Watermark Plumbing and Drains

09/05/2026

Hey everyone – Welcome to this week’s episode of “How NOT to Call the Plumber”!

Unfortunately, storms like the one we saw last week are becoming more and more of a regular occurrence. We’ve watched as what used to be called a “once in a generation” storm has moved to “once in a decade” to “once every few years”. The constant change of global weather patterns will only make these storms more common, which is why you need to take the necessary steps to protect your home. These steps aren’t considered “extra layers of protection” anymore, but rather absolutely necessary in order to stop basement flooding.

You may have heard us talk about this before, but we're writing about this again because we’ve heard too many homeowners over the years call with the regret of not spending just a few hundred dollars in a sump pump replacement just to have their basement flood to the tune of a $50,000 renovation (which is often not covered by insurance in today’s home insurance policies).

The two most important pieces of equipment that you can have in your basement are Sump Pumps with Battery Backup Systems to protect against naturally-occurring water (rising groundwater and rainwater from exterior drains) and Backwater Valves to protect from sewage backing up from the City sewers into your basement.

The City of Toronto knows the importance of these pieces of equipment, but also knows that they can be expensive to install. That’s why they offer rebates through the City of Toronto Basement Flooding Subsidy to help cover the cost. Believe it or not, these rebates are large enough that they often cover a substantial amount of the installation costs, many times up to 80%.

For some context, if you have an existing sump pump that you are looking to replace and add a battery backup system, the out-of-pocket cost after the city rebate is likely to be less than $300 – yes, you read that right! Backwater valves can be slightly higher after the rebate, ranging from about $3,000 to $7,000.

We don’t often directly plug our business, but If you have any questions or are interested in taking advantage of these rebates, please feel free to reach out. At Watermark Plumbing and Drains we help hundreds of customers every year with installations just like these, and we're very proud to say we have over 1,000 five-star Google reviews to show you’d be in very good hands!

09/02/2026

It all started in 2023 with a call for a blocked basement drain.

It was fairly standard stuff: The customer was having a backup of the drains in the basement whenever they used water in their home.

Blockages preventing water from flowing out to the City sewer can be caused by all sorts of things: Toilet paper, baby wipes, collapsed drains, tree root intrusion. But our team was definitely not expecting what we found!

As is standard practice, we first sent the auger down the drain to try and get some movement of the water (and of other fun stuff you find in drains). We need to clear it before we send the camera down the drain so that we can see what is actually causing the problem.

Lo and behold, after powering up the camera, they found a fully-intact Coke can in there! This can was stuck in what is called the building trap, outside the front entrance of the home; building traps are no longer installed (or needed), but during the original installation 100 years ago, they were meant as a way to keep sewer gas out of the house. Building traps are the source of many issues, as they act exactly as their name suggests – a trap! They love to trap anything and everything that makes its way down the drain, including Coke cans apparently.

There was no way to remove this Coke can that was stuck in the building trap short of digging it up. We went through our standard process of putting together a quote, getting the customer’s approval, calling in for locates, and getting to work. Towards the end of the first day of the dig, we were able to cut into the drain and remove the troublesome Coke can... but the story isn't over just yet...

Looking closer at the can, 𝗜𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗘𝗗 𝗜𝗡 𝟭𝟵𝟴𝟯! This means that this can was in the customer’s drain for the last 40 years without issue! We have seen a lot of things in our business, but this is a first.

It also started a trend: We started a Wall of Fame in our office that's ready to display any curious artifacts our plumbers find, like the troublesome Coke can of 1983!

08/30/2026

HJey everyone, welcome to a Sunday Special episode of "How NOT to Call the Plumber!"

This week we're talking about one of the most common complaints we hear during the summer months: running out of hot water. With extra people in the house, more showers, more laundry, and more dishes, it does not take long before the person getting the last shower is getting a very cold wake-up call.

