Tips to Keep Your Plumbing in Perfect Condition

The condition of your home’s plumbing system is of crucial importance. If you do not maintain it well, you will need to pay for expensive repairs sooner or later. To help you deal with this task, here are some tips to keep your plumbing in perfect condition.

Consider installing drain covers

One of the clever ways to prepare for plumbing emergencies and prevent problems is by installing drain covers. There are several versions of these, including caps and mesh covers. Whichever one you opt for, they all serve the same purpose: keeping anything other than water out of your drains. Just think about it! One of the most common causes of clogs is pieces of debris and hair that slip into your drains. You can spare yourself a lot of time and effort by investing in a cheap solution like the drain covers. They are effortless to install, so you will not need professional assistance.

Be careful what you flush

If you do not want to cause trouble for yourself, you should always watch what you flush down your toilet. The only thing that should go into it is human waste. Never, under any circumstances, treat your toilet as a garbage disposal. Throwing leftover food into it is a perfect way to clog it up seriously. Similarly, it would be best if you did not use your toilet to throw away all the used tissues and bits of paper that may have accumulated in wastebaskets. It can handle them in small amounts, but throwing them into your toilet en masse will result in a clog.

Be careful with garbage disposal

If you think you can throw anything into your garbage disposal and things will be fine, you are wrong. If you want to keep your plumbing in perfect condition, you should be more careful. Most leftovers are okay. Bread, fruits and vegetables, and even pieces of cooked meat will not cause many issues. However, fragments of bones or large amounts of meat can still cause clogs. Similarly, it would help if you refrained from pouring oil or extremely oily food down your garbage disposal. Oil is extraordinarily tricky and can cause severe problems for your plumbing system.

Handle leaks and clogs quickly

You should never ignore problems such as leaks and clogs. They might not seem urgent, especially if the leak is minor and the clogging is partial. They can very quickly grow into much more serious issues! A leak can eventually cause a flood if it worsens. And clogs can even trigger sewage backflow, which is guaranteed to ruin anyone’s day. Even if you plan to sell your home, it is helpful to get rid of these ‘minor’ problems. After all, among the best home improvements to make before moving is plumbing renovation, so you should take care of it on time. It would be a waste to lose out on a good selling price because of minor problems.

Never ignore signs of problems

Similarly, you should be aware of and never ignore the signs that there could be something wrong with your plumbing. A leak can manifest in increased dampness in the room or mysterious small patches of a wet wall, ceiling, or floor. Clogs and even sewage backflow are heralded well in advance by odd and unpleasant smells wafting from your drains. Loud rattling and weird noises coming from your pipes are never a good sign and warrant calling a plumber. Being aware of all these will also help you check the plumbing before buying a house. Though, this task is still best left to professional house inspectors.

Know what chemicals you can use

Many people assume they can freely use store-bought chemicals to deal with clogs and similar. However, if you want to keep your plumbing in perfect condition, this is not the case. Your range of options depends on the type of plumbing installed in your home. Some chemicals can cause severe damage to specific materials, eating through pipes if used frequently enough. Even if you use the wrong type of chemicals rarely, they will still weaken the structural integrity of your pipes, thereby significantly increasing the chances for your pipes to get leaky or even burst.

Consider getting regular plumbing system checkups

It is not only when you are trying to prepare your new home for moving in that you should inspect all systems. Regular plumbing system checkups are just a good idea in general. Of course, you do not need to do one every month! Twice a year, ideally after winter and summer, would be fine. Both seasons can be very harsh on your plumbing because they cause the pipes to either expand or contract due to hot and cold weather. Having a check immediately after summer or winter will allow you to catch potential problems before they have a chance to develop.

Find a plumber you can trust

Finally, to keep your plumbing in perfect condition, we recommend finding a plumber you can trust. Looking after a home’s plumbing system is like looking after someone’s health. Only by tracking its condition in the long term can a plumber achieve the best results. At the same time, your plumber will be able to learn what kind of problems your plumbing system is prone to and provide you with specialized advice on how to counter them or prevent them from forming. So, you should stick to the same plumber once you’ve found the one you can work well with!

Final word

Now that you are familiar with our tips to keep your plumbing in perfect condition, you can better look after your home! Just remember: It is impossible to do everything on your own. Sometimes, professional assistance is necessary for your plumbing system to work well.