Ever wonder where the stuff you flush down the toilet goes? No? Well, fair enough... flush it and say goodbye! Unfortunately, many of us do have to think about it. Nearly half of all Americans live in a house with a septic tank. We won't go into details, but this is the place where all your "wastewater" (okay, it's sewage) goes. We all flush and forget, but your septic tank needs ordinary maintenance.
If your service provider has adequate knowledge and training on the topic, this might be a good time to find out more about energy alternatives. He may be able to install low-flush toilets and lower-output shower heads. This is also a good time to talk about solar thermal water heating, though perhaps before the roofer is finished up top.
How do you determine if it is an emergency? Look at the source of the problem. If water is not moving and the sink is just full of water that isn't draining, you haven't found a real emergency. If the faucet in the sink will not stop running, and the water isn't draining, it may turn quickly into an garbage disposal.
For instance if you are looking for a Trustworthy plumber, you can post a tweet in Twitter and ask for referrals. Be careful of spammers who may connect with your keywords. Trust the comments that come from within your network.
Sometimes repairs do not need to be immediate, but they should be quick. When you do not need emergency repairs, but cannot wait days for help, you should find a plumbing company offering same day services. This means you can call in the morning and have someone there to make the repair within hours. Since some companies do not offer emergency services, same day service may be the next best thing, so you should look for this offering if it is the best your Local plumber has.
The first step is to avoid anyone who knocks your door offering to do work for you. This is not how professional organisations tend to court businesses and, in most cases, the better professionals will have plenty of work to keep them going without the need to door-to-door.
When you are ready to commission the work, ask for the quote in writing and ensure the final bill is broken down. That way, there will be no room for inconsistencies between the two figures.