Plumbing is something that most people take for granted in today’s advanced society. It is very rare for any home or apartment building in the United States to be rented or purchased without modern plumbing already in place. That being said, it is almost inevitable for every renter and homeowner to experience plumbing problems from time to time. Whether it’s a clogged shower drain, a water leak, or broken garbage disposal, a plumbing issue of any kind can put a major dent in your wallet and disrupt your daily life until it is repaired.
If you want to avoid common plumbing problems in your home, keep reading to learn 5 top plumbing tips that are essential for anyone—especially homeowners—to know and follow.
1. Watch Your Water Pressure
Water leaks are one of the most common—and most frustrating—plumbing problems. Not only can water leaks wreak havoc on your home plumbing system, they can also be very expensive to replace and require you to shut off the main water supply to your home for an undetermined amount of time while you wait for a plumber.
One of the telltale signs of a water leak somewhere in your home plumbing system is low water pressure. When water leaks from a pipe in your home, some of the water that would otherwise run to your shower or faucets gets rerouted through the hole in your pipeline. This leakage in turn lowers the water pressure in your home. If you notice that the water pressure in all or part of your home is abnormally low, call a plumber to come to assess your home for potential water leaks.
2. Use Drain Strainers
Drain strainers can help you avoid clogged sink and shower drains. These strainers filter out large items—chunks of food, hair, etc.—and prevent them from going down your drains while still allowing water to pass through the drains.
You can buy a pack of drain strainers for less than $10, and these strainers can potentially save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars that you would have had to spend on hiring a plumber to fix a clogged drain in your home.
3. Be Careful With Your Garbage Disposal
Garbage disposals are helpful at grinding up and safely disposing of food particles, but they cannot dispose of everything. The most common reason why garbage disposals break is that people try to put the wrong food items or too much of one food item down the garbage disposal.
Food items that you should not put down your garbage disposal include grease and oil, coffee grounds, grains like pasta and rice, bones and seeds, eggshells, onion layers, and more. If you are trying to dispose of a large amount of food, throw it away if possible and—if you must put it down your garbage disposal—only put a little bit at a time down your disposal and wait for it to be completely ground up before you add any more food.
4. Flush Only Toilet Paper
Another of our plumbing tips is, as a general rule, you should only ever flush toilet paper down your toilets. Nothing else is designed to disintegrate in water as toilet paper does. Items that are commonly advertised as “flushable” that you should not flush down your toilets include paper towels, tissue paper, cotton balls, cotton swabs, cat litter, and baby wipes.
5. Find a Reputable Plumber
Plumbing problems can be especially frustrating for homeowners, who unfortunately do not have a landlord they can call when a plumbing issue arises. Finding a reputable plumber in your area before a plumbing issue arises in your home is important to help you avoid scrambling to find a plumber to repair a plumbing problem in your home at the last minute and ending up with a less-than-satisfactory plumber.
There are several questions you should ask any plumber before you hire them. Ask professional plumbers whether they are licensed and insured. Licensed plumbers tend to provide higher-quality service, and a plumber who carries liability insurance absolves you of responsibility for any damage that is incurred while the plumber is working in your home. You should also ask plumbers for personal references-references can provide essential insight on whether or not a plumber is trustworthy.
Finally, ask any plumber you are considering hiring whether they offer emergency services. You can’t control when your garbage disposal breaks or your toilet clogs. If possible, find a reputable professional plumbing company that offers emergency services after hours, on weekends, on holidays, etc. to save yourself stress in the future.
If you need any more plumbing tips or help with your plumbing, contact us today!