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Common Causes Of blocked drain In South Africa

Here are the most common causes of blocked drains:

Tree roots

Tree roots are the most stubborn cause of clogged sewer drains especially in wooded areas.

The roots can find their way into the drainage piping systems.

Normally, specialists are required to clean a drain clogged by roots, as they employ drain machines.

Roots trap tissues and other objects within the drainage system and this results in blockages

Tissues and Wipes

Some washable bathroom wipes can also result in drain blockages

Only biodegradable matter is easily processed by plumbing waste systems, so any type of harder tissue or paper may have a negative impact on the system. Tampons and sanitary pads are often found in the drainage systems and this is not supposed to be so. Some residents flush tampon in the toilet and this is not recommended

Fat, oil and grease

These are common causes especially for sink drains. Fat from various oils are not welcome as they are sticky and tend to solidify and accumulate and trap other matter. Examples are bacon grease and fatty foods

Hair & Toiletry

Loose air can find its way on the pipes and accumulate on bends, causing blockages particularly in basins and showers. Pieces of bar soap can also potentially block a toilet

Pipe Disintegration

It is important to have regular maintenance of the plumbing system to address matters before hand, be it blocked drains or leakages.

Poor plumbing workmanship

Poor plumbing such as a piping system that does not slope well can cause blockages.Usually the pipe will bend at a point alone the system due to the weight of water and debris stuck at a single place.

Things to avoid in the drainage system

Celery

Egg shells

Meat, skin and bones

Pumpkin

Potato peels

Home Drain Cleaning Methods

Wire Hanger

Using a bent wire hanger to poke the debris can be very effective and hassle free solution.

It can get rid of hairs and other unwelcome material by way of hooking them and pulling out.

Boiling Water

Pouring boiling water helps with clearing greasy substances by melting them away. However, the disadvantage is that the debris might cool off further away and solidify again, posing another threat for a blockage.

Remove, clean pipe and replace

This is applicable for sinks and basins. The S-trap (at the bottom of sink) is detachable and can be removed by unfastening screws at the top end and bottom end of it. Ensure there is dish or bucket to collect water that will spill as you remove. Sink blockages can at times be found within this S-trap, so cleaning it off may help.

Drain rods are useful and some may keep rods at the house for times like these. Rods are a home accessory useful for cleaning drains.

Other useful tools are most likely to be kept by professional drain cleaners. Tools such as drain snake, drain machine and the like are useful drain tools for cleaning

A plunger is one tool most ignored by home owners. Also, one needs to appreciate that a plunger works with pressure, hence there is need to ensure enough water in the system. Some may give up due to the fact that they do not use enough water.

Salt and baking soda

Kitchen ingredients readily available in homes. Mixing half a cup of table salt with half a cup of baking soda and pouring it down the blocked drain.

After about 10-20 minutes, pour boiling water down. This can be simple solution that even mothers can employ at home without touching any dirt.

Drain unblocking tools: Drain Snakes

A drain snake is a coiled cable that works well in small drains of 25mm up to 50mm.  The pipes can either be PVC or galvanized.

Typically, they can be useful in unblocking sink drains, basin drains and tubs. Plumbers spin insert and spin the cable to create torque in the piping. As the cable moves along the pipe and winds up, it clears debris in the drainage pipe.

A drain snake can be manual or automatic. The automatic is spun by a power tool, connected to electricity

Plungers

Simple and yet effective tool. The plunger uses pressure to push away debris blocking the drain.

Mostly used for toilets, showers as well sink and bath drains.

They come in different variations such as T handle type.

A manually operated system of connected drain rods is very useful for unclogging sewer drains.

Drain rods come in different thickness, the thinner ones are able to negotiate bends easily. The thinner rods, however are not as strong in pushing blockages away. Conversely, thicker rods tend to force debris away and break them down although they do not negotiate bends easily

Rods have various other attachments that can be useful for a variety of situations. For pushing away material, professional drain surgeons attach a plunger at the front end. The plunger is a circular rubber that fits tightly on the circumference of the pipes, increasing pressure by trapping all air inside. Most warehouses in South Africa supply drain rods

A worm, or double worm can also be attached in front. This one is most useful in tearing down and breaking down debris. By turning the rods, the worm cuts the debris, such as roots and other foreign objects in the drainage pipes. A hooked end can also be used for the same effect

The drain machine comes with a coiled cable that is similar to the snake, but much thicker and is powered by electricity. Similar to drain rods, the ends of a drain machine can have special attachments to it for effect, such as a cutter, a worm or even a plunger. The drain machine is a very powerful drain cleaning tool, able to cut off roots and clear stubborn drain blockages.

