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Why Hire a Certified Plumber?

Why Hire a Certified Plumber? | Residential Plumbing London | London Ontario Plumbing

Everyone has plumbing issues at some point.

It could be anything from a severely clogged toilet to a plumbing disaster.

When that happens, you might be tempted to hire the best plumbing repair company you can find.

Until you get the price estimates.

Then you might wonder if the rates are worth it.

Do you really need to hire the best when you can just go with the lowest possible quote?

The truth is the plumbers who charge the least aren’t always the best choices for the job.

Some plumbers operate in an unlicensed fashion, while others do.

The ones who do are called certified plumbers.

And hiring a certified plumber for your job may be the best choice you could make.

Read on to discover why.

What is a certified plumber?

Certified plumbers, also known as plumbing contractors, are a step up from ordinary plumbers.

The biggest difference is an accreditation with a trades organization.

Here in Ontario, tradespeople are governed by the Ontario College of Trades.

The organization maintains a public registry of tradespeople in Ontario, which includes electricians, iron workers, roofers, steamfitters, heavy equipment operators, millwrights, stone masons, and of course, plumbers.

You can view the registry here.

Feel free to search for our fearless leader, Aron Oretan – you’ll find he’s registered as a certified plumber.

But why hire a certified plumber?

First of all, certified plumbers have more up to date training, which means they’re privy to the latest techniques in plumbing installation and repairs.

Certified plumbers are also insured, which means you’ll be protected in case anything goes wrong.

And if you hire an unlicensed plumber and they make a mistake and cause damage, you’ll have to hire a certified plumber anyway to repair the damage.

While the price tag may be a bit higher with a certified plumber, in the long term it will be better.

It’s like buying a $30 pair of shoes that will fall apart in a year vs. a $200 pair which will last 15 years.

Sure it’s more money out of pocket right now, but over the long term which is the cheaper option?

The importance of hiring a certified plumber | Residential Plumbing London | London Ontario Plumbing

Why Hiring a Certified Plumber is Worth the Cost

Plumbers need to have a diverse group of skills they can call on in order to be successful.

Yes, plumbers do need to be able to connect pipes to fixtures, but they also need to do anything from installing a toilet to retrofitting the plumbing of an entire building.

Certified plumbers also need to do all these jobs according to specific building codes, know which building code applies to which project and even have the required licenses for the jobs they need to do.

If that weren’t enough, they may even have to factor in environmental efficiency and aesthetics, especially if they’re retrofitting plumbing.

These are skills and experiences that an apprentice or journeyman plumber won’t have.

The bottom line is that a certified plumber is very knowledgeable about their craft, and you can trust them to do their job correctly, ethically and follow through afterward.

What Kind of Jobs Require a Certified Plumber?

You should always hire a certified plumber to take care of any plumbing issues in your house.

But the more complex the job, the more you’ll need a certified plumber onboard to help.

For example, if you need to replace a toilet handle, you might be able to get by without a certified plumber.

If you’re doing some repiping, adding a new bathroom or installing multiple plumbing fixtures, though, you’ll want to have a certified plumber on the job to make sure it’s done right.

You’ll also want to hire a certified plumber if your job requires multiple plumbers.

They will be able to hire other contractors to work with them.

Most certified plumbers have other plumbers they can work with, both apprentices and journeypersons, so they have a crew they can count on to make sure a large plumbing project is done right.

Contact London Plumbing

Have a plumbing problem?

Want an expert opinion?

We can help.

Contact London Plumbing for a consultation today.

Stuck? Give Us A Call

Once you’ve shut the water off, take a deep breath, and give us a call. Here at London Plumbing, we’re here to help, no matter your plumbing needs.

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Top Five Plumbing Mistakes Everyone Makes

Top Five Plumbing Mistakes Everyone Makes | Residential Plumbing London | London Ontario Plumbing

Even if you haven’t had to rely on the services of a 24 hour emergency licensed plumbing company, you’ve probably experienced a plumbing emergency once or twice.

What you may not know is that a lot of plumbing emergencies are the result of people misusing their house’s plumbing system.

Everyone does it, but some mistakes are a lot more common than others.

We’ve compiled a list of the top five plumbing mistakes everyone seems to make.

If you can avoid these mistakes, you’ll save yourself a lot of time, money and heartache.

