Author: Kevin

As winter thaws into spring, temperature fluctuations can pose unique challenges to your home’s plumbing. A thorough post-winter leak check could prevent minor plumbing issues from becoming costly disasters.

Why Winter Creates Certain Plumbing Vulnerabilities

The freeze-thaw cycle during the winter months can put significant stress on your plumbing system. When water freezes, it expands by just over 9%. The increased volume inside the pipes can create tremendous pressure, which may then crack the pipe walls or weaken the connections.

The soil around the home also shifts as the moisture inside it freezes and thaws. This seasonal movement can damage underground pipes, creating leaks that become apparent just as spring arrives and the water flows freely again. A professional winter leak check can often save the day.

Top Signs of Winter Damage Leaks

Do you know how to recognize plumbing leak signs? It could save you thousands! Look for the following:

• Unexplained increases in your water bill.
• Reduced water pressure throughout your home.
• Damp spots on walls, ceilings, or floors – especially in basements.
• Unusual sounds like running water when appliances are off.
• Warm spots on floors.
• Musty odors or visible mold growth.
• New foundation cracks.

A thorough winter leak check will also look for water pooling around your home’s exterior.

A Plumber’s Tips for Finding Hidden Water Leaks

Your home leak inspection relies on visual checks and these simple tests:

The Water Meter Test

Turn off all water. Check your meter. Wait two hours without using water, and check the meter again to see if there was any movement.

The Toilet Check

Add food coloring to the tank. Wait 30 minutes without flushing. Color in the bowl means you have a toilet leak.

The Exterior Inspection

Attach a hose to your outdoor faucets and run the water. Look for leaks at connections and damp ground around your foundation.

The Appliance Examination 

Look for moisture or water stains around dishwashers, washing machines, and water heaters. Connection points and valves are weak spots.

The Visual Pipe Check 

Examine exposed pipes in basements and under sinks. Is there corrosion, discoloration, or moisture? Check ceilings below bathrooms, too.

The Pressure Test 

Does water pressure drop significantly when using multiple fixtures? You might have a supply line leak after winter ground shifts.

One Final Leak Detection Test

Sometimes, the simplest winter leak check is to listen carefully with your own two ears. When your home is quiet, do you hear running or dripping water?

Trust Mullen Plumbing, Heating & Cooling for Your Winter Plumbing Needs

DIY inspections can catch obvious issues. However, experienced plumbing technicians use specialized acoustic equipment and infrared cameras for thorough water leak detection that will find hidden leaks before they cause further damage.

Did your plumbing survive this winter unscathed? If you’d like to be sure, contact Mullen Plumbing, Heating & Cooling at (304) 744-3221 for a comprehensive winter leak check in South Charleston or the surrounding areas!

The cold season can bring unexpected challenges to your home. When your water heater fails, simple tasks like showers and dishes become extremely difficult. If you’re asking why your water heater isn’t working during the colder months, keep reading as Mullen Plumbing, Heating & Cooling explains common causes of malfunctions. 

Common Causes of Water Heater Problems

Your water heater faces unique challenges during winter months. Understanding these issues can help you identify and address problems before they escalate into major repairs.

Sediment Buildup

Sediment buildup is one of the most common culprits behind water heater problems. As water sits in your tank, minerals naturally settle at the bottom. This layer of sediment creates an insulating barrier between the heating element and the water, forcing your system to work harder to maintain proper temperatures.

This issue becomes particularly noticeable during winter when your system already faces increased stress. Regular maintenance and flushing can help prevent this problem from affecting your water heater’s performance.

Insufficient Insulation

Poor insulation can significantly impact your system’s efficiency during cold weather. When your unit and pipes lack proper insulation, they become vulnerable to heat loss and temperature fluctuations.

Installing appropriate insulation around your water heater and pipes helps maintain consistent temperatures and reduces energy waste. This becomes especially important for units located in unheated areas like garages or basements.

Incorrect Thermostat Settings

“Why is my water heater not heating during winter months?” You may have it set to the wrong temperature. Incorrect thermostat settings can lead to inadequate heating or excessive energy consumption.

