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Most homeowners don’t think a lot about their sump pump until it stops working or until they experience basement flooding and wish they had one that worked. At BZ Dependable Plumbing & Heating, we offer comprehensive sump pump services. We can send a plumber in Teaneck to come out and handle your sump pump repair in Teaneck or install a new one, whether it’s to replace an old one or to get you one for the first time. We’ll make sure that your home is safe from high water table flooding and that your sump pump is functioning properly, no matter what it takes.

Sump Pump Repair in Teaneck

When you need sump pump repair, call us for an expert plumber in Teaneck to arrive at your door right away. After all, you don’t know when the next storm will be and you may need your sump pump sooner than you think! We’ll get to you quickly, evaluate your sump pump, then get it fixed fast. We’ll always test it before we leave just to make sure that it’s working the way it is supposed to.

Did you know that you can test your own sump pump? Just fill the bucket up to the “FILL” line and see if it starts pumping. It should get rid of that water quickly and easily, without any hassles or delays. If it doesn’t pump, is pumping slowly, or doesn’t start pumping on its own, call us to send out a plumber in Teaneck. We’ll figure out why it isn’t working and make sure it gets back to full working order before we leave. Test it regularly if you want to avoid flooding and water damage to your home.

Sump Pump Replacement in Teaneck

sump pump repair teaneck

If your sump pump is older, broken down, or not working reliably, we’ll handle your sump pump replacement in Teaneck We’ll make sure that you have the right type of sump pump for you and your family, then install it properly and test it before we leave. We only work with reliable sump pump manufacturers and we’ll never install something that we wouldn’t be happy putting in our own homes. We’ll test your new pump before we leave to make sure it’s working the way you need it to so you don’t have to call for an emergency plumber in Bergen County.

Sump Pump Issues

Don’t let your sump pump problems wait. Whether you need sump pump replacement in Teaneck or to install a sump pump for the first time, the time to call is right now! After all, waiting to replace or repair your sump pump could cause flooding in your basement or other water damage to your home. A ruptured sump pump can cost thousands in renovation and water damage restoration costs before you can even dial for an emergency plumber in Bergen County. Instead, invest in a new sump pump or sump pump repair in Teaneck now!

Call for Sump Pump Repair in Teaneck ASAP

Call us at BZ Dependable Plumbing & Heating, Inc. for the very best in sump pump service. We would love to help you live better and sleep better at night, knowing your home is safe during the next storm. Make your appointment with our plumbers in Teaneck today!

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We are the team to turn to when you need a trusted plumber in Fort Lee, NJ or the surrounding areas of Bergen County for your unexpected plumbing problem (let’s face it, are plumbing problems ever expected?) But just because we have years of experience and extensive training dealing with pretty much any plumbing issue that comes our way, doesn’t mean we want you to experience those problems.

That being said, we’re happy to share with you below some of the most common plumbing problems we get called out for, as well as some tips on how to prevent them so you can reduce your risk of a plumbing emergency. Read on or call now for service.

Call (201) 837-6700

Overflowing Toilet

This one strikes panic in many a homeowners heart. It not only means the toilet can’t be used—a huge inconvenience for 1-bathroom homes—but that your bathroom plumbing and other areas of your home can experience significant water damage.

You can stop the overflow by turning the valve on the feedline to stop the flow. If you have an older toilet that does not have this valve, you can open the tank and rig up the chain to the flapper to stop the water flow. If this is the case, our next recommendation is going to be upgrading your toilet. Have you ever considered a water saving, low-flow, toilet?

So let’s talk about preventing this problem to begin with. It’s important to note that anything outside of toilet tissue should never be flushed. This includes makeup remover wipes and other wipes that are marketed as “flushable.” While they may seemingly go down easy, they can get caught up in the pipes, and build up until they create a clog that prevents water from escaping the next time you flush.

