The sink in our bathroom has been draining slowly for some time now and suddenly it just sort of stopped draining all together. What should I do? 

Thanks,

Stopped-Up

Nevada City, Ca.

Dear Stopped up in Nevada City,

  Keep a sharp eye out for signs of a sluggish drain. It’s easier to unclog a slow drain than it is to open a drain that has completely stopped. When the drain is slow, you can try a couple of easy things first. First try pouring scalding water down the drain to loosen any buildup of grease or soap scum. If that doesn’t help, you can clean the stopper, pop-up or drain screen. (This is not for the faint of heart.  My wife makes a funny face whenever I clean the pop-up.) If this doesn’t solve the problem, the next thing you’ll want to do is grab a plunger. If you don’t have a plunger, or if you have one of those silly little guys from the grocery store, go out and buy a good one.  Pick a plunger with a large enough suction cup to completely cover the drain and create an airtight seal against the surrounding sink. The one I use is black rubber with a yellow handle and has a cone on the bottom which can be folded up when I use it for clearing sinks or tubs. First cover the drain with the plunger and fill the sink with hot water and completely cover the suction cup. Seal off the overflow if you have one with a wet sponge or a rag. Push out any trapped air beneath the cup, and then give the plunger 5 to 10 vigorous up-and-down pumping strokes to jolt loose the clog. It may take 3 or 5 times to do the job. (One thing you should know is a plunger works with both the up and down stroke, so really tug up on it.)

 If none of this works you could try using a hand cranking snake, but let me tell you from my experience, they don’t work so well. They take a lot of effort with very little affect. You really need a good electric snake to do the job right. You may be able to rent one from the rental yard, but it helps if you know how to use it, they can be very dangerous to use.

 One other thing you can do before the drain gets clogged is to use an enzyme drain cleaning product. The enzymes help to digest the organic material and break it down to it basic element. It’s a great, environmentally safe product. And if you’re on a septic system the enzymes will work their way down into the tank and digest the gunk in the septic tank as well.

 If none of this works, well then I guess it’s time to call out the professionals.

Always start any plumbing repairs on your Auburn home by turning off the water shut off valve to your home so you can work on the pipes without the fear of flooding your Auburn home.

FAUCET LEAKS:

Bathroom and kitchen faucets will often leak due to the washer or O-ring wearing out. Washer are usually made of rubber. The washers are discs that seal and restrict the flow of water when the handle is turned. This type of faucet is known as a compression faucet or rising stem faucet. To replace a washer, remove the decorative cap to get to the screw that attaches the handle to the faucet. Next remove the handle. Then unscrew the packing nut that holds the valve in place by turning it counterclockwise.

Valve washers come in many various sizes and shapes, plus both flat and beveled. I would suggest that you take the valve stem with you to the hardware store to match the exact size needed. An even better idea is to simply replace the whole valve stem. After replacing the washer or the valve stem and your faucet still leaks, the seat may have been damaged.

FIXING A DAMAGED VALVE SEAT:

If the washer has become too worn prior to replacement, the metal will grind against metal and damage the valve seat. Water particles and mineral deposits can become trapped between the seat and the washer so that closing and opening the faucet handle grinds the particles inside and damages the seal beyond simple washer replacement.

Most local Auburn hardware stores have a seat-grinding tool that is commercially available for do-it-yourself (DIY) home repair. The tool comes with easy steps on how to reshape the damaged seat to accept the new washer properly. Now you know the basics on how to repair that leaking faucet in your Auburn home. As always, if you run in to any problems and have some questions and/or need some help, please feel free to call us; ABT Plumbing, Electric, Heat & Air: 530-272-9120

• Remove all water from the sink or tub and pour about 1 cup baking soda down the drain.
• Then pour 1 cup vinegar down the drain, plugging it immediately (if you’re unclogging a double sink, plug both drains).
• When the bubbles have died down (about 30 minutes), chase them down the drain with some hot water.

If this recipe seems familiar to you, you may have as I did (at one point in your school days) used this recipe to make an erupting volcano for science class.  Baking soda, a base, combined with vinegar, an acid, reacts to form carbon dioxide and sodium acetate—the bubbles that do the scrubbing work inside the drain.  Once drain sludge is dissolved, these all natural, non-toxic ingredients get flushed down the now clog-free drain and will do no harm to your plumbing and or septic tank.

