What Happens When Tree Roots Invade Your Home’s Pipes?

Root invasion can be a devastating thing for your plumbing and sewer lines. Now that it’s fall and the weather has changed, trees find themselves on the hunt for nutrients. The root system will get more active than it has been, and this means that there is a good chance that the trees will get damaged.

Since the sewer lines are warm compared to the ground that surrounds them, and also moist, the tree roots will often be attracted towards them them. The trees want nutrients, and think that the sewer will be a source of those nutrients. Once the roots get into the sewer lines, they can cause a lot of problems for your pipes and for the drainage system in your home.

As licensed plumbers, Alto Sewer offers a number of different types of root removal and sewer repairs, such as:

– Hydrojetting

– Cable Root Removal

– Blade Root Removal

– Pipe Patching

– Chemical treatments

Why Does My Sink Fill Up With Water Whenever I Run My  Dishwasher?

Although it isn’t the worst plumbing problem that could happen to you, it is definitely unpleasant and inconvenient to find a sink full of water after running your dishwasher. This type of recurring problem can often be prevented and fixed with some basic cleaning and regular maintenance. The following are important things you should to know to prevent water from filling up in your sink whenever you run your dishwasher and how to fix the problem.

It is important to be aware that running water your dishwasher and sink both flows out of the same drainage line. Therefore, any blockage or clock in the main drainage line will cause water to overflow and backup in your kitchen sink. There are four places that these clogs tend to happen in: the air gap, the sink, the garbage disposal, and the dishwasher. Clog in any one of those four places of your plumbing system may result in water filling up inside of your sink whenever you run the dishwasher.

What Steps Should I Take After Sewage Backs Up In My Basement? 

Sewer lines carry wastewater away from your house through underground plumbing over to the local sewer mains. When a line fails or a clog forms inside the line, it can cause raw sewage to back up in your house. Here are some useful tips from Alto Sewer for steps you should take when you have a sewage backup in your basement.

If you discover that there is a sewer backup inside your basement, you should immediately do these things:

– Check all of your waste pipes, sinks, and toilets for blockages. Give Alto Sewer a call for help.

– Avoid using your sinks and toilets until the blockage is removed. The water will end up backing up and coming up through the basement or bathtubs if the clog is in the main line.

– Check the sewer clean out on your house. If the backup is inside your basement, search for the cap which is located on your basement floor and be sure it is easy for your remediation team or plumber to access if necessary.

Sewer backups inside a basement are messy and smelly, and it is best to leave it up to professionals. The kind of home disaster is dangerous as well. Keep your family and yourself safe, and allow Alto Sewer to handle your sewage backup for you.

Sink Odor – What Should I Do To Eliminate The Odor?  

It does not matter how keen you are when it comes to your garbage disposal; with time, you will have to deal with the smell it comes from it. The odor comes from food and debris particles that have stuck in the disposal. Well, the good news is that there are many home remedies that can help with the problem.

  • Baking Soda And Vinegar
  • Lemon Peel, Ice Cubes, And Salt
  • Essential Oils And Baking Soda

Pour ½ a cup down the drain and then add few drops of essential oil like tea tree. Wait for an hour and then flush everything with boiling water.

Even though the methods above are not fully full-proof, they are effective at eliminating unwanted smells in the kitchen. However, if you get garbage disposal problems, Alto Sewer is ready to offer their helping hand. They are experienced in offering the best plumbing and rooter services in the area. Call them today if you are looking for experienced professionals on the market. They are equipped with all the necessary tools that makes the job easy and efficient.

What Things Should You Never Put In Your Toilet ?

  • Dental Floss
  • Cat Litter
  • Medications
  • Diapers
  • Condoms

When it comes to the toilet, only waste and toilet papers should be flushed through your sewer line. That is because home toilets are specifically designed for that purpose. Also, you should consider mini plumbing services or preventive measures. This method will help you prevent all the headaches associated with a clogged sewer line or plumbing problem.

