The great benefits provided by indoor plumbing are rather hard to explain to a homeowner dealing with a flooded basement, a broken fixture or a leak in a wall. Besides dealing with natural disasters, a major plumbing problem can be one of the most challenging parts of home ownership. This article will give you some great tips to help you avoid a plumbing disaster.
To keep your pipes from freezing in the winter, insulate all exterior pipes and be sure to keep your interior house temperature above freezing, even if the house is vacant. Pipes will freeze if they are exposed to temperatures below freezing. In the best situation, it can take hours for frozen pipes to thaw and water to run freely again. However, frozen pipes often burst, causing damage to your home and a hefty repair bill.
Your septic tank should be pumped out at least once every five years if you want it to stay in optimum working order. Having your septic pumped will keep sediments from settling to the bottom of the septic tank and causing the tank to malfunction or backup. While it may cost a bit to have your septic tank pumped out, it will cost you much more to clean up any sewage backup or to repair or replace your septic tank.
Knowing your tools and how to use them can help greatly in your plumbing experience. Read manuals and do some research on the internet before starting a plumbing project. Make sure you plan before you try any kind of repair, as it can be costly to fix a mistake.
Don’t put things like fat, oil or grease down your drains. When they cool down, they get hard and that will cause clogs in your sink drains. This is especially the case if you possess a garbage disposal; fats and oils cause blades to run less efficiently and slow. Throw away oils nowhere near the sink.
To maintain your garbage disposal and avoid malfunction, you should regularly clean it. By regularly incorporating a routine using a combination of dish soap, lemon rinds, and even cherry pits, you can keep your disposal running smoothly and smelling as fresh as the day it was installed.
Try to have all your plumbing repairs done at once. You might want to call every time you need a tiny issue fixed with your plumbing, but if you know the system is bad, if you just call once, you can start saving for the major repair before you call. You’ll save a ton of money by not having to pay a professional to come out multiple times, instead only paying them to show up once to handle different problems all at once.
Install low flush toilets and energy efficient shower heads and faucets to reduce your utility bills. Energy efficient shower heads can save you money on your energy bill and water bill. Investing just a few bucks in these newer shower heads can yield triple digit annual savings.
If water that is not supposed to be there is in the dishwasher, the likely culprit is a kitchen sink hose not properly attached. The hose at the kitchen sink going to the dishwasher should follow a specific uphill, then downhill pattern. This prevents unwanted mixing of water between the sink and dishwasher.
Knowing about plumbing systems and preparing for issues beforehand are the best ways to stop plumbing problems. Any homeowner who is willing to learn more about plumbing will have more favorable outcomes from maintenance and repairs; this may also make the home much safer. Keep the above tips in mind to be better prepared to quickly fix any plumbing problems that do arise.