How to Get Jewelry Out of Your Sink or Shower Drain

We’ve all had those “uh-oh” moments when it comes to plumbing. But there’s almost no worse feeling than dropping your favorite piece of jewelry down the sink or the shower drain. If this has happened to you, don’t panic! Just when you thought you lost it for good, we’re here to help you get it back. Here’s how:

The Sink

Step 1. Try a magnet: Before trying to revive it from the drain by hand, see if you can try to snatch your jewelry using a long magnet. However, if you’re not having luck with this trick or your jewelry is anything but gold or silver, move onto the next step.

Step 2. Turn off the water. If you can find the shut off valve under the sink, your next best bet is to shut off the water supply. Call your plumber if you’re unsure where yours is located.

Step 3. Take apart the P-trap. Do you see that U-shaped pipe under your sink? You’ll want to remove that, but first place a bucket underneath the pipe to save yourself a potentially big mess. Next, if your trap has a drain plug, go ahead and remove it to release the water. Then, take apart the P-trap by loosening the slip nuts on both sides. Dump out what’s left of the water and your diamond should be there.

The Shower

Step 1. Remove the drain cover. If there aren’t any screws holding down your drain cover, go ahead and pop the cover off by “wedging” a screwdriver behind it and popping it off. If the screws are there, you’ll need your screwdriver to loosen them.

Step 2. Look for the artifact. If you see your jewelry, you can retrieve it by using a flexible retrieval tool. You can buy this at your local hardware store if you don’t have one already. 

Step 3. Vacuum it up. If you can’t see your jewelry, you next plan of action is to try sucking it up with a wet-dry vacuum. First, you’ll want to turn the wet setting on and put the end of the hose into the shower drain as far down as it can go. While the vacuum is running, remove the hose and hold it straight up in the air. If your jewelry is there, great news - it will fall into the vacuum tank! Lastly, shut the vacuum off, remove the top of the tank, and dump out the gucky contents onto an old towel. You have to do a little digging to find your piece of jewelry and shine it up.

Step 4. Put the drain cover back on. Be careful putting your drain cover back on, especially if it needs to be screwed on - screws can fall down the drain too, which is a whole other problem you want to avoid!

If you need help retrieving your (almost) lost jewelry, contact Nassau County Plumbing and Sewer Rooter! We are here to assist you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Give us a call at 516.874.7937 or visit our website for more information.

What to Do During a Plumbing Emergency

Plumbing emergencies are unfortunate events that can happen sporadically to many homeowners. More often than not, the damage can be significant and can ruin your home. To contain the damage done to your home during a plumbing emergency, consider these tips.

Close the Valve - Many plumbing emergencies include a leaking or bursting pipe. This can cause water damage, which can ruin possessions, furniture, appliances, and the house itself if mold begins to grow. Once the leak is identified, you should be sprinting to your main water shut-off valve. By shutting off the main water supply, you can prevent the water from continuing to leak into your home.

Take a Gander - Before calling a plumber, take the time to look at the damage. Try to figure out what is malfunctioning and what damage your house has sustained. This will allow your plumber to have a better understanding of what needs to be done before arriving. It can also save time by helping the plumber prepare for what equipment to bring.

Call a Plumber - Call up your local plumber, preferably one that offers 24 hour emergency service for your convenience. Tell the plumber as much information about the problem as you can. This way they can give you either a quote or a general idea of how much it will cost to have your problem fixed.

Not sure where the damage is coming from? Don’t worry - that’s what we’re here for! When you have a plumbing emergency and you need the help of a professional, look no further than Nassau Plumbing and Sewer Rooter! Our experts are ready for your plumbing emergencies with our 24 hour emergency service that is delivered in 30 minutes or less. Once we arrive, you’ll receive a free estimate before any work is started. Call us today at 877.713.8136 or visit our website for more information.

National Water Quality Month: How to Make Sure Your Water is Safe to Drink

August is National Water Quality Month! Let’s take this time to appreciate and understand what it means to have quality drinking water. Here are a few ways you can make sure the water you are drinking is safe:

Stay informed.
The first thing you can do is educate yourself on the water quality in your area. For example, find some information about your state’s Source Water Assessment to learn more about potential water quality threats. We also recommend that you read the annual Consumer Confidence Report from your public water system (aka Water Quality Report). This way, you can compare the water quality in your region to other areas to determine how safe it is to drink.

Be an observer.
Next, you will want to check the watershed where you live. Do you notice any suspicious activity happening in or around the water supply that may pollute your drinking water? If so, you should notify authorities about these incidents.