Finding the right balance between comfort and efficiency is essential. While you might be tempted to raise the temperature significantly during cold weather, this can strain your system and increase your energy bills.

Frozen Pipes

One of winter’s most severe threats to your plumbing system is frozen pipes. When temperatures drop below 32 degrees, exposed pipes can freeze, preventing water flow and potentially causing serious damage.

Taking preventive measures before winter arrives can help protect your pipes from freezing. This includes proper insulation and maintaining adequate heat circulation throughout your home.

Preventive Maintenance Tips for Water Heater Efficiency

Winter can cause increased energy consumption as your equipment works harder to maintain desired temperatures. If you face water temperature fluctuations, your utility bills will increase and your system will wear down faster. Taking proactive steps can help you prevent many common winter water heater problems.

We recommend that you:

• Schedule regular maintenance checks.
• Flush your tank periodically to remove sediment.
• Check and maintain proper insulation.
• Monitor thermostat settings.
• Keep the area around your water heater clear.
• Address minor issues promptly before they escalate.

Don’t Let a Faulty Water Heater Disrupt Your Winter: Contact Mullen Plumbing, Heating & Cooling

Now you know the answer to, “Why is my water heater not heating during winter months?” At Mullen Plumbing, Heating & Cooling, we understand how crucial it is to have reliable hot water during the cold season. 

If your water heater is malfunctioning in South Charleston and the surrounding areas, contact Mullen Plumbing, Heating & Cooling at (304) 744-3221 for expert assistance and reliable solutions.

Traditional water heaters come with certain limitations. They use a lot of energy to keep water hot even when nobody is using it. They also have a limited supply of warm water, which can lead to lukewarm showers in homes with lots of people. Instead of the traditional tank-style water heater, you can also invest in a tankless water heater for your home. We’re going to discuss what these are and how they can benefit your household.

What Is a Tankless Water Heater?

A tankless water heater is used to create hot water for your home. These are small rectangular units that get installed right on your wall. These water heaters don’t store hot water. Rather, they produce it when your home demands it.

How Do Tankless Water Heaters Work?

When you turn on your hot water at your faucet or one of your many appliances needs hot water, your water heater will turn on. Cold water is introduced into the heat exchanger, which is positioned inside the tankless water heater. The water will be heated via a gas burner or electric heating element, depending on what fuel source you choose to use for your device. A constant supply of hot water will be delivered to the various faucets and appliances throughout your home.

Tankless Water Heater Sizing

Most homeowners are familiar with tank water heaters having a designated gallon capacity. For example, a house with three to four people will typically need a 50- to 60-gallon water heater. When it comes to tankless water heaters, they’re measured in gallons per minute. There are tankless water heaters ranging from 2 to 12 gallons per minute. Most homes need about 5 to 10 gallons per minute.

When determining the ideal size of tankless water heater for your home, consider the number of plumbing fixtures and appliances you have that may use hot water. A quick way to get a ballpark for the gallons per minute your new tankless water heater needs is to add up the flow rate for all of your fixtures and water-using appliances. This number will ensure that you can comfortably run multiple fixtures at once without compromising the temperature of your hot water. A plumbing professional can do these calculations for you and recommend an appropriate size.

Maintenance Requirements

Both tankless and tank water heaters require regular maintenance to stay in tip-top condition. In general, you’ll want to have your tankless water heater evaluated by a licensed plumber every year. This will help remove sediment buildup and ensure each internal component is functioning optimally. If you live in a region with hard water, you may need to have this service done every six months.

Energy-Efficient Operation

One of the most significant benefits of tankless water heaters is they offer energy-efficient operation. A traditional tank water heater is constantly burning energy to keep the water in its storage tank nice and hot. With a tankless water heater, you don’t have to waste any of this energy. Rather, when you actually need hot water, your unit will burn fuel or use electricity to heat your water. When you turn your hot water off, it won’t use any energy. High energy efficient operation translates to more energy savings for homeowners.

