Preventive Maintenance Program

The Jamestown Roto-Rooter offers a preventive maintenance program for customers with re-occurring problems. In this way, it helps to avoid the mess and inconvenience of plugged drains and at a cost of 10% less than the normal cost, excluding off hours. This is beneficial to the company because they can work these in at their convenience when the work load accommodates.

Our Product Line

After a drain is cabled thoroughly, we recommend the use of our Pipe Shield®, Root Destroyer, RootX® or Septic Tank & Cesspool Treatment to keep the drains running free and clear. For more information on these products, check out the tab entitled Drain Care Products.

Kitchen Sinks

Never pour grease down the drain. Use an empty tin can instead and dispose of when full.

Improper use of garbage disposals are a common problem in plugging the drain. A few tips include:

1. Do not stuff
2. Do not use stringy foods such as celery, onions or artichokes
3. Run plenty of cold water as you turn on the disposal
4. Add the food slowly
5. Continue running the cold water when finished to completely clear the line

Bathroom Sinks & Bathtubs

Use a screen or a stopper to catch hair, the most common blockage for bathtubs. A secondary problem is toys or shampoo bottle caps. Skin oils are another problem. Try to minimize its use.

Sometimes a diamond ring can go down a sink. Should this happen, do NOT use any water and call Roto-Rooter immediately.

Toilets

Newer toilets are water savers and therefore tend not to flush well. Compared with older toilets their flush is only 1.6 gallons whereas the older ones used 3–4 gallons for a better flush. Therefore, a few tips are in order.

1. Do not use handy-wipes, baby wipes, paper towels or feminine products (despite what the package says)
2. Never use acid products or corrosive cleaners
3. Try using a plunger with successive flushings before calling Roto-Rooter

Sewers

Proper toilet care can assist in preventing a plugged sewer line, i.e. no foreign products except for toilet paper.

Roots are a common problem. Our cables have blades that shave the interior of the pipe. After this is done, we strongly recommend our root products to prevent root re-growth for as long as possible.

Odors

If a drain has not been used for a lengthy period of time, the U-shaped trap will dry out and odor can seep from it. In this case, simply run a small amount of water once a week for a sink or, for a floor drain, add about a quart or a bucket of water every 1 to 4 weeks.

Shut-off Valves

In cases of emergency when immediate help is not available and water is flooding a room, it is useful to know where your shut-off valves are in advance. If a toilet is overflowing, there is a shut-off valve underneath the toilet tank. But, for the main water supply it is useful to know where the water enters the house. There should be a shut-off valve at that point, usually in the basement near the water meter or water pump depending on whether you live in the city or the country. A mobile home will have specialized locations so be sure and know this ahead of time.

Frozen Pipes

Rule number one is to insulate pipes against the cold. Never let an inside pipe be exposed to a draft. In the case of extreme cold, however, when all else is done, a good prevention is to leave cupboard doors open and permit a small stream or trickle of cold water about the size of a pencil to run overnight.