Blog

Halloween Plumbing Safety Tips It’s technically not even fall yet, but the bags of candy are on display and stores are covered in orange and black decor. Halloween isn’t just about the last week of October anymore. Halloween is to fall what Christmas is to winter.  So you need to start your preparations now.  While we here at Benjamin Franklin can’t help with your homemade costumes, we can help keep your home’s plumbing safe so that this Halloween will only be the good kind of scary. Pumpkin Pulp With the millions of carved pumpkins being made this season, Americans will scrape thousands of pounds of pumpkin pulp down their drains throughout the Halloween season and end up with clogged pipes

DIY Plumbing Mistakes  Go Easy On Your Garbage Disposal No doubt garbage disposals are one of the miracles of modern homes.  But despite the name, not all garbage belongs in the disposals.  Pineapple cores, watermelon, rinds, and uncooked pasta (remember, it expands) are common items that plumbers have to dig out to free the blades.  Other no-noes include: high-fiber foods, rice, grease, coffee grounds, fruit pits and seeds, eggshells, fish and chicken bones, and, of course, non-food items (watch that fork).  Use your disposal for liquids, soft foods, and chopped foods. Otherwise put it in the trash. Lighten Up On Your Fixtures Don’t put weight on plumbing fixtures. That means not hanging heavy shampoo racks from shower heads and avoid

Plumbing Nightmares If owning a home has become synonymous with the American dream, plumbing problems are the nightmare that go hand-in-hand with it.  It’s scary knowing that your home’s invisible architecture could turn on you at any minute.  To ease the fear, we share with you below a few plumbing horror stories and what you can do to prevent them. Check Your Pump: In Manasa, Wisconsin, a homeowner named Kirby took pride in his fully furnished man-cave.  Kirby was a responsible homeowner, but neglected to test the sump pump quarterly or flip on the switch every month to ensure it was up and functional.  It wasn’t. Kirby discovered this after the first heavy rain of spring, when his subterranean escape

What To Do If You have A Slab Leak Along with sunburn and mosquitoes, slab leaks are the great scourge of summertime.  Insidious and invasive, they can be a headache for any homeowner.  There are four primary conditions that cause a leaky slab. Soil chemicals can lead to the corrosion of pipes and concrete. Hot water pipes, which corrode due to chemical and heat influences, are particularly vulnerable to this problem. Vibration of pipes that eventually causes them to wear down. Pressure problems that stem from improper installation or shifting ground. Improper construction practices on the part of a builder or contractor.   There’s really no way you can visually identify a slab leak. Only professionals with high-tech tools can

Find Best Plumber Near You For most homeowners, searching to find the best plumber near me can be boiled down to two issues—quality and location—that are often expressed in four simple words: “Best plumber near me.” Locating a plumber is almost always an urgent matter that doesn’t allow for extensive comparison shopping—an overflowing toilet won’t wait for you to compare Yelp reviews. That’s why it’s best for homeowners to know what they’ll need in a plumber before the emergency arises.   Plumber Near Me?  Based on Google searches, most homeowners consider the plumber’s proximity to their home to be an important factor in their decision. But should it be?  Only if the plumber charges by the hour. Ben Franklin plumbing charges

5 Signs You Might Need A Leaking Pipe Repair If you think that you may need a leaking pipe repair, do not wait too long to get it done. A leaking pipe can cause more damage than you might otherwise believe. It can cause excessive damage to your home and increase your monthly bill exponentially. To protect your home, it is crucial to know the signs of a hidden leak. Your water pipes are located in your wall and under flooring that most homeowners can’t typically access. Potential leaking pipes are one of the most popular reasons homeowners call the expert licensed plumbers at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing. To help you better understand if you have a mounting problem needing our

Tired of Wasting Money On Plumbing? Are you a homeowner who needs to learn about maintaining your plumbing system? If so, it’s important that you learn how to do so effectively without trying practices that may damage your system or your pipes. Here are five myths about home plumbing you’ll want to avoid. Myth 1: Running water with the garbage disposal helps all waste travel smoothly Many homeowners believe that they can put just about anything down their garbage disposals as long as they run water with it. The truth, however, is that some things do not belong in a garbage disposal no matter how much water you run. Hard or thick food items, such as banana peel and eggshells,