30 answers from the Pillon family's shop
Plumbing questions, answered the way we would on the phone.
These are the questions Upstate homeowners ask us most, grouped by what is going wrong: a burst pipe at midnight, a slow drain, a water heater that quit, a freeze on the way. Open any one to read the full answer. If your question is about a specific job, the service pages go further, and the service areas page shows where we work.
6 questions
Emergency
Water where it should not be, and what to do in the first ten minutes.
Yes. All About Plumbing SC answers the phone 24 hours a day for burst pipes, sewer backups, no hot water, and flooding drains anywhere in the Upstate. Call (864) 436-3006 as soon as water is where it should not be. A licensed technician can shut the leak down, protect flooring, and tell you what has to happen next, before a small break becomes a reconstruction job.
Emergency calls go to the front of the board. We dispatch the nearest licensed technician as soon as a truck is free, often the same day, and after hours when water is moving. Response time depends on weather, traffic, and how many homes are flooding at once. Calling (864) 436-3006 immediately is still the fastest way to get a plumber moving toward your address.
Shut the main water valve first if you can reach it safely. That is usually at the meter or where the service line enters the house. Then switch off electricity to any room where water is near outlets. Call (864) 436-3006 while you move belongings off the floor. Do not cap a split pipe with tape and hope, because pressure will find the next weak spot. A technician can isolate the break, dry the line, and tell you whether a repair or a short repipe is the lasting fix.
Call a licensed local plumber, not a handyman and not a national dispatch line that resells your job. For Upstate South Carolina that number is All About Plumbing SC at (864) 436-3006. If sewage is entering the home or you smell gas at a water heater, leave the house and call emergency services as well. Water in a ceiling, a toilet that will not stop running onto the floor, or a water heater leaking at the base are plumber calls, not wait-until-morning problems.
Yes, when a truck is available we run same-day calls across Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, and the towns between them. Distance is not the usual delay. A cluster of emergency backups is. Tell the person who answers whether water is off, whether sewage is in the home, and whether someone can meet the technician. That is how we order the board fairly.
If the bowl is not rising toward the rim and no other fixture is backing up, you can stop flushing and wait for morning service. If the water is climbing, sewage is visible, or a nearby shower is coming up, it is an after-hours call. Do not keep flushing. Each flush adds gallons to a pipe that cannot leave the house. (864) 436-3006 is the number either way, and we will tell you if it can wait.
9 questions
Service & Billing
Estimates, payment, warranty, insurance, and how to book.
We serve Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Easley, Simpsonville, Greer, Clemson, Pickens, Seneca, Laurens, Taylors, Powdersville, Greenwood, Mauldin, Boiling Springs, Inman, Duncan, Fountain Inn, Clinton, and nearby Upstate South Carolina communities. If you are not sure we reach your street, call (864) 436-3006 or open the Service Areas page.
Yes. All About Plumbing SC is licensed in South Carolina and insured. Steve Pillon is the licensed master plumber behind the company.
Yes. When a technician arrives for a service call, you get a free on-the-spot estimate before any paid repair begins. You will hear what is failing, what can wait, and how we would fix it the right way. No work starts until you approve it. That is how we keep surprise invoices off the table.
We accept cash, check, and major credit cards. Payment is due when the job is finished unless we agree to another arrangement in writing. If the repair is part of a homeowners-insurance claim, keep the invoice and photos we leave with you.
Yes. Qualifying repairs carry a one-year labor warranty from All About Plumbing SC. Manufacturer warranties still apply to parts we install, such as water heaters and valves. Warranty work is scheduled the same way as any other call: (864) 436-3006. We would rather see a callback than have a homeowner live with a leak we already touched.
Yes. For covered failures such as a burst pipe or sudden water damage we document what we found, what we repaired, and what we recommend next. You still file the claim with your carrier. We provide invoices, photos, and a plain-language description of the plumbing failure.
Yes. Use the contact form on this site to request service. Tell us the symptom, the fixture, and when someone will be home. We confirm the appointment by phone or email. If the problem turns into a flood before that day, call (864) 436-3006 and we will treat it as an emergency.
We walk visible supply lines, drains, the water heater, hose bibs, under-sink stops, and toilets. You get a written list of what is fine, what to watch, and what should be repaired now. The inspection shows a homeowner the difference between a drip that can wait and a supply line that is already weeping into a cabinet. Ask about it when you book any service visit.
Call (864) 436-3006 or use the contact form. Include your city, the fixture, and whether water is still running. An after-hours backup or burst pipe should always be a phone call. Non-emergency items such as a dripping faucet or a planned water heater replacement can go through the form and we will confirm a window.
4 questions
Water Heaters
Replacing, flushing, and why the shower runs cold halfway through.
Yes. We install and replace tank and tankless water heaters, gas and electric, with venting, drain pans, expansion tanks, and shutoffs. A replacement is more than swapping a tank. Wrong sizing or a skipped expansion tank is how new heaters fail early. We size the unit to the home and leave you with the manufacturer paperwork.
