What is a sump pump? More importantly, what does it do? Brenneco Plumbing answers your plumbing questions!

What is a sump pump and what does it do?

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Many homes in the Greater Lafayette, Indiana area utilize sump pumps in their basement or crawlspace. Sump pumps take water that collects around the home’s foundation and transfers it away, keeping your basement dry. Sump pump failures are not pretty. When a sump pump fails, you could be facing property damage, precious and expensive contents in your home could be ruined, and mold can begin to grow in your home, causing illness, long term health issues and even more damage.

Sump pumps are usually installed into homes during construction. If your home does not have one, and a pump would be of great benefit, they can still be placed by a professional plumber. A drain pipe is installed around the perimeter of the foundation. A long pipe is connected that leads into the basement. The pump itself is lowered into a specially constructed pit. Water collects in the sump pit via the drain pipe or due to natural collection. When the water reaches a certain level in the pit, the pump kicks on and pushes the water from the pit, away from your home, keeping your basement or crawlspace dry. A one-way valve, called a check valve, prevents water from flowing back into the sump pit. Read more →

Performing water heater maintenance is vital to it having a long life. Brenneco Plumbing, your Lafayette Plumber, can help!

How big of a water heater should I get?

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Are you thinking about getting a new water heater? Maybe your unit is getting older or it’s just not performing the way you think it should. If you are replacing your water heater, the question of size is going to come up at some point.

In consideration of water heaters, bigger isn’t always better. A water heater tank that is too small will put you in danger of running out of hot water when you need it most. On the other hand, a water heater with a tank that is too big will waste energy on heating water that you and your family will never use.

This means that determining the right size for your situation is vital. The good news? This is easier to do than every before! All you need to do is a follow a few tips and do a little research. You should be able to find the perfect solution for your situation!

There are, essentially, two factors to take in to consideration when factoring the size of the water heater you should get, the FHR and the EF. Read more →

Performing water heater maintenance is vital to it having a long life. Brenneco Plumbing, your Lafayette Plumber, can help!

Can I fix my water heater instead of replacing it?

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The quick answer is yes, in some cases!

If your water heater isn’t performing to your expectations, it might be time to have it checked out. You are probably wondering if there are any repairs you can do yourself. While there are definitely problems that have simple solutions, you should seriously consider having a professional plumber assist you. There are many different things that can happen if you water heater happens to malfunction or ultimately fail.

If you do decide to do some problem solving before calling a lafayette plumber, the first step is diagnosing what might be wrong.

The most common complaint we see in regards to water heaters is that they aren’t heating the water to a high enough temperature. If you haven’t adjusted the temperature setting on the water heater, that might be the place to start. If you have already carefully adjusted the heat setting up to a safe temperature and it’s still not hot enough, you may have a bigger problem. Read more →

Performing water heater maintenance is vital to it having a long life. Brenneco Plumbing, your Lafayette Plumber, can help!

How do I know if my water heater is going bad?

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So, your hot showers don’t last quite as long as they used to? The hot water takes a little longer to get to you than it used to? We get it. At Brenneco Plumbing, we got a lot of questions from people in Greater Lafayette about when to replace their water heater.

As a Lafayette Plumber, we see water heaters that run on Lafayette or West Lafayette city water and we see water heaters that run on well water. Either situation can be just fine as long as proper maintenance is taking place. However, since your water heater is a piece of equipment, it will only last so long.

So how do you know if your water heater is at the end of it’s life or it just needs a little help? Good question! Here are a few simple tips to help you work through some of the easier fixes yourself. If you complete this list and still have problem, we would love to help. At Brenneco Plumbing, we are here for you! Read more →