Tips from Your Trusted Plumbing Service Provider for Preventing Plumbing Problems | Minneapolis, MN
There’s nothing worse than having to spend a bunch of money to fix part of your home, but that’s exactly what happens when you don’t take good care of things. The truth of the matter is, you might not have to spend money to hire a plumbing service if you do what you can to keep your plumbing system in good shape. If you’re looking for tips for preventing plumbing problems in your Minneapolis, MN, home, Paul Bunyan Plumbing & Drains has you covered.
Clogged Drains
Slow or clogged drains may be one of the most annoying plumbing problems to deal with, but it’s actually far from the worst in terms of repair cost and potential damage caused. Best of all, simply changing your habits a bit can prevent clogged drains so you don’t have to worry about calling a plumbing service.
For starters, you have to be careful about what you’re putting down the drains in your home. While it may be tempting to put a lot of food down your garbage disposal rather than in the trash, that can easily lead to clogs in the kitchen. In the toilet, you should avoid using flushable wipes because they don’t actually break down. As far as the bathroom sink and shower go, your best bet is to install a hair catcher and empty out the hair and soap scum every week or so.
You should also be mindful of the type of drain cleaner you’re using. Most people reach straight for Drano or another chemical-based drain cleaner when a drain is clogged, but it’s best to use something enzyme-based that won’t eat away at the pipes in your home.
Burst Pipes
Burst pipes are one of the biggest plumbing problems you can have in your home, so preventing them is definitely in your best interest. As a matter of fact, a burst pipe is one of those problems you need to call an emergency plumbing service for, which means paying extra money for service.
The good news about burst pipes is that they’re not the most complicated thing in the world to prevent. Burst pipes are generally a result of water freezing inside a pipe and expanding until the pipe cracks. When it comes to preventing burst pipes, all you need to do is make sure your pipes aren’t freezing. If you have pipes that run through exterior walls or poorly insulated areas, you’ll want to focus on them first. A plumbing service can help you identify pipes that might be a problem and get them wrapped up with heat cable.
No Hot Water
Waking up to a lack of hot water is one of the worst feelings, especially on a cold winter day. The truth is, water heaters aren’t designed to last forever, so it’s important to have a plumbing service check on yours every once in a while and do a little bit of maintenance.
Flushing sediment is the most important thing when it comes to water heater maintenance. The more sediment there is in your water heater, the quicker the tank is going to corrode. By draining all the water and sediment from your water heater, a plumbing service can extend its life.
Ultimately, water heaters are only made to last about a decade. If your water heater is 15 or 20 years old, your best bet is to replace it now before something goes wrong. Luckily, you don’t have to spend a ton of money to get a quality residential water heater.
Pipe Leaks
Leaks are one of the worst plumbing problems you can have in your Minneapolis area home for numerous reasons. Firstly, leaks can cause a lot of water damage in your home, especially big leaks. On top of that, the water that’s wasted in a leak gets added onto your water bill, which means you end up losing money in two ways. If you think you have a leak, you should always call a plumbing service to have them check it out.
Some homeowners choose to have a smart leak detection system installed on their water meter. These leak detection systems can connect to your smartphone to let you know when there’s a leak somewhere in your home. This is crucial because it allows you to shut the water off before the leak causes too much water damage. The alternative is simply looking and listening for leaks around your home.
Drain Odors
Whether you’re in the bathroom or the kitchen, you should never smell odors coming from the drains in your home. As a matter of fact, plumbing services install P traps for that specific purpose. If you have a bad odor coming from a drain in your home, it probably means there’s something wrong with your P trap.
Most commonly, P traps dry out and cause a drain odor in your home. P traps are designed to have a little bit of water in the bend to trap sewer gases and prevent odors from reaching your home. If you don’t use a fixture for a while, the trap can dry out and lose its ability to block sewer gases. Fortunately, you don’t need a plumbing service to help you prevent this one. All you have to do to keep your P traps working is run all the fixtures in your home on a somewhat regular basis.
Get Some Help
Plumbing problems are a lot to deal with, especially if you’re unfamiliar with plumbing systems. The best thing you can do as a homeowner is work to prevent these problems or fix them while they’re small.
The good news is, Paul Bunyan Plumbing & Drains has you covered if you’re in the Minneapolis, MN area. No matter what kind of plumbing service you need, we’re happy to help. Next time you have a plumbing problem or need something installed, call Paul Bunyan Plumbing & Drains at 612-340-1444.