If you have a plumbing problem, we are in a position to help you solve that problem. We offer top-quality cleaning services in Minneapolis and St. Paul Areas.

Why Pumpkin Pulp And Garbage Disposals Don’t Mix   

Halloween is coming up pretty soon, which means it’s time to start carving pumpkins! Plenty of people love to create spooky jack-o-lanterns or cut artsy silhouettes into pumpkins to create distinctive decorations for the holiday. Whatever you choose to cut into the outside of your pumpkins, you’re going to want to open it up and dig out all the pulpy, sticky guts. Where should all that pulp go? Definitely not down your in-sick garbage disposal!

The Right Way To Dispose Of Pumpkin Pulp

* Don’t use a toilet as an alternate route for disposal. While toilets can flush pumpkin pulp down alright, the sticky, stringy material poses the same clogging threat to the pipes that drain them.

* If you have a compost heap or bin, that’s the perfect place for pumpkin pulp. If you’re a gardener, you can even wash and dry the seeds and save them to plant next year.

* If you don’t do any composting, simply bag up pumpkin pulp and throw it out with the garbage.

Carving pumpkins is a wonderfully fun Halloween tradition. Calling a plumber to snake pumpkin guts out of your sink is a lot less fun. Dispose of pumpkin pulp properly to save yourself from this sort of hassle!

What is High Pressure Hydro Jetting Drain And Sewer Cleaning?

Drains are often clogged up with debris, grease build-up, as well as roots but water doesn’t ever back up into the home until after the spring rains arrive. A majority of sewer lines are already clogged up a long time before they end up backing up.

Here at Alto Sewer, we can solve this problem. We can use our high-pressure equipment called the Hydro-Jetter to cut all of the debris and roots from the sewer line so that it returned to nearly new condition. At the end of the hose are several nozzles that have been specially designed to pull, push or cut the water, pressure, and hose through the line to clean and clear your sewer. Please call Alto Sewer if you have questions regarding the Hydro-Jetting process and what we can do to help you.

What You Should Expect During a Drain Cleaning    

When you call us to clean your drains professionally, we’ll arrive at your home and greet you in a friendly professional manner, using covers on our shoes before we step into your home. Then, we’ll do the following:

  • Ask Questions
  • Define the Service
  • Diagnostics
  • Prepare for Service
  • Run the drain cleaner
  • Test the Fixtures
  • Final Camera Inspection

Our average drain cleaning procedure takes an hour or two from start to finish.

Should You Avoid Chemical Drain Cleaners?

Here at Alto Sewer, relevant and important information is what we promise to give you as much as possible. It is our vision to help everyone understand why it is important to find professional help for drain cleaning, rather than attempting to do it on their own. It’s detrimental to your pipe system and could cause further damage if not done right.

At Alto Sewer, our mission is to help you get to the root cause of the problem and not just address the symptom. Our trained team of plumbers performs sewer camera inspections that enable us to check your piping system so we can find the where the problem has started, so we can remove and take care of it as soon as possible. Give us a call and set an appointment with us and we are more than happy to send one of our experienced licensed technicians to solve your piping problems.

What is The Proper Usage Of A Garbage Disposal ?

The main function of garbage disposal is to remove expired food, unwanted leftovers, or peels. However, many people take this system for granted; until it stops working or becomes clogged. Well, do not let yourself be among the majority; take care of your garbage disposal very well. How do you do this?

Below are a few simple tips that will help you extend its life and prevent clogging.

  • Run It Regularly
  • Use Cold
  • Run The Disposal For Longer
  • Cut Waste Into Small Pieces
  • Grinding Citrus
  • Don’t Add Certain Items to your Garbage Disposal

If you run into a problem with your unit, it is wise first to switch Off power from the circuit breaker, before you attempt to remove the clog. Call a professional plumber to handle all your repairs for you.

