Whether the weather is extremely hot or extremely cold – you don’t want to have plumbing problems. While you could look online for tips to prevent plumbing problems, here are some that you can use right now to help keep things running smoothly.
Don’t DIY
There are certain things that you can do yourself to make sure that the plumbing in your home keeps running smoothly. These are basic tasks, though, like using a plunger to unclog a toilet. If things get more complex, or if you don’t immediately know what tool you can or can’t use, then you should call in a plumber so that they will do it correctly and not have your home become a disaster area.
Update Your Water Heater
If you know that your water heater has been around for a while, you should seriously think about having it replaced. While it may be working great at the moment, older water heaters tend to break at sudden times. Do you want that time to be when it’s -20 outside? Have your heater inspected and replaced if it’s a certain age.
Don’t Pour Certain Things Down Your Drain
Your sink isn’t a catch-all for every single thing. Don’t pour grease – it may make its way through the pipes at first, but then it will harden and clog things up. Due to it being way back in the pipes, that may make cleaning it a lot harder. The same goes for coffee grounds. Either throw those in the garbage or use them for composting. Leave them out of your sink.
Be Very Careful With Your Garbage Disposal
Your garbage disposal isn’t made of diamonds. It’s not indestructible. You need to be sure that you don’t put things down the disposal there that don’t belong. Throw out those chicken bones and any kind of pasta or rice. Just like your sink, don’t pour grease down it, since it will harden. Don’t put a lot of things in it at once. Do it gradually, and run cold water while you do it. Also, if you want it to keep smelling fresh, you can throw in half a lemon once every week or so.
Don’t Use Drain Cleaners
The drain cleaners that you see at the pharmacy may seem to work at first. While they may seem to let the clog through, they can cause damage to your pipes. You also risk the cleaner spilling back out, which could be dangerous to your skin. If you want to use a drain cleaner, there are at least organic ones that are safer. There are other solutions. You can also just use a drain snake or an auger.
Don’t Use Cheap Things
When it comes to your plumbing, don’t get cheap fixtures to replace your old ones. That just means that they will have a much better chance of breaking … and you needing to have it fixed. Some things require high quality items, and plumbing is one of those. Your so-called frugality will likely wind up backfiring and costing you more.
Ultimately, the biggest mistake you can make is delaying repairs. Don’t just watch it and hope that things will resolve on their own. That will just lead to it getting worse, and your likely having to pay more to have it fixed than you initially would have.
The best thing to do is to bring in a professional if you know that fixing it will be beyond your abilities. That way, you can prevent a mess from happening — a possibly expensive mess. But if you do the above things, you will greatly lessen the chances of that occurring. That will help you save time and money and also any potential discomfort from having a plumbing disaster. As a result, everyone will be happy.