Get involved.
From reading the local newspaper to attending public hearings, getting involved is one way to find out if any new construction or town planning will affect your water source. Don’t forget to ask questions if you’re not sure how these plans might impact the quality of your water. It also helps to volunteer by partaking in your community’s contaminant monitoring activities. This way, you can encourage the town to run some tests on your drinking water supply.

Don’t contaminate.
One of the best things you can do to make sure your water is safe to drink is to make sure you don’t contaminate. You can keep your drinking water clean by reducing trash and taking the bus to work once per week. In order to reduce the trash you create, we recommend you recycle plastic bottles, aluminum, and glass. And if you can, take a break from driving just one day each week. That way, you can prevent large amounts of carbon dioxide from contaminating your drinking water.

Looking for more tips on how to make sure your water is safe to drink? Click here!

At New York Plumbing and Sewer Rooter, we're available for all of your plumbing emergencies and needs. Call us at 516-874-7937 today! LIKE us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more updates and plumbing information.

How to Conserve Water While Brushing Your Teeth

The first day of school is approaching fast, and pretty soon our children will be hustling and bustling to get ready and head out the door! When it’s time to wash up in the morning, you may not realize how much water your kids are using, especially when brushing their teeth. The good news is that there are several ways to conserve water while brushing your teeth. Here are a few:

Turn off the faucet. Turning off the tap water between wetting your toothbrush and rinsing your teeth is one of the easiest and most effective ways to conserve water when brushing your teeth. In fact, shutting off the water can save your family up to 10 gallons of water per day!

Use a cup. If you use your hands to rinse after brushing your teeth, you will end up wasting more water. Why? Because using your hands allows more tap water to run through your fingers. Using a cup instead will eliminate the amount of water you waste. Plus, you’ll have just enough to rinse your mouth with.

Limit the pressure. The more water pressure you use in your bathroom sink, the more water you waste. This is because more tap water is ejected from the faucet when you turn it on. So instead, reduce your home’s water pressure by using a self-installed pressure-reducing valve. Doing so can cut down your water pressure from 100 pounds per square inch to 50.

What other water conservation rules do you live by? Share them with us on our Facebook page!

Nassau Plumbing and Sewer Rooter offers all of the plumbing, sewer, and drain services you need to keep your home functioning properly. Call us today at 877.713.8136 for emergency services or visit our website for more information.  

#FlashBackFriday | Invention of the Toilet

Can you imagine your home without a toilet? Hard to believe, isn’t it? Well, many centuries ago, people didn’t have toilets. Instead, they had other hygiene practices. And it wasn’t until 1956 that the first modern flushable toilet was invented.

Want to know more about the evolution of this essential plumbing fixture? If so, then read on:

What was the first flushable toilet?

The first device is described as a two-foot deep oval bowl that needed to be fed water from an upstairs cistern. This pot required 7.5 gallons of water, but when water was lacking, up to 20 people could use it before flushing. In doing so, they could conserve more water. Next came the invention of the S-shaped pipe below the toilet bowl, which used water to create “a seal preventing sewer gas from entering the toilet”. But it wasn’t until the 19th century that the first successful flushable toilet was manufactured, with a better tank-filling mechanism, closer to the one we have today.

Who invented it? 

Sir John Harington, the godson of Queen Elizabeth I, described the very first two-foot oval bowl. Harrington called this the Metamorphosis of Ajax - a pun on the term “a jakes”, which was slang for toilets. While these devices were popular for people to use, it wasn’t until 1775 that Alexander Cummings granted the first patent for a flush toilet. Then, it was Thomas Crapper who built the very first widely successful, flushable toilet. Although many names attribute to the invention of the toilet, it took many years for this device to become what it is today - easy-to-use and highly functionable.

To learn more facts and tips about plumbing, connect with us on Facebook and Twitter!

Having trouble with your plumbing? Nassau County Plumbing & Sewer Rooter is here to help you out 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Give us a call at 516.874.7937 or visit our website for more information. 

Replacing Your Old Plumbing

Is your plumbing from the 1960s? If so, you probably have galvanized steel piping - one of the most problematic types of old-house plumbing. And even if you’ve had them fixed before, chances are you probably need a replacement. Here are three different options for replacing your old galvanized plumbing.

Install new galvanized pipes. If you’re on a tight budget, then replacing just a portion of your pipes that need fixing can be an easy solution. This is especially true if the hot water in your pipes creates residue and you need to replace just the pipe leading from the hot water heater. However, ask a professional if your pipes need a complete replacement to lower the risk of high damage at a high cost.

