Help, I Hear Water Running, But Don’t Know Where!

If you are laying in bed and everything is quiet except for a gentle breeze blowing through the trees outside, this is good.

If you are laying in bed and everything is quiet, then you hear the sound of water running and no one is using water, this is not good.

How to find a leak

The first thing you would want to check yourself, before searching for a “Sarasota plumber near me” to find your leak, is to check and make sure that none of your toilets are running.  This will save you money. A common cause of the toilet running is the flapper no longer seals. This will cause the toilet to run.  Hopefully, you can replace the flapper and your problem is solved.

If you find the toilets are not running, then make sure all of your outside hoses are turned off.  Perhaps you left the hose running to fill the pool or water the grass or those new bushes that you just planted.

Now that you have checked these common things and nothing was left on and running, you may want to schedule a consultation with a Sarasota plumber.  Go ahead and make the call so you can get an appointment as soon as possible.  Because if you are hearing water running, that means the county utility water department is billing you for this water that you are not using.  Depending on the size of the leak, your next water and sewer bill could easily triple.

So you have checked the common things that would cause you to hear water running.  Next, go out to the water meter and look at it.There will be a smaller dial inside the face, called a leak indicator.  This leak indicator will spin with even the smallest amount of water running.  If the leak indicator is spinning and you don’t see any puddles of water on the ground between the house and the water meter, you are going to need a professional Sarasota plumber to determine what your problem is.

Running Water Help from Sarasota Plumbers

The Sarasota plumbers from Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air are available to help give you the best options available to solve your running water problem. Reach out to us when you have a plumbing emergency or when you need a reliable plumber in Sarasota!

Call Now for Plumbing Help!

Wet Cabinets Under Kitchen Sink – Sarasota Kitchen Plumbing Problems

How many times to you reach for something under the kitchen sink and never really look at the bottom of your sink cabinet.  Some people don’t pay attention to small stains in their cabinets caused by kitchen plumbing in Sarasota. You should pay attention. Little stains can turn into big problems. By just inspecting under the kitchen sink every once and a while, you may be able to prevent bigger problems.

• The pull-out spray kitchen faucets can sometimes be the culprit of water stains.  The spray head can come loose and when you turn on the faucet, water will leak down the inside of the valve and onto the floor of your cabinet.  Sometimes this will be a big leak or it can start out small and you really don’t notice it, until the damage to the cabinet is done. Another thing to check is the pull-out hose.  This hose can rupture or split inside the metal housing and cause water to leak into your cabinet every time you turn on your kitchen faucet.
• Faucets that leak around the base of the spout when you turn them on, need repaired or replaced.  The leak can find its way under the deck of the faucet and drip onto the bottom of your cabinet and ruin your cabinets over time.
• Take a look at your Sarasota kitchen plumbing pipes too. If they are metal pipes, they should be free of corrosion. If they are plastic pipes, they should be clean with no signs of gunk around the nuts or connections.

If you make it a habit to just look around for stains or corrosion, you can nip Sarasota kitchen plumbing problems in the bud. So just keep a watchful eye under your kitchen sink for water or a stain.  If you need help in pinpointing what the problem is, Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air is always available to solve your plumbing problems. 

I Have No Water, What Can I Check?

We all do it.  We go to our faucet, turn it on and expect water to come out.  It is so easy to take it for granted that we sometimes forget that if your water comes from a well, there are several mechanical devices that can and will fail.

Here are some tips to help keep your system running as smoothly as possible:

1) Clean.  Clean around your pump and pressure switches.   Don’t allow weeds, dirt, and ants to make a home near your well equipment.

2) Check for rusty and corroded looking pipes, fittings, valves,  and tanks.

3) Listen to your pumps.  They should run smoothly and quiet. If your pump wakes up your neighbors you should have it checked by a professional Master Plumber, before it decides to die.

4) If you have an aerator, drain it and clean it about every six months to a year, depending on your water quality.  Also clean the aerator spray heads, they should be misting out full circle.

5) If you have cows, fence off the area around you water system.  Cows can easily break things on your water system.

By cleaning and maintaining your system, you will prevent a lot of ” honey we don’t have any water” comments from your spouse on a saturday night, just after dark.

