
Although water is the main source of life, in plumbing it can be the most detrimental and frustrate every homeowner. Next to a natural disaster, the one thing that can ruin your home is a major plumbing issue. Fortunately for you, there are a ton of things you can do to prevent these nightmares and to fix them when they happen.
To prevent pipes from freezing, don’t let temperatures drop under freezing in your home, and insulate external pipes. Obviously, frozen pipes occur due to freezing environmental conditions. It could take some time in order for the pipes to thaw out so that you can have running water. However, they could burst, and that could make a mess and result in a big repair bill.
Septic Tank
Pump your septic tank every five years to keep it working well. Regular maintenance will keep sediment from backing up inside of the tank. Sediment can not only cause the sewage in the tank to back up into your house, but it can cause the tank to fail completely. While you may find it costly to get your septic tank cleaned out, the cost is much higher to have sewage and backups cleaned up and your septic tank repaired or replaced.
You need to know your plumbing tools as well as how they are used so your plumbing efforts are always positive. Be sure you read everything you can from the manuals, and use different things like the library and internet to learn all the projects that are do it yourself. Before undertaking repairs on your own, you should have a plan; otherwise, a mistake could make repairs even more costly.
You should regularly check for water damage to your bathroom floor caused by your toilet in order to save money and further complications. Feel the floor around the toilet and check to see if the floor is soft, molded, chipping, etc. Do this by straddling the commode and rocking from side to side. You are looking for any feelings of weakness or softening of the floor itself. Picking up on any problems now will definitely work to save you money later. It’s the difference in a little maintenance and total floor replacement.
A strainer should be placed over all the drains in order to gather particles that would just get in the drain and potentially cause stoppage. You should clean your kitchen sink’s strainer every time there is a large particle that’s trapped in it. You should also clean your bathtub strainer any time it is slow to drain.
Becoming educated on plumbing and preparing beforehand can help prevent future issues. The homeowner who learns a little bit about plumbing is more likely to make wise decisions and avoid dangerous plumbing situations. Indeed, those who proactively understand plumbing issues are far more likely to be able to solve a problem as soon as it occurs.