Baking soda and vinegar as you know are natural ingredients preferable to the manufactured chemical sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda or lye. Sodium hydroxide is the active ingredient in most grocery store drain cleaners.  While the chemical isn’t too harmful for the environment since it’s broken down by the time it flows into oceans and rivers, it can be harmful to whomever it touches. And it can do a nasty number on the working of your septic tank.

According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, sodium hydroxide can burn skin. If swallowed, it can cause chest and abdominal pain, and has the potential to lead to death if it severely damages the lungs, tissue, or causes a loss of pulse or shock.

Baking soda and vinegar are common, consumable (though perhaps not together!) ingredients that don’t pose health dangers and are probably already sitting in your kitchen cupboards.

And hey if the home remedies don’t work you can always call ABT and well be right out. 530-272-9120

DIY Electrical testing for your Auburn CA Home;

If the thought of working on an electrical circuit in your Nevada County home makes you cringe, then investing in a good quality multi-meter, voltmeter, ticker tracer or a neon-light tester should be your first order of business. These testers can be inexpensive and are well worth the investment to help protect you from an electric shock. They can be purchased at your local Grass Valley, Ca hardware store or Auburn, Ca home center.

1. Testers and How They Work

A basic neon light tester consist of a neon light bulb that is attached to two leads used for checking if a circuit is “hot” (electrified)or “dead”(not electrified). When you press these two leads into an outlet, the bulb will light if the circuit is “hot” or on. If it doesn’t light, then the circuit is “dead” or off.

Always check to see if the tester is working properly by checking a circuit that you know is working properly before moving on. To double-check that an outlet is actually off, remove the outlet cover and test the screws on the sides of the outlet. But be sure to be safe, the outlet may still be hot(electric). A good habit to practice is to always assume the circuit is electrified or hot, in other words just don’t touch any bare wire with your hands. You can also plug a lamp or vacuum into the outlet just to put your mind at ease.

2. Outlets and Testing

 To test an electrical outlet in your Grass Valley home do the following. A typical outlet has three holes built into it. The shorter straight slot is the “hot” (electric) lead. The longer straight slot is the “neutral” lead (if it’s wired correctly). The slot that looks like a small circle hole is the ground.

To test the ground, test between the “hot” (electrified) and “ground” slots. If the circuit is working and you have a good “ground” connection, the tester will light up. The tester will also light if you test between the “hot” (electric) and “neutral” slots.

 There are plug-in circuit testers are available that will test your circuit for you via three neon lights. They test for an open neutral, lack of a ground, wires on the wrong terminals, and no power. This is a great inexpensive tool to have in your tool box.

3. Switches and Testing

To test a switch in your Auburn home, remove the cover plate and check from the “hot” (electric) screw on the side of the switch to the bare copper wire (ground) or the metal box. Keep in mind that the box may not be grounded, especially if it’s a plastic box.

4. Testing Light Fixtures

When checking the light fixture wiring in your Grass Valley home, take down the light and using a “tick-tracer”, test the circuit to see if it working. This tester lights when you place it close to a wire that has current flowing through it. Again always double check your testers by testing a known working outlet.

To double-check the circuit, first turn off the electricity to that circuit by turning off the light switch. Now, remove the wire nuts from both the black “hot” wires and the white “neutral” wires. Now with the wires exposed you can use your neon light tester. Separate these sets of wires so that they are not touching one another. If the wires touch and they’re hot, look out sparks will fly.

  Turn the circuit back on and check between the black and white wires with the voltmeter or neon tester. Be careful not to touch the exposed wires with your fingers. The voltmeter should show a reading of around 120 volts. Likewise, the neon tester should light if the circuit is working properly.

   That’s it. But I can’t stress enough the fact that you need to be careful and always assume you’re working with electrified lines. And another thing if you don’t feel comfortable, don’t mess with it. With electricity it’s always better to be safe than sorry or dead. There are times in everyone’s life where its just better to hire a professional. Only you can decide when to hire someone.

If you get in over your head or just don’t want to mess with it, give ABT Plumbing, Electric, Heat & Air a call and we’ll be there to help. 530-272-9120

ABT Plumbing, Electric, Heat & Air serves:  Nevada and Placer County, Grass Valley, Ca. Alta Sierra, Ca. Nevada City, Ca. Penn Valley, Ca. Rough and Ready, Ca. Lake Wildwood, Ca. Smartsville, Ca. Colfax, Auburn, Ca. Lake of the Pines, Ca. Meadow Vista, Ca. Newcastle, Ca. and all places in-between.