1. Ignoring small leaks

The most common plumbing mistake just might be ignoring a problem.

So your sink or toilet has a small leak.

So what?

You may think it just means is that you have to dry out the bathroom rug once in a while.

Unfortunately, that’s not quite the case.

Ignoring those small leaks can lead to larger problems in the near future.

Leaks might indicate leaky pipes (which may need to be replaced) or something more serious, like a hole in the ceiling.

If you see a small leak, you can try to take care of it yourself first.

If you can’t, though, call a professional plumber as soon as possible.

You’ll be glad you did, and your bank account will be glad too.

2. Using the toilet as a trash can

Hey, we understand.

You flush toilet paper down the toilet.

Why not flush paper towel?

Or dental floss?

It seems like a good idea at the time, especially when the trash can is full.

It’s actually a very bad idea.

Your toilet can handle the occasional shred of paper towel, but almost anything else should be off-limits.

Feminine products, plastic wrap—all of it should be disposed of in the trash can where it belongs.

Anything else could cause a serious clog that could require a house call from a professional plumber.

Mistakes you make when plumbing | Residential Plumbing London | London Ontario Plumbing

3. Hiring ultra-budget plumbers

You’ve got a plumbing project that needs professional expertise and you can feel your wallet protesting with each quote.

Suddenly, there it is—a quote lower than all the others.

This seems like the best of both worlds, where you can get the job done without your wallet crying in pain.

Before you pick up the phone, though, ask yourself one important question.

Does this business have the necessary experience?

If they don’t, you could be looking at complications that will cost you a lot more than that low, low quote.

Make sure that your plumber has experience in handling the type of project you need done.

4. Haphazard renovations

Wanting to renovate your home, especially your bathroom, can be a very rewarding project.

If you do it yourself, though, make sure you plan everything out ahead of time.

You’ll need to know what the steps are for each project, whether you’re putting a new faucet on your sink or installing a new bathtub.

You’ll also want to know the cost, tools and materials you’ll need.

If you know all this, your renovation should go smoothly.

If you don’t plan, though, you could find that the renovation will take a lot more time and money than you originally hoped.

5. Overusing drain cleaner

If your sink or toilet gets a clog, you could be forgiven for buying some drain cleaner instead of hiring a plumber.

The problem is that drain cleaners use some very harsh chemicals to dissolve the clog and other buildup in your pipes.

These chemicals not only eat away at the debris.

They also eat away at your pipes.

What this means is the more you use drain cleaner, the weaker your pipes can become.

If your sink or toilet clogs repeatedly, don’t try to solve the problem with drain cleaner.

It’s clearly not helping.

And the drain cleaner will damage the pipes each time.

If you follow these five tips, you can avoid plumbing headaches most of the time.

Contact London Plumbing

If you do have a plumbing emergency, though, contact London Plumbing to make your plumbing run smoothly again.

No matter what your plumbing needs are, we’re happy to help.

Contact London Plumbing for all your residential plumbing needs.

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Tree Roots Clogging Your Pipes: The Worst Culprits

Clogged Pipes from tree roots | London Plumbing | London Ontario Plumber

Tree roots are one of the most common and frustrating reasons for people to need to hire a general residential plumbing company. That may come as a surprise to you if you aren’t used to how household plumbing works. But it’s true.

How can a tree branch possibly become so strong that it breaks through the wall of your pipes? Most of the underground piping in London is made of either PVC or copper, and it’s not like either of those are particularly soft. And why bother? Wouldn’t it be easier to just go around the pipe?

What’s the story here?

How Do Trees Cause You To Need Water Line Repair?

The answer to this lies in why the tree would want to break into your water line in the first place.

A tree’s root system can go as far deep into the earth as the tree does into the air. The reason for this is partially to anchor it in place so it doesn’t blow over, but also to draw nutrients out of the ground. Two of the most important nutrients a tree will find in the ground are water and oxygen. The larger a tree’s root system is, the easier time it has finding this stuff.

So if you were a tree, and you were sending your roots underground, where do you think you’d look for a fresh supply of both oxygen and water?

Of course, your water lines. But how does a tree know there’s water in those pipes in the first place?

Most of the time, it doesn’t. Water flows through the pipes and into your sink at home with no knowledge of this from the outside world. It’s entirely contained within the pipes.

Unless you have a crack in your pipe.

