The family of service professionals at Drain King Plumbing, together with company owner Juan Sanches and his wife Rosa Sanches (center), who manages the office. Since acquiring their updated building at 1405 Neptune, they have continued to grow. Photo by Jane Kathleen Gregorio
Spring may bring April showers, May flowers, and out-of-towners to the Coastal Bend, but it also delivers a crop of plumbing-related concerns that can cause property damage and increase utility costs. The professionals at Drain King Plumbing, a family-owned Corpus Christi business, recently shared their expertise with Corpus Christi Business News regarding spring-related Coastal Bend plumbing issues.
According to Abel Garcia, a Drain King journeyman plumber with more than 20 years’ experience in the field, many of the service calls during the spring and summer months are related to stoppages and water and gas leaks.
“Now that the higher temperatures bring dryer weather, if a customer has problems with sewer lines or leaks, the likely culprit are tree roots that grow into the line,” Garcia said. “Typically, the tree roots follow the water source, causing blockage. Also, after months of not having any rain, many of the water lines start to break due to the ground shifting. Likewise, the opposite can also create problems: When we get a big amount of rain, the ground shifts, too. It’s back and forth.”
According to Garcia, another unique challenge for the Coastal Bend is the large influx of visitors drawn to the beaches and fishing, especially during the warmer months.
“Unfortunately, our city (utility infrastructure) is not equipped for the large amount of people that come here for vacation,” he said. “This actually creates a heavy toll on the plumbing, being that many of the hotels and motels are steadily full. There are always plumbing problems, which keep our staff busy as well.”
Plumbing concerns apply to gas flow as well.
“A lack of heat coming from gas appliances can indicate a leak, and often, this comes as a result of old gas piping,” Garcia said. “Unfortunately, the gas company can only determine or confirm if there is a leak but are unable to do repairs. The customer then has to call a licensed plumber to locate the leak and fix it.”
As one of the plumbers who gets those calls, Garcia advises customers to check for abnormalities in their water and utilities bills, which can point to possible problems.
“If you see a sudden increase in gas or water usage, it could be a faucet dripping, a toilet running or a small water leak somewhere,” he said. “A hot water leak can also spike not only your water bill but also the utilities because it will continuously run to keep water hot.”
The color of the grass outside can also be an indicator of trouble.
“If you know which way your service line is running in the back or front yard, sometimes you’ll notice that the grass may be greener in one straight area,” he said. “Also, vice versa around a gas meter or service line: The gas will have a different effect, causing the grass to be brown or dead near the gas leak.”
According to Garcia, the experts at Drain King Plumbing offer a variety of services to address these springtime issues. The company offers line and drain cleaning, sewer line replacement, new gas service, video inspections, hydro-jet service, back-flow service, hydrostatic and isolation testing, water testing and plumbing underneath homes.
“We have the latest technology, such as line locating and tankless water heaters,” Garcia added. “We have some of our suppliers, three of them here in town, whose sales reps introduce our company to the latest technology on the market, and a lot of our warehouses have vendors that come, do demos and classes for new products coming out.”
Each of the seven employees at the family-based company is professionally trained, licensed by the state or going through an apprenticeship program, Garcia said. They all
stay up to date on the latest products and attend classes and demonstrations.
Office manager Rosa Sanchez invites customers to take advantage of ongoing promotions.
“We offer a ten percent discount to senior citizens and military personnel,” Sanchez said. “We also offer free estimates and are including a fifteen percent discount for those who mention this article.”
Drain King Plumbing is located at 4705 Neptune St. in Corpus Christi. Call (361) 882-6969 for more information.
