However, if flood occurs in your home, there are steps that must be taken to protect your family, save your valuables, prevent health hazards, etc. The steps to be taken include:

• Shut off your water supply – This is the first step to prevent the flood from getting worse. If the water leak is caused by a faulty appliance, shut off the water supply to it. If the source of the flood can’t be found, shut off the water supply to your house. The stop valve is usually located in the kitchen, bathroom or garage.
• Switch off the electric power supply – It is also important to switch off your electricity supply pending the time is safe to switch it on. Water conducts electricity and it can cause electric shock or other serious hazards to you or your family members, so it is crucial you turn off the fuse box. If you can’t find the power box or it is unreachable due to the flood, call an electrician and ensure all residents are out of the wet area.
• Contact your insurance company – Ensure you take pictures of the flooded area and the extent of damage to your properties; this documentation is necessary to get insurance claims. This should be done before draining the water. Although not all home floods are covered by the basic homeowner’s insurance policy, it is necessary to call your insurance company and follow their instructions.
• Remove the water – As soon as you get the go-ahead to remove the water, you can drain it out by using a wet vac, industrial fans, or sump. This equipment can be rented at hardware stores around. Depending on the scale of the flood, getting a home restoration professional like Collins Plumbing services can save you time, prevent hazards, save cost and help you prevent further damage. If you want to remove the water yourself, open up windows and doors to allow air into your home. There is a likelihood of water contamination, so it is crucial to take the necessary precautions to prevent health hazards. Precautions may include wearing protective gear and removing your kids from the home. Molds or mildew may likely set in 24 -48 hours, it is important to get your belongings out of the wet area as soon as possible. You might need to remove your flooring so as to assess your sub floor. Depending on the type of flooring, there may be need to discard, replace or keep the floors exposed for months to allow it to air-dry.
• Disinfect your home – use disinfectants to get rid of germs that your home may have likely been exposed to
• Prevent future flood – You can prevent future flood occurrence by:

1. Ensuring your gutters are clean.
2. Preventing frozen or burst pipes by keeping your heat on.
3. Ensuring your plumbing repairs, works and installation are done by licensed plumbing professionals like Collins Plumbing service.

If your home is flooded or you need to talk to professionals to prevent the occurrence, please contact Collins Plumbing Services on (323)643-6206. Our specialist will be delighted to help you.

The post How to Handle Flooding appeared first on Collin's Plumbing Services Los Angeles.

A proper Drainage system is very necessary for the house or an apartment or building. A running tap, shower or a flushing toilet is very important in our everyday life and we realize that when we run into a place which doesn’t have any of these facilities. No wonder that the plumbing system of your business property or house is a complex network to understand but knowing the vent pipes, drain pipes etc. helps you understand the plumbing problems for when they occur.

Common Symptoms and Causes of when your Drains have clogged

• Cause: If you tried flushing items that don’t dissolve in the water or break apart then you have done the task of clogging your toilet. Items such as baby diapers, feminine hygiene products, cotton-tipped swabs etc. One must only flush items that readily dissolve in water.
• Symptom: When you notice that your toilet hasn’t been flushing wastes properly now then chances are of Drains getting clogged. Also, when your bathroom sink makes a gurgling sound when water flows down. All these areas have a direct path to the main drain, so they are likely to show symptoms of clogging earlier.
• Cause: Kitchen sinks are more likely to face drain clog owing to the oil, detergent and undissolved food articles that are thrown while washing the dishes. So, one should throw the food particles and oily stuff completely in the dustbin and then do the cleaning.
• Symptom: If you are regularly noticing your water draining out of the washing machine because of which toilet overflows then your drain has been clogged.

Also,all these points form a cause and effect relationship in clogging of drains, but they can surely be fixed. As we know Plumbers are known for fixing such issues, so you might also know that their services are costly too especially if it has been happening time and again.

Tips to keep the Drains clog free:

• Use Cold & Hot Water: When you are doing your dishes in the kitchen sink then there are chances of oil or grease entering the drains, maybe in little amount but when added daily it is enough to make the drains clog. So, the best tip you can follow is use cold water after every such use as they prevent food particles and hot water for preventingoil from sticking to the inside of the pipes. Do it while you are doing the dishes or after you are done.
• Empty the Grease: For all the bacon lovers out there, emptying your grease in the sink is actually going to cost you too much. Just the way you throw the wastes and left-over food particles in the dustbin, in the same way empty the Grease in the dustbin or any can or tin but not in the sink.
• Coffee Grounds: Coffee Grounds are not supposed to be thrown in the sink, even if they vanish way with the flow of water but what they normally do is cause clogs by accumulating inside the drains. It is best if you keep the coffee grounds preserved as fertilizers for your gardening needs.
• Sink Strainer: If you want to save yourself for paying off good amount to plumbers and installation of new pipes then you must invest in a little to buy a sink Strainer. What it does is it keeps all the unwanted stuff like food, hair and other little objects out of the drains. You can install them for your bathrooms and bath tub as well.
• Smelly drains: Have you been smelling foul smells coming out of your drains in the bathroom lately? Then it is a sensing chance of drain clog. What you can do is throw a handful of baking soda and follow it with hot water. Baking soda being a cleaning agent cleans the pipes and removes the bad smell as well.

The best tip to follow is to install a proper drainage system at your office or home in the first place. It is going to save you from running into further expenses on plumbers, plumbing and replacements.

The post Ways to keep your Drains clog free appeared first on Collin's Plumbing Services Los Angeles.