Clogged Sink

A minor sink clog that is near the surface may be easily cleared out with a plunger and a little bit of “elbow grease,” and perhaps even a hand-cranked drain snake if you have one. If these basic tools don’t resolve the problem though, please don’t reach for the chemical drain cleaner you got at the store.

These liquid drain cleaners may relieve a clog, temporarily, but they are corrosive and caustic, not only causing problems for your plumbing system down the line, but also exposing you and your family to the toxic fumes that emit from them. We urge you to give us a call so we can use more tried and true methods, such as hydro jetting, to not only relieve the clog but reduce the risk of it occurring again.

Another way you can prevent clogs from occurring is by watching what you allow to go down the drain. In the bathroom, this can mean using a drain cover in your shower so that your hair doesn’t go down and clog it up. In the kitchen, it means avoiding putting FOG down the sink drain. FOG stands for fats, oils, and grease—which all congeal as they cool, building up until you have a major blockage on your hands. When clogs strike, call our team for fast and reliable drain cleaning.

Other Common Plumbing Problems

The two above mentioned problems are what we typically get called for most often, but blocked sewer lines, pipe leaks, and lack of hot water also have our phones ringing pretty regularly, too. The best thing you can do to prevent plumbing problems is to schedule plumbing maintenance. This allows our pros to fully inspect your system and attack minor issues that can turn into much bigger problems later on.

Call BZ Dependable Plumbing & Heating today for reliable plumbing repair, exceptional customer service, and guaranteed satisfaction!

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BZ Dependable using a plumbing snake

Imagine this scenario: You to go to use your kitchen sink and, it’s clogged. You try running the garbage disposal, thinking maybe something is stuck at the surface. The garbage disposal works, but the water isn’t draining out. This means you have a clog. You try using a plunger to relieve it, but to no avail.

You might imagine that the next best course of action is to grab that bottle of store-bought chemical drain cleaner you purchased the last time this happened. We really urge you not to though. Rather, give us at BZ Dependable a call for professional drain cleaning in Bergen County.

Chemical Drain Cleaners Cut Through Some Clogs

Alright, so chemical drain cleaners are “good” for some clogs. Most are good at dissolving hair, which is a common problem in bathtub and shower drains. This doesn’t mean they’re good for your pipes, though!

And if you have items like grease and grime, food particles, or any other blockages aside from hair clogging up your pipes, then chemical drain cleaners are going to be ineffective, anyway.

These chemicals are highly acidic and toxic. They will eat away at the insides of drainpipes, leave behind toxic fumes, and burn skin and eyes. Plus, toxic residue left in the bottles gets into landfills and can cause environmental damage. No professional plumber recommends using these products: they’ve seen the negative results too many times.

You Might Make The Problem Worse

This would be unintentional, of course. But some of the particles that chemical drain cleaners cannot dissolve often get pushed further down your drain pipe, leading to deeper clogs than you started out with and requiring professional tools and equipment to remove, anyway.

Professional plumbers have high-end equipment like hydro-jetters and motorized drain augers that are too expensive for commercial use and too complicated for anyone without proper training to handle. Hydro-jetting does a thorough job of blasting away grease, fat, and other deposits from the interior of drain pipes while not causing any damage to the pipes themselves. Plumbers also have access to cleaning agents like BioSmart that leave no toxic residue behind.

Additionally, plumbers must know what sort of cleaning needs to be done and where it needs to be done. Thanks to video inspection equipment (miniaturized cameras mounted on thin fiber-optic cables), plumbers can examine drains from the inside and identify the work they need to do without disruptive methods to reach the pipes.

You Can Suffer From The Side Effects

Yes, these store bought drain cleaners have side effects. For instance, they can be harmful to people and pets due to how toxic the chemicals are in them. Rubbing your eye after not fulling washing your hands, or having a pet accidentally getting into some that’s dripped on the floor can lead to a very dangerous situation.

