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Tips for Finding the Right Plumber

plumber

It’s inevitable that a majority of us will need to call a plumber at some point in our lives. Whether your plumbing breaks because of an accident, the daily wear and tear, or one of the many other reasons it’s bound to happen. And, whatever the reason, you’ll most likely be calling an expert for help. But, how do you know if you’re choosing a reliable plumber? How do you know if the pricing is fair? Many of us have never done this before, what makes a plumber a good plumber? These are all important and great questions to have answers to before making that initial call. We’re here to provide some answers and helpful tips on how to choose the right plumber for the job.

Our Plumber Suggests to Check These Things

  • Check Qualifications

    • You want to ensure they have a license. Licenses are a REQUIREMENT for all practicing plumbers.
    • Also ensure they have insurance in case of disasters. You don’t want them to get hurt in your home and try to hold you responsible.
    • Before scheduling a visit, ask if they do background checks on employees. After all, the plumber will be entering your home, place of business, etc. and you shouldn’t have to worry about the broken plumbing and the plumber fixing it.

  • How Professional Are They?

    • Yes, they are just “plumbers” but plumbers represent a business. Don’t work with a plumber who doesn’t treat you with kindness and respect!
    • Ensure they are dressed appropriately for the job. Showing up in sweatpants and a ripped up t-shirt isn’t what we call “professional”.
    • Don’t forget, professionalism also includes scheduling and invoicing. Arriving to appointments, scheduled phone calls, etc. should be on time and well organized in general.

  • Are they prepared for emergencies?

    • A professional plumber should never put you off, tell you to wait, or act like your emergency is unimportant. He/she should also not panic and should help you feel more at ease about the situation after just a short phone call.
    • They should have 24/7 availability for all urgent needs. A good plumber knows that you don’t ask for your kitchen to flood at a certain time, but you need it to be stopped ASAP!
    • And, last but not least, they should obviously have the appropriate equipment to handle the urgent situation.
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  • plumber
  • plumber

  • Pricing

    • A plumber has expertise in his/her field so prices can be higher than some expect. But, ensure they are not too high to a point where they are likely taking advantage of the situation. Also, take caution of plumbers who seem “cheap”. There could be a reason for this. For example, using low quality products for the repair or they may be inexperienced. Just be aware when getting estimates.
    • Also, be weary of plumbers who provide an estimate over the phone without ever seeing the situation in person. How do they know how much it costs if they haven’t seen what they’re fixing? We don’t know how they do it!
    • While it is expected that initial estimates will not match the total to the penny, they should be close. An experienced plumber understands we all have a budget and saying one price and charging another isn’t right or fair. But, also understand things may come about during the repair. A professional will discuss any options with you prior to acting on them if they suspect additional charges.

  • Look at Reviews

    • A reliable, trustworthy plumber won’t, and doesn’t need to, hide their customer’s feedback. While no ones perfect, an average of ratings can give a good impression of the type of service you will receive.
    • At the end of the day, the work speaks for itself. Trust the reviews! See what customers have to say about us on Google, HomeAdvisor, or on our website.

  • Find a Local Plumber

    • Typically, plumbing issues are an urgent matter so finding someone who can come ASAP is important. If you hire a non-local it could take quite some travel time, fitting in their schedule can be more difficult, and overall is typically a longer process from start to finish.
    • Also, if there are further pressing issues, you want to be able to call the plumber familiar with the situation to take another look. It’s definitely more difficult to get the exact same plumber out to your house when the business is a large corporation.
    • This may be stereotypical, but typically local plumbers have more respect for the town and the people in it. Also, unlike the big corporate plumbers, local plumbers are less focused on the money and more concerned with the service. All in all, TRUST LOCAL!
    • Moonlight is the number one local plumber in Mystic, CT. But, don’t take our word for it. We let our work speak for itself and let our customers speak for the work. Read the reviews above to find out why we are the number one local plumber in Mystic.

See If We’re a Good Fit

Take this information and use it to choose the right plumber for the job. At the end of the day, you want a plumber who can fix the issue(s), but you also want to be treated with respect and feel assured your plumbing is in good hands. Talk to one of our plumbers today to see if we’re a good fit to help you!

