To avoid recurring costs and the hassle of hiring professional or registered plumbers, it would be wise to go ahead and do a few checks on your home plumbing system yourself. Preventive maintenance is all you need. Keep in mind that a plumbing system is composed of pipes and plumbing appliances. These appliances are your toilets, bathtubs, showers, sinks as well as the laundry facilities and maybe your lawn sprinkler system.
Water pressure is an essential factor in giving you a decent and adequate water supply to your home. One of the problems you might encounter is the loss of water pressure on a certain plumbing appliance. Loss of water pressure could mean one of 3 things. One, there's a leak somewhere along your water pipelines. Two, something's clogged up in your water line. Three, something is going on with the water company supplying you water.
Another important factor in your plumbing system aside from the pipes and fixtures are your drains. Observe how fast the water goes down the drain. Overtime, you may notice that it takes longer for the water to go down. This is an early sign telling you that a clog may happen. Chances are, something is already clogged in the drain line, but its not causing any major problems. It is best to address this early because as time goes by, that small clog will start to collect other materials like human hair, dust or whatever goes down the drain. Eventually, its going to cause a major clog and you'll have a headache on your hands. It might be a good idea to use those chemical solutions that you pour in the drain but nothing beats a snake or a rooter.
The toilet is probably one of the most significant pieces of plumbing appliances. Some even consider it the most important thing at home. More than often, clogs or backup up toilets are the number one problem for this plumbing appliance. Do not flush anything else other than your "human waste" down the toilet. Paper may seem harmless but it eventually builds up and may clog the drain. If you are going to use toilet paper and flush them down, look for those biodegradable ones that dissolve in water overtime. Another common problem of toilets are the inner workings of the toilet's tank. Sometimes the parts and valves in them malfunction. It would be wise to replace these parts if years have gone by because sooner or later they will fail and you don't want it to fail during the most crucial times.
As for your other plumbing appliances, check to make sure that you spot leaks on the sink, bathtub or shower. Finding them early will save you a boat load of headaches and money. These leaks are likely to be caused by cracked, hollow or loose tiles around the plumbing fixture. You might also want to check if the gaskets in your faucets are still fine because they'll wear out eventually since you do use them almost everyday.
One last plumbing appliance you may need to examine is the water heater. Check the heater's burner chamber. See if there is rust around it. It may need cleaning or even get replacement if necessary. Check the flame of the heater. The color of the flame should be blue. If you see hints of yellow then that means the burner needs to be cleaned. You should also consider cleaning the inside of the water heater. Overtime, sediments in the water may build up inside it.
So how often should you do these preventive measures? It's nothing more complicated than just once a year. If you've done your preventive maintenance then you will save a lot of time, money and headaches. You won't have to keep on calling that emergency plumber when your plumbing breaks down.
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