No one wants to deal with a plumbing emergency. It can cause a huge mess around your home and water is very difficult to clean up and can often cause more damage than you initially realize when it starts. You also need to call a plumber to come out and take a look at everything, asking lots of questions and paying extra because of the emergency of the situation. This is all stressful and a lot to take on for most homeowners, so naturally they want to find ways to avoid this as much as possible.
The good news is that there are some steps you can take to prevent plumbing emergencies throughout the home. A few simple steps and you will have the freedom of knowing that your pipes will work for a long time and you won’t have to pay through the nose to get some of the emergency work done. Some of the best ways to prevent plumbing issues include:
- Clean out the pipes each month: It is normal for a lot of things to accumulate and get stuck in the pipes of your home. This can include food, gunk, and hair. The longer you allow it to sit there, the bigger of a mess it will make and before you know it, you have a giant clog that you need to handle. To remove all of this, you should consider going with a drain cleaner that is non-corrosive and one with harmless bacteria if possible. Hot water and some baking soda can be a good solution to consider too.
- Prevent debris from clogging your pipes: The next thing to try out is to prevent the bad stuff from going down the pipes in the first place. For example, hair is a big culprit when it comes to clogging up your pipes. Using a cheap mesh drain screen of the bathtub and showers can help you fight off this kind of problem.
- Flush out the drains: This is something that you may not have done in the past, but it is going to be great for dissolving oils in good and removing potential clogs before they cause problems later. Make sure to regularly pour some hot water down the drain and add in some vinegar on occasion. If it is a pipe that doesn’t get a ton of water, make it a special goal to flush at last five gallons of hot water down there to help clean it out on occasion.
- Avoid pouring grease down the drain: This may seem like the easy way to handle some of the grease that you would get from cooking, but pouring it down the drain is one of the worst things you can do. You should either store grease or pour it into the trash can. It is a horrible thing to add to the pipes. When it does start to cool, it will get thicker and can make other items get stuck. This is true for oily food as well so don’t throw either of them down the drain.
- Don’t throw anything down the toilet. Another thing that you need to keep in mind is that throwing things down the toilet can cause a big mess as well. It doesn’t matter how small the item may be, it should not go down. This can include things like cotton swabs, eyelashes, dental floss and more. Your trash can is a much better option and will not cause a clog in the pipes or strain the sewer system around the home either.
- Routine maintenance: Another thing to consider doing along the way is routine maintenance. As soon as you notice there is a problem with some of your plumbing, then it is time to call in the professionals. This can help get the problem fixed immediately and can prevent it from turning into a mess that you are not able to handle. Finding a good plumber who will be able to take on this work and can keep your home pipes up to date is so important and can be a lifesaver for you and your home.
Handling a Plumbing Emergency
Hopefully you are able to keep up with some of the tasks above to keep your home plumbing working like rain. But there are times when an emergency will come up and you need to handle it without delay. When there is a plumbing emergency, the worst thing that you can do is wait around and hope that things will get better. They usually get way worse and then you will need to call in a plumber at the last minute and will have to worry about the water that is getting everywhere (and the big bill that will come through soon).
If you do end up having to deal with a plumbing emergency, and everyone has to do this at one point or another, then it is time to take a look at some of the plumbers available in your area. Having a list of their names and phone numbers can make a difference and allows you a chance to call them up and get them over to your house to provide the plumbing services that you need. This can be a great way to protect your home and all of the plumbing that inside of it.
The plumbing in your home is an important component in making sure that you will be as comfortable as possible every step of the way. We know that you have many choices when it comes to the plumbing in your home, but we hope that you will take the time to look at some of our great services. At Mount Pleasant plumbing services, we are here to take on the work and provide you with some of the best plumbing services in the area, whether you need help with something like a running toilet or it is time to look at extensive work on the plumbing in. your home. No project is too big or too small for us to work with you. Contact a member of our team today to get started.