Like any complex piece of equipment, a plumbing system needs maintenance to work efficiently, and it has a finite lifespan. Eventually, parts and pipes will begin to wear out, and they will need repair or replacement. If a problem isn’t fixed, it could lead to hidden water damage that can be even more expensive to repair. For these reasons, it’s a good idea to use the services of your
local plumber early as a preventative measure to keep your plumbing in great shape. In this article, we will look at four ways that you can extend the useful lifespan of your plumbing system.
- Choose a Good Local Plumbing Company
Like any industry, there are good and bad plumbers, and you want to use the former in every case. This may not be easy if you have an urgent problem and you didn’t have a trusted plumber lined up in advance. It’s worth carrying out some research and choosing a plumber that you can work with for regular maintenance and emergency problems. The cheapest plumber will not usually be the best, so it’s important to shop around and compare a few estimates. Choose your plumber based on good reviews and references from online sources or friends and family.
- Get Several Plumbing Jobs Done at Once
A plumbing emergency always seems to happen at an inconvenient time. So, if you do have some warning that there is a plumbing problem, it’s a great idea to combine a few repair jobs together and get them done at the same time. A plumber will often charge a fee for gas and other expenses to visit your home. So, it makes sense to use that visit to get a few plumbing problems fixed at the same time. Then you can save money on these traveling and visiting expenses.
- Preventative Clog Maintenance
One of the most common home plumbing issues is clogs in drains, and this is one of the simplest things to prevent. This is a particularly common issue in homes with small children, so have a serious discussion on what they can and cannot flush into the drains. As a rule of thumb, only flush toilet paper in toilets and don’t put oil or food into the kitchen drains. One of the main contributing factors to many clogs is hair, so you could install drain covers and hair traps in every sink drain. If you take these measures, you won’t need to call the plumber as often, and this will save you a significant amount of money.
- Get a Plumbing Augur
A plumbing augur is often referred to as a plumbing or drain snake, and a basic unit can be found at your local hardware store. This is a flexible rod that you can place into a drain to manually remove a clog. Simply feed the snake in until you feel it hit the clog, then turn the handle to engage to bite and the augur will drill into the clog and break it up. To finish, just run the water to flush the clog fragments away.
By Giovanni Longo President Flood Brothers Plumbing
Giovanni Longo is a 3rd generation master plumber who has been practicing his craft and trade in the greater Los Angeles area for well over a decade and a half. A plumbing and hydraulics-engineering innovator, Giovanni’s particular world-class expertise focuses on dealing with challenging sewer system designs as well as resolving complex commercial and residential draining issues. As a certified Flood Mitigation expert, he is also well versed in a wide variety of water damage and remediation solution.
