It was long believed that the Spanish brought plumbing techniques to the Americas, then called The New World, but recent explorations have discovered the remains of plumbing fixtures in the Ancient Mayans civilization. Apparently they did more than simply predict the end of the world.

I have previously written about the ancient Romans contributions to plumbing with public outhouses and the aqueducts, which you can read in our history of plumbing blog . Let’s take time to look over the ancient Mayans contributions to plumbing technology.

Where was this ancient plumbing located?

Located in the city of Palenque, current-day Chiapas in Mexico, evidence of pressurized water systems suggest that the Mayans may have had plumbing dating as far back as 250 A.D. Palenque was settled in 100 A.D. and reached prominence from 250-600. It was later abandoned around 800 A.D., but not before leaving behind a complex plumbing system, although not nearly on the scope of the Romans’ aqueducts.

What were its main features?

The landscape at Palenque made it very difficult to expand, forcing a tight-knit society. In order to support a big population, adjustments had to be made. One such advancement was redirecting streams through underground passages to city locations. The aqueducts also prevented flooding from nearly 10-feet of rainfall during the stormy season.

The Piedras Bolas Aqueduct is located on a steep hill, where it collects up to 18,000 gallons of water at the top and lets it out at the bottom. The 20 foot decrease in elevation causes it to gain substantial pressure, allowing it to forcibly shoot out at the end.

What was this water pressure for?

Researchers are not certain about why they would need water pressure systems, but a few theories do exist. For one, it may have been used as wastewater removal to spray away waste. It could also have been inconsequential, and merely a side feature of the design.

But one particular hypothesis is currently popular, that the water was used in a fountain. This would look attractive and allow anyone to access the water for personal use. There is evidence of a similar structure in the Palenque palace, further leading archaeologists to this conclusion

If you are a small business owner, you have a lot of factors working against you. It is a tough economy, tax codes may be harsh, and you never know what a setback could mean for your company. Luckily, Rooter Experts understands these feelings; we are also a small, locally-run business in Glendale.

Regardless of the economic state, people always are going to have emergency plumbing problems. The question is, will they have money to pay for them?

In down times, a home owner might feel like feeding his family is more important than paying to have his toilet fixed, instead using a piece of duct tape or a bucket to catch water as the solution. We feel sorry that financial struggles have forced that person to even consider that decision.

But as a small business owner, faulty plumbing can have dire consequences on your ability to earn money. Imagine meeting with potential clients, only to have the smell of a burst septic tank waft into the room. Or maybe you own a restaurant and your grease traps get clogged, start over-flowing, and force you to shut down or face fines from the health department.

There are thousands of hypothetical, and real, situations that illustrate the same point: good plumbing is critical to the success of most businesses. That is why Rooter Experts works with small business owners to devise plans or action to prevent future damage and take care of existing problems.

Services We Offer

Contact us to speak to a representative about how we can help your business, but here are some of the basic actions:

• We inspect your office, plant, restaurant, or work building to find potential areas of concern.
• Drain and grease trap cleaning take care of clogs and prevent them expanding.
• Our plumbers can find ways for you to save money by adjusting temperatures, water pressure, and other measurements of energy-efficiency.
• Experience working on industrial equipment.

As our client, we want to help your business succeed. Talk to us about making a thorough inspection or setting up regular visits to check on the plumbing. And, of course, we will always be there to respond quickly to an emergency.

Best of luck!

This might seem like common sense, but still many people don’t follow it: keep an emergency plumber’s phone number programmed in your cell.

Now that everyone has smart phones, it is much easier to quickly find a plumbing business online. You can simply type “Los Angeles plumbing” into a Google search, and find plenty of great options.

But what do you really know about those businesses? In an emergency, like a flooding septic tank, you will not have enough time to read customer reviews, look at services offered, or compare rates. You can bypass that stress if you just do the research ahead of time and be prepared in the event that an emergency plumbing incident occurs.

And, if I can make a suggestion, Rooter Experts is a professional California plumbing company with fast response times and competitive rates. We can bail you out of an emergency situation and perform drain cleaning, HydroJetting, sewer replacement, and unclog toilets. So take down our phone number right now, just in case: 888-395-7117

Rooter Experts offers some tips to keep your shower and bathtub clean. This will prevent mold and bacteria from causing allergic reactions and slows down rust, which destroys piping. If you have difficulty keeping your shower clean, take a look at these tips.

1) Dry your shower after every use. This tip takes a while to get used to, but using a squeegee to remove excess wetness will stop long term damage. You can also crack a window and turn on the fan.

2) Start at the top. Whatever you preferred method of cleaning, you should start with the walls, move to the door, clear the ledges, then scrub the tub. This removes all dirt and scum, so it doesn’t fall on a clean area.

3) For an inexpensive cleaning solution, mix one part bleach to five parts warm water. This is good for tiles, ceiling, and floor. Another solution is half-cup ammonia and one gallon of water in a spray bottle. Use this with vigorous brushing to remove soap scum.