The most common cause of no water is the pressure switch.  It fails to make contact with the points. That’s why tapping on the pressure switch sometimes will make it turn on again.  It moves the points around a little bit so the points can make contact.  Ants like to get between the points and when the points close the ants are smooched.  This causes the points not to make contact and will cause the pressure switch to fail.  Sometimes cleaning the points with a piece of sandpaper can prolong the life of the switch and get your water back on.

Also check to make sure you have the proper voltage coming to your pump. You may just need a new pump.  When shopping for one, remember that most plumbers in Myakka City prefer a Goulds pump.  Gould pumps stand the test of time.

If your aerator is empty, a couple of things could of happened.  Your pressure switch did not turn on. Your fill valve or electric solonoid  valve isn’t working.  Or your pump died.

A plumber in Sarasota, such as Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air Inc., would be able to help you if any of this is beyond your expertise.

Call us if you need help.  We are a State Certified Plumbing Contractor, serving the Sarasota, Bradenton Florida area.

We are available 24/7. Call 941-322-1911 or book on line at www.LoveYourPlumber.com.

Style, Function, or Both? Tips for Bathroom Remodels in Sarasota

Are your plans for 2023 to finally invest in a bathroom remodel in Sarasota? If you’re ready to go, skip this blog and call your Sarasota plumbers to get started with your bathroom remodel today!

First things first. Set a budget for your bathroom remodel. This will determine everything.

If your house has cast iron piping below the concrete slab, and you are wanting to replace your original toilet, you should consider investing the money into having your main drain looked at with our sewer camera inspection services in Sarasota.

By running the sewer inspection camera, your Sarasota plumber can tell you what the condition of your waste line is and whether or not the new 1.6 gallon flush toilet will flush all the through your sewer line or cause continual stoppages.

You may not want to hear your lines are rusted, corroded and scaled, but it is better to know now, then when you get your bathroom all finished and the toilet stops up all the time.

It is usually more cost effective to do any waste piping under the slab, if needed, before the finished floor and cabinets are installed. And fortunately, Wimpy’s offers repiping in Sarasota – so we can take care of it all!

Now you can set a budget with no suprises during your bathroom remodel in Sarasota.

The next part is fun. Go to your local plumbing supply showrooms and see what is available. The sales professional can guide you through all the cool looking stuff from modern, contemporary, rustic, or just plain far-out. The sky is the limit, remember your 30 year old bathroom?  Pick something you like. It may be another 30 years before you go though this again.

When choosing plumbing fixtures and valves, pick quality name brands. This insures that down the road your Sarasota plumber will have the parts on his truck or will have access to them right away, if the product does have a problem down the road.

You should consult with a professional plumber to make sure what you are doing is to code and find out if any permits are necessary.

If you choose to hire Wimpy’s for your bathroom remodel in Sarasota, you can rest assured that we have your best interests at heart.

Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air would love to consult with you for all your needs surrounding bathroom remodeling in Sarasota. We want you to love your plumber!

My Shower Head Leaks, What’s wrong?

If your shower head still leaks when you turn off your shower or tub valve, You may need to call a licensed professional plumber in the Lakewood Ranch area to service your shower or tub valve.

Before you call a Sarasota plumber, here are a few things to check:

1)  Have you changed your shower head to a rain head or other large head?  These styles hold a lot of residual water that may cause you to think your valve doesn’t turn off completely.  If the valve is working properly, the water will stop dripping after one or two minutes.

2)   Think back to when the valve was new.  It probably worked very smooth and easy.  If it takes force to turn your valve on, or it is hard to pull in and out, it needs servicing.  Over time, because the water in Sarasota and Bradenton has lime and calcium minerals in it, these minerals create hard water.  This leaves deposits on the working mechanisms of your valves.  This causes your faucet to slowly freeze up and not work as smooth as it used to. This happens slowly over time.  the change is so gradual, that you don’t notice it, until the faucet doesn’t turn off or you can’t twist it or pull it.

3)  Have your Sarasota Plumber or your Bradenton Plumber check all of your faucets when he comes to your house.  As a professional he will know how the valve is supposed to feel and can make you aware of any potential problems.

