure that you keep an eye out for signs that your system is in need of repairs. The earlier you can determine that your system is dealing with some sort of problem, the faster you can get the problem fixed. The following are just a few of the common signs that your water heater might be in need of repairs.