Shower Valves and Trims

What you see on your shower wall is a shower head and a handle. Those are referred to as ‘trim’. The trim is superficial; all of the working goods are inside and behind the walls. The valves and cartridges do all of the work. If your ‘shower head’ is dripping, it’s not the poor shower head’s fault, the culprit is actually the cartridge or the valve. The valve and the cartridge have to match the trim. Most people don’t realize this and will go out and buy trim that they like, but is incompatible with the plumbing hardware in the wall.

Replacing the entire shower valve usually involves removing tile or opening drywall on the opposite wall. So when it comes to shower handles, trim, cartridges and valves, it’s not a bad idea to just wait for the professional to come and take a look.

Do’s and don’ts when running your garbage disposal unit

• Do: Run very small pieces of citrus peels through your disposal unit about once a month. This will help clean out the inside and keep your garbage disposal running smoothly.
• Don’t: Run your disposal with the water off. This could cause damage to your unit.
• Do: Use COLD water when grinding up vegetables, not hot water. Hot water breaks down the food and could gum up the works inside your unit.
• Don’t: Use cold water when rinsing greasy or fatty pans. HOT water is a must when it comes to greasy or gummy items. Let the disposal run for a few minutes (with the hot water flowing) after you’ve washed a greasy or fatty pan. It safest to dump large amounts of grease in the trash but after washing greasy pans, run lots and lots of hot water. Your garbage disposal might survive, but your drain lines might clog up.

Last but not least, if your dishwasher is backing up into the sink, check your disposal before you call an appliance repairman. Often the backup is caused by a problem with your garbage disposal, not your dishwasher.

Running Toilet

If you hear water running in your toilet tank for extended periods after a flush, then your toilet is leaking. This means it is dumping water down the overflow tube and wasting up to 200 gallons of water daily. The problem may be a corroded overflow pipe or flush valve assembly. Sometimes the culprit is a worn out flapper valve. Stop jiggling the handle and call Star 5 Pulmbing. Chances are you’ll save enough money on your next few water bills to cover the cost of the toilet repair.

Facts:

• One of the more popular toilet myths suggests that when toilets flush in the northern hemisphere, the water circulates clockwise in the bowl while toilets in the southern hemisphere circulate counter-clockwise, supposedly due to the Coriolis Effect caused by the rotation of the Earth. This sounds fascinating, but it is not true. In fact, toilets flush the direction they do solely because of the manufacturer’s design. The Coriolis Effect is a real force but it does not impact toilets or sinks.
• According to the World Toilet Organization, the average person uses the toilet six to eight times a day or 2,500 times per year. That translates to three years of someone’s life spent using the toilet.
• Star 5 Plumbing, the company that helps their customers with plumbing service In Las Vegas for over 15 years.

Leak Detection Available 24/7

• The service line from your meter or pump to your home. This line typically runs under your yard, driveway and other exterior areas.
• A slab leak occurs when a leak develops in either your hot or cold water plumbing line beneath the slab of your home.
• Leaks can develop in the plumbing inside your walls and/or floors.
• Basements and crawl spaces can become flooded and damaged by a leak in your plumbing lines.
• Miscellaneous plumbing systems such as radiant floor heating, hydronic lines for heating or cooling, snow melt systems, plumbing for ice rinks, etc., can all develop leaks that can cause serious property damage.

Prevent Clogged Drains

When a clog clears, you’ll see the sink drain very fast. Drains have a way of getting backed up. Food lodges in kitchen sink drains and hair migrates down the tub drain. While drain backup and slow moving water is common, its occurrence can be reduced, if not prevented. To begin with, you need to avoid non-liquids entering the drain line. To do this, use debris catchers (sometimes called “sink strainers” or “hair catchers”) in or over the drains.

You can buy debris catchers in a grocery or hardware store, or even online.  There are several different designs available, depending on what type of debris the catcher is designed to stop, as well as for the shape of your drain.  Kitchen drain catchers are meant to keep food from entering the drain, and bathtub or shower drain catchers are meant to keep hair out of the line.

Another important tip in keeping drains clear is to never pour grease down a sink. It will solidify on the walls of the pipe somewhere down the line and cause a clog. Instead of disposing of grease in a sink, save your soup cans or glass jars, pour the grease into these and either dispose of the container immediately in the garbage or store in the freezer for the next time you need to dispose of grease. No doubt pouring grease down the sink is a sure-fire way to clog up your drains.

Key Benefit of Service

Whether you require simply deplete cleaning or a whole pipes registration, call our group of qualified and talented plumbers. We take pride in the work we perform with our dedicated team.

• Locally Own Operated
• Workmanship guaranteed
• Bonded and insured team
• Licensed plumbing experts
• Upfront, Flat Rate Pricing
• Friendly, professionals

Water Filtration

You can start by calling our team today at 702 992-0203. We offer free estimates!

How Water Softening Systems Work

Water is “hard” when it has a high mineral content. The minerals are generally not dangerous for people to drink, but they can cause all sorts of issues.

Hard water in your home will:

• Ruin the flavor of your water
• Leave water spots on any dish
• Cause dry, itchy skin after bathing
• Damage pipes and appliances
• Reduce energy efficiency of your home

What Sets Star 5 Plumbing apart from the Rest?

When you call on us, you can rest assured that you’re receiving top-rate services from a skilled, certified team.

• Same day service and next day installations at no additional cost
• Emergency plumbing services available 24/7, any day of the year
• Available upfront, flat-rate pricing for every single plumbing service
• Absolute respect for you, your home, and your property
• Friendly, professional, and uniformed plumbers
• On-time arrivals, guaranteed or you don’t pay
• A fully-equipped fleet of vehicles
• 100% customer satisfaction guaranteed
• Guaranteed hot water or you don’t pay

Testing For A Main Water Line Leak

You can start by calling our team today at 702 992-0203. We offer free estimates to all locations.

The best way in which to ensure that your main water line is repaired or replaced not only promptly but successfully as well is to schedule service with a member of our team. Our plumbers have the experience and expertise that they need to correctly diagnose any problems and to resolve those problems with care. That begs the question, though: when should you call for water line services?

Signs of Trouble

One of the trickier aspects of dealing with plumbing problems is the fact that these problems may develop well out of sight. It is not as though you can just visually check your water line for leaks, right? Fortunately, there are plenty of indicators that you’ve got a compromised water line. You just have to know what to look out for.

Rumbling or hissing at your main water line connection. If you are near your main water shut-off valve, and you hear any sort of rumbling or hissing coming from that general area when there is no water in use throughout your home, you may actually be hearing the sounds of a leak. Double check to make sure that nobody has started a load of laundry or dishes, etc. If you still hear the sound and are certain that no water is being used, a leaking water line is a real possibility.

A loss of water pressure throughout the house. If you have low water pressure at a single point in your home, such as at a sink or in the shower, then it is possible that the piping servicing that one particular area or fixture is leaking. If you are experiencing low water pressure throughout the whole house, however, you may have a leaking water line. This issue won’t always develop even in the event of leaks, but it is one to be aware of.

Finally, and perhaps most obviously, there is the issue of water pooling in your yard. We don’t have too many rainy days in our area. If there is a wet patch in your lawn, despite the fact that we’ve had nothing but our average dry weather recently, then it is likely that the water that you are seeing is, in fact, coming from the main water line. It could also be from a leak in a neighbor’s water line that is just pooling on your property, though. That is why you need a Star 5 professional to investigate matters.