Plus, these chemicals are caustic. That means that prolonged use of these drain cleaners (which, since they’re ineffective at removing the clog permanently, you’ll undoubtedly experience) eats away at the lining of your drain pipes, leading to premature replacement of your plumbing.

“So, I Can’t Clean My Drains On My Own?”

We aren’t exactly saying that. If your drain isn’t clogged but has a funky smell to it, there are certainly steps you can take.

DIY Drain Cleaning

  • Baking soda and vinegar: Start by getting rid of the standing water in your drain. If it will go down slowly, just wait until it’s gone. If it isn’t moving, use a cup or a spoon to get it out of there. Then, put 1 cup of baking soda and 1 cup of vinegar down the drain and let it sit there for 30 minutes. When the time is up, run warm water down the drain and see if the clog is gone.
  • Try a plunger: Make sure the plunger forms a tight seal over the opening of the drain, then start plunging. You may need to work for several minutes before you see much of a difference. Don’t give up unless you have plunged for 5 minutes or more without a discernible change.
  • Plumbing snakes: Make sure you get a snake that is the right size for your drain and that you never put it more than 3-4 feet into the drain. Otherwise, it can get stuck down there and cause even more plumbing problems! Thread the drain until you hit a blockage. Wind the snake back up to try to remove the clog or use the snake to break it up.

When Home Remedies Don’t Cut It

But if your drain is stubbornly clogged and nothing you try helps, then it’s time to call for professional drain cleaning. Our pros will use a method like drain snaking, or hydro-jetting for harder clogs. Either or both of these can be extremely effective at not only removing the clog, but making it less likely for blockages to develop in the future.

You may have seen us mention hydro-jetting on our blog before. It utilizes a high-pressured hose with an omnidirectional sprayer for optimal coverage within your drain pipe. Professional drain augers are especially helpful for blockages deep within the sewer line.

Call BZ Dependable Plumbing & Heating today for exceptional customer service!

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Today, most municipal water supplies, ours included, go through a heavy level of filtration and conditioning before they get to your faucets. And if you’re using ground water—that is, a private well—you probably have your own water treatment system on site. However, what many homeowners don’t realize is missing from their plumbing systems is protection from hard water.

What is hard water, you ask? This is the name given to water with a high concentration of the minerals calcium and magnesium in it. They’re harmless to ingest, however can do a world of damage to your plumbing system. This problem can adequately be handled with a water softener as the water enters the home, before it has a chance to put your pipes out of commission. Without a water softener, professionally installed by an experienced plumber in Englewood, NJ, you could find yourself facing the following issues and their consequences. Keep reading to learn more!

SOAP SCUM COATING THE BATH

This doesn’t mean you’re not good at keeping things clean! Soap scum can build up faster in your bathtub and other areas when you have hard water present. This is because the minerals prevent soap from dissolving easily. This is just a symptom of a larger problem though.

WATER SPOTS APPEARING ON GLASSES

We’re talking about after you wash your glassware. The water spots are harmless, but they are a sign that your dishwasher is slowing accumulating damage from the same hard water molecules that can jam your pipes and cost homeowners thousands of dollars in plumbing repairs.

WHITE OR YELLOW RESIDUE BUILT UP ON FAUCETS AND DRAINS

This is a sign of a potential plumbing catastrophe. That same type of buildup you see outside of the faucet is happening within it, too, and in your pipes. Slowly, the mineral deposits continue building up and restrict the volume inside of the pipes. Eventually, you’ll probably need to replace your faucet and your water pipes—far sooner than you expected to.

DULL HAIR AFTER A SHOWER

No, we aren’t just talking about vanity issue. This shouldn’t be ignored, as it is absolutely one of the signs of hard water. Hard water dilutes your shampoo and conditioner, causing this reaction.

YOUR SHOWERHEADS CLOG UP QUICKLY

Over time, the mineral buildup from hard water can restrict water from flowing through your pipes. In less time than that, the minerals can keep water from flowing through your shower head of faucet, clogging the showerhead or the aerator of your sink and slowing the water pressure.

