Plumbing Fixes Articles

Honest plumbing fixes answers from the licensed pros serving Northern Virginia.

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A rebuilt copper plumbing manifold with a whole-house water filter installed by SwiftPro in a Northern Virginia basement

Plumbing Fixes

Does Your House Need Repiping? Polybutylene, Copper Pinholes, and How to Tell

Two situations genuinely call for repiping and everything else is a repair. How to identify polybutylene, when repeated copper pinholes mean the system is…

Two corroded and split sections of pipe removed by SwiftPro from a Northern Virginia home, laid on the ground for the homeowner to see

Plumbing Fixes

The Outdoor Spigot: The Pipe That Bursts in January and Floods in April

The most commonly burst pipe in Northern Virginia, and you find out in April. Why a hose left attached defeats even a frost-free spigot,…

A tank water heater with its expansion tank and shutoff in a Northern Virginia utility space

Plumbing Fixes

How to Keep Your Pipes From Freezing

Find your main shutoff today. Then the November hour that prevents a burst pipe, what to do when a hard freeze is forecast, and…

An opened bathroom wall cavity in a Northern Virginia home exposing the copper supply piping SwiftPro repaired after a leak

Plumbing Fixes

How a Plumber Finds a Hidden Water Leak, and What It Costs

A leak search runs $200 to $470 at SwiftPro. The meter test, where leaks hide in Northern Virginia houses (polybutylene, slabs, service lines), and…

A SwiftPro technician working on the gas control valve of a tank water heater in a Northern Virginia home

Plumbing Fixes

Gas Line Repair and New Gas Lines in Northern Virginia: Who Does What

Smell gas? Leave and call Washington Gas first. Then: who owns which pipe, where leaks actually are, CSST bonding, and what gas line repairs…

A SwiftPro plumber working under and at a stainless kitchen sink while clearing a blocked drain line in a Northern Virginia home

Plumbing Fixes

Garbage Disposal: Fix It, Replace It, and What Each Costs

Unjam about $180, replace $570 to $870, install your own unit $380 to $475. The four minute fix for a humming disposal, which leaks…

Before and after of a SwiftPro sump pump replacement with a quiet check valve in Northern Virginia

Plumbing Fixes

Sump Pump Repair or Replacement in Northern Virginia: What It Costs

Sump pump replacement runs $700 to $1,200 at SwiftPro, battery backup more. The thirty second bucket test, what is repairable, and why clay soil…

A SwiftPro technician beside a wrapped SwiftPro van in a Northern Virginia driveway, with the Virginia Class A contractor license number 2705192276 on the panel

Heating & Furnaces

How to Winterize Your Home in Northern Virginia: 10 Things That Actually Matter

Ten things that actually matter before the first frost in Northern Virginia, from a heating and plumbing crew: filters, hose bibs, the shutoff valve,…

Plumbing Fixes

Burst Pipe: The First Four Minutes

Four things in order, right now: main shutoff, open the lowest faucet, kill the power, then call. Plus where your shutoff valve actually is…

Plumbing Fixes

Low Water Pressure Through the Whole House, Suddenly

Pressure that drops overnight is usually one failed part. Measure it with a gauge, then work through the five usual causes, starting with the…

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