4) You can wash your shower curtain in the washing machine to save time and do a thorough job.

5) Remove hairballs from the drain and throw them in the trash. You do not want them jamming up your drain.

6) For porcelain tubs, use a damp sponge or nylon ball. Iron wool will damage the surface.

7) Always wear rubber gloves when working with dangerous chemicals, like bleach. Also, keep the doors and windows cracked open to keep the bathroom ventilated, so you don’t inhale too much of the solution.

If we come over to fix a leak or unclog your toilet, hopefully we’ll see a spotless shower!

Everybody poops, but we don’t like to admit it. Even though humans spend 3 years of their lives using the toilet, what do we really know about it?

That ends today! Here are 10 facts you probably never knew about the toilet.

1) The first movie to show a flushing toilet was “Psycho,” and many audience members were upset at the indecency.

2) Toilet handles have up to 40,000 germs per square inch! Make sure to use a piece of toilet paper to flush and wash your hands!

3) More toilets flush during halftime of the Super Bowl than any other half-hour period of the year. Guess that’s why it is called the Super Bowl .

4) Most toilets flush in E flat. Didn’t know they were musical instruments…

5) The technology that disposes of solid waste in space shuttles costs $23.4 million. No wonder NASA is under-funded!

6) Great Britain’s King George II died on October 25th, 1760 by falling off a toilet.

7) Chinese Emperors were the first to commission toilet paper in 1391 AD.

8) World Toilet Day is November 19. Mark your calendars and make sure to celebrate!

9) The White House has 30 bathrooms and goes through approximately 636 rolls of toilet paper each day.

10) Britain’s public toilets have been voted the worst in the world, followed by Greece, France, and Thailand. Remember that next time you have fish and chips at a British pub.

We know that plumbing fees can be costly, so we have collected a few ideas that will help reduce your bills and protect you from further damage.

1) Put ice cubes in disposal: Ice and soap will clean your disposal blades, as well as sharpen the edges. It may be noisy, but it is effective.

2) Don’t buy urinal cakes or in-tank cleaners: These scented items are supposed to keep your bathroom smelling fresh and clean the bowl, but are they worth it? Vinegar is a fine alternative that most people already have at home and these items actually get stuck in pipes and cause clogs.

3) Wipe down faucets: Water corrodes metal. Everyone knows this, but assume it doesn’t apply to sink faucets. Spending an extra ten seconds to dry your faucet and handles if they get wet or soapy will save you money from replacing them down the line.

4) Check your plumbing on a regular basis: Make sure the toilet is properly flushing and drains are letting water exit. This saves money over the long-term, when problems grow bigger.

5) Don’t purchase warranties on cheap products: If you are cutting costs by buying a lesser-quality item, don’t get the warranty on it. You know it will break, but probably not until the warranty expires. Either spend more money on the best piece you can or simply expect to replace the bad product down the road when it breaks.

Hopefully these help cut back on plumbing needs, while also saving you some dough.

Toilets not flushing, sinks leaking, and burst pipes are among the more common plumbing issues that can happen in a building. But there are also problems that arise which building owners are not even aware of, such as grease traps.

It’s a (Grease) Trap!!!

So, what is a grease trap?

Also known as a grease interceptors, recovery devices, and converters, grease traps are plumbing devises that are supposed to prevent grease and solids from entering the wastewater disposal system.

Did You Know? Grease traps have been used since the Victorian Age and Nathaniel Whiting was the first to patent the devise in the 1800s.

It is normal for trace amounts of fats, oils and grease (FOG) to mix with wastewater and enter septic tanks, where they float on top as a layer of scum and are devoured by microorganisms. The issue is when too much enters the tank and it begins to overwhelm the treatment facility, which can cause the untreated sewage to be released into the environment.

In addition, oil and grease change from liquids into solids when they cool, which can cause them to build up and clog drains.

Quick Tip: Never dump cooking oil, or grease, like that from bacon, down the kitchen sink, as it can clog the drain or jam the garbage disposal. Instead, pour the hot liquid into a plastic container or aluminum can, then scrape it into the garbage after it has congealed and hardened.

Rooter Experts Provides Commercial Plumbing Services

Grease traps and liquid waste systems are very common in industrial and commercial buildings, especially restaurants. These devices remove 85-90% of FOG waste. Commercial kitchens are required to have these traps to prevent sewer blockage and overflows.

Rooter Experts can either install new grease traps to get you up to code, clean your existing grease traps, or replace items that are old or outdated. Also, we have commercial plumbing services for cleaning your pipes, if they have become clogged with FOG products.

Follow Rooter Experts on Twitter for more blog posts, like this recent rant about the LA rain flooding : @RooterExperts

There has been a recent upswing in rainfall in Los Angeles for the past few weeks, and I think we all know what that means: flooding.