Before you assume your hot water tank is toast, here are a few things worth checking first:

First, check the thermostat. Most residential hot water tanks have a thermostat dial on the front of the unit. If it has been turned down accidentally or was never set properly, your tank is not heating water to its full capacity. The minimum recommended setting for a hot water tank is 60 degrees Celsius. Lower than that and you risk Legionella bacteria growing in the tank, higher than that and you risk scalding!

Second, sediment buildup at the bottom of the tank could be stealing your capacity. Over time, minerals from your water supply settle at the bottom of the tank and form a layer of sediment, making the tank work harder and heat less efficiently. In some cases, sediment buildup can reduce your effective tank capacity significantly without you even realizing it. Flushing the tank once a year helps prevent this from getting out of hand. As a side note, if you have a tank that has never been flushed and is more than about 7 years old, it’s often best to leave it alone at this point and deal with the capacity issues if you have them! The risk of draining the tank now could cause internal parts to break, leak, etc., causing more harm than good. Just make sure to drain it on a yearly basis the next time you buy a tank!

Third, you should think about demand changes. A tank that was sized for a couple is going to struggle with a full house of summer guests. If you are consistently running out of hot water even with a properly functioning tank, it may simply be undersized for your current needs. This is worth a conversation about whether or not those demand changes are permanent or something you can work through from time to time!

Lastly, if your tank is more than 10 to 12 years old and running out of hot water regularly, sediment is likely a major factor but the tank itself may also be approaching the end of its expected life. At that point, pre-emptive replacement is the way to go before something like a major leak occurs!

That's it for this week! Check the thermostat first. You might be surprised. Have a wonderful weekend and we'll see you next time! 😊

08/30/2026

08/22/2026

Hey everyone, welcome to this week's episode of "How NOT to Call the Plumber!"

This week we're talking about the dripping faucet. That steady little drip you have been tuning out for the past few months. The one that you keep meaning to get around to. Here is the thing: a faucet that drips once per second wastes over 30 litres of water a day, and over a year that adds up to more than 11,000 litres! Aside from the obvious waste of water, it’s a big waste of money on your bill!

Now, here is something important that has changed over the years and that most homeowners do not know. The days of a simple washer fix are largely behind us.

Modern faucets for the most part no longer use rubber washers and packing the way older ones did. Today, almost every faucet runs on a cartridge, which is an internal valve mechanism that controls the flow and temperature of your water. When a modern faucet drips, it is almost always the cartridge that has worn out.

Here is where it gets a little tricky:

Cartridges are brand and model specific. Unlike a generic rubber washer that fits almost anything, today’s cartridges are engineered for a specific faucet brand, and in many cases a specific model within that brand.

Parts availability is often the biggest problem you’ll face in this situation. If your faucet is from a reputable brand like Moen, Delta, or Kohler, finding a replacement cartridge is usually straightforward and something you can source and install quite easily. If your faucet is a cheaper off-brand or a builder-grade fixture with no identifiable manufacturer, the cartridge simply may not be available, meaning a full replacement is the only fix. If you need to go that route, make sure to replace it with one of those more reputable brands I mentioned earlier!

In situations where a cartridge can’t be sourced easily, often that full replacement is the way to go as that will be a cheaper option in the end. There are many times where the repair cost of making multiple visits trying to track down parts often ends up exceeding what a quality replacement faucet would cost!

Before calling a plumber about a dripping faucet, try to find the brand name on the faucet body, typically stamped at the base of the faucet where it meets the sink. From there, you can reach out to the manufacturer directly and they will often send you a new cartridge in the mail free of charge! Once you have that in hand, you can make the decision based on your comfort level whether you’d like to make the switch yourself or call in a plumber to take care of it for you (if you do decide to call in a plumber, you know who to call!).

That's it for this week! Do not let that drip go another month. Have a wonderful weekend and we'll see you next time! 😊

08/17/2026

Hey everyone! This is our final installment of "Meet Us Mondays", where you've gotten to know a bit more about our wonderful staff!