To temporarily relieve this, you can typically unscrew the end of the faucet and clean out the aerator—same goes for your showerhead. But remember, this is the sign of a bigger problem, and that’s something only a water softener can really manage.

YOUR CLOTHES DON’T SEEM CLEAN AFTER LAUNDRY DAY

The same way that soap scum builds up in your bathtub, it can fail to dissolve completely in your washing machine, which can prevent clothes from rinsing off, or it can make your clothes stiff after they come out of the dryer.

Contact BZ Dependable Plumbing & Heating today for exceptional customer service!

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There are a number of steps and tasks involved with a bathroom remodel—from the fairly simple job of removing old fixtures and attaching the plumbing connections for new ones, to making design decisions regarding flooring and sink types.

One job during this remodel that we strongly recommend, which many homeowners don’t think about, is the replacement of the piping in your bathroom.

Sure, this may sound like one of those unnecessary professional plumbing services in Teaneck & Bergen County, NJ, but it is not as time-consuming or hard of a job as you might imagine, particularly with our professional plumbers on the job. Besides, there are some huge benefits to making pipe replacement a part of your bathroom remodel.

HOW OLD IS YOUR HOME?

Or rather, how old is your plumbing system? If you’ve reached the point where you’re considering a bathroom remodel, it’s likely because you have an older home that needs some upgrades, or at least updating the style. For a home that was built prior to 1970, the piping material is probably too old and needs replacement anyway.

Homes built before this period often used galvanized steel pipes rather than copper, CPVC, or PEX pipes—all of which are better choices. Galvanized steel may be durable, however, it’s prone to corrosion of time, and you should have it replaced at any opportunity you can. Since a remodel in your bathroom will expose the pipes, it’s far easier and less time-consuming to have the replacements done as part of the overall remodeling project.

Additionally, a planned pipe replacement allows you some wiggle room in the design process for your bathroom remodel. If you or your remodelers have to work around existing plumbing, it can limit the options for rearranging the bathroom and putting fixtures in alternative locations. If our plumbers work with you to change out the plumbing entirely, then it opens up the process to more extensive re-design concepts.

WORKING WITH PROFESSIONAL PLUMBERS

The plumbers on our team will work with you from the earliest planning stages of your remodel all the way to the finishing touches. Whatever your plumbing needs are in order to create the bathroom you’re envisioning for your home, we have the expertise and training to work with you in fulfilling that vision.

An Added Benefit

There’s another advantage to working with professional plumbers, rather than attempting to fix, adjust, or install plumbing parts and fixtures on your own. Professionals have the experience and know-how to realize exactly what your bathroom needs. For instance, do you know your current toilet’s rough-in size?

The rough-in size is a description of the opening on which the toilet is installed. If your new toilet is too big, or too small, then it cannot be sealed correctly. As a result, you’ll end up with messy leaks and potentially costly plumbing repair needs.

Another factor to consider is your shower floor. A common mistake that inexperienced home remodelers make is not slanting the floor correctly. This means that water is unable to go down the drain, and instead just stands stagnant on your shower floor.

Avoid bathroom plumbing installation problems by contacting BZ Dependable Plumbing & Heating Inc. for quality service and guaranteed satisfaction!

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There are certain plumbing appliances within your home that you could probably never imagine living without. Take, for example, your kitchen sink. There are some components of this plumbing fixture that are more of a luxury than a necessity, such as the garbage disposal, too. Still, even though you don’t have to have a garbage disposal system, it’s still a pretty handy part of your kitchen plumbing in Teaneck & Bergen County, NJ, if you do.

As such, you want to make sure you take care of this component and the rest of your kitchen sink as best you can, so that you can enjoy the benefits and convenience that comes from your kitchen plumbing. We’d like to help you avoid problems with your kitchen sink and its components, so we’ve provided some care tips below.