Tank units that are 10 to 12 years old, rusty at the base, leaking into the pan, or popping loudly as sediment boils are usually replacement candidates. Running out of hot water halfway through a shower is another signal the tank cannot keep up. A leak at the tank itself cannot be patched for long. Replacing on your schedule beats replacing after the heater floods a garage or closet. We will tell you honestly if a flush or a new anode can still buy time.
Once a year is the usual interval for a tank heater in Upstate well or city water. Sediment insulates the burner or element, so the tank works harder and fails sooner. A flush is part of the free water heater service we advertise when it is on offer, and it is always available as a maintenance visit. Tankless units need a descaling flush on their own schedule, so ask us to mark that on the invoice.
Sediment has often covered the lower element or the burner, so only the top of the tank heats. A failing dip tube, a thermostat that is set too low, or a tank that is simply too small for the house can cause the same symptom. A flush or an element test is the first check. If the tank is past a decade and rusty, replacement is usually the honest answer.
4 questions
Drains
What to try first, what to skip, and when a clog is not just a clog.
Stop running water. A plunger on a sink or toilet is safe. A plastic drain snake is fine for hair at a pop-up. Skip chemical openers, because they sit on the clog, etch the pipe, and still leave you calling a plumber. If two fixtures back up at once, or you hear gurgling in a nearby drain, the clog is likely in a shared line or the sewer. That is the point to call (864) 436-3006 instead of forcing more water into a blocked pipe.
Water that falls slowly in more than one fixture, a sewer odor at a floor drain, gurgling when the washing machine empties, or a toilet that needs two flushes are the usual early signs. A cable or hydro-jet cleaning clears grease, scale, and roots that a store-bought snake never reaches. Catching it at the slow-drain stage is cheaper than cleaning a backup out of carpet.
Keep grease, coffee grounds, wipes, and feminine products out of the drain. Hair catchers in tubs and a monthly hot-water flush on the kitchen line prevent most household clogs. “Flushable” wipes are not flushable in real sewer lines. They snag on scale and become a blockage. If a drain is already slow, cleaning it now is easier than after the next holiday dinner.
Gurgling means air is being pulled through the trap because the line beyond it is restricted. One gurgle after a long shower can be harmless. Gurgling in a tub when you flush a toilet is a sewer-line warning. Treat repeated gurgles as an early backup. A drain cleaning now is a lot less expensive than extracting wastewater from a bathroom floor.
3 questions
Sewer
Backup signs, what breaks a main line, and clog versus backup.
Sewage at a floor drain, water coming up in a tub when you flush, more than one toilet gurgling, or a wet, sinking strip in the yard over the sewer line are classic backup signs. Get people and pets away from the water and call (864) 436-3006. Do not run the dishwasher or washing machine, because that adds volume to a line that is already full. We locate the stoppage and clear it before it soaks finished floors.
Tree roots, grease, collapsed clay pipe, a belly in the line, and flushable wipes are the usual causes in older Upstate homes. A camera inspection shows whether you need a cleaning, a spot repair, or a larger replacement. Guessing from the cleanout alone is how people pay twice. We would rather show you the pipe than sell you a repair you do not need.
A clogged drain is usually one fixture: one sink, one tub, one toilet. A sewer backup involves more than one fixture, a floor drain, or water that returns from a line you are not using. The first is often a local cleaning. The second is a main-line problem that can flood finished space. When in doubt, shut off appliances that dump water and call (864) 436-3006 so we can tell you which one you have.
4 questions
Pipes & Winter
Freezes, hidden leaks, and when patching stops making sense.
Insulate pipes in crawl spaces, garages, and exterior walls. Open cabinet doors on very cold nights so warm air reaches the sinks. Let a faucet drip when the forecast is well below freezing. Know where the main shutoff is before the freeze arrives. If you leave town, keep the heat on and ask someone to check the house. Frozen pipes split when they thaw, so calling (864) 436-3006 at the first ice-cold faucet beats waiting for the flood.
Open the faucet so melting ice has somewhere to go. Warm the pipe with a hair dryer or warm towels, never an open flame or a torch. If the pipe has already split, shut the main valve and call (864) 436-3006. A licensed plumber can thaw what you cannot reach, replace the split section, and check the rest of the run. One freeze often means other uninsulated pipes are close behind it.
Yes. We look for hidden supply leaks with pressure tests, meter checks, and inspection of slabs, crawl spaces, and water heaters, not by opening every wall first. A hidden leak shows up as a high water bill, a warm spot on a slab, peeling paint, or the meter spinning when every fixture is off. Finding it early protects flooring and the water heater closet.
Yes. We replace galvanized, failing polybutylene, and repeatedly patched copper when spot repairs no longer make sense. A repipe is planned work: access points, fixture count, and whether we can stage the house so you keep water at the end of each day. We estimate that on site so you are not buying a surprise rebuild.
Not on this list?
Ask us directly. Estimates are free and given on the spot.
Office hours are Monday to Friday, 7am to 6pm, and the emergency line answers around the clock. You can also read what neighbors say on the reviews page, meet the family on the about page, or write to us through contact.