Pipe cracks in themselves can cause you problems in erosion, reduced water pressure, and in particularly bad cases, basement flooding. But if a tree is snaking its roots underground and finds that there are pools of water around an area, its roots will go in that direction. And then it will eventually figure out the source of the water – the crack in your pipes – and start pushing its tendrils into the hole.

This clogs your pipes right up, and requires a water line repair to get flowing again.

But even if your pipes don’t have cracks in them, a tree can still find out there’s water in side and break through. If your pipes sweat, for example, it can cause condensation to build up around their edges. A tree may find this and grow its roots out around it. As more and more roots wrap around your pipe, it can cause the pipe to crack in the first place.

Tree roots like water, apparently, and they’ll do whatever they can to get it.

Which Trees Cause You To Need Water Line Replacement?

Any tree can grow its roots into your pipes. This is an unfortunate reality of these beautiful shade-providing friends of ours. And you can’t always control what types of tree roots end up in your backyard – sometimes they’re from the neighbour’s property, or you live in a community situation, like a townhouse or condo.

Most people don’t even consider how their landscaping will affect their plumbing. But it can be incredibly costly to repair.

But if you can control it, you should avoid planting certain types of trees. These trees include:

• Oak
• Fig
• Maple
• Birch
• Sycamore
• Aspen
• Elm

Unfortunately, that list includes most of the nicest trees you can find here in Ontario. But you can plant alternatives instead.

Fruit trees, including apple trees, are often much better for your plumbing. You could also plant some beautiful magnolia trees or wafer ash. Palm trees, too, are great for your plumbing, but good luck planting one of those in Ontario.

”But I Don’t Want To Cut My Trees Down!

Don’t worry! You don’t have to. If you have younger trees, you could always relocate them to another point in your property where it won’t affect your plumbing. But even if they’re old and well-established, you still won’t need to worry.

With some preventative maintenance, you can ensure that your trees and your pipes can live harmoniously together on your property, providing your home with shade and running water for years to come.

Contact London Plumbing today to find out more about what you can to do keep your plumbing running smoothly.

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Should You Replace Your Plumbing Fixtures?

Should You Replace Your Plumbing Fixtures? | London Plumbing | London Ontario Plumber

You know how sometimes when you’re trying to cook a meal and you put too much spice in it, you can cover up that mistake by adding something else?

And then other times you try to sprinkle a bit of salt in but then your teenage son thought it would be HILARIOUS to unscrew the cap so you end up with a pot of tomato sauce with more salt in it than there is in his tears when you tell him he’s grounded for a week, and you have to throw the whole thing out and start over again?

Plumbing is like that.

Sometimes you can repair an old plumbing fixture. There’s nothing really wrong with it other than maybe a small part – in that case, a general residential plumbing repair company can help you.

But other times it’s so messed up that you just need to throw the whole thing out and start fresh.

The only real way to know is to give us a call so we can check out the problem and let you know what to do. But here are some telltale signs.

Cracked Toilet

Toilets are pretty tough. After all, they’re designed to hold the weight of everyone from your super skinny cousin Felicia to your big uncle Al. Really, the porcelain parts of a toilet should last pretty much forever. But if for some reason the porcelain does crack (like if you just broke through the wall you were hiding in so Trinity and Neo can get away, and you just got the hell beaten out of you by Agent Smith) there’s nothing you can do.

How did you crack the porcelain anyway?

Never mind, I probably don’t want to know.

But if it’s cracked then you need to replace your toilet.

Broken Flushing Mechanism

Every toilet has a flushing mechanism built into it (shocking I know). This mechanism has a lot of moving parts and it’s not easy to replace these individually. Basically when your flushing mechanism breaks you need to replace the whole thing.

Not the whole toilet (not usually) but the flushing mechanism. If it’s broken, it might run all the time which wastes a lot of water. That’s bad for the environment and bad for your water bill!

Upgrading

I once saw someone who tried to paint their toilet. And I guess that’s… kind of cool if that’s what you’re going for. But it only works if you want to do some crazy design on it. If you paint it a solid colour it’s going to look horrible. Trust me.

If you’re remodeling and your toilet no longer fits with your washroom, go ahead and replace it. Don’t paint it.

Some people might think it’s wasteful to replace a toilet. Sometimes it is. But sometimes you can replace your toilet with a better model that uses less water, which actually makes it less wasteful.