Lifespan

Tankless water heaters can last 20 years or more. Traditional water heaters often last between 8 and 12 years. This is because there is no standing water where sediment can settle or a holding tank can corrode and leak. Furthermore, tankless water heaters have more easily replaceable components than traditional tank water heaters. This gives them the ability to last even longer before they need to be replaced.

Space Saving Design

One of the biggest differences between a tankless and a tank water heater is their size. A tank water heater has a large cylindrical tank that takes up quite a bit of space. On the other hand, a tankless water heater is a fairly small rectangular device. These devices can be easily mounted on a wall to help minimize their impact on your overall living space

Reliable Tankless Water Heater Service

Mullen Plumbing, Heating and Cooling offers reliable tankless water heater services to South Charleston, WV and the surrounding towns. Our experts can assist you with all your heating, cooling, indoor air quality, ductwork, and plumbing needs. Call us today to get the professional assistance that you need.

Natural gas and propane are two of the most popular residential fuels on the market today. Each offers clean burning fuel coupled with affordable prices. However, it’s important to realize that these gases can be dangerous when they leak into the air inside your home. If you experience any of the gas line issues we’re going to discuss below, call a licensed plumbing professional to fix the issue sooner rather than later.

1. Rotten Egg Smell

One of the most disturbing smells that you may come across is that of rotten eggs. While natural gas doesn’t have a smell to it, the gas company opts to add mercaptan to it. This is a bad-smelling substance that allows homeowners to easily detect when they have a leak in their natural gas line. If you smell this sulfur, you should turn off your natural gas valve quickly and exit your home. You never want to hang around an area where natural gas is leaking as it can be damaging to your health, even resulting in suffocation.

2. Hissing Noise

Gas that is pumped into your home is naturally under pressure. Whenever one of your gas lines develops a hole or crack, the pressure of the gas will force it out into your indoor air. This will produce a very loud hissing noise directly at the hole or crack. Be sure to shut off the supply of gas when you hear a hissing noise to prevent excess gas buildup in your home.

3. Visible Piping Damage

Any part of your gas piping that is exposed can be susceptible to accidental physical damage. If you notice a kink or crack appear on any of your gas lines, it’s a cause for concern. Even if there is no hissing noise indicating a leak, you’re better off having the line repaired by a licensed plumbing professional before the problem gets worse.

4. Higher Than Normal Gas Bills

While we all expect our gas bills to be on the rise in the winter months as we run our heating systems to stay warm, they shouldn’t be spiking at other times of the year. If you’ve noticed that your gas bill has gone up significantly, it’s likely an indication of a leak somewhere in your gas line. It’s vital to remember that a large portion of your gas line is hidden underground and in your walls where you can’t inspect it for physical damage.

5. Poor Performing Appliances

One clear indication that there may be a problem with your gas line is the poor performance of your gas-powered appliances. If you observe that your stove, for instance, is not maintaining a consistent heat level, it could be a sign of gas line trouble. To confirm if the issue lies with the gas line itself and not just the stove, test another gas-powered appliance in the household.

6. Dead Shrubbery

One lesser-known sign to look for that indicates a problem with your gas line is dead shrubbery. Any greenery that’s positioned near where your main gas line enters your home can be susceptible to gas poisoning. If your gas line is leaking, the shrubbery will start to die back and look sickly. If all of your other exterior greenery seems to be doing fine, it could be an indication you have a leak in your main gas supply line that needs to be addressed by a licensed plumber.

7. Faulty Valve

As your gas line enters your home, there will be a main supply valve that allows you to turn off the entire supply line. Furthermore, as you follow your gas lines throughout your home, you’ll notice that there’s a manual valve near every appliance. This is important to help turn off the gas supply when swapping out an old appliance for a new one. Unfortunately, any of these valves can become faulty over time. They can end up allowing gas to leak out, or they can get sealed shut and not allow any gas flow to your appliance at all. In most cases, you’ll need to have the faulty gas valve replaced with a new one.