Common Geyser Insurance Cover in South Africa

Most insurances cover damages that are a result of one of the following

Rusting

Decay

Continuous deterioration over time

Wear and tear of geyser parts

Cracking, splitting, faulty materials and workmanship or hidden defects.

Theoretically, geysers should not corrode as they have a glazing layer inside. However, practically speaking there are sufficient conditions that may compromise the protective layer. A further inclusion of the sacrificial anode in the design of the geyser helps in solving the corrosion that may result. This means that, eventually anode replacement has to take place, as the anode gets finished in the process as it is “scarified” to cover the exposed glazed surfaces

Common geyser insurance cover includes

Geyser repairs

Geyser parts replacements

Resultant water damage

Full cover for loss or damage caused by burst or leaking geysers.

Some may include full cover for the resultant water damage to permanent fixtures and fittings such as walls, ceilings and fitted carpets

As insurance companies are in for profit, they will also have certain measures in place to protect themselves. These may include protection against poor workmanship, so a policy holder may need to have certain aspects looked into. These may include the pipework and general configuration of the geyser elements. Having a certificate of compliance makes this easy, as such a certificate can only be issued after thorough checks

A study of causes of geysers to burst helps insurers to minimize the volume of claims for geyser insurance cover

Proper geyser installation is the first steps to ensure long life of a geyser. Most insurance companies will require a certificate of Compliance as part of documents to submit on a replacement of geyser or geyser installation.

Such a practice also safe guards against the use of inappropriate plumbing piping and methods.

It further reduces water damage as it ensures that dip trays are in place, a full inspection of the system is done before a COC can be issued.

As such, some offer a maintenance plan in their packages that will enable early detection and resolve before it gets bad. The maintenance plan can be once in 2 or 3 years. Typically, such maintenance will mean a geyser installer will drain and clean geyser, as well as check the health of sacrificial anode and replace were necessary. Element and thermostat are also checked, and can be replaced if there is unwelcome built up of lime scale

Unblock drains DIY.

A frequent plumbing problem experienced by home owners and tenants in South Africa is that of a clogged drain.

This can be any one of the following

Blocked shower drain

Clogged sink drain

Blocked sewer drain

Or just a blocked toilet

Blocked drainage pipes should never be ignored.

Severe blockages can also result in burst pipes, which costly to repair. There are some natural ways to deal with clogged drainage without using special blocked drain tools

Use of natural products for drain cleaning is encouraged. There is no toxic chemicals in the drain unblocking process, therefore the environment is safe

This will ultimately save on drainage pipes longevity, as some drain cleaning chemicals tend to corrode the pipes

Natural drain cleaners are safer and they are also easy to apply. Furthermore, green solutions are very cheap.

BOILING WATER

Works well for drain blockages caused by fats especially in the sink.

It is a quick and easy solution for your clogged sink drains

CAUSTIC CLEANER

These chemicals can dissolve grease and food, and other substances such as hair strands

However, they are also limited as they cannot penetrate solid masses. In such cases a drain cleaning specialist can help

PLUNGER

A plunger one of common drain unblocking tools. Simple and easy to use, makes use of pressure and can be very useful for a blocked toilet

Air conditioner sanitizing and servicing is become more necessary as business returns to normalcy. Most organisations are now engaging air conditioning companies in Gauteng to sanitize and service their units. Air conditioning contractor includes sanitizing in their aircon servicing package

Air conditioning cleaning and sanitizing is necessary to prevent your air conditioners from spreading any virus. Therefore chemicals that kill bacteria are used in this case. Sanitizing of air conditioners can be loosely referred to as air treatment or “air repair”. This is because the air coming from the cleaned unit is free of virus, hence higher quality air circulates within a room

Air conditioner treatment will become more frequent and cheaper as contractors adjust the pricing to ensure client affordability. The basic rule of quantity vs pricing will naturally bring air conditioning service price down

Sanitizing gets rid of allergens, dust, pollen and mold

Both the minor and major air conditioning and sanitizing service will include the following areas

Replacement/repair of air conditioning compressor

Inspection of air conditioning condenser unit repairs and replacement

Cleaning and inspecting air conditioning fan and air conditioning gauges

Examining and repair & service of air conditioning vacuum pump

Cleaning of filters

Examining and repair of air conditioning circuit board if needed

Inspection and testing of controls and safety

Refrigerant change where necessary

Inspection and cleaning of relays and contractors

Recording temperature and pressure

Tightening any loose unit wiring

Testing capacitors

Checking thermostat, motors, condensate drain, belts and pulleys

Lubricating all rotating elements

Common Electrical problems and solutions and who to call for electrical problems

Where do electrical surges come from?

