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You’re going to have plumbing issues. It simply comes with the territory of owning or renting a home. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t reduce the frequency and severity of these problems.
To be honest, many of the things that can lead to problems are all avoidable. Here are a few ways to minimize your calls to plumbing services:
- Avoid chemical drain cleaners: With all of the hair people shed, cut, and shave off, clogged drains are one of the most common plumbing problems anywhere. Most people’s first thought in these instances is to use corrosive chemical drain cleaner to remove the clog.
While this may very well work in eliminating whatever was blocking the pipes, it will also degrade pipes over time, compromising their structural integrity. Using a solution of baking soda and white vinegar is a good alternative. You can also call plumbing repair services to clear it with specially designed tools. - Don’t pour cooking grease down the drain: It may seem convenient to just dump all of that grease from the pan down the sink, but all of the fat it contains can coagulate and easily clog pipes. In fact, fat and oil buildups are the cause for about 47% of the roughly 36,000 residential and commercial sewer overflows that occur in the U.S. every year.
- Reduce water pressure: As great as high water pressure is for a taking a shower, it may not be worth cost of the repairs it can lead to. High levels of pressure put pipes under stress, making them more likely to crack or break.
- Install pipe insulation: In areas that experience cold winter weather, freezing pipes are a real possibility. Just going in and placing some extra insulation around the pipes could avoid some serious water damage issues.
- Mother nature: Keep an eye out for any plant life that might be working its way down to your sewers. Trees roots can grow 12 to 36 inches below the soil and spread horizontally by as much as two to three times the canopy’s diameter. These roots are notorious for breaking through pipes, especially clay pipes, which were commonly used up until the 1980s. Sewer line repair can be a complicated issue, because pipes are typically buried a few feet below the surface.
- Repair issues quickly: If you find that you were too late to prevent some of these issues, call commercial plumbing services as quick as possible. The longer they go un-repaired, the more damage they can cause.
You’ve got enough on your plate to deal with without having to constantly worry about your plumbing. A few preventative measures could stop plumbing services from being a regular guest at your house.
