Every homeowner will at some point have to deal with plumbing issues. Not only are they inconvenient and if you don’t take care of them right away you could be faced with water or structural damage to your home. The best solution is to prevent plumbing issues from happening in the first place so here is how to prevent the most common plumbing issues from happening to your home.
- Be careful what you are putting down your kitchen sink. Food particles combined with grease can solidify in your pipes and leave you with a backed up sink and a nasty clog. Keep the plug in the sink to keep solid particles from going down the drains and don’t pour grease down the kitchen sink.
- Be wary of slow drains. When it takes longer than it should for your sink or bathtub to drain that is a pretty good indication that there is a clog and you should deal with that immediately. You can at this point try some chemical cleaners, if you are hesitant to use chemicals then try using some boiling water down the drain. If that doesn’t solve the issue then it is time to call a plumber.
- Check the hoses that connect to the washing machine, they will crack eventually and you don’t want a flooded laundry room. The moment there is the tiniest of leaks then it is time to replace it, it’s an easy fix.
- Turn the water off to outside taps. If you still have water in the pipes that connect to outside taps you run the risk of leaks due to the cold winter temperatures.
- Wrap all of your exposed pipes in insulation before winter comes. It will help prevent water from freezing and then having the same pipes burst.
- Be careful what you flush down the toilet. Your pipes can’t handle things like diapers, sanitary napkins or toys. Plumbers are often called out to unblock toilets after hours and those toilets were blocked because of what people tried to flush. You can completely avoid this altogether with a little diligence.
- If you find water where it isn’t supposed to be then you need to take care of that problem right away. If there is water or dampness in attics or basement then you need to find the source of the leak and get it repaired before the damage becomes unmanageable.
- Find the main water valve in the event that you have to turn the water off. In the even that you have a leak or a broken pipe make sure you know how to turn the water off so as to minimize damage.
This is all part of homeownership and the regular maintenance that goes along with it. Set aside time every 6 months or at least once per year to perform regular checks on your home to make sure everything is running properly.… Read the rest