The reality is, almost all homeowners experience some type of plumbing problem, no matter how large or small their house or apartment is. The plumbing system located in your home is responsible for bringing fresh water into your house, however, it is one of the most common things that are taken for granted.
Luckily, it’s not as complicated to take care of your plumbing system, but if you’ve never done it before, you might be wondering – what tricks & tips could save me from plumbing headaches in the future? Well, the article below will shed some light on the entire topic, so, let’s take a look at what you should do:
1. Be Careful About What You Flush
The most frequent mistake people make is that they flush a wide range of things down their toilet. The only thing that you should be flushing down the toilet is waste and, of course, toilet paper. This means that you need to forget about flushing sanitary products, swabs, hair, as well as any plastic or cardboard debris.
If you and your family members continue doing this on a daily basis, it’ll definitely cause a really nasty clog within the system, which will require you to call a professional and experienced plumbing company such as lpgs.com.au that’ll take care of the problem for you.
2. Maintain The Water Heater
No matter what type of water heater you have, there will be some mineral sediments that’ll build up at the bottom of the heater, which is why you must flush it. If it really needs to be maintained, it’ll start making loud banging sounds, and if you do this every year, you can prevent it from rusting.
Another important thing worth mentioning is that you need to change the anode rod every four to five years. By both flushing it and taking care of the anode rod, you can ensure that your heater functions properly, but more importantly, you can ensure that it lasts longer.
3. Don’t Forget to Place Mesh Drain Covers
Different things – including hair, soap chips, and other items – can fall into your drain and create a clog. If this happens, you might notice that the liquid won’t go throw the drains, and if so, you should first ensure that you take care of the clog, and once you’re done, you should place mesh drain covers.
Why should you do this? Well, it’s relatively simple to understand, mesh drain covers can be placed in your shower, tub, and sinks and by doing so, you can prevent clogs. This means that you could also save some money since you won’t have to call a professional plumbing company to help you with the problems you have.
4. Monitor For Leaks Every Month
Did you know that running toilets and leaky faucets can increase your bills by hundreds of dollars every month? Yup, if you noticed that your bills are increasing, you must drop everything you’re doing and check for leaks. Fixing them will save you a lot of money on your bills, but it’ll also prevent further damage to your house.
There can be various reasons for leaks, including things such as outdated and rusted pipes and eroded pipelines. So, if you inspect your home for leaks every month, you can see make sure that you notice the issues on time, and once you do, you could take the needed steps to fix the issues.
5. Showerheads Need to Be Cleaned With Vinegar
Water contains a lot of mineral deposits that could make your showerheads clogged. This will certainly make them less functional and eventually, they’ll become completely blocked. If you want to clear the clogs from the shower heads, you should unscrew them from the hose and leave them soaked in vinegar for approximately 20 to 24 hours.
Once the 20- or 24-hour mark passes, you should rinse it with hot water and screw it back onto the hose. Keep in mind, if you turned the faucet on and noticed that it is still not working properly, it might be time to replace the entire showerhead, as well as the hose. Regularly maintaining it with vinegar will make it last longer, so, do it every two to three months.
6. Soap + Hot Water = Cleared Blocked Toilet
If you don’t have a plunger in your home, you should know that you don’t actually need one for your blocked toilet. What should you do instead? Well, you should add hot water and soap to it. You can boil the h20 and pour it into the toilet until it is full, and once you’re done, add soap to it.
Now, don’t worry, you cannot really add too much liquid soap into the bowl, mostly because the hot water will break it down quickly. The combination of these two substances will help you unclog a blocked toiler, hence, you won’t need to purchase a plunger, nor call a plumber to help you.
7. Use Food Coloring to Check For Tank Issues
Last on our list of tricks & tips, but equally important as all the other things we mentioned, is that you need to use food coloring to check whether or not your tank has issues. If you’re suspecting that it is flowing into the bowl, you could add some food coloring to the tank.
When you do this, you’ll have to wait for about an hour or two, and if you see that there is color in the bowl, it’s probably time for you to install a new tank ball. This is something that’ll stop the liquid from flowing into the bowl and at the same time, it’ll help you lower the bills your receiving.
Conclusion
Although a lot of homeowners neglect to take care of their water supply system, it shouldn’t be overlooked. And, if you choose to follow some or all of the advice we mentioned above, you’ll be able to ensure that your plumbing system functions well, but more importantly, you can ensure that you avoid paying for some really expensive repairs.
So, now that you’re aware of all the things that you should or shouldn’t be doing, you might not want to waste any more of your time. Instead, if you haven’t done some of the things we mentioned in the list – such as maintaining your water heater – gather the tools you’ll need and start working!