Stacey Rodas is our Dispatcher on the weekends (and sometimes during weekdays as needed). She is also our Social Media Assistant!

Before she joined Watermark in the summer of 2025, she was actually a happy customer of ours! Now her goal is to bring the same level of care and skill that she received to all of our customers.

But she's not all work and no play!

She enjoys dabbling in 3D printing (she regularly supplies 3D-printed plant pots to her local flowershop) and spending time with her son and husband.

She wants to know your favourite kind of plant or flower in the comments!

08/02/2026

𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟭,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀! Each and every one reinforces our commitment to bringing top-notch customer service into our trade. Here's a sampling of some that made us smile over the last few months!.

Thank you to every customer who took the time to write one. We take our five-star rating seriously because it shows our commitment to bring excellent customer service into our trade. :)

08/01/2026

Hey everyone, welcome to this week’s episode of “How NOT to Call the Plumber!”. Thank you to everyone who expressed their concern about our owner Geoff's leg last week – we are happy to say he's on the mend!

With the kids at home for the summer, we see a big increase in “child related plumbing incidents”. These incidents usually involve toys and other assorted items being flushed down the toilet. So, we thought it would be good to give you an idea of the steps you can take when your child does this, and hopefully avoid calling the plumber in the process!

Here are the 5 steps to take when your child (or you 😉) flushes something down the toilet:

First, put on some gloves and do a “manual” inspection. The first step is always to physically stick a gloved hand into the toilet and see if the toy can be felt. Toys will often become lodged at the first bend in the toilet’s drain. If this is the case, simply use your hands, a coat hanger, needle nose pliers, or whatever you can to pull the toy out!

Break out the plunger. If you can’t feel the toy in the toilet, the plunger is your next step. Try to push that toy right down past the toilet and into the plumbing system. Usually, if it makes it into the drains, it won’t cause issue in the future. There are a few different styles of plungers made specifically for toilets, called “Flange Plungers”. These are slightly different than the “Cup Plungers” many of you have, as they have an extra piece of rubber that properly seals the toilet drain. You get bonus points for running your plunger under hot water for a few minutes to soften the rubber, creating a better seal. If after a few minutes of plunging you still can’t clear the toy, don’t bother anymore; it doesn’t look like a plunger will work!

The next tool in line is the closet auger. A closet auger is different from the regular drain snake many of you already have, as it houses a larger cable in a steel tube that can act more “forcefully” on whatever is lodged in the toilet. When using the closet auger, you are trying to either hook the toy and pull it back out or push it through the toilet into the drain. Of course, it is better if it can be pulled out, but it is often quite difficult to do this and the blockage winds up being pushed through! As mentioned earlier, once whatever was blocking the toilet is through to the drain, very rarely does it cause further issue.

The last step is to take off the toilet. If all else has failed, the toilet has to be taken off to see if the toy can be reached from the underside. Often, toys and other items will be lodged at the lowest point in the toilet, right before the drain. To do this, make sure you clear the bowl and tank of any water (yes, you have to do this by scooping), turn off the water supply, and disconnect the toilet. It is usually best to then either put it in the tub, or to bring it outside and flip it over!

If you STILL haven’t been able to clear the blockage from the toilet (and are sure its not in the drain), unfortunately the only other thing that can be done is to replace the toilet altogether. This is an expensive solution, but sometimes necessary!

That is all for this week! We hope you all have a wonderful long weekend and we’ll see you next time!

07/26/2026

𝗪𝗲'𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝟭,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀! Thank you to every customer who took the time to write one. We take our five-star rating seriously because it shows our commitment to bring excellent customer service into our trade. :)

07/25/2026

Hey everyone, due to the annoying issue of a spiral fracture of the fibula, Geoffrey Burke will have to cancel this week’s episode of “How NOT to Call the Plumber!”. But have no fear – you can still call us any time and our amazing team will be there to help with all your plumbing needs. He may even be the one to answer to call!

***His kids seem much happier about this than he is!