4)  You will Love Your Plumber if he gives you an alternative to hard water, which is soft water.  Soft water will save you money on future plumbing repairs.

At Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air, we want you to Love Your Plumber.  We will check all of your valves and give you all of your options.  Call the professionals, Wimpy’s has Florida State Certified licensed plumbers at your service.

www.LoveYourPlumber.com or 941-322-1911.   Call today, Wimpy’s Plumbing always gives estimates and honest, second opinions.

We want you to Love Your Plumber!

Can My Sarasota Water Heater Flood My Home or Garage?

Can a water heater leak enough water to flood your home or a garage?  Absolutely. Anyone who has had to deal with a water heater repair in Sarasota from their system bursting at the seams will certainly testify to this. And, at Wimpy’s our Sarasota plumbers can help.

Here is a list of things you can check to help prevent a flood in your home or garage:

1. Check the pipes on top of your water heater and look for signs of corrosion or rust. Schedule water heater maintenance in Sarasota, FL and our plumbers will inspect this for you!
2. Inspect the tank for signs of rust.
3. Try to determine the date of the water heater. If it is over eight years old, you are probably out of warranty and overdue for water heater replacement in Sarasota.
4. Trying to get a few more years out of your water heater is like trying to get more miles out of bald tires on your car.
5. Look for signs of moisture around the bottom of your water heater and on the floor.

These simple steps may prevent the flood that you don’t want.

Also, if your water heater is not sitting in a safety pan, and it is on your living level,you should have one installed.  The Florida State Plumbing Code requires this under section 504.7.

The safety pan with a drain to the outside is just a good idea.

While most water heaters will just leak enough in the pan and drain to prevent damage, there are the water heaters that decide to just let loose and will flood no matter what preventive measures you have taken.

This is why you should take the time to inspect your water heater from time to time, or call your Sarasota plumbers for water heater services.

Although you can’t actually see the tank itself, just the outer shell, the warning signs you find, may just save you a big headache and a lot of mopping.

If you need help inspecting your water heater or finding out how old it is, just call Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air.  You will love your Sarasota plumber for helping you prevent a flood in your home. We service Sarasota, Bradenton and surrounding areas.

Water Coming out From Under Cabinet.

Water coming out from under the cabinet of your kitchen sink or your bathroom vanity is a sure sign of a plumbing problem.

Look at the picture of the pipe we recently took out.  The holes in the copper pipe, called “the waste arm” was the cause of the water coming out from under the cabinet.

This type of leak happens very slowly over time.  You may start to smell a musty smell before you see water.  Sooner or later, the last straw is going to break the camels back, so to speak.  Then you will start to get water on the floor when you use that fixture.

When you call a Plumber to come fix your problem and this happens to be the cause, make sure your Plumber replaces the entire piece of copper.  A Professional Plumber will always replace the entire waste arm. Because even if you only have a small hole in the waste arm, sooner, more than later the rest of the pipe will cause you a problem too.  After all, it is all the same age.  As the old saying goes, don’t be penny wise and pound foolish!

Your Sarasota Plumber or your Bradenton Plumber will use schedule 40 pvc pipe to replace the waste arm.

While under the sink, look at the connections to the sink itself.  If they look corroded, now is the time to make all new connections.  This will save you a line item on your honey dew list down the road.  Let your Plumber take care of this task for you.  He should have a fully stocked truck, like Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air trucks, at your house ready to tackle any plumbing problem you may have.

Neat, clean, honest and just plain Dependable.  Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air.

Call us today, Wimpy’s wants you to Love Your Plumber!  941-322-1911 or schedule on line at www. Loveyourplumber.com.

Saturday Afternoon Plumbing Nightmare.

