Water heaters are a handy piece of technology that helps us to live more comfortably in the modern world. Humans use hot water for just about anything, from washing hands, dishwashing, laundry, showers, and more. If you own a home, it is common that you will have questions about your water heater. When your water heater is not providing hot water or is not functioning properly, it can disrupt your day.

Here is a comprehensive list of the most common water heater questions. If you have had an issue with your heater for longer than 48 hours, you should call a licensed plumber before significant damage can be done. 

1- What Is The Best Water Heater Temperature?

Hot water can be extremely dangerous and water heaters can heat water to extremely high temperatures. The standard temperature that your heater could set during installation is 140 degrees. It is best to turn this down to around 120 degrees so as not to experience serious burns when the water is in the hottest setting.

2- Why Do I Keep Running Out Of Hot Water?

There are quite a few reasons that you could be experiencing less hot water. Some common ones could be sediment buildup, the water tank being too small for your home, or the heating element being bad. If your water heater is ten years old or has broken parts, it is time to replace it. Water heaters need to be properly connected to their heat source and run at full capacity for you to have hot water.

S&B Plumbing can provide water heater maintenance and drain out old water and build-up. Handling water heaters on your own is not recommended, as they require experience to properly reinstall. We also offer water heater replacement at a discounted price for our customers. 

3- What Is The Most Common Problem With Water Heaters?

Problems with plumbing can occur at any time and are often accompanied by odors, lack of water pressure, or increases in your energy and water bills. The most common problems with water heaters include:

• A stuck valve
• Overheating
• Improper water pressure
• Leaking water tank
• Bad gasket
• Faulty temperature and pressure release valve
• Loose heating element bolts

These problems can cause you to have dirty water, lower water flow, or a lack of hot water altogether. 

4- Signs Your Water Heater Is Going To Explode?

If your water heater has been leaking water or is making loud popping noises, it might be ready to explode. If you are having these problems or other issues with your heater, shut off the heater immediately and call a plumber. Not only can an explosion of a heater cause damage to your home, but it could also injure or kill occupants of your home. 

Trust S&B to come to inspect your water heater before the plumbing emergency happens. If you suspect that anything, no matter how small, might be wrong with the heater, call our professional team. 

5- Why Does The Water Take So Long To Heat Up?

Sediment buildup is usually the culprit of this water heater problem. This usually results in lukewarm water or the water taking especially long to get hot. To solve this problem, drain your water heater and clean the tank. An experienced plumber can take care of the water heater draining for you. 

Sometimes, if your faucet or shower head is far away from the water heater the hot water may take longer to flow. The delay in hot water can simply be caused by the time it takes to get there.

6- How Close Can Things Be To Water Heaters?

Having objects too close to your water heater can be a fire hazard. You should keep baskets, storage items, and other objects at least 18 inches away from the heater at all times. Placing objects out of sight might seem like a smart idea, but water heaters can cause a fire with no warning and you will be dealing with significant damage. 

7- When Should I Call A Plumber?

Having a plumber come to your home and fitting maintenance issues into your busy schedule may be annoying, but calling a plumber once you notice problems is the best course of action. Plumbers can assess problems and solve them before you cause damage to your home. Being without water is not something you want to deal with. Handling the problem before it becomes too large can get your home back to functioning order, sooner. 

Plumbing With S&B

The water heater in your home can often get taken for granted. We can help improve the quality of your water heater and plumbing in your home. With our quick service, you will be back to normal in a short time. S&B Plumbing knows that plumbing issues are not fun to deal with. We want your family to feel safe and comfortable in your home. Working with us gives you a great customer experience and gives you peace of mind knowing that your plumbing is in proper working order.
Since 1985, we have been serving the Northern Utah areas. Contact a trusted and licensed plumber today.

A common household problem, clogged toilets. You may have experienced this more than once in your life and it can be annoying to work to get your toilet to flush and drain correctly. But there are some easy ways to unclog a toilet.

Modern toilets help prevent diseases from spreading and keep waste contained, so it is important that yours works properly. Toilets see lots of use and can experience so much wear and tear. Plumbing issues can disrupt your day and can be upsetting. Before you call a plumber, there are a few tricks you can try at home to help unclog a toilet, that may work just as well. 

Plunger

Plungers are tools made specifically for this problem alone. Using a plunger is one of the typical and easiest ways to unclog a toilet. Plungers include a suction cup attached to a shaft to help pull debris or clogs from drains and pipes without getting messy or creating your own tool.

If you don’t have a plunger, or the tool is not sufficiently doing the job, there are other household items that can help get your toilet back to working order.

Baking Soda And Vinegar

The common cleaning combination of baking soda and vinegar reacts together and can help break up debris. It is used for other drains across your home including sinks and bathtubs. 

Before you just dump vinegar or baking soda into the toilet, make sure to remove some of the water. This might not be the best option if there is waste currently in your toilet bowl. The baking soda and vinegar will bubble and react. Let the mixture sit for about 20 minutes and then try to flush and drain the toilet again. 

Makeshift Drain Snake

Using a drain snake may be able to help move a blockage out of the way or break out of the drain. If you don’t have a drain snake, you can use a metal hanger to help unclog a toilet. 

Cut the hanger and straighten it out, bend one end and cover it with a cloth and duct tape so that the edge does not scratch your toilet. Wear rubber gloves to keep your hands clean, and use the drain snake to push down the drain. Once you feel a block you should twist and push the wire in a circular motion. If you can not find the block, it may be too far out of your reach and will possibly need a plumber. 