Expert Gas Line Service

Mullen Plumbing, Heating and Cooling offers expert gas line service to the entire South Charleston, WV community. We can also help with all of your plumbing repair, cooling, heating, ductwork, and indoor air quality needs. Give us a call today, and we’ll schedule a service appointment for you.

Are you experiencing issues with a toilet in your home? Toilets are prone to developing various issues over time since they are typically some of the highest-use fixtures in a home. While a plumber can repair most common toilet issues, at some point, the toilet will need to be replaced. As such, we recommend watching out for all of these signs so that you can get your toilet replaced before it stops working or develops any more serious issues like leaks.

Cracks in the Tank or Bowl

The majority of toilets are made from porcelain, and this is mainly because porcelain is strong and durable while also being non-porous and easy to clean. The issue is that porcelain can be prone to developing hairline fractures as a result of age or things getting dropped on the toilet.

At first, a hairline fracture in a toilet is primarily a cosmetic issue. However, the fractures can grow larger over time to cracks and leaking in the toilet tank or bowl. In some cases, this can also result in the tank or bowl suddenly breaking and causing a major flood in the bathroom. While rare, there have been situations where a toilet bowl suddenly cracked while someone was sitting on it, resulting in injuries.

Toilet Frequently Clogs

Toilets are prone to clogging if you use too much toilet paper or try to flush other solids like paper towels, wet wipes, or feminine hygiene products. This is something you can easily avoid by trying not to overload the toilet and never flushing anything but waste and toilet paper. That said, older toilets sometimes develop issues where the trap underneath the bowl is obstructed. When this happens, the toilet will clog up far more frequently than expected.

When you have a clog, you need to be mindful of the methods you use to unclog it. You should only use a plunger to address toilet clogs. Drain cleaning products might be effective at breaking up certain types of clogs, but the ingredients in the products can cause serious problems with your pipes. These chemicals are so harsh that they can weaken the drain pipe under your toilet, triggering cracks and leaking. Some products also produce excessive heat when they come into contact with water. The heat helps them work effectively, but it can also warp drain pipes, increasing the chances of leaking.

Toilet Is 30+ Years Old

In 1994, the US Congress passed the Energy Policy Act that required all new toilets to be low-flush models that use no more than 1.6 gallons of water per flush. If you have a toilet in your home that is more than 30 years old, you can be almost certain that it is a standard-flush model. In this case, it likely uses around 3.5 gallons of water per flush. Replacing an old toilet like this with a new low-flush toilet is a great way to lower your water bills since it will use less than half as much water each time you flush it.

You can reduce your water usage even further if you opt to have a dual-flush toilet installed. A dual-flush toilet has two different flushing options, one for solid waste and the other for liquids. The full flush will still typically use around 1.6 gallons while the partial flush will typically only use around 1.28 gallons. While the difference between the flush and partial flush may not sound like much, it can add up since people generally flush liquid waste more times a day than they do solid waste.

Inefficient Flushing

When low-flush toilets were first introduced, most of them were poorly designed and didn’t work all that well. As such, it often required flushing the toilet multiple times before all of the solid waste went down. This issue is why many people resisted installing low-flush toilets for quite some time. Luckily, there have been many advancements that have allowed modern low-flush toilets to work far better and flush completely every time. This means that you should never have to worry about needing to flush more than once to get all of the solid waste to go down.

Toilet Needs Frequent Repairs

One last sign that it’s time to replace your toilet is if it keeps having issues and you frequently need to have it repaired. Almost every toilet will require some repairs over its life, but having to repair your toilet frequently usually means it’s wearing out. While repairing the toilet will get it working again, replacing it will cost less overall compared to having to frequently pay to have it repaired.

At Mullen Plumbing, Heating and Cooling, we have decades of experience providing reliable plumbing, heating, and air conditioning services in South Charleston and the Kanawha Valley area. Whether you’re dealing with a clogged toilet, need a new toilet, or require any other plumbing or home comfort service, contact us to get the expert help you need.

