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4 Reasons Your Toilet Takes a Long Time to Fill

9/22/2022

Does it take too long for your toilet to fill with water after you flush it? This is a common problem in homes. This problem may have been caused by more than one thing. Even though none of them are very serious or expensive to fix, knowing what the problem is may help you choose the right solution so that your toilet works as well as it can again.

Why Does Your Toilet Take So Long To Fill?

If your toilet takes a long time to fill, it could be because of one of four things: a clogged vent, a clogged drain, malfunctioning plumbing, or a blocked pipe.
1. A vent that is clogged. If your vent is blocked, air won't be able to leave the tank, and it will take longer for the tank to fill with water. If you want to see if your vent is blocked, take the cover off the roof and look. If leaves or other things are blocking it, clean it out and see if that fixes the problem.
2. A plugged drain. For your toilet to work right, the drain in the bottom of the tank also needs to be clear. You could try plunging this out with a little vinegar and baking soda.
3. Faulty plumbing. If your vent or drain are fine, you might want to look for leaks in your plumbing. If a pipe is leaking, your toilet will take longer to fill than it should.
4. Pipe clogged. Your toilet will also fill slowly if there is something in the way of the water going into the tank. This is usually a piece of paper or a toy.

How do I fix a toilet that fills slowly?

Once you figure out why your toilet is taking a long time to fill, it's usually easy to fix. If a vent, drain, or pipe is clogged, you can clear it yourself. If the problem is with the plumbing, you might need to call a professional to look at it. In any case, here are four things you can try to make your toilet work again:
1. Clean out the blocked vent.
If the vent is clogged, use needle-nose pliers to pull whatever is in there out. Use vinegar and baking soda to clear out your drain. Six cups of vinegar and one cup of baking soda go into the tank. After about 10 minutes of plunging, flush the toilet.
2. Clear the drain that is clogged.
Using a small amount of vinegar and baking soda, plunge the drain. After about 10 minutes, pour a half cup of baking soda and six cups of boiling water down the drain. If that doesn't work, you can use a snake to get rid of the clog.
3. Fix any plumbing leaks you find.
If your plumbing is leaking, a professional will need to fix it.
4. Get rid of any clogs in the pipe.
If something is stopping water from going into your tank, you can clear it out with a plunger. Pouring boiling water down the drain will help break up any clogs.
If your toilet fills slowly, hopefully, one of these solutions will help. If you need help, be sure to call a professional.
If none of these work, you might need to call a plumber. A toilet that takes a long time to fill up can waste a lot of water. You should be able to count on your toilet to flush well every time you use it.

Choose CBJ Plumbing Union City NJ if you need to fix or replace a toilet.

CBJ Plumbing Union City NJ can help you if you have problems like a toilet that takes a long time to fill. We know a lot about plumbing and are ready to take care of your needs. Call us at 201-875-1054 to get started right away!

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Why A Shower Might Smell Bad

9/17/2022

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Most of the time, taking a shower is a relaxing part of a person's day. You can't think of anything better than getting into the shower after a long, stressful day at work and letting the water wash away all your worries. But showers can also be very embarrassing. There are many different things that can make a shower smell bad.

Find out where the smell is coming from

When you notice a new smell coming from the shower drain that makes you wrinkle your nose in the bathroom, the first thing you should do is write down what kind of smell it is so you can figure out where it's coming from.

1. P-Trap Dry or Dirty?
If your shower drain smells like sewage, it means that your P-trap isn't doing its job and sewer gases are getting into your bathroom. If your P-trap is still clogged and there is a musty smell or a general smell, it probably needs to be cleaned.

What is a "P-Trap" in a shower, and how can it make a smell?
A P-trap is an extra drain fitting that comes with many bathrooms. This piece of plumbing, which is meant to keep sewer gases from coming back into your house through your drain system, is often the cause of smelly shower drains. The trap itself has water in it, which makes a seal that keeps the bad smells from coming back up into the house.

If there is no water in the P-trap or if it has dried out, smells can easily come up through the shower drain and land around your feet as you use the bathroom. This makes it easy to check because you can just shine a flashlight at it and see if it looks dry or wet.

How to Clean P-Traps in Showers
To clean out this part of the pipe, look around to see if there is any trash in the trap. If it looks like something is stuck inside, get an old cloth or paper towel and use it to scoop out whatever is in the way.