Install copper. Another solution is to replace your old pipes with copper. Copper is typically easier to work with - just be sure you replace your all of your pipes with this material, as replacing only a part of can cause worse problems in the long run. One of those problems is the corrosion of pipes, which can lead to higher expenses.

Install plastic. Not only is plastic easier to use, but it’s also one of the cheaper options. One of the perks of installing plastic pipes is that it’s meant to accommodate temperature changes. And what that means is you’re less likely to experience problems, like bursting pipes in freezing weather conditions.

Before you choose a replacement method for our old galvanized pipes, make sure you know which repairs will best suit your plumbing. And keep in mind that replacing just a small portion of your pipes might lead to bigger problems, so consider doing a full replacement.

If you’re looking for expert advice on how to replace your old plumbing, contact Nassau Plumbing & Sewer Rooter! We offer everything from repairs to installations. Call us today at 877.713.8136 for emergency services or visit our website for more information.

Quick Organizing Tips for Your Bathroom

The bathroom is one of those rooms that usually lacks storage space. No matter how big or small it is, there’s always the need for additional ways to stow away your shampoo bottles and towels. So if you have some time on your hands this weekend, use these four quick organizing tips to get the most out of your bathroom:

Organize your medicine cabinet. From outdated medicines to empty bottles, it’s easy for your medicine cabinet to get cluttered. So, toss them away and move the ones you don’t need to another location - that way your cabinet is filled with only the bare necessities. Bonus tip: consider storing your medicines in the kitchen cabinet, as bathroom moisture can ruin them.

Put away hair products. Don’t leave your hair products laying around! Instead, buy a plastic tub, load it up with all your combs, gels, and hairsprays. Then, place it under the sink so it’s out of sight. Also, sort through what you don’t use often and think about donating them.

Clear out your shower caddy. How many bottles of shampoo do you keep lying around? Now, consider how many you actually need. Having too many bottles in your bathroom can take up space that could be used in other productive ways. So, whether you have a showerhead rack or a corner caddy, try downsizing so your bathroom doesn’t look too cluttered.

Get creative with towel storage. If your towel rack is too small for all your family towels, buy yourself towel hooks. They’re inexpensive and easy to mount, whether your stick them behind the door or on your glass shower. And the best part is that each family member gets to use their own hanger!

For more easy organizational tips for your bathroom, click here. And if you come across any plumbing emergencies as you’re tidying up the room, contact Nassau County Plumbing & Sewer Rooter! To learn more about the services we offer, give us a call at 516.874.7937 or visit our website for more information. 

Avoid These Common Plumbing Mistakes

You know you need a plumber when your faucets leak or your drains back up. But sometimes you can end up with a plumbing problem by simply making a small, easily-avoidable mistake. So as your Long Island plumbing experts, we’d like to tell you about a few common plumbing accidents you want to avoid:

Using the garbage disposal as a trash can. Rinsing a greasy pan or peeling potatoes over the sink and then letting it go down the garbage disposal is a big no-no. Although it has the word “disposal” in it, this device is way more fragile than a trash can, so don’t make the mistake of overusing it.

Putting too much weight on your showerhead. Between shampoo bottles and soap bars, there’s only so much you can fit in your shower. And while hanging a storage rack on your showerhead might sound like the perfect solution, keep in mind that these objects can be heavy. If you place too many personal items on these racks, it might cause your showerhead to snap off, which will have you reaching for the phone and your plumber’s contact information. 

Flushing toys down the toilet. Kids do the darndest things, and sometimes that means they throw toys in the toilet and flush them. Whether it’s an action figure or a golf ball, it’s going to cause a clog. But kids aren’t the only ones! Oftentimes flushing too much paper down the toilet can back up your plumbing as well.

Pulling hard on the faucet handle. Like many plumbing fixtures, faucets need to be handled with care. And while we know you want to stop that annoying leak that’s keeping you up all night, pushing or pulling hard on your faucet handle is not the solution. As a matter of fact, pulling too hard can break the handle and cause an even worse problem!

Want to know which other common plumbing mistakes you should avoid at all costs? If so, click here.

We understand that mistakes happen, which is why we are here for all your plumbing needs 24 hours, 7 days a week. So, if you run into a problem and aren’t sure what to do next, contact Nassau County Plumbing and Sewer Rooter! To learn more about our emergency services and other plumbing and drain solutions, call us today at 877.713.8136 or visit our website for more information.