Not all toilet clogs are fixable with a plunger. Knowing when to call a plumber to fix a clogged toilet is paramount to protecting a home’s plumbing system.

1. Toilet Won’t Flush

Toilets clog for a number of reasons, including mineral buildup in pipes and excessive use of toilet paper. Flushing non-flushable things like paper towels or feminine hygiene products are other common causes of clogs. A plunger or a plumbing snake may occasionally remove small blockages. However, if the clog persists or is really severe, it might be a symptom of a bigger problem with the plumbing system, like a tree root issue. Tree root incursions from nearby trees can infiltrate sewer lines, causing blockages that prevent proper drainage and flushing. If your toilet has a clog and won’t flush, it’s best to call a plumber to find out why. Only then can you fix the problem and avoid further trouble with your plumbing.

2. Slow or No Draining and Toilet Overflows

When a clogged toilet prevents water from draining properly, the water may back up and spill over the bowl’s rim. Overflows can cause structural damage to flooring and walls, leading to costly repairs. Moreover, stagnant water can foster mold and bacteria growth, posing health risks to occupants. A plumber will assess the clog’s severity, using specialized tools like augers or hydro-jetting to dislodge the blockage and fix the drainage issue, mitigating the risk of future overflows.

3. Foul Odors

A clogged toilet can lead to foul odors due to the buildup of waste and bacteria in stagnant water. These odors can have a musty, mildewy smell or a rotten egg smell due to hydrogen sulfide gas. Plumbers typically use a process of elimination to identify the source of the odor, checking for blockages in the toilet’s trap or sewer line. Once identified, they’ll use tools like drain snakes or hydro-jetting to remove the clog and eliminate the odor. This restores proper drainage and prevents future foul smells. Plumbers may also recommend preventive measures like regular drain cleaning to maintain optimal flushing.

4. Water Backing Up Into Other Fixtures

A toilet clog can cause backups into other fixtures due to a blockage in the main sewer line, preventing wastewater from flowing freely. This can lead to backups in sinks, showers and bathtubs, posing health risks and potential water damage to the home. Plumbers use equipment like sewer cameras to locate the blockage and then employ techniques such as hydro-jetting to clear the obstruction.

5. Stuck Foreign Object

Foreign objects, like cotton balls, dental floss, hair ties, diapers and Q-tips, in toilets can lead to minor clogs and even complete blockages. To remove the blockage and get the toilet working again, plumbers usually use augers or drain snakes. Depending on the severity of the problem, plumbers may need to remove the toilet in its entirety. This sometimes happens when the foreign object is badly stuck or causes damage to the plumbing system.

6. Water Pooling Around the Base

As a result of the water being unable to drain correctly, it might pool at the base of a clogged toilet. This happens when water backs up and overflows because the blockage prevents it from flowing into the sewage system. The dangers posed by the collected water include the formation of mold and mildew and water damage to the subfloor, flooring, and neighboring walls. In most cases, a plumber will need to use augers or hydro-jetting to locate the blockage and remove it. This will restore normal drainage and make sure the problem doesn’t happen again.

7. Gurgling Sounds or Other Strange Noises

Clogged toilets sometimes make strange noises, like gurgling, bubbling or even whistling. These sounds usually mean there is air in the pipes, water is having trouble passing past the obstruction or there is an imbalance in the pressure inside the plumbing system. No matter the cause, it’s imperative to fix the problem as quickly as possible to minimize potential damage to the home and its plumbing system.

To fix strange noises coming from a toilet, plumbers will first diagnose the underlying cause by inspecting the toilet and plumbing system. They will check for blockages in the pipes, ensure proper venting and examine the fill valve and flapper for any issues. Depending on the findings, plumbers will then proceed with the appropriate repairs, which may involve adjusting the water pressure, replacing worn-out components or clearing obstructions.

Mullen Plumbing, Heating and Cooling is an industry leader in plumbing, heating and cooling services in South Charleston, WV. If you have a clogged toilet problem, contact us today to schedule a fast and effective repair.