How You Can Prevent Plumbing Leaks, Clogs and Flooding

You expect your home’s plumbing system to operate efficiently, but unseen troubles can hide around every corner. Thankfully, you can avoid obstructions, leaking and water damage with a little preventive maintenance. Here’s the way to keep your plumbing in check and your worries at bay.

1. Know What Not to Put in the Drain

A lot of sinks in the kitchen may be outfitted with a garbage disposal, but certain food items still rather than rinsed down the drain, like:

• Grease from cooking
• Stringy foods like corn cobs and celery
• Sticky foods like steamed rice or coffee grounds
• Solid objects such as gristle and bones
• Anything that isn’t edible. Silverware and similar items can accidentally fall into the disposal and cause damage when you turn it on.

2. Know What Not to Flush

Toilets are designed to handle human waste and toilet paper. Here’s what you should never flush:

• Baby and/or wet wipes
• Paper towels
• Cotton swabs and cotton balls
• Feminine hygiene products
• Baby diapers
• Floss
• Expired medication

3. Utilize Mesh Strainers

A simple way to prevent clogging is to place drain strainers over your laundry, kitchen and shower drains. They trap hair, pieces of soap, old toothpaste and other debris as water flows down the drain. Stick to a regular schedule when you clean these strainers to keep your drains flowing freely.

4. Find the Main Shutoff Valve

Being familiar with your plumbing system means knowing how to find your main water shutoff valve. This valve manages water entering your home, so knowing where it is means you can turn it off quickly in a plumbing emergency. It’s also wise to turn off this valve before traveling for an extended period. Common locations for the main shutoff valve include the basement, near the water heater, in a utility closet or outside the home under the ground.

5. Get a Sump Pump

Installing a sump pump can really help prevent water damage, especially in regions prone to high annual rainfall. This device removes water that collects in the sump basin, usually found in the basement, and expels it away from the house. If you already have a sump pump, test it regularly by dumping some water into the pit. If the pump activates and the pit drains, it’s working fine. If it isn’t draining properly, you have time to call a professional to fix your sump pump before another big thunderstorm rolls through.

6. Set Up Flood Alarms

Similar to how smoke alarms help improve fire safety, flood alarms are useful for preventing water damage. These wired or battery-operated devices sense pooling water at the earliest stages of flooding or leaks, setting off an alarm to inform you. For further protection, add smart flood alarms into your home security system. This alerts you on your phone if water is detected, allowing you to deal with leaks before they cause significant damage.

7. Add a Backflow Valve

Many plumbers recommend you set up a backflow valve in the basement floor drain to stop sewage from flowing backward into their homes because of heavy rainfall. A professional plumber can install this effective defense against sewage backflow.

Spot and Prevent Leaking

Now that we’ve covered best practices and useful plumbing accessories, let’s review some preventive steps you can take to avoid leaks, or worse, burst pipes.

Most of your home plumbing system is concealed, so leaks often go unseen until they are capable of significant water damage. Regularly checking for leaks can help you catch issues early. Here’s how:

• Inspect under the sink for signs of damp spots, wood decay or mildew.
• Keep an eye out for small leaks in your toilet by adding some drops of food coloring to the tank. If the color shows up in the bowl after 30 minutes without flushing, there is a leak.
• Check around and behind your kitchen appliances, including the dishwasher or washing machine, for signs of water damage or leaks.
• Schedule a water meter test.
  • To start, shut off all water in your home via the home’s water main.
  • Then, go outside to read the water meter. Check one more time in two hours, and do your best not to use any water before the second reading.
  • If the reading changes, there is a leak somewhere.

Keep Your Pipes from Freezing

In climates with cold winters, protecting vulnerable pipes is a good part of any plan to avoid freezing and bursting. Here are some professional recommendations:

• Insulate pipes in purely functional/utility spaces like the basement, garage or attic using insulating foam or heating tape.
• Unhook garden hoses from outdoor faucets during the winter to stop ice from forming inside the pipes.
• Keep under-sink cabinet doors open during frigid weather to encourage airflow around the pipes.

Trust Dependable Local Plumbers for Support

While you can implement a wide variety preventive steps yourself to stop clogs, leaks and damage from floods, there are situations where you need an experienced plumber to keep things flowing smoothly. That’s where excels. We work with some of the best plumbers offering residential plumbing support from coast to coast with service backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you’re not completely happy with our services up to a year later, we promise to make it right. This promise shows how we deliver total comfort and peace of mind in your life. For Expert plumbing service that exceeds expectations, please contact us today