How Do I Know If My Drains Are Clogged?

Plumbing, Question and Answer /

So you’ve been trying to figure out if your drains have been doing their job as well as they used to, but not really sure if you’re experiencing a clog or not. We’re taking time today to inform you of what the signs are of a clogged drain and what you could be in for as far as repairs go.

Start At The Main Drain Line First

The first thing you’ll want to do to check if your main line is clogged is to go to the lowest fixture in your house. This might be a toilet, a shower, or a floor drain. If you don’t notice anything immediately wrong, go upstairs and flush a toilet, then go back down. If water is coming out of your lowest fixture, you’ve got a problem. This is a telltale sign your main sewer is clogged.

It could be a couple different things. We’ve had a pretty big problem with flushable wipes in the sewer lines. We know they claim to be flushable, but we’ve had some first hand experience that says otherwise.

It could be roots in the sewer. Sometimes tree roots will grow right through the line. In these cases, we can pour root raider down the line to try to kill the roots, but unfortunately, once you get roots in the line, you will always have the problem.

It could also be the house trap right before your sewer goes out to the street. You should have clean out lines accessible before the line reaches your street. If you can open them and see standing water inside, you’ll know for certain that your main line is clogged.

If you’ve found that you do have a clogged drain line, don’t hesitate to call Wilbur Henry Plumbing Heating and A/C today at 717-755-5461.

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What Preventative Maintenance Can I Provide For My Air Conditioner?

Air Conditioning Unit, Question and Answer /

The summer can be a great time of year for many reasons, but a broken air conditioner can take the fun out of it real quick. So as a homeowner, what can you do to keep your air conditioning running in tip-top shape? We’ve got some simple preventative maintenance tips for you below.

The first thing you’ll want to do before anything else is to check the filters in your furnace. When you switch over from heat to air conditioning, make sure to check your filter. A dirty filter can actually cause build up on your furnace and you’ll get a nice big chunk of ice on top of it.

Clean with your hose

Another quick and easy thing you can do is to first cut the power to the outdoor unit. Most outdoor units should have a gray box where you can disconnect the 220-volt cord running to it. Once you’ve ensured the unit is disconnected, you can take a garden hose with a spray nozzle and gently clean the outside fins. On the inside unit you have a filter to protect from dirt, but the outdoor unit does not, and will suck up any dirt or particles into the coil. A simple hose down of the unit can keep it clean.

Following these tips will keep your air conditioner running as efficiently as possible.

Questions? Looking for a professional cleaning of your air conditioning unit?

If you are considering a professional cleaning of your central air conditioning unit check out our blog post and video at this link to see Dave Henry in action and the professional cleaning solution in action that pushes the dirt out from the inside. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at 717-755-5461.

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I Lost Power And My Sump Pump Won’t Work, What Can I Do?

Question and Answer, Sump Pump, Water Leak /

These past few years have brought some nasty storms through Pennsylvania, and the unfortunate risk of flood comes with these storms. Household flooding, however, is why the humble submersible pump exists. But what happens if you’re caught in a storm, and the power goes out?

In such a case, your typical household sump pump isn’t going to work. You do have a couple of options open to you, depending on where you live. These options are:

  • Have a generator
  • Buy a battery backup
  • Buy a water backup

All of these options have their own pros and cons. The generator will require the most effort on your part. You’ll need to run it outdoors to avoid filling your house with fumes, and you’ll have to be home to plug it in and start it up.

A battery backup will kick in on its own should the power go out, but you have to keep up with the battery and replace it occasionally, or it might not have any life in your time of need.

The water backup relies on a city water line coming into the house to push the unwanted water out, but these types of pumps won’t work if you have a well.

Don’t know what option would work best for you? Call us today at 717-755-5461 or use our contact form, and we’d be happy to help.

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Why Did My Well Pump Stop Working?

Question and Answer, Well Pump, York PA /

When it comes to supplying your house with water, wells certainly have their benefits. For one, you’re saving on paying more out of pocket for city lines pumping to your house. What do you do, though, when the water stops running? That’s the question we’re tackling today.

When we get a call about well pumps running dry, the first thing we want our customers to check is the breaker box in their house. Sometimes the pump is simply using too much power and the breaker will trip. If it continually trips, or the pump still isn’t working despite no breakers being tripped, there’s a variety of issues that may be at hand.

Well pumps get a lot of use

With as much use as well pumps get, it shouldn’t be surprising that wear and tear can get the best of them eventually. Broken wires or burned-out motors are among some of the calls we’ve serviced in the past. Sometimes the pressure switch that tells the pump when to come on goes up. Clogged pipes can cause problems as well.

If your well pump has stopped working and you’ve already ensured that power is running to it, you should rely on professionals to take a look at it. Wilbur Henry Plumbing Heating and A/C would be happy to help get your water running again. Call us today at 717-755-5461.

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How Do I Know If My Furnace Is Sized Correctly For My House?