Once you've cleaned out the P-trap and made sure there's no trash in it, fill the bathroom sink tub with cold water and pour it into the P-trap until it's full and there are no air pockets. This can help get rid of any other blockages that might be causing the smell.

2. Leaky Pipes
If your shower smells like rotting eggs or sulfur, it's usually because there's a leak in the drain lines under your home. Some of the most common reasons why shower drains smell like this are broken valves, rusty pipes, and faucet joints that leak.

What can make pipes leak?
Leaks like these can make your shower smell the worst because they let sulfurous gases, which smell like rotten eggs, rise up through your drain system. Corroded pipes and loose joints, like those on your sink faucets or under your toilet seat, are common causes of a smelly shower drain.

How to Fix Pipes That Leak
To get rid of shower smells coming from your drain system because of leaking pipes, you'll need to tighten every corroded joint and replace sections of pipe that may be rusting away. This can be a hard job, but it has to be done to keep the bathroom a safe place to live.

3. Biofilm Buildup
If you can't use a plunger to clear a clogged drain, it's probably because biofilm has built up inside the bowl and is stopping water from draining. This is a common cause of smelly shower drains because when water doesn't flow through the pipes in the bathroom, everything starts to rot and decay more quickly, making smelly gases.

Biofilm is what?
Biofilm is a thin layer that builds up on the inside of drain pipes when hair and other debris start to break down. Dirt, dust, and other foreign objects can often stick together in your home's drain system to form a sticky layer that makes your shower drain smell.

Biofilm: How to Get Rid of It
Once you know where the smell is coming from in your house, you'll need to clean out all of the pipes under your bathroom sink and between these points. Because it's hard to get to, this part of the drain line is usually where people have trouble getting rid of tough clogs or smells.

You'll need a special enzyme-based product that kills bacteria and germs in general, as well as a few other tricks, to break down the biofilm. Some things that can make shower drains smelly is not keeping them clean, which can lead to buildup.

4. Clogged Drains
If hair or other things are getting stuck in your drain line, you'll need to fix it right away before the smell gets worse. Some of the most common reasons for smelly shower drains are clogged drains and leaks. When water sits under the house for too long, it starts to rot and break down much faster.

Why do shower drains get clogged?
Clogs in your shower drain are usually caused by too much use or overflow from the bathtub, but they can also be caused by dirt and other foreign objects that get stuck in your home's plumbing system. Drains often get clogged because there are many things that can easily cause them to do so, such as:

Hair
Dast
Sand
Small things
Soap scum
Dirt
Mineral Deposits

How to Unclog a Drain
To clear out a clogged drain, you'll need to take the face shield off your plunger so you can hold it better and then plunge it into the clog. Common reasons for a smelly shower drain can be hard to fix because you have to put one hand in the dirty p-trap and use the other hand to plunge, which is at best uncomfortable.

CBJ Plumbing Union City NJ is an expert in plumbing in your area.

If your shower smells bad, don't worry. We've got you covered. Call our team at 201-875-1054 right now. Our team of experts will be happy to help you and turn your shower back into a place where you can relax

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How to Take Off a Drain Stopper

9/12/2022

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A bathtub drain stopper is used to seal the drain and stop water from going down the drain. It often gets stuck, which makes it hard to turn the faucet on and off. If you decide to take off the drain stopper at this point, you'll be able to see the problem more clearly. It's also important to know how to take off your drain stopper in case it's not in the right place. If your stopper doesn't cover the bottom of the tub completely when it's in place, it might not keep the water in very well, which would make taking a bath a pain.
The first step in figuring out how to take off a drain stopper is figuring out which kind you will need to fix the problem. In the article below, you can read about the most common kinds of drain stoppers for bathtubs.

Stopper for push/pull

This type of stopper has a rod on the side that you can push and pull. At one end of this rod is a round handle, and at the other end is a hole that your finger can fit into. The push-pull mechanism is connected to a plunger that goes down into the drain to stop the flow of water. Here's how to take off a tub stopper with a push-pull mechanism:

Take the knob off the top of the stopper. Take the lid and knob off by hand. Move the knob with one hand until it comes off.
Is the knob too tight to turn by hand? Grab a towel and carefully wrap it around the object. Then, use regular pliers to pull it free.
After it has been taken apart, look for the exact point where the strainer's crossbar meets the stopper. Use a flathead screwdriver to take the pot off of the strainer.

