Bellows Plumbing, Heating & Sewer

Drain Clogs & Stoppages

Eggshells, Corhusks, and Lemon Peel - Oh My!

Friday 9/10/2010

How There’s an on going debate since the invention of the garbage disposal: What can I put down my disposal and what items should I avoid? In an effort to keep you one step ahead of disaster here are a few tips for keeping the garbage disposal running smooth for years to come.

Eggshells: This is a confusing one since they are brittle, disappear easily, and make the great crunching noise as they go down. So you ask how can they be bad for the disposal? Well, they really aren’t. Today’s workhorse disposals can handle them. Where they can do damage is further down the line. Combine with enough bacon grease and eggshells form breakfast and you have the recipe for a drain clog.
Pro Tip: A couple eggshells down the drain won’t cause instant disaster when washed down with cold water and no grease. Always use cold water to solidify and chop any grease that happens to go down.

Cornhusks: Fresh summer corn from the farmers market is always so delicious. For some reason some of us out there think it’s okay to put husks and silk down the drain. But anything stringy and fibrous (artichoke leave, celery, chard, asparagus ends, potatoes skins, etc) can cause serious drain backups. Besides just drain clogs fibrous foods have a tendency to get jammed in the motor and can at times permanently damage the disposal.
Pro Tip: It in doubt, throw it out. Or better yet learn about composting and contribute these items to the pile.

Lemon Peel: I remember my mom always using this trick. Citrus is a natural cleanser – excellent for de-stinking your sink. Over time a film scum can form in the grinding chamber, causing an unpleasant odor. A bit of lemon, orange, or grapefruit rind will help deodorize and clean the disposal’s blades.
Pro Tip: Once every two weeks sharpen the disposal blades by grinding a few ice cubes. Another inexpensive cure for odor is to sprinkle a bit of basking soda in the grinding chamber. Most importantly, never let food sit in the disposal and always run steady stream of water when grinding.

If none of this advice helps you avoid the perils of disposal failure give us a call and we’ll be happy to help. Bellows Plumbing, Heating, & Sewer 831-477-7150 for Santa Cruz County or 408-866-4620 for Santa Clara County

Posted: by Jason S
Tags: Fixtures, Drain, Sewer, Clogs

Where Do You Spend Your Time?

Friday 4/2/2010

How much of your life do you spend on the toilet? Obviously, unless you keep very accurate records, you’ll never know for sure (and people may start to talk about you if you carry a little binder around and keep diligent notes on your bathroom habits).  It’s actually been estimated that the average person spends around three years* of his or her life on the potty.  That’s a little unsettling, isn’t it?  You’d probably better make the most of every minute you’re there. Here’s a bit of trivia to help you pass a bit of that time – terms that we’ve used for the bathroom through the years and through the world…

Backhouse (17th Century England)
Bagnio (during the Ottoman Empire, also term used for a house of prostitution, isn’t that interesting…)
Balnea (Ancient Roman bath houses)
Bathroom
Bog (England)
Can
Crapper (although Thomas Crapper was an established plumber in 19th century England, he did not invent the toilet, and even this term actually predates him*)
Comfort Room
Commode
CR – short for Comfort Room (Phillipines)
Dunny (Australia)
Facilities
Head (Royal Navy, US Navy, US Marine Corps)
House of Ease (17th Century England)
House of Office (17th Century England)
Khazi (Liverpool, England / old cockney term)
Jacks (Ireland)
Jakes (Tudor England circa 1530)
John
Johnny
Johnny House
Ladies’ Room
Latrine (US Army & Air Force)
Lavatory or Lav
Little Boys’ or Little Girls’ Room
Little House (17th Century England)
Loo
Mens’ or Womens’ Room
Netty (Northern England)
Powder Room
Privy (North England & Ireland)
Restroom
Shithouse
Shitter
Toilet
Urination Station (corny, I know)
Vin (English Upper Class)
Washroom
Water Closet
WC – short for Water Closet (various, including Mexico, France, Germany & The Netherlands)

*No references are provided because this data was collected from a myriad of unreliable and possibly a few less than reputable sources. It is also minutely possible that I just made some of it up, so it would probably be ill-advised to quote any of this as actual fact…just so ya know.

Posted: by Amy J
Tags: Fixtures, Plumbing Humor

Unclogging a stuck drain, give it a try on your own.

Monday, 7/20/2009 by jason schlunt

Are you like me? You like to try things yourself before calling in the experts. If so then it is possible to unclog minor sink and tub stoppages by yourself. Now I have to say none of these methods are guaranteed to work, but besides a little water in the face they won't do much harm if they fail.

The first thing to check is the pop up. You may be able to lift the stopper from the drain. If the stopper won’t lift out, that means it’s connected to the pivot rod. If you go behind the sink, you’ll see where the pivot rod and pop-up mechanism screw together. Unscrew this connection and remove the stopper.

Sometimes unclogging a sink or tub stoppage can be as simple as hitting the stoppage with a plunger. First you'll need to seal of any areas that air might escape, you want the force of plunger to hit the stoppage, not escape through the overflow. Use a wet rag and plug of the overflow or the side sink. Fill the sink so that the water level is above the rubber part of the plunger. Using the plunger, just as you would to unstop a toilet, hit the clog with all you got.

I recommend staying away from things like Drano or any of the acids. Not only can they be harmful to your health but they do more harm to your plumbing system and environment than good. Every year we come out to a house where the client has done thousands of dollars worth of damage to their plumbing system, either ruining the glues and plastics of their sewer line, or completely ruined their septic tank. My advice, try the methods above, and if all else fails call in a plumber.

Posted: by Jason S
Tags: Drain Clogs, DIY