Blog Posts, Furnace and Heat Systems, Question and Answer /

As long as you set the furnace and it maintains the heat and air conditioning/cooling AND it runs 10-15 minutes before turning off, odds are it’s sized correctly for your house. If new furnaceyour furnace is short-cycling (running only for 4-8 minutes then turning off, possibly with the fan still running) you are facing one of two problems; a dirty air filter or an incorrectly sized furnace. In general, for a 12-1400 square foot home, a 60-80,000 btu furnace would be required but it’s important to have a furnace installation technician that you trust to make sure you have the right specs when buying a new furnace. One of the worst things you can do, especially with newer high-efficiency furnaces, is to have too large of a furnace. High-efficiency furnaces are specifically designed to run longer and the wrong-sized furnace will end up short-cycling and causing you some possibly very expensive problems over the long term.

Your furnace short-cycling is a bad thing for a couple of reasons:

  • A short cycle doesn’t give the furnace enough time to move the heat through the entire house. Your heat will be uneven and the peripheral parts of the home will never get fully heated.
  • The reason why the furnace turns off so quickly is because of a safety feature built into the furnace called the “high limit switch”. The furnace’s heat exchanger is getting so hot that the high-limit switch is shutting the furnace off. Over time this can burn out the high limit switch and eventually cause the now unguarded heat exchanger to crack. This requires expensive repair and even replacement of your furnace.

If you aren’t sure whether or not you have the right-sized furnace for your home, call the friendly experts at Wilbur Henry. We would be happy to answer your questions and inspect your home’s furnace to make sure you and your family stay safe and comfortable this season.

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Why Does My Shower Head Keep Dripping?

Blog Posts, Plumbing, Question and Answer /

The big question to ask here is HOW LONG is your faucet dripping? A leaking shower head may not actually be a problem with your plumbing.leaking shower head

The head of a shower is lower than the arm which extends from the shower wall. It’s the same as with a faucet, where the head of the faucet hangs below the handles. The water that has been coming out of the faucet or the shower head has a source above it. When you turn off the water, there is still some in the pipes that is going to want to come down. A ‘normal’ amount of time for a faucet or shower head to drip after it has been turned off is 3-5 minutes. If the water stops dripping within that time, don’t worry about it.

Now if your shower head is still dripping after 5 minutes, your shower head may need new washers. Additionally, if the water pressure is causing leaking through at the handles BEFORE the water comes up the shower and out at the shower head, then there may be a more serious plumbing issue. In that case, your expert resource for plumbing, heating, and air conditioning in York, Pennsylvania, Wilbur Henry, will be happy to help!

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Save A Service Call? How to Avoid Grease & Build-Up Clogging Your Drain

Blog Posts, Plumbing, Question and Answer /
  • Clean/scrape your plates properly before washing them or putting them in the dishwasher. Get all the grease and by-products off your plate so it doesn’t go down the drain.
  • Flush your drain regularly by letting your hot water run for several minutes and pour some vinegar down the drain or pour a pot of boiled water with vinegar in it down the sink once a month.
  • When using a garbage disposal, make sure you let it run long enough to get the grease and chopped-up food pushed through the sink line.Running- Water- in- Kitchen- Sink

How grease creates clogs in the first place; as the grease heats up, either from cooking or from the hot water of washing dishes, it goes down your drain in liquid form. It’s a long way along that drain pipe though, and as the grease travels it starts to cool and solidifies. As it solidifies, it turns into the gooey mess that sticks to pipe walls and clogs your drain.

The Secret Is To Run A Lot Of Hot Water

The secret is to run a lot of hot water when doing dishes and periodically take some white vinegar and pour it down the sink with the water. The vinegar helps cut through the grease and flush it through and makes your sink smell better. Do this about once a month.

Thoroughly Run Your Garbage Disposal

Also, if you use a garbage disposal, most people don’t flush it long enough afterwards to get the grease and chopped up food pushed through the sink line. Let your disposal run for a moment as hot water runs through it after you are done using it. Flush with hot water, I just can?t say this enough. Proper maintenance of your drain and you won’t have to use harsh chemicals like Drain-o or have to call a plumber over a clogged sink. For other questions and tips, check out or contact Wilbur Henry, your one-stop shop for plumbing help!

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My Sink Is Clogged and Draino Didn’t Work! Now What?

Blog Posts, Plumbing, Question and Answer /

The first and most important thing to remember – if you use Draino and it doesn’t work DO NOT use any other do-clogging agents until you contact a plumber. Draino is made with Hydrcholoric Acid. Most other professional pipe clogged-sink-york-pacleaning agents use Sulphuric Acid. Combining Hydrochloric and Sulphuric Acid is a great way to cause a pretty dramatic explosion. If you use Draino and it doesn’t work, call a plumber. We have seen dozens of customers have bad, even dangerous, results from layering chemicals.

A plumbing note for the future

Draino can be used in slow-running or sluggish drains but if you get to the point where you have standing water in a fully clogged sink, the odds of Draino working go way down. Not to mention that if Draino doesn’t work at this point, now you or your plumber will have to wade through a sink or tub full of harsh and potentially dangerous chemicals to get to that drain. I have had to stop working and take my boots off because the tub water was eating right through them. (On that note, please TELL your plumber is you have already put chemicals in the water!)