People like to blame the city planners or the government for having a bad sense of how to drain the water, but I think that is short changing them. LA is beautiful about 99% of the year, and then it floods like its biblical times.

Let’s create a metaphor. If you had a recipe for delicious meal, but you knew that 1/100 times it burned, would that stop you from making that particular dish? No! You would take your chances and 99% of the time come out with scrumptious cuisine that everyone loved and devoured every last bite of (except for the smog).

Basically, as a citizen of this American paradise (minus the traffic), we have to settle for the fact that we occasionally have to deal with the rain causing flooding. But think about it this way; at least we’re not Seattle.

Los Angeles Plumbing Company

So what does this mini-rant mean? Well, just because we have to accept the rain, doesn’t mean we have to let it destroy our homes.

For whatever reason and whoever is to blame, Los Angeles drains are solid as a condom, making its streets overflow. This then causes the sewers to overflow, which dumps tainted water, which then ends up seeping into basements.

It is crucial (and by “crucial” I mean you don’t want feces soaking into your carpet) to have your pipes regularly inspected and cleaned. Because the rain in LA is about as predictable as an Ervin Santana start, you need to plan this regularly.

Call Rooter Experts, your local Los Angeles Plumbing Company for more details and to get an estimate. Sewage water has contaminates that can make you ill, so it is best to take care of your family’s health. Contact us today with any questions.

Rooter Experts is now on Twitter: @RooterExperts

If you are in need of commercial plumbing in Los Angeles then check out Rooter Experts. We have excellent plumbers, quick response times, top tier equipment, and great services for businesses.

Rooter Experts can cater to your company’s specific needs, whether it is an emergency, a full installation, or for regular inspections.

We offer pipe, toilet, sink, and water cooler installation for your business. If you are considering updating your plumbing or need to meet new minimum standards of operation, our technicians have tons of experience.

Apartment and Rental Plumbing for Landlords

If you are a landlord, you know how important having a reliable plumber can be. When renters have a plumbing issue they need resolved, it is your responsibility to pay for the service. Also, you need to make sure that the plumbing is up to code before a new tenant can move in. Because of this, it is best to develop a working relationship with a plumbing company.

If you are located in Los Angeles or Ventura County, you should strongly consider Rooter Experts. We have been in the business for over a decade and have fostered apartment plumbing deals with other landlords. In return for your return business, we can work out some structure that is beneficial to both of us. And of course we provide quality work that ensures showers, sinks, and tubs are flowing smoothly.

Outdoor Plumbing and Trenchless Inliner Service

Outdoor plumbing can be some of the most difficult to identify and fix because it isn’t as simple as noticing a leaky pipe. Most outdoor issues are underground, where the only warning is an unexplained muddy spot.

If you find that your water is discolored or tastes funny, you may have a burst pipe outside and require trenchless inliner services for your business. Contact a commercial plumbing company, like Rooter Experts, and have them come out to investigate. If we notice a problem, we can perform trenchless inliner services, where we dig two holes in the ground and construct a new pipe within the existing one. This creates minimal damage, reduces cost and time, and will fix the problem.

For more information, call us at 888-395-7117

Rooter Experts offers some kitchen plumbing tips to help keep your appliances running smoothly. We know it can get expensive to constantly call a plumber for assistance, so we’re giving you hints to prevent damage, so you can save our number for serious situations only.

Garbage Disposal Problems

• Your garbage disposal is strong, but it can be weakened. Don’t substitute your disposal for a trash can or compost bin for discarding waste, because it will wear down over time. Stringy items like celery, chicken skins, and banana peels can get wrapped around the blades, rather than being properly ground up.
• Hopefully this is common knowledge, but you MUST run the water while using the disposal. It flushes food particles that could otherwise clog in the drain. Run it for 15 seconds before and after using the disposal.
• Here is a helpful cleaning hint: toss some ice cubes into the garbage disposal. Although it will sound loud and frightening, it is actually cleaning and sharpening the blades. Add some dishwashing detergent for a better clean.

Sink Maintenance

• Never pour grease or oil down the drain. These liquids congeal, or get hard, when cooled and could cause the sink to clog. Instead, pour them into a plastic container, let it harden, and scrape it into the garbage.
• Clean the aerator: sediment builds up in the aerator, which can cause the water pressure to decrease. Unscrew it from the faucet and clean it with a soft brush and vinegar.
• If you smell a strange odor, you need to investigate possible sources of the problem. Old and rotting food can grow mold, which is known to be related to respiratory problems. The longer you take to unclog a drain, the worse it becomes.

Los Angeles Plumbing Company

For more advice from Rooter Experts, your local Los Angeles plumbing company , read our weekly blog posts with bathroom and kitchen plumbing tips. Check out this hilarious post from last week about the Worst Plumbing Experience . Follow us on Twitter for updates @RooterExperts