Plumbing Tips

Houston winters are mostly mild, but every few years a hard freeze rolls through and catches homeowners off guard. The 2021 storm taught Katy, Cypress, and Memorial residents that pipes here are not built for sustained sub-freezing temps. The good news: a little prep goes a long way.

Before the freeze

Disconnect every garden hose and cover outdoor spigots with foam insulators. Open the cabinet doors under kitchen and bathroom sinks so warm indoor air can reach the supply lines. Know where your main water shutoff is located before you need it in the dark.

During the freeze

Let a pencil-thin stream of water run from the faucet farthest from your main line. Moving water is much harder to freeze. Keep the thermostat above 60°F even if you leave town, and crack open interior doors so heat circulates through the whole house.

If a pipe bursts

Shut off the main valve immediately, open faucets to drain the system, and call us at (713) 253-4810. The faster the water is off, the less drywall and flooring you lose.

Slab leaks, slow drips behind walls, and pinhole failures in older copper can run for weeks before you notice. By the time you see a stain on the ceiling, the damage is already in the studs.

Watch your water bill

An unexplained jump of 15% or more is the single most reliable early sign of a hidden leak. Compare month-over-month and year-over-year.

Check your meter

Turn off every fixture and appliance in the house, then look at the meter. If the dial is still moving, water is going somewhere it shouldn't.

Listen and look

Warm spots on a tile floor often mean a hot-water slab leak. Musty smells under sinks, peeling paint near baseboards, and the constant hiss of a toilet refilling are all worth a call.

If anything on this list sounds familiar, we offer non-invasive leak detection across Katy, Fulshear, and west Houston. Catching it early almost always means a smaller, cheaper repair.

Tankless water heaters heat water on demand instead of holding 40 to 75 gallons hot around the clock. For the right house, they're a clear upgrade. For others, the math doesn't work as well as the marketing suggests.

Where tankless shines

Long showers without running cold, a 20+ year lifespan, no risk of a 50-gallon tank failure flooding your garage, and noticeably lower gas bills in low-use households.

Where to be cautious

Large families running two showers, a dishwasher, and laundry at the same time can outrun a single tankless unit. Hard Houston-area water also scales the heat exchanger quickly without an inline softener and annual descaling.

Install considerations

Most tankless units need a larger gas line and dedicated venting. Pricing varies a lot depending on whether your existing gas and venting can be reused. We'll quote both options side by side so you can compare honestly.

Kitchen faucets get used 40+ times a day. A cheap one fails in 2 to 3 years; a well-built one with ceramic disc cartridges easily lasts 15+.

What to look for

Solid brass body (not zinc), ceramic disc valves, a pull-down sprayer with a magnetic dock, and a finish rated for hard water. Spend a little more upfront and you'll replace it far less often.

Install gotchas

Older Katy homes often have corroded shutoff valves under the sink. We replace those as a matter of course during faucet swaps so you're not calling us back in six months.

Maintenance

Unscrew the aerator every few months and soak it in vinegar. It takes five minutes and restores full flow. If the spray pattern is uneven, the aerator is almost always the culprit, not the faucet.

What never goes down

Grease, coffee grounds, eggshells, fibrous vegetables (celery, asparagus, corn husks), pasta, rice, and bones. Each one causes a different kind of clog, and grease is the worst.

Keep it fresh

Once a week, run cold water and drop a handful of ice and a lemon wedge through the disposal. The ice sharpens the impellers; the lemon kills odor without harsh chemicals.

When it hums but won't spin

Something is jammed. Hit the red reset button on the bottom of the unit, then use the hex wrench that came with it (or a 1/4" Allen) in the hole on the underside to free the rotor. Never put your hand inside the disposal.

Every June, Gulf Coast homeowners stock up on batteries and forget about the plumbing. After Harvey and Beryl, we got hundreds of calls that could have been avoided with an hour of prep.

Before the storm

Fill bathtubs with water for flushing toilets if service is lost. Run a load of laundry and the dishwasher so you start the storm with empty appliances. Check that your sump pump (if you have one) actually runs.

If you lose power

Don't drink tap water until your utility issues an all-clear. Boil-water notices are common after major storms in Harris and Fort Bend counties.

After the storm

If your home flooded, do not turn the water heater back on until a plumber confirms the burner and gas valve are dry. We'll inspect and certify a flooded heater for a flat fee.

Reverse osmosis pushes water through a membrane fine enough to strip out almost everything: chlorine, lead, fluoride, sodium, pesticides, and the dissolved solids that make Houston water taste flat.

What it's great for

Drinking water, ice makers, coffee makers, and aquariums. The taste difference vs. tap is dramatic, especially in areas served by surface water.

What to know

RO systems waste 2 to 4 gallons of water for every gallon they produce, and they strip beneficial minerals along with the bad stuff. Many homeowners add a remineralization stage for taste and pH.

Whole-house vs. under-sink

Whole-house RO is rarely the right answer because of the water waste. We almost always recommend a whole-house carbon-and-softener combo plus a small under-sink RO at the kitchen for drinking water.

Running constantly

It's almost always the flapper. A worn rubber flapper lets water seep from the tank into the bowl, triggering the fill valve over and over. A $6 part and 10 minutes solves it. A constantly running toilet can waste 200+ gallons a day.

Weak or incomplete flush

Mineral buildup in the rim jets is the usual cause in our hard-water area. A wire hanger and some CLR cleans them out and restores the full flush.

Wobbles when you sit

The wax ring is failing or the closet flange is broken. Don't ignore this. A leaking wax ring rots subfloor for months before you see anything.

When to replace vs. repair

If your toilet is 1.6 gallons or older, replacing it with a modern 1.28 gpf unit usually pays for itself in water savings within a few years and flushes better than the old one ever did.