Ask a Plumber Blog

Clogged drains with your appliances?  Yes it can happen. Your dishwasher has traps that can become clogged.

For your dishwasher, you can remove the drain port cover and thread a slim rod or auger down the drain pipe to clear the trap/pipe. You can also remove the trap and clear out the trap if you can get under your dishwasher. However, a clogged trap or pipe might not be the issue. Sometimes it is the drain solenoid that is malfunctioning. If this is the case it may be time to call in a professional. Another issue with dishwashers is the strainer inside the machine. This is located at the bottom of the dishwasher. You can lift out the strainer and clean out the ports in the sink. The strainer may be metal or plastic and usually is in two parts. To avoid a clogged strainer, you should rinse off your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher unless you have a dishwasher designed with a food disposer.

When is it time to throw in the towel and hire a plumber? The small project you are about to tackle so you can save a few bucks could cost you a bundle. Small jobs like replacing a washer in a faucet or clearing a clogged drain are projects that the knowledgeable home owner should be able to handle. When it comes to remodeling or repairing a broken pipe, you should leave it to the pros. A leak from a fitting that costs a couple of dollars can easily cause hundreds or thousands of dollars in water damage not to mention disrupting your household for days or weeks.  This could put your remodel project way off schedule.  So when it comes to hiring a plumber, make sure the plumber is licensed, insured, and a master plumber or a well-trained plumber, who is working under the master plumber’s license.
Plumbing isn’t always difficult, but it does take a lot of knowledge of the code, parts, and experience with the different types of materials. For instance, knowing how hard to turn a fitting so it doesn’t leak or worse yet, break.  This requires a lot of time to learn and a lot of practice not to mention patience.  Plumbing techniques can take several years to learn so don’t feel like you are inadequate for not knowing what to do.
Not all plumbers handle all types of plumbing issues.  Plumbers are grouped into two different categories.  One is an emergency or service plumber and the other is a remodeling or new construction plumber.  This is best to know which category they fit into prior to hiring them.  Most of the time you would not want a service plumber to build your new house or a new construction plumber to do emergency service work.  This is not true in all cases, but the labor prices can vary dramatically. A new construction plumber does not charge as much per hour as a service plumber.  The reason for this is that a new construction plumber comes to a job and will spend most of the day putting in up to eight hours if not more.  A service plumber is traveling from job to job driving through the city, putting a lot of wear and tear on the vehicle in addition to the paying for the rising cost of fuel.  Sometimes a service plumber puts in an eight to ten hour day, but is only able to charge for four or five due to the travel time and running for parts.  This is the reason you’re going to see a larger labor rate. The service plumber also carries many more tools and needs to be prepared for a plethora of situations.

These are a few of the many reasons people are turning to askaplumber.com. At askaplumber.com you can post any type of plumbing question in our forum, review our How To and FAQ sections, and review hundreds of previously posted questions and answers posted by other users.

Ron Turner,

Master Plumber and partner of AskAPlumber.com