by Chris Schulz | Dec 5, 2016 | Drain King, Drain Service, Lift Station, Pipe Cleaning, Sewer Cleaning
Parking Ramp Drain Cleaning
Winters in Minnesota can be downright brutal. Cold temps and heavy snowfall lead to slippery roads and treacherous driving conditions. To combat these conditions the Department of Transportation and other municipalities spread large amounts of salt and sand on Minnesota roadways. When driving in such conditions, vehicles accumulate large amounts of wet snow around wheel wells and tire rims. the snow contains large amounts of sand and salt. Where does all this sand and salt end up? In your parking lot drains and sand traps.
Parking ramp drain cleaning on annual basis, is crucial to the life of your parking lot drains and sand traps. If neglected, the salt can break down cast iron pipes causing the pipe to rot from within. Rotten pipes can lead to costly floods or repairs to vehicles within the ramp. The Sand trap can also deteriorate from salt deposits. Sand traps will start leaking if not pumped frequently enough. Not only will you need to replace the tank, you will be stuck with expensive clean-up costs. Pumping your sand trap at a minimum of once per year will prolong the life of the tank and prevent costly Hazmat clean ups.
high pressure water jetting
Drain King uses high pressure water jetting to remove sand and salt deposits from the parking ramp drains. All left over waste is pushed from the top of the ramp to the bottom. after jetting, all waste is pumped out of the tank. All liquid waste is disposed of at Met Council. The sand is disposed of at a local landfill. Low clearance ramps are no problem for Drain King Inc. Vac trailer. This trailer can access sand traps in almost every “low clearance ramp”. Parking Ramp Drain Cleaning keeps your pipes healthy for the long term.
by Art Kallenbach | Dec 2, 2016 | Drain King, Locate Pipes, Pipe Cleaning, Sewer Cleaning
Purchase home main sewer line televising
Purchase home main sewer line televising. You are probably getting a home inspection. The inspector looks at many things then gives you a report on his/her opinion of the health of your perspective home. Some home inspectors offer an add-on service of main sewer line inspection. The customer can also contract this service directly. Drain King, Inc. https://drainkinginc.com/ provides this service and many others. Your sewer line can be a source of massive problems and can be a reason inscrutable home owners sell a home. Someone else has to pay for the problem. I’ve seen it happen. Sewer line repairs are at least $5,000 and can exceed $30,000. There is no reason to be victimized. In some situations nobody knows there is a problem.
An Example of a failure;
In one case a business purchased a multi-million dollar building and 2 years later paid $15,000 to figure out where their sewer line went and have structures installed so it could be cleaned on a regular basis. I was part of a telephone negotiation between several parties deciding who was at fault. My response to the building owner was; “people buy a $200,000 home and pay $200 to have their sewer line inspected. You bought a 7 million dollar building and didn’t even consider having the sewer line located and inspected”. That sewer line was over 700 feet long.
The sewer line in your perspective home is probably less than 100 feet. If your home is further than 50 feet from the city street it is extremely important to know where the sewer line is going. You need to know it’s condition and where additional clean outs are located in case there is a problem. You should also mark outside clean outs since you may have to find them under 2 feet of snow.
by Art Kallenbach | Dec 1, 2016 | Drain King, Uncategorized
Restaurant Grease Pump Truck
“Insanity is repeating the same thing over and over and expecting the results to be different.”, is a quote often attributed to Albert Einstein. I recently had a restaurant owner angry with me at the cost of clearing his main line of restaurant grease. The process took 4 hours and required a 4,000psi jetter at 18 gallons per minute, and a vacuum truck so the store would not flood while we were working. He told me he had been the manager of restaurants for 20 years and never paid this much to have grease cleaned from the lines.
I explained to him he paid about the cost of 1 year’s maintenance to keep restaurant grease from plugging the drains in their building. Routine maintenance for a restaurant with grease issues is 2 to 4 times a year. Some restaurants need to be done monthly. Some restaurant owners and managers believe a grease trap in the store means all grease will be stopped from entering the building sanitary sewer. This is not true. Restaurant Grease traps are not meant to stop 100% of the grease from entering the sanitary sewer. When functioning properly Restaurant grease traps stop approximately 85% of the grease leaving 15% to flow into the restaurant’s sanitary sewer eventually plugging those drain lines.
Loss of Revenue and loss of customers because they are angry that your restaurant is not open is not good for business. Even worse is customers that will never return because they are disgusted by the smell caused by backed up grease drain lines. Do’s and Don’ts? Do contact us now drainkinginc.com for a free appraisal and/or estimate. Do recycle cooking oils. Do empty your grease trap at least quarterly. Don’t repeat the same mistakes. Don’t think everything is fine because there is nothing backing up on your floor or in the customer’s restrooms.
by Chris Schulz | Nov 14, 2016 | Drain King, Grease Control, Uncategorized
Drain King Inc. has proudly served the Minneapolis, St. Paul metro and surrounding areas drain cleaning needs for the past 25 years. Drain King Inc. uses the most advanced technology to determine the problem and solve it quickly and cost effectively. We offer both residential and commercial drain cleaning services.
Our commercial drain cleaning services provide urgent, on demand service as well as scheduled maintenance programs for your properties. Don’t allow your grease traps, inflammable waste traps, floor drains or septic system shut you down. Call us today and we will sit down with you and put together a comprehensive cost effective preventative maintenance plan.
