Owning a home comes with many responsibilities. You will need a variety of contractors to work on your home from time, but you don’t need to call a plumber for every water-related issue. As a homeowner, there’s a lot you can do to ensure your home’s plumbing stays in good working order.
Here are some must-know plumbing facts to keep your home leak free:
Plumbing Tips for Homeowners # 1: Insulate Your Pipes
Insulation can help guard against frozen pipes. Speak to your builder or plumber about sleeves and other options for insulating your pipes. Remember to insulate pipes in your attic and crawl spaces, particularly if cold air might be blowing on it.
Plumbing Tips for Homeowners # 2: Check Your Plumbing Regularly
A quick, frequent check up of all visible indoor and outdoor pipes will help you keep track of what’s happening with them. You will notice what is the norm, and you will see when something has changed. Knowing what’s going on will help avoid damage to your valuables in the event of a burst pipe or a leak. Look out for buckling, dripping water or rust.
Plumbing Tips for Homeowners # 3: Keep Your Kitchen Sink Unclogged
A clogged drain in your kitchen can spring an unexpected leak at any moment. Keep it clean by never flushing anything but water down the drain, and by doing frequent inspections to see that no drips are present.
Plumbing Tips for Homeowners # 4: Install a Pan Under Your Water Heater
A leaky water heater is one of the biggest plumbing problems homeowners face. When the lining of your water heater wears away, dripping occurs from the base. Lots of dripping is a clear sign that you need to call a plumber to replace your water heater and to install a pan underneath.
Plumbing Tips for Homeowners # 5: Saving a Shower Drip
Your shower spout should not be leaking once the faucet is turned off. If it is leaking, you have to replace the defective washer, or perhaps a defective seat inside of the spout. Remember to turn off the isolation valve before you disassemble the handles. You will have to take out the stem in which the washer is housed and replace it.
Plumbing Tips for Homeowners # 6: Detect the Leak
Leaks often occur on the back side of the pipe, at the spot where it connects to the wall. If that’s the case, you will have to dissemble all the drain work. Test it by tightening it by hand to see if that stops the leaking, otherwise, use a wrench.
These simple homeowner plumbing tips are simple to apply and can save you a fortune if you can avoid a single leak. However, if you have constantly leaking pipes, you should consider calling a plumber to re piping your home, or lining your existing pipes.