What About Faucets?

Most leaky faucets are pretty easy to repair. Swap out a broken part for a new one, Bob’s your uncle. But most people like to replace their broken faucets since they’re not very expensive, and if one piece broke on your faucet chances are more parts are going to go soon.

Other people just don’t like their faucet anymore. They think it’s ugly, or it doesn’t fit with their new kitchen or washroom. In that case, go ahead and replace it.

Need Help Replacing Your Fixtures?

If you’re planning on replacing your plumbing fixtures, we can help. Give us a shout here at London Plumbing.

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How To Keep Your Drains Clear

How To Keep Your Drains Clear | London Plumbing | London Ontario Plumber

Okay, so we clear drains. That’s our job.

Our goal at London Plumbing is to be the best residential london plumbing repair company in the city, so if you’ve got a clogged drain we’re here to help. We’ve got your back.

But wouldn’t you rather just not have a clogged drain?

I know you love seeing our handsome faces showing up to your door, but you’ll save yourself some stress and headache (and money!) if you just know how to keep your drain unclogged in the first place. So that’s why we put together this little blog article for you.

First Of All, What Clogs Drains?

There are tons of things that clog drains. Often it comes down to knowing what you should and shouldn’t flush.

If you’re planning on flushing something down the toilet, ask yourself these four questions:

– Is it water, or a water-based liquid (eg. not oil)?
– Is it pee?
– Is it poop?
– Is it toilet paper?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, go ahead and flush it. If not, don’t!

Yeah, I know that box of cat litter says it’s flushable. Yeah, I know that baby wipe seems like it’s the same thing as toilet paper. But it’s not.

In fact, some of the biggest causes of clogged drains are cat litter, baby wipes, and feminine hygiene products. If you can just not flush these things, you’ll be way ahead of everyone else who does. And, y’know, your drain is less likely to be clogged.

But it’s not just this stuff that causes clogs. Sometimes, you can do everything right and still get a clogged drain. Some of these causes include:

– Tree roots growing through your pipes
– Ground shifting your pipes out of sync with each other
– A clog in your main sewer line

When this happens, what do you do?

Call us!

How To Keep Your Drains Clear

It’s pretty simple, really. Follow these tips and you can avoid having clogged drains. But all it boils down to is, don’t put stuff down the drain!

– Don’t flush stuff down the toilet that shouldn’t be there. This includes feminine hygiene products, dental floss, cat litter, baby wipes, and more.
– Don’t rinse stuff down the kitchen sink that shouldn’t be there. Food, coffee grinds, rice grains, whatever. Don’t stick it down the drain.
– Don’t rinse stuff down the bathtub drain that shouldn’t be there. This is mostly hair, which sticks together with soap scum and can cause a nasty paste that clogs things up wickedly.
– Don’t rinse stuff down the bathroom sink that shouldn’t be there. That’s mainly hair too, but all the above things still count. Yeah, don’t rinse cat litter or condoms down the bathroom sink either!

Just keep your drains clear of stuff that isn’t water or human waste, and you’ll be good (mostly).

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How To Find The Emergency Shut Off Valve

How to Find The Emergency Shut Off Valve | London Plumbing | London Ontario Plumber

It’s the worst case scenario, plumbing-wise. Your faucet, your toilet, your bathtub – something has spring a major leak. Water is spraying everywhere, and you’re worried it will cause thousands of dollars in damage.

What do you do?

You should call your local plumber, of course, but what about the leaking water? Your plumber will arrive as soon as they can, but in the meantime you still have a big wet problem on your hands. But first…

Turn Off The Emergency Shutoff Valve

Before you spend a ton of cash calling a 24 hour emergency licensed plumbing contractor, though, here’s how you can save your home from damage and save some money while you’re at it.

The first thing you should do – even before calling a plumber – is to shut off the water to your house. This stops the flow of water to all the pipes in your home. This won’t fix the problem right away, but it will at least prevent it from further damaging your home.

But of course, you need to know where to find it first.

How To Find The Emergency Shut Off Valve

Every home has an emergency plumbing shut off valve, and in times where you have a plumbing emergency you’ll be glad it’s there! Most of the time you’ll find it near the water meter in your home.

That begs another question though – where is your water meter?

