My Toilet Stopped Flushing, Why?

My toilet stopped flushing, is what a customer called in about last week, here in Sarasota.  I asked my secretary exactly what our customer meant, and Lori said that’s exactly what she said.  On the way to the call, I was contemplating all the things that would make the water closet stop flushing.  Was it stopped up?  Was it not filling with water?  Was the tank lever broken?  Was the flapper not connected to the the tank lever?

When I arrived I inspected the water closet that had stopped flushing.  What I found was the rubber on the flapper had been exposed to too much chlorine from the water coming into the house.  The flapper had actually melted and was stuck to the plastic flush valve that seals the water in the tank.  So when the customer tried to flush the water closet, it would not activate the flapper, because it was stuck to the flush valve.  This caused the water closet to “stop flushing”.

I replaced the flapper and checked the rest of her water closets and wear on the flappers.  The customer decided to replace all the flappers at the same time, which is a wise decision.  They were all the same age.

When replacing a flapper, one needs to be sure they are putting in the correct flapper for their water closet.  There are many different types of flappers for all the different water closets that are produced today.

A good repair plumber will carry at least four identical flappers for at least eight different water closets.  Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air does, on all of their heavily stocked, professional plumbing trucks.  This is so we can serve you quicker and more efficiently.

One thing you as a homeowner could do to prevent the rubber parts in your plumbing system from going bad, is to have a water system that removes the chlorine from your water, as it enters the house.

One other thing to consider in a water system, is that it conditions the water and removes all of the chlorine.  Imagine drinking from any faucet in the house and it being better than bottled water, with no maintenance!   We recommend and install a lot of Halo 5 water conditioners.  By having a Halo 5 installed on your main line coming into the house, you would be protecting your pipes, faucets, valves, water heater  and washing machine from the calcium and magnesium that create hard water.

Call today 941-322-1911 or schedule an appointment on line, to have your water tested or to fix that toilet that stopped flushing.  www.loveyourplumber.com.

What is a Sewage Relief Valve?

What is a sewage relief valve?  Last week I blogged on this topic and received a lot of phone calls from people wanting to know exactly what this device actually looked like and how it works.  So I thought it might be a great idea to video what a sewage relief is and how it works.  I had my video department post a video on You Tube on exactly what a sewage relief valve looks like and how it works. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so go ahead click on to this video and see how the valve functions, demonstrated by your Sarasota plumber at Wimpy’s.

It really is a great invention.  If you have ever had a main line stoppage or a drainfield stop working, then you know it could end up with the toilets overflowing onto your bathroom floor and spreading even further.  The flood restoration companies and the insurance companies call this black water contamination.  If you have a sewage pump, it is worth its weight in gold to have one installed. If you’re interested in any variety of sewer services, connect with our team of Sarasota plumbers.

By the way, you may want to check with your insurance company and see how much is actually covered in the event of black water contamination.  My last customer said his insurance company was only going to cover about half of the actual cost of reconstructing the damage in his home.  You can bet he is going to go over his next insurance policy line item by line item.  He has already called and set an appointment to have a sewage relief valve installed in his main sewer line. He called it cheap insurance, that will actually do what it says.

Speaking of actually doing what they say, Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air is well known for saying what they will do and doing what they say.  How many companies, not just Plumbing Companies in Sarasota, actually do what they say?  From my own personal experience, not many.  And if I find one that does, I typically try to stay married to them and recommend them to my friends and customers. Good people, find good people.  Let’s everybody recommend good people.  The kind that say what they do and do what they say!

If you see the benefit of a sewage relief valve, don’t search for “plumbers near me.”  Call our Sarasota plumbers instead to schedule an appointment with Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air. 

Emergency Shut-off Valves Are Important, Says Wimpy’s

Emergency shut-off valves are important, says Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air.  When people have a problem with one of their plumbing fixtures, and need to isolate that particular fixture, it is important that the emergency shut-off valve shuts off properly.