Our residential drain cleaning services provide urgent, on demand service as well as scheduled preventative maintenance programs. Don’t allow you clogged toilet, clogged bathroom sink, clogged kitchen sink, clogged mainline, clogged laundry tub or clogged floor drain to flood your home today.
Drain King’s phone number (763-786-3000) is answered by a real person 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, 365 days per year.
List of Residential Services:
Residential Drain Cleaning
Floor Drain Cleaning
Mainline Sewer Cleaning
Kitchen Sink Cleaning
Bathroom Sink Cleaning
Septic Tank Pumping
Drain Field Cleaning
Floor Drain Clogs
Mainline Sewer Clogs
Kitchen Sink Clogs
Bathroom Sink Clogs
Toilet clogs
Septic Tank Clogs
Drain Field Clogs
List of Commercial Services:
Parking Ramp Floor drain Cleaning.
Sand Trap Pumping
Inflammable Waste Trap Pumping/Cleaning
Lift Station Pumping/Cleaning
Grease Trap Pumping
Storm Water Inspections
Frozen Pipe Thawing
Storm sewer jetting and pumping, Televising up to 1000′ (1″-36″ lines in diameter)
Televising & Locating Sources
Verifying & Locating Breaks
Composite piping & Size of Line
Locating Pre-existing Lines for Remodel Jobs
Water Jetting (1-36″ line)
Line Thawing
Optional Video Recording
Effective Grease Control
Lift Station Cleaning
Waste Vegetable Oil Recycling
Free Estimates
by Chris Schulz | Nov 14, 2016 | Drain King, Drain Service, Frozen Pipes, Grease Control, Lift Station, Locate Pipes, Pipe Cleaning, Sewer Cleaning, Uncategorized
No; is the answer for the vast majority of home owners. There are several reasons not to water jet, but first I’d like to warn you about a trend in Drain Cleaning of Main Drains that is happening in the Minneapolis and St. Paul as well as surrounding communities like Fridley, Coon Rapids, Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, Anoka, Mounds View, Shoreview, Little Canada, Roseville, Robinsdale, Crystal, New Hope, Maple Grove, Minnetonka, Hopkins, St. Louis Park, Eden Prairie, Bloomington, Inver Grove Heights, South Saint Paul, West St. Paul, North St. Paul, Woodbury, etc.
There are currently several Drain Cleaning Companies preying on unsuspecting homeowners. They sell water jetting as a means to make all your plumbing work better and make all your drains drain faster. Statements like this simply are not true. While a main drain line cleaned at the normal cost of approximately $300, the drain cleaning companies selling water jetting will charge more than $1,200, one thousand two hundred dollars for the service. The vast majority of home owners do not need this service. The cheaper service is just as good. Root regrown will occur at the same rate with mechanical snake cleaning as with water jetting. There is no difference.
What is Water jet used for? A water jet uses high pressure water (4,000psi) at a flow rate of around 18 gallons per minute. The Water jet impact of the water is actually what cuts the roots. The problem is that Water jets are designed to operate upstream. In nearly all residential plumbing water jet is a down stream proposition. Minneapolis plumbing around the turn of the century allowed for the installation of 6 six inch clay pipe running almost to the foundation of the house. A 6 inch pipe will hold many times more volume of roots compared to a 4 inch pipe. This means it will often take longer for roots to cause a backup.
by Ralph Peterson | Mar 3, 2016 | Drain King
Water Pressure is Important
When battling low water pressure, replacing the piping is not always a practical solution. In fact, this can be costly and unnecessary. There are a number of factors that can affect your home’s water flow, so if something doesn’t seem right, check the four main causes of low water pressure before opting to re-pipe your home or make additional adjustments.
Causes of low water pressure can stem from the main shutoff valve, your water meter, your pressure regulator, or damaged washers and fixtures.
While issues outside your home are likely to cause a change in water pressure within, if only one or a few of your faucets is experiencing difficulty, this generally indicates the need to replace washers or fixtures inside your home. The first step in checking your faucets is to turn on your outside spigot. If the water pressure outside is normal, begin systematically checking each faucet in your home, making sure to include showerheads and bath faucets. Take note of each faucet that generates low water pressure. The washers and fixtures in need of replacement will be at the points of variation in pressure. To easily pinpoint these areas and save time and frustration, contact one of Drain King’s professionals.
If your outside spigot is also experiencing low water pressure, examine your water meter. While it is generally assumed the water meter is functioning at full capacity, this simple error is an easy fix and should not be overlooked. Next, check the main shutoff valve located near the street. Incidents such as water main breaks may require the water to be shut off, then slowly allowed back into the pipes. In many cases, the valve is not fully reopened, which leads to a lower flow of water to your home.
If all of your faucets are experiencing low water pressure, your water meter is fully operating, and the main valve is turned all the way on, your pressure regulator may be to blame. A pressure regulator works exactly as the name implies—it reduces the pressure of the water coming from your town’s main water system to a safe pressure for your home. Pressure buildup can blow out pipes, faucets, and fixtures. If this occurs, repairs to the damaged piping elements will be necessary.
If the problem persists, it may be time to consult Drain King about re-piping your home. Sediment, dirt or years of buildup can obstruct the flow of water and create low water pressure in your home. While this is a costly project, it is well worth the expense. After all, who enjoys showers under lightly sprinkling water?
