Maintaining Your Water Heater

We understand your water heater may be easy to overlook. It is often tucked away in the garage or, more common to the Houston area, unless you’ve had an upgrade, nestled into your attic, making it very difficult to get to and even more difficult to maintain. Pickett Plumbing has a few tips and tricks to keep your hot water heater running efficiently and for everything beyond these hints, you can call for our expert help.

Adjusting the Temperature

Every homeowner should know how to adjust the temperature on their hot water heater. Some families may want to adjust to have it a little warmer during the cold months. Other families may want to turn it down when they have small children coming to visit. Whatever your hot water needs are, this is an important skill for you to have. Depending on whether you have a gas or electric water heater, you will need to locate the thermostat. Most gas heaters are easy to adjust manually. Electric water heaters will often need the power turned off first, then turned back on after you adjust the thermostat to your favored setting. You may want to wait an hour or so to check your temperature. Some water heaters take longer to cycle through than others.

Checking the Pilot

Checking your pilot light is important for hot water and for the health and safety of your family and anyone who enters your home. This only applies for gas water heaters. Know where your access panel is ahead of time and have your Pickett Plumber show you how to easily open it when installing or working on your water heater. If there is no flame, turn off the gas supply valve and wait for excess gas to dissipate before attempting to light the pilot again. If you cannot light it or you find the pilot light is frequently going out, contact our team to see what the issue may be.

Insulation

You want to protect your hot water heater from extreme cold with insulation. Some tanks are sized where a neoprene or similar sleeve can be used for light insulation. While you are working on covering the tank, you will also want to pay attention to pipes that may need to be insulated against cold weather, so they are less likely to freeze.

Regular Servicing

Water heaters need regular servicing to check for loose valves, leaks, or wear and tear that may need attention. While tankless water heaters need less routine maintenance, even they should be checked once a year. Pickett Plumbing offers all the help you need with your water heater and members of our VIP Club receive routine checks and regular maintenance. Additionally, even if you have a concern late at night or on the weekend, we are happy to come out and see if we can get you back on track right away.

For water heater needs throughout the Greater Houston area, contact Pickett Plumbing to set an appointment today. From helping you with a suspected leak, a hot water heater that isn’t warm enough, or finding a green solution for your growing family, Pickett Plumbing can cover it all.

How to Fix a Leaky Toilet

Spending money on some home repairs can be enjoyable. A fresh coat of paint, new cabinetry, or a bigger shower are just a few ways homeowners love to invest money in their property. The sense of pride that can come with a new project on your home means a lot. On the other hand, there are a number of repairs that can be tempting to try or to find a way to DIY. Pickett Plumbing has advice on a couple things you may be able to check yourself, like a leaky toilet, even though you may end up relying on our expert service anyways.

Leaking Toilet

No matter what ends up being the cause, we recommend homeowners do a basic amount of investigating to see where the leak may be coming from before calling our professional team. This is due to the damage that can be done from a leak to other parts of your home if left unattended. First, clean up the water on the floor. Flush the toilet and wait one hour before investigating once more. If the floor around the base of the toilet is wet again, the wax ring of flange may need to be replaced.

Flushing Issues

From time to time, toilets will have flushing issues. Occasionally toilets will seemingly flush when nobody is around or using the restroom. This can cause quite a bit of alarm for unsuspecting homeowners. Other times, a single flush will cause the toilet to run longer than the usual amount of time. In both of these cases, the flapper may not be fitting correctly. Sometimes these deteriorate quickly with drop in cleaning tablets that have bleach. There are a number of different types of flappers, some are adjustable, so you can tweak them to fit your specific toilet. If the flapper is in good repair, there may be another issue, from the lever needing repair to corroded drains.

Clogged Toilet

If Pickett Plumbing came out for every clogged toilet, we would keep our team very busy. While there are certainly larger clogs that need our attention, anything from toys to glasses to days and weeks of build up getting in the way, some clogs can, and should, be cleared out by the homeowner. Make sure you have a flange plunger, which creates a better seal for tackling these tough issues in your toilet.

Pickett Service Any Other Time

Pickett Plumbing can, and will, come out to serve your needs any other time a larger issue is at hand. We have trained professionals who can fix a number of issues on the spot. In addition, members of our VIP Club can avoid any additional fees for a diagnostic charge or those evening and holiday emergency leaks that can change our plans in a moment.

If you have noticed your toilets running more than usual or suspect a leak that needs our Pickett Plumbing attention, make an appointment with us today. From toilets to water heaters, from new faucets to drain repair, Pickett Plumbing can help you with all your plumbing needs in the Houston area. Our licensed professionals will provide the solutions to get your business and home back on track.

What to Do When a Pipe Bursts in Your Home

Texas became very familiar with burst pipes during the winter of 2021 but knowing what to do when one breaks can be beneficial for any business or homeowner. While contacting Pickett Plumbing is your best option for fixing the break, there are steps you can take to make sure your home or business and contents are secure.

1. Make sure your family is safe.

While some pipes burst and don’t cause major water to rise in the building, there are also a number that happen at inconvenient times and can release several inches of water before being discovered. Make sure your family, including your four-legged friends, are out of danger, evacuating to outside if needed.

2. Turn off your water main.

The easiest and quickest way to stop the water is by turning off your water main. Go ahead and locate where that is and how to turn it off before there is an emergency so you are familiar with the process. You may be able to turn this back on if you can isolate the problem in step 4, but for the immediate needs of your home, turning off the water is best.

3. Possibly turn off your electricity.

Depending on where the break is or how much damage has taken place, you may need to turn off your electric breaker to avoid further issues.

4. Try to isolate the problem.

You may or may not be able to tell where this is. There may be more than one break and it could be deep within your walls with water streaming further than what you think is possible. Our team will find the issue and take care of it once we arrive.

5. Take pictures of the damage.

For insurance purposes, go ahead and document the damage that has occurred. This is best through still pictures, but some adjusters like video as well. By getting as much documentation as possible ahead of time, your insurance adjuster and company will be able to get your home back to the condition you need it in.

6. Mitigate the damage.

This step can be confusing for many home and business owners as they aren’t sure what they can and cannot do. Many insurance policies will encourage, if not require, mitigation to occur, to prevent additional issues from taking place. Some water damage can be fixed with water extraction and fans, other times carpet and dry wall will need to be removed entirely.

7. Call Pickett Plumbing.

Give us a call at 281-562-7820 so you can get on our schedule. We know that there may be a long road ahead with fixing damages and you will want running water in your home quickly. Our technicians will come out to find the problem and repair it for you, doing it right, the first time.

8. Call your insurance company.

Now that you are on our schedule, you may want to call your insurance company depending on the severity of the damages. The repairs will be subject to your deductible and every insurance provider and policy looks different, but they should help walk you through any steps you missed.

If you suspect a leak but are not confident there’s an issue, Pickett Plumbing has the tools to test your plumbing system and find the source before more damage occurs. If you have a broken pipe or think there might be an issue, contact Pickett Plumbing today. Our VIP Club Membership includes an inspection and means you can get holiday, weekend, and night visits for no extra charge.