Each plumbing fixture in your home has emergency shut-off valves, commonly known as “stops”.  They are located underneath each plumbing fixture.  They are placed there so as you can  turn off one plumbing fixture without affecting the rest of your plumbing fixtures.  These valves or stops, as plumbers would call them, are usually never exercised.  This means that once they are installed, years may go by without them ever being turned off.  Exercising  stops is similar to exercising your body.  If you don’t use it, you lose it.   With stops or emergency shut-off valves, what will happen, particularly in the Sarasota, Bradenton area where Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air does plumbing repairs for its’ customers, is that due to the hard water, the stops will freeze up.  Or from the day they were installed, they weeped a little.  Now when you look at the emergency shut-off valve and go to use it twenty years later, it is green and corroded.  When you see the green and corrosion on these stops, common sense will tell you that I better not try and turn this emergency shut-off valve, even though it may be an emergency.  It could cause an even bigger emergency by messing with it.

A skilled Master Plumber, would  be able to replace your emergency shut-off valves, so as to give you peace of mind that they will actually work in an emergency.  Sometimes in older homes, the valves are soldered on.  This means that to replace the stop, one would have to heat up the solder joint so that the solder melts and the stop could be removed and replaced.

Maintaining your homes plumbing is important.  Plumbing is the heart of your home.  When an emergency in your plumbing, dictates that you need to turn off the water to something, you want it to work.  It is similar to posting your address numbers on your house.  When you need an ambulance to find your home, it would be to late to go out and put your house numbers on your home.  Be ready for emergencies.  Maintain your plumbing.

If you want help maintaining your plumbing, call Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air.  We are a Sarasota based, family owned, plumbing business that has been exceeding our customers expections for over forty three years. Call 941-322-1911 or schedule an inspection online at www. Loveyourplumber.com.  We will send out a Florida State Certified Licensed Master Plumber to inspect your plumbing and recommend what is best for you.

Plumbing Estimates, Call Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air.

Plumbing estimates, call Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air.  We want you to Love Your Plumber.  So we will send a Florida State Certified Licensed Master Plumber, at no charge to your home, to give you an estimate on your plumbing repairs or bathroom/kitchen remodel projects.

We want to be your Plumber!  We have been a Sarasota, local family Plumbing business since 1973.  We want to exceed your expectations.  Here are some of the words our customers have used when they describe their experience with Wimpy’s:

1. Trustworthy
2. Dependable
3. Clean
4. Through
5. Detail orientated
6. Shoe covers
7. Referred by a friend
8. Protected my home
9. Drop cloths in work areas
10. Clean trucks
11. Stocked trucks
12. Professional appearance
13. licensed plumbers
14. Explained options
15. Looked out for customers best interest
16. Honest
17. Reliable
18. Friendly office staff
19. Do what they say
20. Efficient
21. Don’t sell what they don’t need
22. Believe in America
23. They get exactly what they pay for and more
24. Exceeded my expectations
25. 70 years of experience under one roof
26. They own all the specialty tools
27. Respectful of their time
28. They were fast
29. They returned my phone call
30. They showed up on time or early
31. They got my estimate back to me quickly
32. They offered help beyond plumbing

Why not try us, there is no one out there like us!  We care about you and your plumbing needs. You owe it to yourself to experience the level of service that Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air provides to its’ customers.

We are not here to provide you service just one time.  We want to be your Plumber for a lifetime!  Mutual trust comes with time.  We want the chance to earn your trust.  Remember the name, Wimpy’s.  Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air.  We strive to live up to our middle name, Dependable.

The plumbing system in your home, is the heart of your home.  We all take our plumbing for granted, until something overflows or we have a flood.  When one of these things happen, you want someone you can trust and who will get there to take of it for you.  Now you know who that company is!  Call today and just say you want to be a customer, even though you don’t have a problem right now.  You will get to speak to the most pleasant person you can imagine.

Call 941-322-1911 or schedule online at www.Loveyourplumber.com.  You will  be glad you did.

