Tag: fixtures

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Top 5 Signs You Need A New Bathroom Faucet

Top 5 Signs You Need A New Bathroom Faucet | Residential Plumbing London | London Ontario Plumbing

Admit it, the last time you were at a nice restaurant, you got a little jealous of the taps in their bathrooms.

Bathroom taps are often overlooked when you’re at home, but there’s no time like the present to update yours and get you noticed by your guests.

Keep in mind you may want a consult on the best types of new faucet installs in advance of choosing your stylish new tap, to make sure you don’t run into issues when you’re assembling the plumbing or running it for the first time.

Here are the top 5 signs you need a new bathroom faucet.

1. It’s Getting Rusty Or Grimy

The good news is you’ve probably gotten your money’s worth from your tap, if it’s got to the point where there’s rust and grime.

When your grimy tap starts getting rusty, it can mean it’s in its death throes, especially if it has already progressed to the point of corrosion.

However, rust and corrosion can also lead to leaks – before this happens is the best time to start looking for a new hardware.

If you’re experiencing rusty fittings, hiring a plumber means you can also have any iron fittings replaced, so your new faucets don’t also get affected.

2. It’s Leaking Water Through The Handles

When you turn your taps on and off, you want the water to stop and start through the faucet, not the bottom of the tap handles, but sometimes this happens.

Leaky handles are a sign the rubber gasket is starting to degrade and needs to be replaced.

This happens because of long-term use, but it’s a good reminder that wear-and-tear affects all moving components, including taps.

3. It Won’t Stop Dripping

A lot of households experience this problem; perhaps you’ve even gotten so used to the sound of dripping from your bathroom that you have forgotten you also have this problem.

The biggest problem with dripping faucets is they can noticeably increase your water bill, which is definitely something you want to avoid.

4. It’s Causing Issues With Your Shower

Here’s a good reason to tackle your tap issue, if you enjoy your hot showers without water pressure issues.

Bathtub faucets have a diverter that you engage when you want to have water come from the shower head.

Sometimes the diverter stops engaging properly, causing water to continue to flow from the tub spout, even while it’s coming from the showerhead.

The result is usually a decreased shower flow, which is never helpful when you’ve got a head full of shampoo suds.

We certainly recommend you bring in a plumber to help with this issue; London Plumbing has helped many households in fixing this problem, and because we are local, we can be there for you in a jiffy.

5. It’s Just Old And Ugly

Going back to those sexy restaurant fixtures – you don’t have to spend a fortune to have taps you’ll love to use.

Sometimes all a bathroom needs is a new shower curtain and some shiny new faucets; set yourself a budget and then start keeping an eye out for deals.

It’s easy to capture that vacation or spa feeling in your home by changing out ugly old taps and getting an essential oil diffuser, at a fraction of the cost of a real vacation.

Contact London Plumbing

London Plumbing has years of experience installing and fixing plumbing hardware such as faucets.

Because there can be issues waiting for you behind your tub faucets or under your sink, we do recommend having a plumber install your new hardware.

When you call London Plumbing, we’ll make sure a small upgrade doesn’t turn into a huge bathroom reno down the road because of unnoticed plumbing problems.

Call London Plumbing to consult on what taps work best for your setup, or to have a look at your current tap issues.

We’re happy to discuss any hardware updates you have in mind, and can give you feedback on any other reno plans you might have in the future; let us help you create your at-home oasis.

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Frozen Pipes – How to Avoid Them And What To Do About Them

Different ways to deal with frozen pipes | Residential Plumbing London | London Ontario Plumbing

If you’re a first-time homeowner, you might be surprised to discover that frozen pipes are one of the biggest issues you’ll hopefully never deal with.

Even if you’ve been in your home for a while, you sometimes get surprised with this problem, and it can be devastating.

Luckily, your insurance should cover you for the damage, but it won’t replace the cherished belongings that get ruined through water damage.

Let’s have a look at how to recognize the signs so that you can take action immediately, now that the cold weather is almost upon us.

How To Tell If Your Pipes Are Frozen

If your pipes are frozen, there are a few telltale signs.

Some are obvious, while others are a bit subtler.

But if you detect any of the following, it’s a big warning sign that your pipes are frozen and your home may be about to suffer some significant damage.

Call us here at London Plumbing, and we’ll help you sort out the mess.

1. Slow And/Or Inconsistent Water Flow

If you’re noticing substantially less water coming through your faucet, or it seems to ebb and flow, you may have some freezing along one of your pipes.

Try the other faucets in your house and determine which seem to be affected and which seem clear, then try to trace back to discover where in your system the problem could be occurring.

What’s happening here is there is a major blockage stopping the water getting through consistently, though it’s trying.

If you can find the stretch of piping that seems to be the root of the issue, you can work to warm up the pipes in a few different ways, thereby reinstating full water flow.

One of the best ways to warm pipes is to use a space heater in the room(s) that are cold enough to freeze the pipes.

Alternately, you can use a hair dryer directly on the pipe itself.

This can take a while, but it’s very effective.

Please keep in mind to never use an open-flame source of heat, such as a blowtorch, since this can actually damage your pipe and potentially even make it burst.

Different ways to deal with frozen pipes | Residential Plumbing London | London Ontario Plumbing

2. Leaky Pipes Or Damp Walls

Leaky pipes suggest that there’s too much pressure somewhere along the line, causing the water to seek the path of least resistance.

Alternately, the pipe is leaking because it has frozen, cracked and thawed.

The leaking section of pipe will need replacing, and you’re best to call a plumber for that.

Damp walls can be a sign that there’s a crack in a pipe behind it due to freezing.

In this case, you may need help accessing and repairing the pipe, and a local service like London Plumbing can come help repair it with the minimum amount of inconvenience.

3. Frost Forming On The Outside Of Your Pipes

Frost forms on the outside of your pipes when the freezing process has started, or is about to start.

If you inspect it, it may appear to be bulging slightly as well, which indicates a certain amount of freezing since water expands when it freezes.

On a side note, this is the same reason why potholes are always worse in the springtime after the first thaw.

Be careful when warming the pipe, and have a bucket ready, because as it thaws you may discover that it already has a hairline crack in it that will need repair.

If that’s the case, you’ll definitely want your plumber there for that job.

How To Prevent Frozen Pipes

Preventing frozen pipes is far easier than dealing with the fallout from a pipe burst!

Before the freezing season, be sure to disconnect any garden hoses, and drain them to reuse next year.

Then turn off the water to those faucets from the inside of the house, if you can, and open the outside faucet to drain out any remaining water.

This prevents any standing or trapped water from causing problems later.

Also, be sure to have a look around your house…notice any rooms that seem to be colder than others, and pay special attention to them.

Water pipes that travel through mudrooms, attics, garages or enclosed spaces can be particularly susceptible.

If you have cold rooms, consider purchasing a small space heater to leave in there during the winter season.

If you are leaving town for more than three or four days, keep in mind to turn off the water at the main source, then drain all your taps in your house!

Contact London Plumbing

Finally, if you DO run into freezing issues that you can’t handle alone, London Plumbing has the experts you need to get you cleaned up and back to rights.

We have many years’ experience assisting homeowners in troubleshooting these issues, as well as the repair process when accidents do occur.

Frozen pipes are no laughing matter, but London Plumbing will be there to help you with a smile

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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.