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. Few issues, short of a natural disaster, can cause more damage to a house than a serious plumbing fault. However, there are many ways homeowners can protect themselves from these issues and create plans for minimizing these issues when they do arise.
Make sure the job gets done by not paying your plumber until you are satisfied, and the work is completed. You may need to pay some money in the beginning, though you should not pay the full cost until you can be certain that the job was done correctly. It is vital that you check your plumber has done all the work he promised before you have over the full payment. This will protect you against being scammed by fraudulent tradesmen.
Obnoxiously loud pipes that like to squeal and hammer are easy situations to correct. Anchor any pipes that are exposed. You might want to contact a professional when the pipes are hard to access.
Check carefully around the base of your toilet for any damage caused by leaks. Sit in a reversed position, putting one foot on each side of the toilet and shift your weight from side to side to check if the floor feels slightly unstable. Discovering this issue sooner can mean big savings for your checking account, as compared to finding out about it later.
Avoid placing fat, grease, and other oils into your drain. When these oils cool, they become hard and create clogs. This is very true for garbage disposal, since fat will make the blades run less quickly and efficiently. To keep your kitchen pipes clear, never dispose of grease down your sink drain.
Overflow Holes
To keep your pipes from getting frozen, always maintain a temperature in the house above freezing and make sure all pipes exposed to outside elements are insulated properly. It is easy for pipes to freeze whenever the mean temperature near the pipes drop below freezing. If they do freeze, you are looking at some time before they can thaw out, thus you will have to wait for running water. In the worst case, the pipes would burst, and you would be stuck with costly repairs and a very messy cleanup procedure.
Be sure that the overflow holes don’t clog up. Overflows holes can be used in the event the sink overfills, which is a big problem if they are clogged. Inspect and clean the overflow holes as part of your regular household maintenance.
Knowing about plumbing systems and preparing for issues beforehand are the best ways to stop plumbing problems. By learning more about plumbing, a homeowner can make the right decisions and reduce the chance of plumbing problems. It goes without saying that someone who has done research and is prepared before a problem arises will be better capable of fixing things faster.