Leak Behind Shower Wall

Uh-oh, you went into your closet this morning and found the floor all wet behind the shower or found a leak behind the shower wall.  First thing to do is to see if it is spreading or is it just one area that is saturated.

If the wet spot keeps getting bigger, turn off the water to the house.  Hopefully, you know where that is.  At Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air, a family owned plumbing business in Sarasota, we make sure that our customers know where they can turn off their water in case of an emergency.  We also suggest they have a lever handle, quarter turn ball valve installed, so that it is easy to turn off.

So now you know if it is spreading or not.  If it was spreading you may have a pressure leak in the water piping system in your home.  There are a few different ways to determine where the pressure leak is coming from.  The best way is to have the leak located with an electronic, leak detection tool.  You will need to call a professional plumber to have this done.  By having the leak located electronically, you won’t have to tear open walls or floors where you don’t need to.  This tool will pinpoint the exact location of your leak, so wall or floor repair is minimal.  Then you can fix your leak, dry up the water and have a great day!

If the leak did not spread,  then a little more investigation is in store.  First, dry up all of the water. Then think back to the last time you ran the shower.  Was anything different? Number of people, spraying the handheld shower around to clean the shower or was the shower draining slower than normal and you were standing in water, ankle deep.

Check the shower arm that the shower head is screwed into. Is it real loose or just broke off in your hand?  If the shower arm is broke, this will cause a leak behind the shower wall.

Maybe the water splashing from you body is getting behind the shower plate where the handle is.  Check the shower plate for holes or cracks.  If you find holes or cracks, caulk around the plate.

If these things were not your problem, then plug the shower drain, and fill up the shower with about 2″ of water.  This procedure will test the integrity of your shower pan.  A shower pan is a safety liner under the shower floor.  After filling the shower up with about 2″ of water,  check behind the shower or where you had water.  If you start to see water, then you can know that your shower pan is need of replacement.

Replacing the shower pan will involve your plumber and a tile man.  I sure hope these tips help you find your leak behind your shower wall.  If you need help or want to discuss your particular plumbing problem, call Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air, 941-322-1911 or schedule and appointment online!

Exceeding your expectations for the last 43 years in Sarasota!

Cheapest Plumber In Sarasota

Cheapest Plumber in Sarasota.  Does this mean you are going to get the quality craftsmanship of a Florida State Certified, Licensed, Master Plumber?  Does it mean that the guy who will show up in his rusty, worn-out pick-up truck, will look at your plumbing problem, and then leave to go to Home Depot to get his plumbing parts?  And when he returns, is he going to take care of your home the way he takes care of his truck?

Cheapest Plumber in Sarasota, these guys exist.  But you won’t get the quality of service you deserve.  In fact you will probably end up paying more for his endless trips to get parts, because he doesn’t have a fully stocked Plumbing truck parked in your driveway.

At Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air, we believe that everyone wants value for the dollars they spend.  No one wants to overpay for anything.  They want it done right, they want to know how much it will cost, they want the company to show up when they said, and they want their home to be as clean as it was, when the Plumber leaves.  They want to be treated as a person.

These are just some of the things we do when we do in the Sarasota, Bradenton areas, where we repair and service our customers plumbing.  Our goal at Wimpy’s, is to exceed your expectations!

From the moment you call our office and speak to Lori, our office manager, you will feel at ease.  She will dispatch to you, a Florida State Certified, Licensed Master Plumber.  We will show up on time in a clean, fully stocked plumbing truck.  We will protect your home, let you know your options, and tell you how much it will cost.  It’s pretty easy to see why our customers ask their friends this; Do You Love Your Plumber?  Our website describes how our customers feel, www.Loveyourplumber.com.  When people refer us to their friends and family, this is the highest compliment we can get.  If you take a moment to read our reviews, you will see why we have been plumbing in the Sarasota/Bradenton area for over 43 years.