Toe-Touch Stopper for Tub

Toe-touch tub stoppers look like pliers and can be used to open the drain by being pulled up. When you push it down, the handle comes off and the stopper closes off both drains in your bathtub. How do you take off a toe-touch tub stopper?

Turn a screwdriver or a pair of tongs around one end of the plunger rod that sticks out from under the rubber top. Use your tools to pry up on this rod until it moves out of its place.
After you take the plunger out, pull up on the rubber top to take it off its base. You should now be able to open your strainer by turning the head of it clockwise with your hands.
Once the head is unscrewed, it can be taken off by pulling it up and away from the stopper.
Grab this type of stopper's knob, which is on top of the bathtub drain, with your hands. Carefully pull up on the stopper until it comes off its base.

Tub Stopper You Can Lift and Turn

The lift and turn tub stopper is held in place by two screws. How do you take this kind of stopper off a bathtub drain?

When the stopper is in the "open" position, you should put one hand on top of the body to hold it in place.
Take the stopper off the strainer and slowly turn the knob the other way to look for a screw set on the knob. If you can't find one, turn the stopper counterclockwise until it can be removed from the strainer.
Sometimes the threads are taken out, which makes it impossible to take off. Try slowly turning it up and pulling it up.
If your stopper doesn't have a screw on the handle but still won't come off, lift it up and turn it until you find a small screw.
You can loosen the screw with a screwdriver or a wrench. Don't take the screws out all the way to get the stopper off. When using this method, you need to be very careful because the screw can easily fall down the drain if it is fully removed.
If neither the stopper nor the knob has a set screw, it's probably a channel-and-pin mechanism.
Take the stopper out of the channel and slowly turn it the other way until the slot on the bottom part lines up with the pin on the top part.
To open it, move the stopper up and down.

Other Stoppers for Tubs

One screw holds a flip-it® tub stopper to the bottom of the overflow plate. Most of the time, this kind of tub stopper is easy to take off. To take off the stopper, grab it by its body and twist it up and down (try all directions) until it comes off.

What to do next after the process is done

Once you get the bathtub drain plug off, use a flashlight to look down the drain. If it takes a long time for your bathtub to drain, there may be a buildup of soap scum, hair, and other things that are blocking the drain. If the blockage isn't too deep, you can try to take the strainer off and free it yourself, if you're brave enough. But you can avoid all that mess by calling CBJ Plumbing Union City NJ to take care of your bathtub.

Reach Out to Our Team Today

Let us help you if you're trying to take off a bathtub drain stopper. Call us at 201-875-1054 to talk to a member of our team right now. Our team of experts will be more than happy to help you get your bathtub back in shape.

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Blog

4 Reasons Your Toilet Takes a Long Time to Fill

Why Does Your Toilet Take So Long To Fill?

How do I fix a toilet that fills slowly?

Choose CBJ Plumbing Union City NJ if you need to fix or replace a toilet.

Why A Shower Might Smell Bad

Find out where the smell is coming from

CBJ Plumbing Union City NJ is an expert in plumbing in your area.

How to Take Off a Drain Stopper

Stopper for push/pull

Toe-Touch Stopper for Tub

Tub Stopper You Can Lift and Turn

Other Stoppers for Tubs

What to do next after the process is done

Reach Out to Our Team Today

Author

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Blog

4 Reasons Your Toilet Takes a Long Time to Fill

Why Does Your Toilet Take So Long To Fill? ​

How do I fix a toilet that fills slowly? ​

Choose CBJ Plumbing Union City NJ if you need to fix or replace a toilet. ​

Why A Shower Might Smell Bad

Find out where the smell is coming from ​

CBJ Plumbing Union City NJ is an expert in plumbing in your area. ​

How to Take Off a Drain Stopper

Stopper for push/pull ​

Toe-Touch Stopper for Tub ​

Tub Stopper You Can Lift and Turn

Other Stoppers for Tubs

What to do next after the process is done ​

Reach Out to Our Team Today

Author

Archives

Categories

Why Does Your Toilet Take So Long To Fill?

How do I fix a toilet that fills slowly?

Choose CBJ Plumbing Union City NJ if you need to fix or replace a toilet.

Find out where the smell is coming from

CBJ Plumbing Union City NJ is an expert in plumbing in your area.

Stopper for push/pull

Toe-Touch Stopper for Tub

What to do next after the process is done