You woke up Saturday morning feeling great!  Your spouse has a honey-do list for you. Being the terrific spouse you are, the list starts getting done.  One by one,  you are fixing all the little or big things on the list.  By the time you get down to the “fix leaking shower”, it is around 4;00.  Your thinking, this will be a breeze.  You find out that you will need to shut off the water to the whole house because there are no shut-off valves behind your shower.  Okay, not a problem. You turn off the water to the house.  Now you go inside and take apart your shower valve.  You remove the shower cartridge with the trusty tool that the hardware store guy sold you, but find out it only pulled the inner part of your cartridge out and left the rest of the cartridge in the valve.  Oh, Oh. Your breeze job just became a nightmare.  Now what are you going to do?  The hardware store guy didn’t tell you about this, did he?  Your spouse comes in to check on your progress or hears you swearing and wants to know when you are going to turn the water back on.  You don’t know, because there is a piece of the cartridge stuck in the valve.  And unless you get it out, the new cartridge won’t go in and the water to the house can not be turned back on.  You have friends coming over in a little while, and your little plumbing job has turned into a total nightmare.

You should call Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air.  We will try to walk you though the process of fixing it over the phone, or tell you if a special tool is required for whatever has happened.  You are not the first person this has happened to.

With today’s shower valves, some are very intricate, some are simple.  Some require special tools to disassemble or to remove broken parts, that are only available at a Plumbing wholesale house.

The safest thing to do with items on your honey-do list that involve plumbing is to call a Florida State Certified Master Plumber,  such as  Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air.  We serve the Lakewood Ranch, Sarasota, Bradenton areas, including Longboat Key, Casey Key, and the Old Miakka Communities.

All of our plumbing trucks carry the special tools needed to end your plumbing nightmare.  We want your spouse to love you and we want you to Love Your Plumber.

Allow us to answer your questions or do the repair for you. We are available 24/7. Call 941-322-1911 or visit www.LoveYourPlumber.com

Why Do My Pipes Bang When I Close the Faucet Quickly?

Why do my pipes bang when I turn off my faucet quickly, is a question plumbers get asked a lot.

Sometimes water pipes can make strange noises, creaking, whistling, just plain noisy or the most annoying, banging.  You ask yourself, why?  This is the first time your pipes have ever banged and it doesn’t sound healthy for your plumbing system. Your right. Banging pipes can be detrimental to your plumbing system and needs to be addressed.

The Florida Plumbing Code Statue # 604.9 addresses water hammer.  That is what pipe banging is called, water hammer.  The code states the following: the flow velocity of the water distribution system shall be controlled to reduce the possibility of water hammer.  A water-hammer arrestor shall be installed where quick-closing valves are utilized.  Water-hammer arrestors shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications.  Water-hammer arrestors shall conform to ANSI 1010.

Water-hammer arrestors are mechanical devices that never need recharging.

A plumber in Sarasota can also install air chambers in the walls behind each sink in the bathroom (plumbers call these sinks lavatories). To work properly these air chambers must be at the highest point in the system. The exception to this is if your water distribution system is PEX piping, this system doesn’t need air chambers.

An air chamber acts as a shock absorber for your water pipes. Faucets available today, are quick closing. When you turn a faucet off quickly, the flow of water is energy.  When the water is shut off  abruptly, it creates a shock wave of energy. The air chambers absorbs this energy, so the pipes don’t bang.

Air chambers over time get water-logged.  As your plumbing system is used, the air in the air chamber gets displaced with water. When the air chamber is full of water with no more air, the shock wave of energy produced by quick closing valves has no place to go. Thus, the pipes will bang.

How do you fix it?  The remedy is actually quite simple. You recharge the air chambers. Here’s how. First, turn off the water coming into your house. go around the outside and open all your hose bibs( Faucets your hoses are connected to).  Then, go inside and open all your faucets, hot and cold sides. If your faucets are single handles turn them to mix hot and cold.  Flush your toilets.  To ensure you break any air lock that may occur in the air chambers, blow air through the lavatory faucets through the spout.  You will probably hear the faucets sucking air. This noise will confirm that you have recharged your air chambers.  Turn off all the inside faucets, then turn off the outside faucets.  Now turn your water back on to the house and turn on all your faucets and let them flow until the flow is normal.

The banging went away. You fixed it!  Don’t tell your spouse that you read this blog written by Bubba Butler of Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air.  Let them think that you are their hero!

If your pipes are banging or whistling in Sarasota or Bradenton Florida, Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air can solve this problem for you or talk you through it. We want you to Love Your Plumber! Call 941-322-1911.