Hot Water And Dish Soap

One last home remedy to try is hot water and dish soap. The water should not be boiling but just hot enough. The hot water and dish soap will help to soften the clog and your toilet should flush freely. Let the hot water and soap sit for about 10 minutes before trying to flush the bowl again. 

Call A Plumber

If none of this seems to work, it is time to call a plumber. If the clog is too far down the pipe, or too dense for you to handle alone, a plumber can help. An experienced plumber will have better tools and knowledge to help unclog a toilet and get it back to proper order. 

Before you continue to try more and more tricks, it is best to call a plumber. Too many substances in your toilet could cause more damage to the toilet itself or the surrounding area. S&B Plumbers are always ready to handle your plumbing emergencies and can solve the problem quickly. 

Work With S&B Plumbing

We have been in business since 1985, so you can trust that we continue to improve our tools and knowledge. S&B Plumbing works hard to keep our customers satisfied and make sure our work is the best quality. As a family owned business, we know how it feels to have someone in your home, so we treat you and your home with the utmost respect. 

We offer many services for residents in Utah. Not only do we handle plumbing emergencies, but we offer water heater installation, faucet repair, main water line services, installation of the new plumbing or remodeled spaces, and more! We want to help you with anything that gets in the way of your day-to-day life. Handling plumbing professionally keeps your home from damage. 
Contact us today for pesky plumbing problems or with any plumbing questions. We want to be the plumbers you trust. Check out our website for testimonials, services, and our blog for more plumbing information.

Having a garbage disposal is super important for many homeowners. The sink in your kitchen is used multiple times a day and can go through a lot of wear and tear. Problems with your garbage disposal can be frustrating to handle but can actually be handled fairly quickly.

Common issues with a garbage disposal could be from just the age of your garbage disposal system or something that is preventing the blades from turning. There are some other problems to look for before you completely give up on your disposal. Below are some ideas that homeowners can try and when you should call a professional plumber. 

Avoid Putting These Foods In The Disposal

There are ways to prevent your garbage disposal from damage and keep it in working order. There are foods that you should definitely avoid putting in your garbage disposal. Some big ones to leave out of your drains and garbage disposal are grease, clams or oyster shells and non-food items. 

Grease may start out as a liquid but it becomes more solid over time. Dumping the grease down your drain can cause clogs and cause problems in your drain. Grease could clog up the blades, or make other debris from going down the drain. 

Clams or shells are really hard and don’t decompose quickly. Some of these items like coffee grounds and eggshells are a double whammy because they don’t decompose and they are oily. 

Non-food items like silverware can cause damage to the blades of your disposal. If silverware does get caught down the drain, it may cause you to have to replace more than just the garbage disposal. This appliance can handle many types of foods, but don’t treat it exactly like your trash can. 

Check The Power Source

The first place to check if your garbage disposal is malfunctioning is to make sure that the power source is properly connected to the disposal. Often your garbage disposal is plugged into an outlet under your sink and you can usually see if your garbage disposal is connected. If the disposal looks to be connected but still will not run, you will want to consider calling a professional plumber to ensure that you don’t cause more damage to your sink and disposal. 

Clean And Reset

If you have put food down the disposal recently and it seems to be connected to power, your disposal may benefit from a good cleaning and reset. Clean out anything that may be blocking the blades from turning. Be careful not to hurt yourself with the sharp blades but make sure that the disposal is clean enough that when it is turned on it does not make a disastrous mess.

Your garbage disposal has a reset button on the bottom of your disposal unit. You should be able to push this button to get the disposal back to working order. Often, the disposal has a safety feature that will cause it to shut off if it is jammed or overheats. Pushing the reset button after the jam has been cleared should fix your problem. 

Check The Circuit Breaker

The last place that you can check to fix your disposal is checking your breaker box. If the other tips in this blog have not worked, check to make sure that the circuit has not been overloaded. If too many appliances are being used at the same time, the circuit could have been overloaded and caused the breaker to trip. Flip the breaker back on after you have turned off some of the appliances using the power. This should restore power back to your kitchen and disposal. 

After trying this, you may need to call a plumber if this does not solve the problem. S&B offers garbage disposal services that can help restore it to its prior functionality. 

When To Replace Your Disposal

If the garbage disposal is still not running, it is more than likely that it is dead. The best option is to replace the disposal altogether. This process is not something that you should DIY though, calling a professional plumber will ensure that the disposal actually needs to be replaced or if the problem could be solved another way. 

Repairing the broken disposal by yourself is not the most cost effective option in the long run. You will more than likely need to replace it sooner rather than later. Having a working disposal helps to keep food scrapes from ending up in landfills and prevent greenhouse gasses.

Garbage Disposal Services With S&B

A garbage disposal can be rather complicated, and you should refrain from making garbage disposal repairs to it on your own. It is crucial to ensure that the repairs are made to your garbage disposal correctly and by a professional plumber with S&B. This can go a long way toward preventing additional problems and ensuring that it can be restored to its prior functionality. 

Our experts at S & B Plumbing are dedicated to providing you with the garbage disposal services and other residential plumbing that you need in order to keep your home comfortable. We can also help keep your drains clear and prevent sewage and food back up in your sink. 

If you want to learn more about our services and receive quality work, contact us today! We serve much of the Weber and Davis communities. To learn more about the services that we offer, contact us today.