How To Avoid Hair Clogs

Have you ever taken the time to inspect your bathroom to see all the hair lingering around? Truly you will find from trimming, shaving, and even naturally falling hair. As a matter of fact, it has been proven that a majority of bathroom clogs are caused by hair. They get into drains and collect over time, resulting in clogging. However, there are a few things you can do to prevent this issue, which are:

  1. Invest In Drain Covers – a Top Drain Screen and a Underneath Drain Scree
  2. Keep hair Away From Shower And Sinks – Brush hair before getting in the shower and if you see hair in the sink or shower, take it out before it goes down the drain.

How To Clear Out Hair Clogs

  • Homemade Drainage Rinse – At least once a month, pour one cup of baking soda directly into your drains and then pour one cup of vinegar. It will immediately begin to bubble; this is normal, do not be alarmed. Allow the solution to do its work for about 10 minutes before powering boiling water directly into the opening of the drain.
  • Using Hands – This method can only work if you have installed drain screens.
  • Call Alto Sewer – There are some situations where you will need help from a professional technician. A person who is equipped with proper tools and equipment.

Hair is lovely and attractive. But it is not when it is clogging up your sewer systems. Follow the steps above, and you will be fine.

How Often Should Septic Maintenance Be Done?

The average house that has three occupants and two baths will produce more than 85,000 gallons of wastewater per year. That is 250-300 gallons per day. The septic tank is a type of living filter that separates solids, scum and pretreats wastewater before it goes out to the drain-field for the final purification process. It can take 24-48 hours for the process to complete. Even good systems that are not cared for properly can turn into an expensive problem and neighborhood health hazard. Failed systems can cause surface and groundwater pollution and expensive property damage. It is very important for your septic system to be maintained.

When Your Septic Tank Should Be Pumped  – You should inspect your tank yourself once per year or have the levels checked by a septic tank technician. Also, the drain field areas should be inspected periodically for surfacing sewage, wet spots, and odors. On some systems, county and state regulations might require more often.

System Failure – If you happen to notice any of the following warning signs, immediately call Alto Sewer for help.

  1. Slow draining fixtures
  2. Gurgling sounds within the plumbing system
  3. Septic tank or plumbing backups
  4. Wet spots, surfacing sewage, doors or the growth of lush vegetation within the drain field area.

After solids flow into the drain field and cause damage, a failed drain field cannot be brought back to life by pumping the septic tank.

How Your Pipes Are Affected By Winter Weather   

Colder temperatures and winter weather can place a great deal of stress on your plumbing system. Winter weather can cause complications within your plumbing system rather easily if you don’t prepare your business or home properly for the cold winter months ahead.

The best thing you can do to make sure your pipes are safe in the winter is to make sure all of your pipes have proper insulation, and don’t have any water trapped inside of them, and are clear and clean of any debris before colder weather hits. This can be done easily by calling Alto Sewer to have an inspection done as well as checking the wellness of your plumbing, to ensure that all pieces and parts are tightened and screwed on. That also can include drain cleaning to ensure that your pipes are free of debris before the cold weather comes.

Colder weather can overall significantly impact the ability of your plumbing to meet the demands and needs that are placed on it. Due to this, it is best to take winter weather seriously by ensuring that your pipes are prepared. Keep yourself and your business or home safe by contacting Alto Sewer for your plumbing needs; we provide replacement and repair services, drain cleaning services, and inspections at an affordable price and do not sacrifice high-quality work.

What Tips Are There For Avoiding Frozen Pipes    

Winter introduces a whole new series of home maintenance challenges, particularly in those areas where there are extended time frames for freezing temperatures. The one problem that you would like to confront head-on before there is any inclement weather that comes near any frozen pipes. each year, we get hundreds of calls because of winter storms, but fortunately, our guide can help to prevent frozen pipes that can help you avoid expensive damages that are associated with freezing winter weather.

When you prevent frozen pipes it can help you from having expensive repair work both in the long and short terms. The most destructive and obvious result of frozen pipes is cracking. The leakage that results can lead to foundation and electrical damage – along with flooding. When you think about how much expensive damage that can be inflicted onto a house by water the need for prevention becomes even more critical.