Grainger Plumbing and Repair
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Frequently Asked Questions

No Water

Wells

We do not service wells. If you have no water anywhere in the home and your water source comes from a well, call Jonathan Scronce Well and Pump at (828)855-4944.

City or County Water

If you have no water in your home and your water source comes from the city or county, first call the agency that supplies your water. If you have confirmed that the problem is not a lack of supply from the city or county, call us and we will investigate the cause and either repair the problem the same day or estimate the cost for any larger repairs needed.

Local City and County Water Suppliers

Catawba County Sewer and Water
1175 South Brady Avenue, Ste 302 Newton, NC 28658
(828) 465-8940

Public Utilities Lincolnton NC
115 W. Main St. Lincolnton, NC 28092
(704) 736-8495

Leaks

When your water supply comes from city or county, the first indicator of a water leak often comes as a notice from your billing agent. A small leak on metered water supply can cost more than $100 a month. In some cases, leaks have costed customers more than $500 a month.

The least obvious leak in the house is from a blister in the toilet flapper. Pour a small bottle of food coloring into the tank of the toilet. Do not flush. Watch for the coloring to come through into the bowl. This happens on city and county water because the chlorine in the water blisters the flap so slightly that you may not see the disfigurement or hear the leak, but the amount of water leaking into the bowl causes a significant increase in your water bill.

Finding leaks requires common sense and a good flashlight. Look under sinks, counters, and behind toilets. Use a paper towel to wipe across floors to detect hard to see puddles. Look around the house and in the crawl space or basement for signs of leaks. Do you see puddles of water in the yard not caused by rain? If you know where your waterline is buried, walk along that path checking for soft ground or standing water.

How to shut off the water.

Most homes have shut off valves under sinks and toilets. You can turn off the water to a single fixture without losing water to the whole house. If you have a shut off valve under the house, you can shut off the water there. Otherwise, you will need to shut off the water at the source. If the water is leaking underground between the source and the house, you will need to shut off the water at the source.

Most wells have a breaker that controls the electricity going to the pump. Simply turn the breaker off and the pump will stop.

City or county water turns off at the meter. If you do not have a key to shut off the water at the meter, call the local police for assistance. Do not call 911. This might be an emergency to you, but it is not an emergency to them. If you do have a key, you can turn the water off yourself. You can buy a key at your local hardware store.

Leaks from drain pipes

If your drain is leaking, do not shut off the water supply. If you know the configuration of your drain system, you might be able to avoid using certain water sources in order to minimize damage caused by the leak in the drain until a service technician can repair the cause of the leak. Call immediately to schedule a service call. Leaks from the drain can cause foul odors and health hazards due to raw sewage remaining in your crawl space or basement.

Clogs

Chemical use with clogs

Never put chemicals in your toilet or other drain. If the chemicals prove unsuccessful, more plunging or auguring in the drain can cause dangerous chemicals to splash back and burn the skin of you or the technician. If you have poured chemicals in the clogged drain with no success, alert the technician so that s/he can take adequate precautions.

Clogged Toilets

Toilets are a necessity of life and when they clog, we go through a wide range of emotions. First try plunging the toilet yourself. If a little paper gets stuck in the pipes, plunging a few times usually does the trick. If you feel confident in using a drain auger to free the clog, use an abundance of caution not to break the toilet or the pipes. Otherwise, call immediately to schedule a service call. Feces and urine can cause a foul odor and health hazards. Do not use the toilet again until the clog has been removed. Continuing to add matter into the toilet without the ability to flush will create a health hazard for you while you wait for your scheduled service call and also for the technician working on the clog.

Broken Fixtures

Warranties

Kitchen faucets, bath faucets, shower faucets, and toilets break unexpectedly and usually at the worst times. Delta offers a lifetime warranty on their faucets. For detailed information regarding the limits of Delta's warranty click here. Any faucet purchased through our company, Grainger Plumbing and Repair, can be warrantied through us. If you purchase a faucet and we install the faucet, we only warranty our work.

Toilets

Toilets can last for years with minimal maintenance. All of the inner workings of the toilet can be replaced as well as the hose and shut off valve at the base of the toilet where the water supply comes into the house. To determine if the toilet has a blister on the flap and is leaking into the bowl, pour food coloring in the tank, do not flush, and watch for the color to enter the bowl. A blister on the flap can cause a tiny leak and a huge water bill.

Appliances

We do install dishwashers, garbage disposals, and waterlines going to washers and ice makers. We can repair leaks in pipes going to appliances, but we can not repair the appliance itself. For appliance repairs call the store where you made the original purchase and ask for instructions.

Gas

We install, repair, and offer maintenance on gas lines going to heaters and stoves. We do not service those appliances. Gas line repair and installation is unpredictable in how long the repair will take. For new installation we allow for a 4-hour service call. It doesn’t mean that the install will take 4 hours. It only means that we give the technician that amount of time on the schedule.