Pipe maintenance is prevention rule many homeowners do neglect to take appropriate action on. Most home water pipes and drains are installed in a place that is not easily accessible or seen such as behind the walls, under the ground, or under the sink.
So, it is easy to neglect it whenever you are doing general maintenance except you call on a professional such as an emergency plumber to do the general checkup for you.
Ensuring a regular checkup and attention on your home plumbing system can help the whole system including the piping and draining system to have a long lifespan, prevent serious plumbing repairs such as leaks and clogs, and lastly to prevent you from any costly repairs or outrageous bills.
To prevent all that from happening, make the following techniques a habit to properly maintain your home pipes and drains.
Stop Using Chemicals to Unclog Your Drains
Clogs mostly occur in the kitchen and your bathroom. To prevent the frequent occurrence of clogs in your home draining system, you need to be mindful of how you use your garbage disposal in the kitchen and what goes down your drain.
Do not allow food remnants that are fibrous to be flushed inside, also ensure you regularly run cold water for about 20 seconds to have proper flushing down the drain line.
Using chemicals to unclog drains gradually erodes the pipes from the inside thereby resulting in leaks and unclean water which can be detrimental to your household.
Depending on how critical is the clog, you can get a draining tool in the store to snake the drain down the line, or call a plumbing service London for an emergency plumber near me to professionally fix the plumbing repairs for you without corroding or affecting the lifespan or functionality of your pipes.
Avoid Flushing Clogging Material
Apart from human waste and water nothing else should be found down your toilet drain. Hygiene products such as diapers, wipes, and toilet paper should never be flushed down the drain.
A plumbing system that is old easily clumps to clogs, therefore it is essential to avoid flushing anything that could clog up or back up
Soften the Water
Hard water is a liquid, precisely your home running water that has high mineral content usually calcium or magnesium. If your house is running on hard water, it is essential to soften it for proper maintenance of your pipes and drains.
This mineral content can build up inside your pipes with time and affect the free flow of water which can lead to clogs if not taken care of on time.
One of the ways to know if your house is running on hard water is that you will see a white build-up on your faucets.
If you want to maintain your plumbing pipes, soften your water! You can install a water softener to dissolve the minerals in hard water, if you can’t DIY it call an emergency plumber for assistance.
Do a Regular Checkup on Your Sewer Line
Reaching out to a plumbing service in London to hire a plumber or an emergency plumber to check and clean out your main sewage line at least every two years is highly recommended for all residential and commercial buildings.
Regular checkups will remove roots and other mineral buildups that can clog up or result in a nasty and costly sewage backup.
Insulate Your Pipes
Frozen pipes happen mostly during winter, and this is a common cause of burst pipes. The reason is that when water freezes due to the freezing temperature of the environment, the pressure inside the pipe will increase until the pipe burst.
Though the freezing weather cannot be controlled, you can prevent your pipe from freezing due to the freezing weather.
To prevent frozen pipes:
- Insulate both your hot and cold water pipes with pipe sleeves or heat tape.
- Turn on the heating system in your home at all times during winter even if you are traveling
- Winterize your swimming pool, hot tubs, and your underground system if you have one.
- Add an insulated cap on the exterior of your water valve pipes.
- Lastly, carry and keep all the store garden hoses during the winter season.
Control Your Water Pressure
Many homeowners do not consider their water pipes to be a potential hazard to their piping system. A constant high pressure can inflict a strain on your pipes, causing all other parts of the piping system such as the faucets, appliances valves, and joints to work excessively so as to keep up with the running system.
To prevent this, measure your water pressure with a hose bib gauge. The normal water pressure for a house is in the range of 50 to 80 psi (pounds per square inch).
So if your pressure is either higher than this range, then you need to call a plumber or an emergency plumber to install a pressure reducer to adjust it down to a normal level.
Replace Old Pipes
Are you living in an old house or your house is older than 25 years, you are advised to do a pipe inspection.
Don’t wait till your pipes cost severe damage that can be costly before you replace them all. The cost of replacing them will be way cheaper than the cost of the severe damage that can happen to your entire home.
Plumbing pipes’ lifespan ranges from 20 to 100 years depending on the materials used to make the pipes, the installation process, and the water composition.
Take This with You
Running on good plumbing pipes at all times is not by mouth is by action. Follow the above tips carefully and enjoy the smooth running of your plumbing system.
However, if you are noticing some disorder in the running of your plumbing pipes, don’t hesitate to call a plumbing service near me to do a proper inspection and plumbing repair.
