It can sometimes be difficult for inexperienced homeowners to determine if their plumbing is up to standard, especially for those that have never had the responsibility of home ownership. As an apartment renter, if the pipes were to burst, you could simply call the landlord. Many homeowners get their first bit of shock when the pipes burst and they’re suddenly the ones responsible for repairs.
In order to potentially bypass this bit of unpleasantness, it’s considered to be a good practice to take several preventative measures to avoid many plumbing troubles down the line. Before that, though, it’s best to check to see if you have any issues that need to be attended to right away.
Recognizing Problems
There are many ways to determine if you need to take a closer look at your plumbing. These tricks could be key to detecting issues before they grow into much larger problems.
- Check for any drainage issues and blockages. If a sink in one of your bathrooms simply refuses to drain correctly, it’s probably just a problem with the sink’s plumbing. If, however, a shower in the same bathroom also won’t drain, there may be a larger blockage further down the line.
- Listen to your water. If you notice loud hissing noises or excessive gurgling, it could be an early sign of a blockage.
- Use food dye to find a leak. If you suspect that your toilet is leaking water from the tank, simply drop a small amount of food dye into the tank and see if the colored water finds its way into the bowl. If it does, you’ll know for sure which toilet has been driving up your water bill.
- Be sure to routinely check under all of your sinks for leaks, and keep these areas clutter free so that a leak will be immediately evident.
Taking Preventative Measures
There are also a number of simple actions homeowners can take to lessen the chance that they’ll need an emergency visit from an Annapolis plumber.
- Try draining at least a gallon of water or so from your water heater every 3 months. This will help reduce the amount of natural sediment tends to build up in the appliance and cause problems.
- Find small strainers that you can install on your bathtub drains so you don’t end up with a system that’s clogged with hair and soap fragments.
- Don’t put any hot oil or coffee grounds in the garbage disposal. Hot oil has the tendency to condense when you run cold water, and small objects like rice and coffee grounds can accumulate into larger clogs.
- If possible, use cold water when running the garbage disposal.
- If you do have a clog, avoid the temptation to use chemical-based drain cleaners. Instead, contact a local Annapolis plumber so that they can use a pipe snake to manually clear the obstruction.
Hopefully, these measures will help you prevent any potential major plumbing problems. Homeowners that want to sidestep problems like these should consider getting an expert to take a look just in case.
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