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Commercial Contracting Tip: What You Need to Know About Sewer Inspections, Repairs, and Maintenance

commercial contracting

If you go back to your grandparents era, you would see that sewer repairs were quite a headache. Thanks to ever-advancing technology, these repairs and inspections have become much easier to execute today. But, sewer repairs/maintenance can quickly become costly or cause much bigger issues with your piping. Especially, if you own a commercial property space. Understanding how to properly maintain your underground sewer for your commercial contracting properties can help to avoid costly repairs. We’re here to give you the inside scoop on sewer inspections, repairs, and maintenance so you know what to expect and how to properly care for your commercial property’s underground sewer.

Commercial Contracting – How We Complete Sewer Repairs

  • Just a few, short years ago we would have to do extravagant work if a sewer needed repairs. Typically, involving huge excavations, a dug up yard or street, and a mess overall.
  • Professionals often suggest a common repair called “pipe relining”. This process involves a high pressure hydro jet to help clean out a pipe. Then, he/she will insert the new pipe to line up against the old one in hopes that it hardens. This will prevent leakage in the pipes and help keep trees from rooting into them.
  • Another common repair is called a Resin injection. An expert will often do this when there are a few minor cracks in the piping. Professionals will dig to reveal the cracked pipe and proceed to fill cracks with resin which will eventually harden sealing the cracks.
  • Often, though, these repairs can get expensive fast at commercial properties. So, to avoid having to do repairs on your sewer, always do inspections and regular maintenance to your pipes.

How We Do Sewer Inspections

  • Your first sewer inspection should take place before buying a commercial property. This way you can avoid buying a property with sewer problems – what a headache!
  • Inspections are done by professionals with the proper knowledge and equipment to get a proper evaluation.
  • The expert will do the sewer inspection using a camera. The camera goes down into the piping and can help us see, at the surface, if there are clogs, cracks, root intrusions, or other areas of concern.

Commercial Contracting: Maintenance Tips and Tricks to Avoid Costly Repairs

  • Plant trees away from sewer lines on your commercial property (this will potentially avoid roots getting into the sewer pipes in later years).
  • Keep trees watered during drought. One reason roots get so long is because they are searching for water. Longer roots means greater chance of interference with pipes.
  • Know signs of sewer backup.
    • If multiple drains become slow on the commercial property at once, you have an issue!
    • Or, if water is running from one fixture to the next (instead of flushing down the drain).
    • Also, there’s likely a backup if you hear gurgling noises when water is flushed down pipes.
  • Always avoid putting any items down the drain that are not meant to be in pipes (hair, grease, etc) to help prevent clogging. Use proper tools to unclog drains from the store or contact a professional for extensive clogs.
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Need Sewer Help?

It’s important to keep up with sewer inspections and do routine maintenance, especially in commercial space, to avoid costly repairs. Understanding how sewers work, how to maintain them, and how to avoid repairs in general will help save you money and a headache. We hope the provided information is helpful from our commercial contracting team. If you, or someone you know, is experiencing sewage issues, contact our professionals today for expert help and guidance.

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Moonlight Plumbing Shares Out of Town Checklist

moonlight plumbing

If you’re going to be away from the house for a few days, a week, or even longer you’ll want to do a few things to your plumbing before you leave. Our plumbers at Moonlight Plumbing wanted to share a few, simple plumbing obligations that can help save money. It can even, potentially, save you from water mess caused by a leaky or broken pipe while you’re away.

Imagine it, you leave the house to go see family for a week. The best “vacation” we can get during quarantine. You really enjoy catching up with everyone and getting out of the house. You’re feeling relaxed for maybe the first time in a while. But, when you return home there’s a puddle of water on the kitchen floor. Your head starts spinning on where to start to clean up the mess. Before you arrive at a solution, you’re panicked at what broke and how much is it going to cost to fix it? Well, we want to provide you and your family with a helpful plumbing checklist to potentially avoid messes like this. You can use our list below to help check your plumbing is all set before you leave the house.

moonlight plumbing

Moonlight Plumbing Before You Leave Checklist

Turn off the main water supply

  • No one is going to be home and using the water, so no one will be missing it. Save yourself the potential headache from a water pipe breaking and leaking while you’re not home!

Clean the garbage disposal

  • Probably one of the smelliest places in our house. Ensuring your disposal doesn’t have food sitting in it while you’re away will help minimize the smell. You should run a disposal frequently anyway, but especially do it right before you leave for a period of time.

Clean the toilets

  • Another smelly spot in our homes. Flushing the toilets frequently helps to eliminate/minimize odors. But, if no one flushes it for a week it can get quite the odor if not appropriately cleaned before leaving. 