Bottom Line

If the sink is still clogged and you have used Draino, or another de-clogging agent, according to directions and recommended usage, it’s time to get a plumber in there with an auger and find out what is inside that drain. They can usually have your water running freely in no time. Contact Wilbur Henry plumbing experts for plumbing help when you need it, where you need it, and we’ll be there.

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My Pipes Rattle When I Run the Water. How Do I Make It Stop?

Blog Posts, Plumbing, Question and Answer, Uncategorized /

Rattling pipes are generally an uh-oh waiting to happen, but exactly what type of plumbing repair you might need depends on decoding the sounds coming from the pipes. The problem could be as simple as your pipes not being properly secured or fastened in the cellar. The pipes should be secured at every other floor joist. Okay, so we checked the pipes and they are secure. What else could the problem be It depends on what you hear.

Break Down the Sound:

A hammering rattle That probably means a washer is loose in a shut-off valve or a faucet. The washer will vibrate when water is going through it. More of a humming noise The loose washer could be in an older ballcock. Loose washers are probably the most common cause of rattling pipes. They can be frustrating and hard to track down but with patience, that irritating rattling can be quickly repaired.

Banging pipes when you turn the water off It’s time to check your water pressure. For a residence, 45-50 lbs of water pressure is good. A higher number than that is going to be hard on faucets. Most people nowadays have thermal expansion tanks (ST-5s or ST-12s) above their water heaters. They help with hammering caused by the electronic water valves found in ice makers, washing machines, and dishwashers. Because of the backflows that water companies have put on at the meter, it’s critical that the excess pressure caused by these devices is relieved and going into your expansion tank.

Another possible plumbing repair that can cause the water pressure to be too high is if there is a malfunction in the pressure-reducing valve. The pressure-reducing valve is at the water meter. In newer houses, it’s in front of the water meter on the street side. In older homes, it may still be after the water meter. The pressure-reducing valve takes high water pressure, anywhere from 75-150 lbs, and reduces it back to 45 lbs. Installing one of these is standard protocol in home construction/renovation so every home should have one of these. The homeowner is responsible from everything from the curb box to the house besides the water meter so this is up to you and your trusty plumber to maintain.

So how do I keep an eye on my thermal expansion tank since it’s so important Good question! Periodically take the cap off the side of it. Inside the blue or red cap is a Schrader Valve. When you press the valve a tiny burst of air should come out. If you press that valve and water comes out that means your tank’s bladder has burst and the expansion tank is no longer working. This can squash the flue on your water heater. If you press the valve and nothing comes out this means the bladder has wrapped around in there and has probably also burst. When that happens, you will eventually spring a leak and have rusty water on the hot side. Then it’s time for another plumbing repair.

Bottom line – don’t ignore the noise, let your plumber help you solve the mystery lurking in your pipes. Contact Wilbur Henry, the plumbing experts who can help restore peace and quiet to your home.

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What Is Really Done with A Furnace Cleaning? Can’t A Homeowner Just Do It On Their Own?

Furnace and Heat Systems, Heating, Question and Answer /

Regular furnace service or Check & Clean is vital to the long life of your furnace. Many older furnaces are vented into the chimney flu. Along with caring for the inside workings of your furnace, the flu must be checked and cleaned as well. Check out our blog post titled “Older Homes In York PA? Check Your Chimney Annually For Debris Build Up”

Newer furnaces are vented through the sidewall of your hour with PVC plastic. However, the furnace has an internal secondary gas exchanger which is not accessible without taking the furnace completely apart. If the gas is not firing correctly and there is too much carbon in the furnace, everything gets covered with soot which jams up the secondary heat exchanger and causes the furnace to shut down, which is bad.

Furnace service requires specialized equipment and specific knowledge of the internal structure of the furnace and should not be attempted by a homeowner without training.

So What Goes Into Servicing Older Furnaces?

  • Check and oil bearings on the motors
  • Check and replace worn belts
  • Check the chimney flu, especially if there is no flu liner
  • Take the top off the furnace and run cleaning brushes through the heat exchangers

What About Servicing Newer Furnaces?

  • Check CO2 levels and make sure gas is firing correctly
  • Ensure all vents and draft inducer motors are open and clear
  • Check the blower motor

So what CAN the homeowner do?

The most important part of furnace maintenance – check your furnace filter monthly!

Don’t cheat on the furnace filter.

That $2-3 filter will save your heat exchanger from cycling and you needing a possible new furnace. Change them in the summer and winter. Also, make sure vents stay clear by putting wires or screens over them to keep the vents clear of pests like nesting bees and stink bugs. If that works and doesn’t impinge drafting, you can leave them on year-round.

Need Furnace Service?

When your furnace needs serviced you can trust Wilbur Henry Plumbing, Heating and AC to do the job right and charge a fair price. Give us a call at 717-755-5461 or use our contact form.

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A Satisified Client

We want your experience with Wilbur Henry Plumbing, Heating, & A/C to be outstanding. From the time you call us until our technician leaves your house, we want your experience with our company to leave you with a smile on your face.