Wisler Plumbing and Air

Serving Roanoke and surrounding areas.

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Stuck at Home and Need Help?

Residential Plumbing

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James Wisler, Owner of Wisler Plumbing and Air

Our technicians have the biggest hearts. And, right now, we have a little extra time on our frequently-washed hands. So, we want to help.

Stuck at Home and Need Help?

If you’re stuck at home with plumbing or heating problems, you can talk with one of our certified technicians for FREE. We can troubleshoot on the phone or video chat. If your parents in Illinois need help, we’ll talk to them, too. Anyone with a phone or laptop can be a complimentary customer of Wisler Plumbing and Air. And, if needed, we can come to you for a more traditional visit. Sorry, visitations are only for those in our service area (although we may be able to recommend some of our plumber friends in other areas).

Call anytime: (540) 483-9382

Reducing Fear.

For some, uncertain times come with uncertainty around finances. We want to ease as much fear in your life as possible. That’s one reason we offer free Without Worry Comfort Checks and free phone consultations. The next time you speak with us, if you’re fearful of payment, ask about our payment plans. Water, heating and air, and plumbing are essential, money should not be an obstacle.

Look for the Helpers.

Mister Rogers once said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers.’”

We’re Wisler Plumbing & Air, and we want to help. We’re in this together. We have your backs, just like you have ours.

P.S. – And thanks, Dad, for teaching us how to be the helpers.

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First of all, what does it mean to re-pipe a home?  There are waterlines in the house that take hot and cold water to the faucets, tub, and/or whatever fixtures you may have. It’s generally going to start at the main entrance of the waterline into your home (where the service line comes into the house), and it goes all the way to the fixtures, where you see the supply tubes or cutoffs (maybe under the toilet or sink). Those are what I’d call the water distribution lines. When we re-pipe a home, we’re removing all those pipes and putting new ones back in.

 

Unless you’ve had water damage in your home and maybe also filed a claim, I think it’s common to drastically underestimate the amount of damage a water leak can cause and the expense involved in repairing that damage. I don’t want to sound dramatic, but it’s something you definitely need to be aware about. If you’re not sure of the security or integrity of those pipes, you might want to have them checked.

 

Pinholes are one issue that might make you become aware of a lack of pipe integrity. A pinhole in the piping system is generally caused by poor water quality. (Therefore, you can prevent pinholes by making sure you have good water quality.) If you’ve had a pinhole before, you’ll probably get another one at some point in the future. Re-piping is an option you need to consider in this case, because you definitely don’t want a leak to happen while you’re away, or in a space where you’re not even aware that it’s happening. These leaks often cause water damage that’s much more costly than simply re-piping the home.

 

We’ve also re-piped homes simply because of the age of the piping system. You may want to re-pipe a home if you have really old pipes and you don’t have very good pressure or flow at the fixtures. Sometimes old pipes can have buildup or rust inside of them. If you check a screen like the one located in the hose of a washing machine, you can determine if it’s catching any rust, which is an indicator that there’s buildup in the pipes.

 

We offer free consultations for water quality and free estimates for re-piping of the home. For more information, contact us online or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

 

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How hard could it be to remove a toilet, really? After all, don’t you just pull it right up? It might not be as simple as you think. Here are 3 things not to do while removing a toilet. (For today’s purpose, we’re not going to get into putting the toilet back on.)

1. Turn off the Water.

I have literally seen people not turn off/disconnect the water from the toilet before removing it from the floor. Luckily, most people do get this part taken care of. However, when you remove a toilet, you also need to empty the water from the tank and bowl. Otherwise, when you pull the toilet up, it’s going to pour all that water all over the floor. Always remember, don’t leave any water in the toilet.

2. Cutting the Caulk .

I’ve seen someone pull the toilet up and caulk that’s still stuck to the linoleum or laminate floor will actually pull the floor covering right off with the toilet itself. If it’s old, it can also crack and ruin the floor covering. Always make sure to get the caulk completely loose from the floor.

3.  Inspect the flange.

Any time you pull a toilet, you should take the wax off of the flange, remove the old bolts, make sure the toilet flange is in good working order, and make sure it’s at the correct height before setting the toilet back. One of the most common mistakes people make is they pull the toilet up, do work like installing a new floor, and then set the toilet right back—without replacing the wax or bolts, and without adjusting the height of the flange. This often happens with flooring contractors who are not plumbers and are just worried about getting the new floor installed. They just put the toilet right back, which is a big no-no because sewer gas can get into the house and leaks can rot the floor right around the flange.

In these kinds of situations, it might be a wise idea to get a professional to take a look before the toilet gets put back. If someone has the right tools and experience, they might be able to remove a toilet by themselves. Otherwise, it’s probably a good idea to reach out to someone like the team at Wisler Plumbing. Contact us online or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

 

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Top Considerations When Choosing a New Faucet

 

It’s not very often that someone shops for a new faucet. Here are four important things that everyone should pay attention to when choosing one.

 

How is it used?

 

Make sure you consider the use of the new faucet. For instance, if you do a lot of cooking and use your kitchen heavily, the kitchen faucet is not a place to skimp when it comes to your budget. Something that you might use up to 10 or 15 times a day needs to be able to hold up to that kind of demand. If you install a low quality or cheaper faucet in that kind of environment, you’re definitely going to be disappointed.

 

On the other hand, there are places like a half bath that only guests will use. For areas that aren’t going to receive heavy or daily use, you can probably get by with a faucet that looks nice but maybe isn’t the highest quality. The key takeaway here is just to consider how much use the faucet will get. You’ll want to spend more on a faucet in a master bath that gets regular daily use.