You’ll usually find it attached to the side of your home, but it can sometimes be buried as well. In these cases, you can find a small hatch on your property similar to a sewer cap. It might be marked “water”.

If you can’t turn it by hand, you’ll need to use either a pipe wrench or a water key – a special plumbing wrench. Grab one from a hardware store before the emergency happens so you’re prepared.

If you can’t find your shut off valve, give us a call.

Individual Plumbing Fixture Shut Off Valves

While your entire house has its own dedicated shut off valve, you also have individual shut off valves attached to each fixture as well. These are usually located in an inconspicuous spot – behind your toilet, or under your sink. Take some time to locate these valves – they’re usually almond-shaped – in case of an emergency later. You’ll be glad you did!

Try shutting them off too – if they’re stuck now, add some lubricant to make them run smoothly. I guarantee this will be a less stressful process than trying to lubricate a stuck valve as your basement fills up with water!

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4 Things To Consider Before Hiring A Plumber

4 Things To Consider Before Hiring A Plumber | London Plumbing | London Ontario Plumber

So you’ve got a plumbing issue that needs solving. Installing new fixtures, removing old ones, clearing drains, or a 24 hour emergency plumbing contractor to stop that water volcano from spraying all over the place and ruining that Picasso painting you just paid $100,000 for at an auction last week because you just won the lottery – it doesn’t matter. You need a plumber’s help.

What do you do? You could just search Google and come up with the first place you can find. That might work for you. But how do you know that plumber is legit? How do you tell the difference between that guy and the next one?

Here are a few questions you should ask any plumber before you hire them.

What Are Your Certifications?

Did you know you need a licence to be a plumber? It’s illegal for someone to say they’re certified when they’re not.

If you’re in Ontario, you can use the Ontario College of Trades website to confirm whether someone actually has the certifications they claim to.

There’s nothing wrong with asking for credentials. Any plumber who actually has the credentials they need shouldn’t be upset if you ask. If they object, that’s a big red flag.

Do You Have Reviews?

It’s 2017, people. Everyone gets everything on the internet, and everyone posts everything on the internet. If you do a good job for enough people, sooner or later someone is going to hit Google or Yelp or Facebook to talk about it.

Same goes for if you screw up. Now, if someone has 50 positive reviews and one or two negative ones, then whatever. That happens. You can’t always please everyone. But if they have 50 negative reviews and one or two positive ones, you might want to rethink what you’re doing.

What’s Your Estimate?

No one should be giving estimates over the phone, especially for complicated jobs.

Just a clogged drain may be one thing, but what if your plumber gets there and finds out the drain is clogged because of a tree root, or a buildup of clay, or your pipes have shifted altogether? There’s so much that’s unseen at first and you can’t know until you actually take a look.

Don’t trust someone who just hears about the job over the phone and gives you an estimate. It’s probably going to be wrong, and you’ll end up paying for it.

How Do You Communicate?

You can’t really ask a plumber this question, but you should consider it yourself anyway.

Communication is related to reliability. Do they actually show up when they say they’re going to show up? And if they don’t, do they at least give you notice and a valid reason?

And how do they respond to your questions when you talk to them? Are they open, patient, and understanding? Or do they dismiss your concerns in a gruff, grumpy manner?

When they answer your questions, do they sound confident that they know what they’re talking about? Or do they sound like they’re just making it up as they go along?

If it’s the latter, you might want to take a look at that registry…

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How To Replace A Toilet

How to Replace a Toilet | London Plumbing | London Ontario Plumber

Is your toilet old, cracked, or ugly? Does it waste more water than a sprinkler system left on all day just to water someone’s lawn? Did you win a new toilet in the company raffle and now you don’t know what to do with it?

If so, here’s a handy guide to replacing your own toilet.

Now look – it’s best if you give us a call before replacing your toilet. Let a professional residential household plumbing contractor take care of it. So you might think it’s a little weird that we have this article on here in the first place.

And I’d rather you call us. You’ll save yourself a lot of headaches. But if you’re the type of person who’s going to do it yourself anyway – because you like to tinker and learn how stuff works, you want to save some money, or you’re just too stubborn to ask for help – then you may as well at least read an article on it from someone who knows what they’re doing.

So here’s how to install a toilet.

