Things You Don’t Know About Plumbers

Plumbing is essential to our everyday lives, but most of us rarely think about it. The notion of getting hot or cold water on demand in one’s home would have been astounding to people centuries ago, to say nothing of indoor plumbing. Yet what do you know about the people who do this vital work to keep our sinks, toilets, and showers running? Let Certified Plumbing of Brevard educate you on things you don’t know about your licensed plumber. Read more below!

Plumber Demographics

Plumbers in America have an interesting demographic breakdown. There are over 275,000 plumbers employed in the United States. Most of these plumbers are white (68.1%) and male (96.5%). The average age of an American plumber is 42 years old; the average starting salary is about $30,000 a year, though the annual average is $54,023. The highest annual average wage for plumbers is $78,325 in Seattle, Washington, while the top 10% of plumbers earn as much as $95,000 or more annually.

The majority of plumbers live in New York City and Houston, Texas. However, plumbers are most in-demand in Orlando, Florida, and the best state for plumbers is, oddly enough, Alaska. Quite a range! Plumbers are more likely to work for private companies than public ones, and retail is the industry that pays them the best.

They’re Always Doing Something New

The sheer number of different plumbing systems out there means that licensed plumbers constantly tackle new and different tasks. Plumbers must be flexible, from inspecting swimming pools to helping connect water heaters to solar power. They may need to deal with gas lines and digging to repair or replace pipes. Their jobs also take them anywhere plumbing is needed -homes, hospitals, office buildings, and more. Unclogging a suburban home’s toilet or repairing a leaking sink at a restaurant is what we imagine in a typical plumber’s day, and these tend to make up the bulk of their work.

Sometimes, however, the job involves some rather strange things. Plumbers sometimes have to deal with live animals, like an iguana clogging a toilet or a dog with his paw stuck in a shower drain. Animals aside, odd things have been found clogging or sitting in plumbing pipes: class and wedding rings, children’s toys, even things like cement and dentures! As plumbers work everywhere there is plumbing -just about everywhere- they do jobs in unusual locations. Funeral homes need drainage systems to pipe away chemicals used in embalming as well as bodily fluids, and plumbers are the ones that install them.

They Want Garbage Disposals Renamed

When you’re scraping your dinner plate off into the sink, garbage disposals are what help keep the sink from clogging, at least in theory. In practice, many licensed plumbers think these machines are misnamed -to the detriment of plumbers everywhere. The problem is that some people think that things they might normally throw away can be placed at the garbage disposal due to the name. There is a long list of refuse that people wash down their garbage disposal that just ends up causing them (and their plumbers) more problems in the long run. These include:

• Paint
• Coffee grounds
• Pasta
• Bones
• Oatmeal
• Nuts
• Onion skins
• Eggshells
• Fruit and vegetable pits
• Potato peels
• Pumpkin guts
• Cleaning chemicals
• Corn husks
• Seafood shells

Having to deal with the clogs and messes caused by these things makes plumbers want garbage disposals renamed -or gotten rid of altogether.

Kitchens Are Worse Than Bathrooms

Speaking of kitchen sinks, many plumbers dread kitchen jobs more than bathroom jobs. A bathroom sink or shower is usually not too bad, but even a toilet is better than dealing with a kitchen sink. This disparity is mainly because of what we mentioned above: too many people use their sink and its garbage disposal as a trash can. The number one culprits are grease and animal fat, which can smell just as bad as human waste when sitting in the pipes for weeks. Worse still, they cause more severe problems and take longer to clean out, meaning that most licensed plumbers will take a bathroom job over a kitchen job every time.

Plumbing Can Be Dangerous

When you think of dangerous jobs, professions like construction, emergency response, and piloting all spring to mind. Plumbing may not be as risky as these sorts of work, but it carries serious hazards! Plumbing tends to be dirty work, so protecting against mold and disease is very important. Other risks include working on high-pressure pipes that can spray up to 100 pounds of pressurized water at everything around them, including the plumber. It gets even worse when you consider that the pipes and the water within them may be extremely hot or cold.

There are other dangers involved in plumbing. Heavy-duty equipment and machinery needed to complete large-scale installations and repairs can injure those working with it. Plumbers often work at heights to access pipes, so falling is a risk. Finally, chemicals, electricity, and gas mains threaten plumbers in their work, as they are often close and can cause burns, fires, shocks, and explosions. Professional plumbers always take measures to protect themselves against these risks.

Older Is Wiser

Older plumbers know better. A veteran licensed plumber has seen many things on the job, probably including at least a few of the things listed above. This experience is invaluable to quickly and effectively fix the issues that bring a home or business’s life to a grinding halt. Crucially, an older plumber is also a plumber you can trust to be inside your home and do a good job. So don’t go for someone just starting out -pick a licensed, seasoned plumbing company with integrity.

The Most Trusted Plumbers Work At Certified Plumbing of Brevard

On the subject of older plumbers, few plumbing companies have more experience than Certified Plumbing of Brevard. We have over 40 years of experience, including over 30 years of serving Brevard County. Our family-owned and operated business have long-lasting professional relationships with many local companies and institutions, and we work hard to keep their trust. So, why not join their ranks and see why we have decades of goodwill built in the industry. Call Certified Plumbing of Brevard today!