Plumbing Maintenance Tips
The last thing you want is to walk into your home after a long day only to find out that your toilet overflowed while you were gone or a leaky pipe finally burst. Plumbing emergencies are never convenient and they are always costly. Instead of waiting for the nightmares to become reality, take a few steps to prevent such disasters from occurring in the first place. A few proactive steps can save you a lot of headaches later.
Check Water Pressure
The water pressure in your house can cause a lot of different issues in your plumbing. It is best to stop leaks and fixtures sooner rather than later. You can test your water pressure with an inexpensive gauge and make sure it doesn’t go above 80 psi. If the pressure is high, have a plumber install a regulator. You may have to replace old supply lines and shutoff valves with those that are easier to use and rarely break. These items can save you from a real plumbing nightmare in the future.
Toilet Maintenance Checks
The toilet is a highly used fixture in the plumbing line. If you think it might be leaking, you need to do a maintenance check on it in order to prevent a larger nightmare later. Start with the tank at the back. The flapper, which is supposed to cover the bottom of the tank and release water during a flush, could be warped and out of shape, allowing water to leak. This important part of the toilet is easy to replace and a simple way to prevent an emergency later. Just leave a few drops of dark food coloring in the tank overnight. If there is color in the bowl in the morning, you need a new flapper.
Re-Caulk The Toilet
Leaking inside the toilet is prevented by a seal inside the toilet, but if the wax seal deteriorates, caulk around the base of the toilet will keep water in and may help prevent water from showing up on your floors. It will also prevent water from the shower or bath from getting under the toilet and causing mold or rot under the flooring. New caulk also looks nice around the toilet. Prevent outside water damage from turning into a plumbing emergency by giving your toilet a cleaner, re-caulked look.
Clean Toilet Tanks
Toilet tanks build up metal stains, mold, bacteria, layers of scales and many other items if they’re never cleaned. When you flush, water goes from the tank into the bowl. If the tank is dirty, that water goes into the toilet bowl, making it harder to clean. It is simple to avoid this plumbing issue by cleaning the tank and saving your toilet some trouble.
Clean Toilet Bowls
Of course you want your toilet bowl to look clean, but beyond that, keeping it clean prevents corrosion and clogging, which can cause major issues down the road. When you clean the bowl, you clean the siphon jets, which helps you avoid nightmares you certainly don’t want to face when it comes to your plumbing.