Regular plumbing maintenance can keep you from doing a quick “plumbers near me” search for an emergency plumber. Preventing plumbing issues and catching them early is the key. Taking care of your plumbing in time can prevent common serious plumbing issues, such as water leaks and clogged drains, that would definitely require calling a plumber.
The following are some maintenance tips that could potentially help homeowners to avoid a few plumbing emergencies.
Clean drains are crucial when it comes to a well-maintained plumbing system. Refrain from flushing harmful items down your pipes if you want to keep them unclogged. Ideally the only things you should let go down your drains are water and soap. Sometimes debris can still slip down the drain.
Hair is often a cause of clogs in shower drains. It is wise to place drain traps in the sinks to prevent foreign objects and damaging items from clogging your plumbing system. Once your drain is backed up, it can lead to many disastrous plumbing issues.
You should also be careful with overuse of chemical cleaners. They’re very aggressive and can damage pipes over time. This even applies to drop-in toilet cleaners, which can be very corrosive.
Clogs like that can not only happen to your drains but also to your garbage disposal. Always keep in mind that coffee grounds, bones, potato and banana peels, rice, and shrimp shells should be thrown in the trash, not down the disposal.
The water heater is vital for your overall plumbing system operation. The homeowner can look for signs of the water heater aging or its need for repairs or replacement.
First check the pipes and the water heater unit for additional leaking or moisture at the floor around it. Look out for the signs of rust and strange noises, such as rattling or banging, coming from the unit. They can also indicate a plumbing issue.
If you have a traditional tank water heater, flushing it once a year will prevent it from sediment build-up. Schedule a yearly plumbing maintenance visit with the professional plumber from Norwalk Plumbing Heating & Air Conditioning to handle the task and look for other issues.
Toilets can also cause water leaks at home. An easy way to check for toilet leaks is to put a few drops of food coloring in your toilet tank. Give it a couple of hours. Then check the bowl of the toilet to see if the food coloring has seeped into the water there. If it has, you have a toilet leak. In this case replacing the flush seal will solve the problem.
Never flush anything extra down the toilet drain other than toilet paper. Feminine hygiene products, paper towels, cotton pads, etc. can back up the plumbing and cause overflowing toilets which will definitely give you a headache. A clogged toilet is not easily fixed and can require a visit from an emergency plumber to get things running again.
Showerheads can get clogged with minerals from water, especially if there is hard water in your local area. The blocked holes in the showerhead reduce pressure and stress out the entire plumbing system.
Carefully remove the showerhead and place it in a container of vinegar to soak. Let the showerhead soak for a few hours or overnight.
After you take the shower head from the container, rinse it and screw it back on. Turn on the shower and run hot water through the showerhead. This will help push out any remaining mineral deposits.
Leaks, high water bills, and slow draining are just a few of the signs that point out that your plumbing system is in distress. Don’t dismiss these signs as inconveniences. When a sink or tub is draining slowly, check it out. If your water bill is higher than your typical season average, then you should investigate the issue. Any of these signs mentioned above could be an indicator of anything from a small leak to a running toilet. The key to saving your plumbing system and avoiding major plumbing issues is to notice these signs early and act immediately.
It’s always a good idea to have a licensed plumber check out the plumbing issues to identify and fix the cause before it becomes an even larger and more expensive problem. Call Norwalk Plumbing Heating & Air Conditioning today and we will help you with maintenance of your plumbing system.
Norwalk/La Mirada, CA 91766 | (562) 219-4085
