DIY Plumbing Maintenance Tips
The best defense against plumbing problems is proper maintenance. Unfortunately, too many people either overlook their plumbing when performing home maintenance, or they just don’t know how to properly care for them. No matter what the reasons, learning a bit more about your plumbing and how to maintain them will help prevent damaging and potentially costly plumbing problems.
Keep your Eyes Open
You can’t take care of any plumbing problems unless you’re on the lookout for them. That is why it is important to keep your eyes open for leaks, dripping appliances, leaky faucets, and damp cabinets. Regularly check your plumbing, pipes, and the area around them. This will go a long way to preventing future problems with your plumbing.
Deal with Problems ASAP
It’s always best to take care of any plumbing problems you find as soon as possible. While a leaky faucet may not seem like much of a problem, that leak will slowly begin to wear down your fixtures, lead to mold and mildew growth, and increase the probability of larger issues.
Learn Where the Valves are Located
Here’s a scenario for you; if a pipe bursts and you have water gushing out into your home, do you know where the shut off valve is? If you answered ‘no’ then you really need to locate this valve and familiarize yourself with it. If the valve is located in an area that is hard to get too or dark, make sure to keep the necessary tools, such as a flashlight, nearby that you can quickly grab in the event you need to turn the valve off.
Protect your Pipes
For most people, it’s the winter months that can really be disastrous for your pipes. This is because the cold weather will cause your pipes to freeze and increase the chance of them bursting. Thankfully, there are some steps you can take to help protect the pipes. The most cost effective method is to purchase foam pipe insulation. This inexpensive product is available at home improvement stores and can be installed in a few minutes with no tools required.
Become a Do-It-Yourself
While there may come a time when you will need the help of professional plumbing services St Charles IL, there are certain problems that you should be able to do yourself. Clogged drains, dripping faucets, and stuck valves are fairly simple to fix and knowing how to fix it yourself will help save you money.