Like many things in your home, your plumbing needs to be maintained to function properly. These routine maintenance steps will ensure that it functions as long as possible.
Just like your vehicle,
your home’s plumbing system works best when it is properly maintained. By paying attention to routine maintenance, you will ensure that your home’s pipes run well day in and day out. You will also avoid costly problems down the road.
Much of the routine maintenance that you will need to perform happens during the cold months. This is when many problems arise around pipes, because they freeze and break, leading to water in areas of your home where there shouldn’t be any. By focusing on preventative maintenance at the outset of the season, you may be able to avoid some of these common winter problems.
One area that causes many problems for homeowners is the outside plumbing, especially during the winter months. Always disconnect your water hoses, because the little bit of water that is left inside of them can freeze and expand. This can eventually cause breakage to the pipes inside your home. When you disconnect your hoses, check outside faucets for leaks or drips, which can indicate problems and run up your water bill.
In the winter, turn off the water that runs to your outdoor faucets. You won’t be using them anyway, and any residual water can cause them to freeze. You may not know that you can insulate your outside water faucets. Purchase a kit to insulate these and install it at the beginning of the winter season.
You can also protect your plumbing when you are out of the home. Always shut off the main water valve. This will prevent a flood if you should have a water pipe break while you are away. You should keep your home heated to at least 55 degrees, even during your absence, to ensure that your pipes do not freeze. Consider insulating pipes that may be exposed to cold weather.
Visual inspections of the pipes in your home will help you spot leaks before they become too large to easily fix. Regularly take a look at your home’s pipes to spot corrosion, moisture, and obvious leaks. Attend to these quickly before they can grow.
Take care of your water heater, an important element in your home’s plumbing. Drain it from time to time and remove the sediment that builds up inside. The cleaner your water heater is, the more efficiently it will run. Set the water heater’s thermostat to 120 degrees. This is an efficient temperature for most water heaters.
If your home has a sump pump, inspect it regularly. Cold can freeze the pumps, which will cause them to fail when you need them to work. Test it regularly to ensure that it is functioning properly.
Remember, serious problems with your home’s plumbing require professional intervention, but minor maintenance tasks are easily performed by the average at-home do-it-yourselfer. Consider your skills before you begin a task, but take the time to do routine maintenance around your home, and your water systems will thank you by running well for many years.