COMMON SINK PLUMBING PROBLEMS

Most likely, if you experience a problem with your bathroom or kitchen sink, it won’t be an emergency that needs to be handled immediately. However, it’s frequently a major inconvenience. Examples include:

  • A leaky faucet
  • Leaks underneath the sink
  • Leaks underneath the drain
  • A faulty garbage disposal
  • Slow drainage
  • No drainage
  • Backup
  • Low water pressure

Some of these problems will require you to call in a professional, but others you may be able to resolve on your own.

KEEPING YOUR KITCHEN PLUMBING A PRIORITY

If you fail to care for your garbage disposal and/or kitchen sink, it can lead to garbage disposal repair, damaged plumbing, as well as a compromised sewer line. There’s a common myth that the blades of a garbage disposal are sharp, and therefore can cut anything up that you put in your kitchen sink. This is just not the case, however.

True, your garbage disposal does have “blades.” However, even though they’re given this name, they are actually grinder plates that depend on centrifugal force in order to grind down food waste. Then, that waste is flushed down the drain, and the flow of water (yes, you should keep your faucet running alongside the disposal system) helps the waste move all the way down the drain. But what items should you avoid putting down the kitchen sink drain altogether, to help protect the disposal system and the drain itself?

  • Hard Items: This can include things like bones, or fruit pits. There are newer garbage disposal systems on the market that advertise they can in fact handle fruit pits, but it’s really better to be safe than sorry in this case and just dispose of them in the trash.
  • Fibrous Food Waste: We’re talking about food items such as cornhusks and celery stalks. These items get wrapped up in the moving parts of the garbage disposal, leading to system damage as it struggles to continue normal operation.
  • Pasta and Rice: Yes, your garbage disposal can handle this. No, your kitchen sink drain cannot. The problem is, pasta and rice expand when they get wet—leading to stubborn drain clogs that you will need a professional to resolve.
  • FOG (Fats, Oils, and Grease): This is another one that’s a drain problem and not a garbage disposal issue. What happens is that FOG congeals as it cools. So, if it’s cooling off in your drain pipes, clogs will begin forming to the point that you may need a full on pipe replacement.

FIXING LEAKS

Many leaks are simply easier for a professional to handle, rather than for you to waste time and money buying supplies you’ll never use again. Still, you may be able to make a quick fix, with some skill. Be sure to always shut off the water first.

  • A leaky sink faucet may need a new packing nut. Prying off the decorative covers of the handles and using a crescent wrench to uncrew the fixture may give you access to the packing nut, if you know what to look for.
  • Leaks underneath the sink might be fixed by unscrewing the drain and adding some plumber’s putty.
  • A leak around the edge of the sink may just need more caulk.

UNCLOGGING DRAINS

Clogged drains in sinks should never be treated with chemicals. Drain cleaning chemicals can be quite dangerous! Moreover, they are often ineffective and may damage the inside of the drains.

Instead, clogged drains can be solved simply if the issue is small: just ½ cup of baking soda followed up by a cup of vinegar may do the trick. Wait 5 minutes, and follow this mixture up with a pot of boiling water, and see if it does the trick. Otherwise, if a plunger or home auger doesn’t work, it’s important to call in the pros.

IMPROVING WATER PRESSURE

Low water pressure? It may be no problem. Often, the sink’s aerator gets clogged up with debris and scaling from the water in your home. (This is completely normal.) When this happens, you’ll need to unscrew the end of the faucet and clean the aerator, the small screen that helps to regulate water pressure. In many cases, the faucet will be good as new when reassembled!

BZ Dependable is Here to Help

Kitchen sinks are pretty reliable plumbing fixtures. But this can only remain the case for yours if you care for it as properly as you should. Read our blog post on 3 ways to prevent drain clogs for helpful tools and methods for keeping these drain stuffers out of your kitchen sink drain.

Need reliable drain cleaning service in Bergen County? Call BZ Dependable Plumbing & Heating for quality plumbing services and guaranteed satisfaction.

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