Maintain Your Home Plumbing With These Useful Tips, Pt. 2

Every day, you rely on your home’s plumbing to provide water when needed. From flushing the toilet to watering the grass, your home’s plumbing frequently goes undetected – that is, until a plumbing crisis occurs.

Rather than waiting until your hot water heater breaks or your pipes burst, keep up with maintenance to avoid serious (and costly) plumbing problems.

These plumbing tips will help keep your system in good working order, allowing you to avoid the difficulties and inconvenience of unforeseen problems.

Insulate Plumbing Components

One of the easiest ways to protect your plumbing is to ensure that your water heater and pipes are insulated properly. If you have pipes or a water heater over 20 years old, consider having them professionally insulated. Older water heaters, in particular, may leak when they are not insulated properly.

Welded-steel pipes are another way to insulate your plumbing. With welded steel, water maintains its high temperatures much longer when it flows through the pipes, making it an ideal material for hot-water systems.

Don’t Flush Everything Down the Drain

Grease and oil are not good for your plumbing. This includes anything that is carbon-based, including cooking grease, fats, oils and even motor oil.

If you pour these down your kitchen drain, they will quickly build up in your pipes and cause clogs.

These items should be washed down the drain only if they are cooled and solid.

Use Your Garbage Disposal Properly

In most homes, the disposal is used to grind up food waste. However, it is not designed to grind up everything. Remember that using your disposal improperly can clog or damage the disposal or pipes.

Your disposal grinds up food because it is an appliance that spins the waste at high speed. If you put non-food items down the drain and try to grind them up, the results will be disastrous for your pipes.

Clean Showerheads With Vinegar

Showerheads, bathroom sinks, and other metal fixtures are often coated with mineral deposits. This is especially true if you have hard water, which is common in home plumbing.

You can clean the metal fixtures in your home, including showerheads, by simply soaking them in a vinegar and water solution.

First, mix one-half cup of vinegar and one-half cup of water. Then, soak the metal fixture in the solution for 30 minutes or so, and scrub it with a toothbrush. Rinse, and repeat if necessary.

Prevent Frozen Pipes

If your pipes freeze and burst, you will have water and damage all over your floors.

There are several ways you can prevent your plumbing from freezing in the winter. One simple way to avoid frozen pipes is to keep your house warm.

Another equally effective way is installing foam pipe insulation around your plumbing. You can buy this pipe insulation at home improvement stores. Before you insulate your pipes, be sure you turn off the main water source to your home.

Don’t Hesitate to Call a Professional Plumber

If you notice a problem with your plumbing, don’t wait to call a professional. Many plumbing issues are simple and easy to fix, but if you leave them too long they can lead to major problems.

The sooner you address a plumbing problem, the easier it will be to prevent bigger problems down the road.

Treat your plumbing system today, and you can avoid a major plumbing disaster tomorrow.

Should an incident arise, don’t hesitate to call an emergency plumber. Here at Bromac Mechanical, you’ll be assisted by a licensed residential or commercial plumber with experience in aiding Abbotsford homes and properties through the smoothest plumbing repair services. Call 604-360-2710 for a quote or a request for emergency services.