Running toilets and clogged drains are two of the most common types of plumbing problems that homeowners experience.
While some plumbing problems are inevitable, did you know that you can avoid most?
Through proper plumbing maintenance, you can prevent most plumbing issues from occurring.
If you are a new homeowner or don’t know a lot about plumbing systems, it might help if you read this guide.
In this guide, you will learn the best and most effective ways to care for your home’s plumbing system.
Learn What Not to Put in Your Drains
The first thing you should know about plumbing maintenance is the importance of knowing what not to put in your drains. Every plumbing fixture in your home has a drain. If you use the drains correctly, you can avoid most clogs.
Your plumbing system is there to eliminate wastewater from your home, and that’s it. You should avoid placing anything else in your drains, including the following items:
- Grease
- Chemicals
- Hair
- Diapers and baby wipes
- Sanitary products
- Cigarettes
- Coffee grounds
Drains cannot handle these items, and you will likely experience clogs if you place these things in your drains.
For example, if your toilet keeps clogging, could it be from something you place in it? If so, stop putting anything in your toilets except natural waste.
Protect Your Drains
Toilets are not the only fixture in a bathroom that can experience clogs. Your tubs and sinks can also start moving slowly or develop clogs. You can prevent most of these, though, by performing the necessary types of bathroom maintenance.
The main thing you should do in your bathrooms is to cover the drains to protect them from debris, and you can do this in your showers, tubs, and sinks.
You can purchase screens to place over each drain. These screens stop debris from entering the pipes, and you can remove and clean the screens as needed. Using screens on every drain can help you stop them from developing clogs.
Using your drains the right way also helps you protect them.
If you have a garbage disposal in your kitchen drain, make sure you know what you can and cannot place in it. You can protect your kitchen drain by using the disposal properly.
Clean Your Drainpipes
The next form of maintenance your home needs is pipe maintenance. Pipe maintenance involves cleaning your drainpipes from time to time. Most people do not know that they need to do this nor how to do it, but it is quite simple.
One approach is to clean the drains with boiling water. To do this, you’ll need to boil water in a tea kettle or pot. Once it begins boiling, take the pot and pour the entire thing into a drain. Repeat this step with every drain in your home.
Your pipes’ condition can affect your plumbing system, so it’s vital to keep them clean. If you have hard water in your home, you might face more challenges keeping them clean.
In this case, you may want to invest in a water treatment system for your whole home. This type of system cleans the water before it enters the plumbing supply lines.
Cleaning the water before you send it through the pipes can help you avoid a buildup of minerals and debris inside the supply lines. Treating your water also makes it safer for consumption.
Your plumbing system will wear out faster when you have hard water, and you may have an increased risk of health problems from consuming it.
Watch and Test for Leaks
Toilets are plumbing fixtures, but they are different from all the other ones in a home. You cannot place a screen on a toilet drain, and you cannot really clean the drainpipes below a toilet.
What you can do, though, is watch your toilets and test them for leaks. A running toilet might lead to water leaks in your home and cause you to use more water than necessary.
It is helpful to watch and test for leaks around your toilets, and you might want to do this every month. While you’re looking for leaks around your toilets, you can also check your sinks for leaks.
If you suspect your toilet is running too much, place a few drops of food coloring in the fixture’s water tank. Next, wait about 10 to 20 minutes and then check the toilet bowl. If you see colored water in the bowl, you have a leak.
Address Plumbing Issues Quickly
Performing the steps listed so far can help prevent problems, but you may still occasionally encounter an issue. Anytime you develop a plumbing problem, even if it’s small, you should address it quickly.
If it’s a small problem that you can fix yourself, go ahead and fix it. If it’s a bigger problem that you cannot fix yourself, contact a plumbing contractor. Plumbing contractors can fix any issue, big or small.
Schedule Plumbing Checkups
Of all the plumbing maintenance tips you can learn, there is one that is highly essential. The last tip to follow is to schedule yearly plumbing checkups for your home.
An annual plumbing checkup helps you prevent problems and locate problems that you didn’t know about.
During a plumbing checkup, a plumber will test every drain and fixture. The plumber will look for leaks and signs of leaks. The plumber will also test your water quality, pressure, and temperature.
A plumbing checkup is vital because an expert in the field performs it. Plumbers know what to look for and how to find even the smallest issues. They can also fix every issue they discover during the visit.
Plumbing Maintenance Protects Your System
Performing routine plumbing maintenance is not hard or time-consuming, yet it will protect your system for years to come.
If you care for your plumbing system, you can prevent issues. As a result, you’ll save time, money, and headaches.
You can check our blog to learn more helpful tips about maintaining the plumbing system in your home.