Check the sump pump

  • If there is a major flood in your basement due to a broken pipe, heavy rainfall, etc. you want to ensure your sump pump is going to help get the water out. You can test your pump by pouring a bucket of water into it and waiting for it to kick on. If it does, you’re all set. If not, give us a call.

Inspect and turn off water heater

  • If you’re turning off your main water supply, you certainly don’t need hot water. If you have a tank-based water heater, you can simply turn off the valve. This will also help save money because the water will no longer continue to cycle to keep warm while you’re away. You can actually drain the water out of your system and inspect for leaks before leaving as well. To be sure you do these maintenance preparations correctly, contact one of our professionals.

Shut off automatic ice maker

  • This is one a lot of people don’t think about. Your ice maker will continue to run and cost you money even though no one is using the ice.

Ensure outdoor sprinklers work properly (if you have them)

  • If you have an automatic sprinkler system, check that it’s set to run at the correct times each day. Also, double check that it’s following the proper schedule. The last thing you need is dead grass from the sprinklers not running, or a flooded yard from them never shutting off!

Leave washer and dishwasher doors open

  • Final little piece of information is to keep the washer and dishwasher doors open. This will help prevent a musty/old food smell, as well as mold. While unpleasant if you forget this, just be sure to run them empty when you get home. Try using a cleaner when you run it to get the pipes clear again and help the smell go away.
moonlight plumbing

Returning Home

Remember, once you return home, to turn on the water heater, main water supply, sprinklers, ice maker, etc. You’ll want to flush the toilets and run the garbage disposal again. You’ll want to do this as soon as possible because regular flushing and rinsing helps prevent odors in these appliances. But, if you forget to do any of these things before leaving for vacation, and you find yourself in a messy situation – call our professionals at Moonlight Plumbing! Unfortunately, we’ve seen countless flooded rooms, broken/leaky pipes, and faulty appliances in general. But because of this, we know how to properly clean up and repair the mess the first time around. We’re here if you need us!

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What Happens to Your Piping When Using Non-Treated Tap or Well Water

We typically don’t think twice about the water running through our pipes. That is until it’s flooding our kitchen or we drink it. Many of us replace old pipes, clean / unclog them, and do general plumbing maintenance to our pipes. All of this is quite important. But, you should also be conscious of what flows through your pipes. Understanding the difference between treated and untreated water and the effects untreated water can have on your pipes is vital in maintaining pipe longevity. So, let’s dive in.

Plumbing Insights: the Difference Between Treated and Untreated Tap/Well Water

Understanding what each treated water has filtered out can help to clarify why it’s so much better. Listed below are the contaminants in untreated tap and well water.

  1. Untreated well water may have these contaminants in it:
    • Microorganisms
    • Nitrate
    • Heavy metals
    • Organic chemicals
    • Radionuclides
    • Fluoride
  2. Untreated tap water may have these contaminants it:

Effects of Untreated Water on Your Plumbing

First of all, untreated water contains many minerals. These minerals create deposits which can clog your pipes. This solidified scale of minerals (or limescale) accumulates in pipes, water heaters, washing machines, and dishwashers. This, in turn, can result in big expenses or repairs. Also, clogs can obviously lead to issues throughout the plumbing system. They can affect water pressure, cause appliances to fail, and more. What a headache!

Secondly, untreated water can also cause build up along the pipe walls and connectors. This leads to loose connectors in piping (so increases the chance of a break in piping and water flooding your house). In addition to leaks, it can also create condensation in undesired places.

Finally, untreated water can cause cosmetic issues. It leaves hard-to-clean residue on shower heads, faucets, etc due to mineral build up on the exterior appliances. No one wants that!

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How to Treat Your Water

To prevent your pipes from untreated water damage, there are two options:

  1. Install a water softener.
  2. Install a reverse osmosis water treatment system. 

So, what is a water softener? Great question. It’s a tank situated between your water source and the internal plumbing that services your home. Obviously, this tank helps to filter out the harmful contaminants that may be in your water. Similarly, reverse osmosis strips contaminants from your water through a semipermeable membrane. Talk to an expert to see which is the best option for your home.

Save Money, Treat Your Water

In the long run, to save yourself from cleaning up a flooded room, save your pockets from repair costs, and to save your future self the headache… treat your water! In addition to treatment, continue to do regular maintenance work to keep pipes clean and water flowing steadily. Furthermore, if you have questions, need guidance, or have the unfortunate situation of untreated water damaging your pipes, we are here to help. Contact our professionals today!

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