Step 1: Turn Off The Water

If you didn’t know that this is THE VERY FIRST STEP when you replace any plumbing fixtures, stop what you’re doing and call us. Seriously, this one’s a no brainer. Undoing your old toilet with the water turned on will be a complete nightmare for you.

Step 2: Drain The Tank

Flush the toilet to empty the toilet out. If you turned the water off properly, it shouldn’t fill itself back up. Soak up anything that doesn’t drain out with a rag – you want it as bone dry as possible.

Step 3: Remove The Tank

Disconnect the water supply line underneath the tank and the flapper chain inside the tank. Then unscrew the bolts holding the tank in place and remove it.

Stick it outside, or lay down an old towel and put it on there.

Step 4: Remove The Bowl

Unscrew the bolts on the floor holding the bowl in place. Then rock it back and forth a bit to loosen it up. Pick the bowl up and carry it outside or put it on the towel. I hope you don’t plan on using that towel again, because the wax on the bottom of the bowl is going to ruin it.

Step 5: Clean The Drain

The drain hole is going to have some wax left over on it. Clean away as much of it as you can. Check out the bolts too – if they’re rusty, you should replace them.

Step 6: Get The New Toilet In Place

Get out your new wax ring and attach it to the bottom of your toilet. Then get ready to line up the ring with the drain and with the two bolts sticking out of the floor.

You only get one shot at this, so if you miss you need to get a new wax ring. There are no second chances here.

Once it’s in place, rock it back and forth to seal it in place, then bolt it down

Step 7: Attach The Tank

Remember how you removed the tank? Yeah do all that again, but in backwards order.

Step 8: Reattach The Water

Once it’s finished, test for leaks. Be ready with some old towels to soak the water up in case of emergency.

What Can Go Wrong?

This might seem like a simple process, and it kind of is. As far as plumbing installs go, a toilet is one of the easier ones. But that doesn’t mean it’s idiot proof.

If you read this and it still doesn’t make sense, it’s probably best for you to call a professional plumber, like the team we have here at London Plumbing. We can help you install your new toilet, sink, bathtub, or any other plumbing fixture you’re planning on replacing.

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What You Need To Know When Hiring An Emergency Plumber

What You Need To Know When Hiring An Emergency Plumber | London Plumbing | London Ontario Plumber

What’s a plumbing emergency?

Obviously it’s not an emergency plumbing situation if you’re looking for a new plumbing fixture installation. Even if you need to get it finished by the end of the day because you have company coming over tomorrow and your plumber just canceled on you. I know it’s stressful, but it’s not a plumbing emergency.

If you start to get a leak in your plumbing you might panic and freak out. It’s scary when something you aren’t used to dealing with hits you in the face like that. And if it happens at a horrible time, like when you have company over or that special someone you’ve been trying to impress just texted you to say they’re five minutes away, it can be even worse.

Your instinct is probably going to tell you to call an emergency plumber. It’s an emergency, right? Well maybe not.

We’ve talked about your emergency water shut-off valve before, so if you haven’t read that article do yourself a favour and check it out. It’s got a lot of good stuff in it.

But if it REALLY is an emergency, here’s what you should keep in mind with an emergency plumber.

Response Time

When it comes to a plumbing emergency, every minute can count. If your basement is filling up with water and you can’t shut it off, you need someone there RIGHT NOW.

The longer it takes for your plumber to arrive, the worse the damage can get. That’s why it’s important to have an emergency plumber who will actually show up when you call them.

Here at London Plumbing, we strive to be there as soon as humanly possible to help you with your plumbing needs. Write our number down and put it on your fridge, so you don’t have to waste time on Google or fumbling through your phone. The few seconds you take to do that now can save you a lot of headaches later!

Service Area

If you’re in a remote area outside the city, we can still help you. But in an emergency situation, we might not be able to get there as quickly as a more local option. Call us anyway though – you’d be surprised at how quickly we can arrive on the scene!

Preparedness

If your plumber doesn’t have their truck stocked and ready with everything needed to fix any plumbing problems, you’re going to have a bad time. Any plumber worth their salt should be prepared at any time.

Look, if someone shows up without the tools they need to do the job, they’ll have to make a trip to find what it is they need. Meanwhile, you’re standing at home with water spraying all over the place, stressed out that you called this person who doesn’t know what they’re doing.

Emergency plumbing is serious business. If someone isn’t prepared to deal with emergencies, they shouldn’t put themselves out there as emergency plumbers.