 

One handle or two handles?

 

For a faucet that you will use a lot, I would recommend a single handle because it’s easier to adjust the temperature and easier to use in general. However, in most environments, a two-handle faucet will tend to look better. Remember, if you want a functional faucet, then a single handle will be the better choice. However, if you want something that looks nicer, a two handle is probably going to be a better design.

 

What kind of cartridge?

 

On the inside of the faucet, the component that turns the water on and off and keeps the faucet from dripping is called a cartridge. An important thing to remember is that cartridges can have rubber components in them, which can fail and lead to drips. However, in the last five years, ceramic disc cartridges have become a very popular item. They use ceramic components instead of rubber. If you want a faucet with longevity, I definitely recommend a ceramic disc cartridge.

 

Don’t take a faucet for face value.

 

Although a faucet might look really good, or maybe appear similar to another faucet when placed side-by-side, it might be made out of plastic components that have been chrome-plated or applied with a chrome finish. A chrome finish will not last as long on plastic as it does on metal. Check to see if the faucet’s handles, underside, drain, or spray wand are made out of plastic. This is really how manufacturers make a faucet cheaper or more economical, even though they might look identical to a more expensive faucet on the outside. If longevity is important to you, pay attention to what material the components are made of. Metal will always last longer than plastic in terms of functionality and robustness. Plastic will tend to break or chip much faster.

 

If you have any questions or want professional assistance, all you have to do is contact the team at Wisler Plumbing and Air today. Contact us online or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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What is DIY for a Septic Tank?

We might not normally think that DIY and septic systems go hand-in-hand, but there are actually some things that anybody can do to maintain a septic tank so it will work optimally.

Bacteria and Your System

Onsite septic tanks mainly rely on bacteria to do their job. However, today’s society uses antibacterial agents in a wide variety of products like soap, hand sanitizer, bathroom products, and even some laundry detergents. The first thing someone can do would be to introduce some sort of supplemental bacteria. The widespread use of antibacterial products has been harmful to the septic industry because it reduces a septic system’s ability to break down and decompose matter that goes down the tank. If you do continue to use any type of antibacterial products, you’ll need to supplement the septic system with helpful bacteria. We carry a product called BioOne, which contains living, breathing bacteria that can be safely flushed down the toilet to recharge the septic system. (These kinds of products can also be found online.)

Safe Products

Next, be aware of what type of toilet paper you use. Fluffy, heavy toilet paper might not be the best kind for a septic system whereas a thinner product which decomposes faster will definitely be helpful. Aside from toilet paper, someone might also want to be careful about what gets put down the septic system. Do not flush anything down that doesn’t decompose easily. Fibrous cleaning products such as Clorox wipes, general purpose cleaning wipes, or baby wipes will not decompose quickly and could build up over time. You definitely want to avoid flushing down any toiletry products too.

Regular Maintenance

This last item isn’t something you’ll do entirely by yourself, but you can definitely make the phone call. I would definitely recommend having someone inspect your septic system at least every 10 years. You might also want to have the system pumped out to make sure it’s clean. It might not need to be pumped out if it’s a well-operating septic system, but you definitely don’t want to wait too long to find out if a problem exists. (By then, you could have ruined your drain field.) Inspection every 10 years is most important just to make sure everything is working properly.

 

For professional help with your septic system, contact us online or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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Wisler Plumbing and Air uses Evolve SystemsWater Softeners & Septic Tanks

Most people share the common fear that the salt used in a water softener’s regeneration process will be harmful if discharged down the drain and into the septic tank. We have always done our best to combat this untrue, misleading information. It’s obvious that the use of salt can hurt bacteria or concrete, so it’s understandable that someone could come to the incorrect conclusion that it would be bad to discharge salt into a concrete environment that depends on bacteria. Here’s why that’s not actually the case.

New, More Efficient Water Softeners

One of the first things to understand is that there’s a huge difference between water softeners made today and water softeners made 20 years ago. A lot of the information still being circulated is just old and outdated. Water softeners today are much, much more efficient than the models of old. In fact, they only use a small fraction of the salt an old model would have required. Virginia Tech here in Blacksburg is performing an ongoing study about how water softeners affect septic tanks. Experts from both the water softening industry and the septic industry are working together to better understand the interactions between water softeners and onsite wastewater systems. It’s truly a collaborative effort and not just a one-sided view.

What the Study Showed

In the study, they use the terms high efficiency or efficiently operated units. This is an important distinction in which they are talking about new units/technology versus old units/technology, which definitely makes a big difference. According to the authors of the study, the data indicates that the use of an efficiently operated water softener improves septic tank performance. Previous experimentation has shown that the ideal amount of calcium and magnesium are put into the wastewater stream along with the sodium, which actually helps the settling process of the septic tank. In other words, an efficiently operated water softener performs the exact opposite of what someone may fear—it is actually beneficial to the septic system.

How Does this Affect the Septic Tank?

Another thing to understand is that a septic tank is 1,000 gallons or larger, so if you put a little bit of sodium into that thousand gallon tank, it’s going to be extremely diluted, pretty much rendering it ineffective at disturbing bacteria or harming the actual concrete tank. It really is just a drop in the bucket.

 

We share documentation with all of our clients whenever we’re in their home so they can understand exactly how water softeners interact with septic tanks. We also recommend that the softener is discharged into the septic system whether it’s public septic or a private onsite system. For more information, contact us online or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

 

 

 

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