When Should You Call Your Plumber?

Americans are legendary for their thrift, self-reliance, and do-it-yourself ethic. Those values serve us well most of the time, but when it comes to plumbing it’s often better to reach for a helping hand. If you live in the Sacramento, Folsom, or Rockwell areas, that help is as close as a phone call to Ace Plumbing. Here are some of the times you should absolutely call a plumber.

Your Water Bill is Climbing

The EPA estimates that one trillion gallons of water are wasted each year due to household leaks alone. If that number’s hard to get your head around, let’s cut it down to size by just looking at your home. If you have one faucet that drips once per minute, you’re wasting three thousand gallons of water per year. The average home, however, wastes more than three times that — and most of us don’t even know how! If your water bill is climbing and your water use isn’t, check your water bill for a rate increase. If that isn’t the problem, call Ace Plumbing.

Your Drains are Slow

No matter what you try — drain cleaner, plungers, drain snakes — your drains still take forever to do their job. What you may not realize is that your DIY fixes may be damaging your plumbing even though you’re trying to fix it. A thorough drain cleaning can lead to faster drainage without damage.

Your Water Pressure is a Trickle

When is your plumbing problem not your problem? Before you consult with a Zen master, we’ll give you a hint: your low water pressure may not be the result of anything inside your home. And here’s another hint: your attempts to fix the problem yourself can cause more harm than help. A plumber can pinpoint the source of the issue, whether it’s your municipal water supply, an obstruction or incursion in a water main, or problems in your home’s pipes. We can conduct a video inspection that ensures a first-time fix.

You Hear Running Water, But Nothing’s Turned On

Picture this: it’s a quiet afternoon and you’re reading a book. From somewhere in the house, you hear a sound of running water — but there’s nobody else home. Or you’re taking a nice hot shower and the water temperature shoots from hot to scalding at the drop of a hat. There’s not a ghost lathering up. You’ve got a leak. Rather than trying to pinpoint the source of the problem and fix it yourself, it helps to have a plumber troubleshoot the issue and fix it. Especially in older homes, it’s not uncommon to have leaks in multiple places as pipes and fixtures age.

Appliance Installations

Some appliances are straightforward. You don’t need professional help to get a toaster or microwave oven up and running. But other installations are more complex, involving plumbing, electrical, and drainage. If you’re installing a dishwasher or a new hot water heater, getting it wrong can damage not only your new appliance, but also your home. Whether you’re replacing an appliance that has worn out, buying a newer and more efficient model, or renovating your home, why take your chances? Call a professional instead!

You Want to Save Money

Nobody wants to spend more money than they have to. That’s just a given. But that’s exactly what ends up happening to a lot of DIY “plumbers.” Your quick fix may be perfectly good, or at least good enough, for the short term. But often as not, those repairs don’t hold for the long term and they need to be redone time and again. Just because the one-time cost is low doesn’t mean those costs aren’t adding up the second, third, or sixth time you’re doing the same job. And that’s not even mentioning the times you don’t get it right the first time and end up causing yourself a bigger problem than you were trying to solve. Call us. We get it right the first time!

Of course, these are just a few of the problems we solve; whether it’s a chronically clogged toilet or a hot water heater that’s lukewarm at best, we take care of every common plumbing issue (and lots of uncommon ones). So if you have — or suspect you may have — a plumbing problem, call Ace Plumbing. We don’t just eliminate the guesswork; we eliminate the problem at its source.