Contact London Plumbing

Here at London Plumbing, we strive to get there as quickly as humanly possible, short of breaking the law or jumping out of a helicopter like a SWAT team. Give us a call for all your emergency plumbing needs – we’re happy to help!

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5 More Things You Should Never Flush Down The Drain

5 More Things You Should Never Flush Down The Drain | London Plumbing | London Ontario Plumber

Last week I told you about a few things you shouldn’t flush down the drain.

Ever.

Ever ever ever ever!

They were:

• Cat litter
• Baby wipes
• Disposable diapers
• Feminine hygiene products
• Cotton balls

But that’s not all. There are a whole lot more things that, if you flush them, you’re booking yourself a one-way trip to 24 hour emergency plumber city. Population – you, your toilet, and your wallet.

Yeah I know, it’s a hassle. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just throw everything in the toilet and flush it? Then it all disappears and you never have to think about it again?

Maybe in the future we’ll have robots in the pipes to clear up any clogs. But until then here are five more things you should NEVER flush down the drain.

Condoms

Imagine a tree root growing through your pipe. A stick right through the middle of it, like a no smoking sign. Then imagine you flush a condom past it. What do you think is going to happen?

Maybe it’ll pass by, if you’re lucky. But maybe it’ll catch on it, which will make the tree root block more of the pipe. Then imagine more stuff catches on it, and you can see what I’m talking about here.

Don’t flush your condoms. Wrap them up in toilet paper and throw them in the trash. Trust me, it’s embarrassing when your plumber finds out that’s the reason for your clogged pipes!

Bandages

Is it a cloth bandage? Then it’s not going to break up when you flush it. And because it’s designed to absorb liquid (blood, in this case), it can end up expanding in your pipes and catching on the smallest chip or root in your pipe.

Is it an adhesive bandage, like a Band-Aid? Then it’s sticky, so it might get stuck to the side of your pipes. And even if you fold it up before you flush it, it’s not designed to break up, so you’ll get the same problem as anything else.

Just don’t flush it. I know it’s kind of gross and has blood on it. But don’t flush it.

Fats, Cooking Oils Or Grease

You’re probably not flushing this down the toilet. You’re probably pouring it down your kitchen sink drain if anything. But hey, don’t do either of those.

This stuff is gooey and sticks to the sides of your pipes. Then when you flush that bandage or cotton ball down the drain (even though I told you not to!) it can get stuck to the goo that’s built up. Don’t flush it!

Keep an empty can in your freezer, and pour the grease into it when you’re done cooking. Then when you’ve filled it up toss it in the garbage. Or you can open the door and toss the oil in your backyard. Or you can whip it up into a smoothie, I don’t care. Just don’t flush it!

Rice

Again, probably not a toilet thing. But look – rice expands in water. So if you’ve got a bunch of rice going down your drain, what do you think is going to happen?

Don’t flush rice. Don’t put rice down the drain. Put it in the garbage, or better yet – just eat it!

Paint, Household Chemicals, And Other Hazardous Waste

Are you crazy? You’re pouring that stuff down your drain? Stop stop stop!

First of all, that’s illegal. And second, this stuff can get into the water supply, harm wildlife, and also damage your pipes.

You can take it to a waste disposal site. Here’s a list of the ones in London. You might also be able to donate your old paint to community projects or children’s charities.

Prescription Medication

For those of you at home counting along, you’ll notice this is the sixth in a list of five. But that’s just an added bonus for you. That’s right – buy five, get one free! You never know what sort of crazy deals you’ll find

Now look, this one’s not so bad for your pipes. But there’s more to life than just pipes.

When you flush this stuff down the drain, it can end up in the local water supply, in the Thames River, or in other ponds or lakes nearby. And if they’re antibiotics they can kill a lot of the animals in the water. And look, the Thames River has enough problems as it is. We don’t need to make it worse.

The London Police has a program where you can turn in your old prescription drugs. Here’s a London Free Press article on it.

Contact London Plumbing

Look, no one’s perfect. Even if you know this stuff, maybe your kids don’t. And maybe you’ve got a clogged drain because your teenage son wants to flush his condoms so you don’t know what he’s up to.

Whatever the reason, we won’t judge. We’ll just clear your drain. Give us a call, we’re happy to help!