Wimpy’s,  exceeding your expectations of a Plumber!  Call us, 941-322-1911 or schedule on line at www.Loveyourplumber.com.

Gurgling Toilets, Bubbling Toilets, Wimpy’s Has The Answer!

Gurgling toilets, Girgling toilets, Bubbling toilets, Siphoning toilets.  No matter how you spell it or what you call it, Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air has the answer!  Just the other day a customer in Sarasota, Fl. called and said that their toilet was losing water in the bowl, all by itself.  When one of our Florida State Certified licensed plumbers arrived, he determined the problem to be blocked vent lines.  Blocked vent lines will create a negative pressure on the plumbing system and cause siphonage of the traps that protect your home from harmful sewer gas.  Blocked vent lines will also cause your toilets not to flush.  And it usually starts with that gurgling noise!

Usually you will need a Professional Plumber to fix this problem.  At Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air, we want to make sure that this problem doesn’t happen to you again.  So we go the extra mile and find out why your drain lines stopped up and caused the gurgling in your toilet.  We use the latest technology to look inside your drain lines with our state of the art, sewer cameras.  We can without a doubt, tell you exactly what caused your problem and give you options to make sure it doesn’t happen again.  Because who wants backed up toilets?

A Professional Plumber knows how a properly vented plumbing system is laid out and how it should work.  He should be able to quickly determine the cause of the gurgling noise that you called him about.  Do you really want to pay a company that sends out a warm body/technician, who doesn’t have a clue of how a plumbing system is supposed to work?  When you call us to fix your gurgling toilet, rest assured that we will send only professional, Florida State Certified licensed plumbers to quickly assess your plumbing problems and take care of it promptly.

Join the rest of our loyal clients who say, I Love my Plumber!  In fact, go to our website, www.Loveyourplumber.com, to read the reviews people send in.  If you are in the Sarasota, Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch areas, you owe it to yourself to call an honest, family owned Plumbing Company. We have been serving the community for 42 years.

Ants in a Pressure Switch

Many people have to call a Sarasota plumber to come to their house, because they are on a well and have no water.

If you are one of those people, how many times in a year have you woken up to no water in your beautiful country home?  Many times it is a trade-off to have acreage and seclusion.  It’s your quiet place, away from the hustle and bustle of town.   You see wildlife, your secluded, but sometimes your pump quits working and you have no water.

Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air has found while servicing the Sarasota, Bradenton and Myakka City areas, that the pressure switch is usually the culprit of the infamous, ” I have no water ,” service call.  Ants in a pressure switch is a very common problem.  When it rains a lot, especially like it has been raining in Sarasota and Bradenton, ants seek out high ground.  When I say high ground, it is really the next level up from the area that retains water.  Usually this is the pad the pump sits on.  The ants will seek out this higher ground and make a home right inside your pressure switch. It’s warm and shady inside the pressure switch.  As the ants crawl around inside your pressure switch, and make themselves a comfy little home, they get between the points that make contact when the pump calls for water.  When they are caught between the points and the points close, they get squashed and die.  This leaves their remnants there on the contacts of the points.  The next time the pump calls for water, the pressure switch closes, but cannot make proper contact, due to the ant remnants on the face of the contacts.  That’s when you have no water.

Your dependable plumber in Sarasota has found the best way to prevent ants in a pressure switch, is to mount the switch as high as possible.  Sometimes the height is determined by the length of the wire going to the pressure switch or where the pump was originally placed.

Also, good house keeping around your pump and pressure switch will help too.  Keep the area clean of dirt, debri, and weeds.  A well with a pump and pressure switch is an important item to maintain.  Don’t just take it for granted.

If you need help with understanding your well, your pump, your pressure switch or any plumbing related questions, just call Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air at 941-322-1911.  Our Sarasota plumbers will be happy educate you on your well system, especially if it is all new to you.

Don’t waste time searching for “plumbers near me.” If you have no water, you can call or schedule online with Wimpy’s.  We want to be your Plumber!