Every homeowner needs to do proper plumbing maintenance before any emergency plumbing situation wreaks havoc. As a homeowner, you would want to ensure that your home pipes are not clogged, rusted, and working correctly. With plumbing maintenance, you are not only keeping an eye on problems but are also saving bucks.
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| Plumbing Maintenance |
Below Are Some Maintenance Tips that Can be Helpful for Your Home’s Plumbing System:
1. Pipes Insulation
Winter has its share of plumbing maintenance as the cold weather can freeze the pipework and the water in pipes. Thus, the insulation of your pipes is one major thing you need to do before the arrival of winter. Pipes insulation is an easy process that requires insulation foam to be wrapped around an exposed pipe found mostly in the attic, garage, and crawlspaces. Foam is a cost-friendly material that can protect pipe damages from heat loss and condensation of pipes. Although it is a DIY task, you can also opt for plumbers as it depends upon the ratio of insulation work.
2. Avoid Using Chemical Drain Cleaners
Drain cleaners are the most used standard products among many homeowners for clearing clogs or built-up residue. These chemicals are poured down the drain to unclogged pipes and send wastewater into the sewer. Unfortunately, these products can do more harm than good because these cleaners can have a lasting effect on galvanized plumbing. People use these cleaners that contain harsh chemicals to remove and break rigid clogs, but this chemical causes the pipes to become corroded and leaky. Your plumbing maintenance tip would be calling a plumber to snake the drain or use other natural products.
In case of clogging, you can use other ways such as plumbing auger for clearing drain clogs without calling any plumber. You can also use natural remedies like a solution of baking soda and vinegar kept for several hours before flushing it to clear a slow drain.
3. Reduce the Water Pressure
Unless your water pressure is already low, you could try to turn it down and notice the difference. It is one of such plumbing maintenance that can be applied without needing any plumber. High water pressure can be a convenient option at times, but it stresses the pipes and reduces the life of your plumbing system. Think of it in this way; higher water pressure causes the water to put more stress on the pipes. Gradually, the pipes weaken as it gets difficult for the pipes to sustain any more high-water pressure.
The good part is products such as hose bib gauge are widely used to measure water pressure. You can use this particular product to keep the water pressure between 40 and 85 psi. If the water pressure is above the given range, then hire a plumber to install a pressure reducer.
4. Softening Hard Water
Water is life and that is why one should not compromise with the quality of water. Any water that is rich in mineral content is known as hard water. Hard water possesses the capability of shortening your plumbing’s lifespan due to naturally occurring minerals called magnesium and calcium. These minerals build up within the pipes and causing hindrance in the water flow, increasing pressure on the pipes. Furthermore, these minerals can corrode joints and fittings, which is why water softening is an integral part of plumbing maintenance.
With the help of water softening, you can remove calcium, magnesium, and other ions in hard water. It is done using a water softener. Earlier sodium was used to counteract hard water minerals, but now electromagnetic pulses coming from electronic softeners do the work without adding sodium to your water.
5. Plumbing Maintenance for Future Clogging
One of the greatest conveniences of homeowners is garbage disposals, yet food waste clogs its way into the drains. Apart from being a great nuisance, clogging is responsible for the added pressure in the waste pipes that causes pipes to go wrong. Simple plumbing maintenance such as not sending oils, hard-to-grind objects, food scraps, and liquid grease down the drain will do the trick. As mentioned, you can use garbage disposals to clear out such kinds of stuff rather than blocking your drain.
Regular clogging could damage your home’s plumbing system and cause a hole in your pocket. With such few precautionary measures, you can get ahead of the game and prevent clogging in the future.
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| Plumbing Maintenance |
If you apply these maintenance tips in mind, you will notice that your plumbing system is working better than ever. So, do not hesitate to consult a plumber whenever you have questions regarding plumbing maintenance.
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