An electrical surge is one of the most common electrical problems in homes and offices.  Natural causes such as lightning strikes can induce an electrical surge.  Also, if appliances connected to the system are faulty or there is damage to power lines, this can result in electrical surge.

It is important to have the house wiring correctly installed as well, as bad wiring may also result in electrical surge damage

Electrical surge protection devices can reduce electrical surge damage. If you cannot perform an electrical surge test at home, you may consider calling local electrician

Electrical faults relating to the proper adjustment of dimmer switches are also common. You may find a complete section of a house with light switches not working at all. This is especially true for new home occupants

In this case, professional help should be sort since this could mean that some electrical wiring could have been by-passed

What Causes Frequent Circuit Breaker tripping

By design, a circuit breaker is an electrical protection unit against potential electrical harm by tripping whenever there is too much flow or faulty appliance. Therefore, electrical trip in itself is a sign of a working system. Common appliances in the house that may cause electrical trip includes microwaves, iron and hairdryers just to name a few.

A continuous electrical tripping is however annoying and unwelcome. For a DIY at home, try to identify the appliance in use when electricity trips and do an investigation. It may be that there is a loose connection or water is getting in the way of wiring

Circuit overload can similarly result in electrical tripping. In most cases, it appears as if electricity is tripping for no reason. However, there is always an underlying cause for tripping of electricity.

A home DIY solution will be to distribute electrical load and avoid congesting appliances on one point.

An electrician will perform electrical fault findings to determine causes of frequent circuit breaker. Usually, electrical distribution board panel can be the first point of interest for a qualified electrician

Electrical faults that result in shocks are dangerous in nature. Faulty electrical wiring or faults in some appliances can be potential causes. The electrical method of elimination can work. Unplugging all appliances and reconnecting them one at a time and testing can isolate the culprit.

It is usually advisable to seek an electrical service provider for such faults

Top geyser companies in Gauteng offer electric geyser services as well as solar geyser services.

These services are part of emergency plumbing services, as they cover items like burst geyser services. A burst geyser service takes into consideration that water leakage inside the roof cannot be allowed to exist long

Common packages include the supply and install services, in which the geyser installation contractor supplies the geyser and installs it

The most popular geyser installers will offer a free quotation service, whereby they send out geyser technicians to the client’s site for quotation inspection. This is especially common when it comes to solar geyser installation services. It arises mainly due to the fact that most clients are not able to fully understand the various considerations for installations. Therefore, clients are most likely to get an inspection from solar companies before they quote on an installation. This should not be a problem to the client as it ensures accurate quotation and preparedness by the geyser firm. The service come free of charge from top solar companies anyway.

When it comes to geyser installation, particularly solar geyser installations, there are certain aspects that should be taken into account

Firstly, geyser contractors will ask if the installation is a replacement or a first time. This is because a new installation makes use of existing infrastructure. However, it may still be necessary ascertain the state of such a structure. Especially if it is a result of a burst electric or burst solar geyser. This is due to the fact that in certain cases some elements may also get compromised.

New installations mean calculating length of pipes and in the case of solar geysers, other aspects like roof strength, climate and locality

Climatic Conditions

The climatic conditions determine what sort of solar geyser to install.

Frost dependant geysers – some solar geysers are not frost friendly

Frost free geysers – some geysers may be useful I both frost and frost free zones

Coastal areas – require similarly designed geysers

Inland – specific for inland

Pressure Requirements

High pressure

Low pressure

High pressure solar geysers are most preferred as they have a long lasting span, commensurate with the cost of installing solar geyser

Electric geyser considerations

Total length from water supply to geyser

Size of geyser

Location of geyser

In some cases, clients know exactly what they need and therefore might choose to buy the geyser themselves. Plumbing suppliers often run promotions and one might take advantage of low geyser cost at the time.

Here is a list of some of the top brands to give clients a head start in case you would like to buy your own geyser and pay for installation.

Kwikot geyser

Heat Tech geyser

Builders Geyser

Frankie geyser

Builders High Pressure Geyser

High Pressure Geyser

Duratherm geyser

Low pressure geyser

The sun low pressure geyser

ANAC solar geyser

Electric geysers

Solar geysers

Geyser Installers Midrand

Geyser Installers Krugersdorp

Geyser Installers Kempton Park

Geyser Installers Roodepoort

Geyser Installers Sandton

Geyser Installers Centurion

Geyser Installation Randburg