The Importance of Regular Plumbing Maintenance

The Importance of Regular Plumbing Maintenance

When you own a home, you deal with interesting and sometimes surprising situations.

One of those is the bill you pay for major plumbing repairs. Most homeowners are also shocked at the inconvenience when drains won’t drain, or sewer lines back up into their homes.

Surely there’s something you can do, right?

One of the most significant things a homeowner can do to prevent plumbing system drama is to take care of routine plumbing maintenance.

Performing routine maintenance on your home’s plumbing is the key to preventing future problems. Take a minute and learn about how you can partner with your plumber to keep the water flowing in your home.

Essential Routine Plumbing Maintenance Tips

The Kitchen Plumbing Dailies

We’ll get to the more involved maintenance in a minute, but for now, what can you do every day to keep things moving through the plumbing system?

One area where you have a direct impact on plumbing is the kitchen. Specifically, the sink drain, garbage disposal, and the dishwasher. Here are a few easy steps you can take to keep pipes clear and minimize stress on your plumbing system.

Sink drains clog when people put things in them that just don’t belong in a drain. If you can avoid putting grease and other oils down the drain, you’ll prevent smelly backups.

Take care of your garbage disposal. Don’t use it as trash compactor—peels from fibrous or stringy fruits and vegetables, coffee grounds, and eggshells are a big no-no. We know, you’ve heard it’s okay to grind eggshells in the disposal, but please don’t.

Next, we’ll cover daily plumbing maintenance in the bathroom.

Your Powder Room Plumbing Plan

Following a plumbing maintenance plan in the bathroom is one of the most proactive things you can do to avoid bathroom clogs. Try these DIY maintenance tips.

Bath oils smell lovely, but they leave a residue inside your pipes. Combine the oily buildup with months of hair washing down the drain and you have a recipe for a clog. Minimize the sweet-smelling soaks and place a screen over the drain to catch hair.

Like garbage disposals, sometimes household members mistake the toilet for a trash can. Two things belong in the toilet: toilet paper and human waste. Ignore labels on flushable wipes—they can clog the city sewers.

If you have a large household, it’s likely a scramble to get everyone bathed and dressed at the same time. The last person in line often takes a lukewarm shower.

Try waiting 10 minutes between showers. This can help maintain balance for your water heater. It can also help keep proper water pressure, which prevents undue stress on your plumbing.

Taking a few minutes each day to maintain drains and plumbing in the kitchen and bath are excellent DIY plumbing maintenance tasks. On the other hand, some parts of your plumbing system need the help of a qualified plumbing team.

Time for Sewer Line Maintenance

If you’ve never scheduled an inspection of your home’s sewer line, don’t feel guilty.

It’s easy to overlook drains and sewer lines—after all, you can’t see them. Most people don’t give the sewer much thought unless they have a serious plumbing problem.

Even though you can’t see them, sewer lines do give clues early on when there’s trouble brewing. Paying attention to symptoms and performing sewer line maintenance may prevent a plumbing catastrophe.

Here are a few common sewer line problems:

  • Grease blockages
  • Tree roots
  • Yard debris blockage
  • Foreign objects
  • City sewer backwater
  • Collapsed sewer line

Slow drains are one of the first signals your plumbing system sends when there’s a problem.

Sewage backups every time you flush a toilet or run water in the sink or shower usually also indicate an issue in your main sewer line. Sewer gas odor is another clue, which can also be dangerous.

Of course, you’ll call your plumber for any of these problems, but regular plumbing maintenance can detect problems early in the game. From there, your plumbing team can work their magic on blocked pipes or make repairs before you have sewage pouring into your home.

What Does Plumbing Maintenance Include?

When you schedule routine plumbing maintenance, your local plumber performs a comprehensive check of your plumbing system and its components.

If water runs through it, the plumber checks it out. You can expect an examination of the following:

  • Showers and bathtubs
  • Toilets
  • Faucets
  • Drains
  • Pipes
  • Supply lines
  • Water heater

Maintenance may also include inspection of your garbage disposal lines (and unit), dishwasher, and washing machine hoses and lines. Maintenance sometimes consists of a drain and flush of the water heater. If you’ve purchased a plumbing maintenance plan, read the fine print and always ask for clarification.

When plumbers inspect plumbing components, they look for leaks, cracks, and corrosion. They also note drainage issues and clogs.

Clean Those Drain Lines

Another significant benefit of regular plumbing system maintenance is sparkling clean sewer drain lines.

If your plumber discovers a clog, they use a variety of tools to clear the gunk and debris from your main sewer drain line.

Sometimes all it takes is running a motorized drain auger into a drain. Once it reaches the obstruction, the auger coil drills down until the clog breaks up.

Your plumber may also bring a hydrojet—a powerful hose that uses high pressure to force water through your drain line. If you have a clog, say goodbye, and even if you don’t, the blast of water scours your sewer line clean.

Need to Schedule Plumbing System Maintenance?

Hopefully we’ve taken some of the mystery out of taking care of your plumbing system.

Now it’s up to you to keep up with the DIY maintenance tasks and call us to schedule regular plumbing maintenance.

You’ll never again need to stare at a hopelessly backed-up sink and wish you had a plumber friend you could call. Now, you do!

Contact us today and we’ll get you on the schedule as soon as possible. For plumbing emergencies, we can usually come out on the same day you call.

 

Comments (13)

  1. AffiliateLabz
    Feb 15, 2020 at 9:45 pm

    Great content! Super high-quality! Keep it up! 🙂

    • admin
      Feb 19, 2020 at 12:03 pm

      Thank you! We are glad to hear you’re enjoying our content. 🙂

  2. Zachary Tomlinson
    Feb 27, 2020 at 7:49 pm

    Great read! Thanks for explaining the importance of regular plumbing maintenance. What you said about how I should also check the sewer line for any grease blockages was interesting to me. I should share this with my wife as well so that we’re on the same page.

    • admin
      Mar 23, 2020 at 1:29 pm

      Thanks Zachary! Yes, please share this with your friends and family so they are informed as well.

  3. Zoe Campos
    Mar 25, 2020 at 1:47 am

    Thank you for reminding me that doing routine maintenance can help me in preventing future and costly problems in our plumbing system. My daughters spend a lot of time in the kitchen because of their love for baking, and I don’t want any damages or accidents to happen in this area as much as I can prevent it. I’ll ask my husband to help me in detecting possible leaks from the pipes and then consult a plumber just in case.

    • admin
      Jun 04, 2020 at 9:20 am

      We are glad you found these tips useful! Thanks for your comment, Zoe.

  4. Taylor Hansen
    Apr 10, 2020 at 12:53 pm

    I like how you mentioned how slow drains are a good signal for a problem as well as a collapsed sewer line. Last night while I was in the backyard, I noticed that the sewer line that runs across had collapsed and I’m worried about it ruining my yard. I’ll have to call a professional drain line service that can come and repair it tomorrow.

    • admin
      Jun 04, 2020 at 9:50 am

      Thanks for your comment, Taylor. Yes, it’s a good idea to be proactive with any sewer issues. We’re glad this article helped you.

  5. Raelyn
    Apr 14, 2020 at 2:08 pm

    Hi, very nice website, cheers!

    • admin
      Jun 04, 2020 at 9:50 am

      Thank you, Raelyn! Stay tuned for more articles. 🙂

  6. Olivia
    Sep 24, 2020 at 10:46 am

    Great read! Thanks for pointing out the importance of regular plumbing maintenance, especially the garbage disposal line and washing machine hoses.
    Have a nice day! Cheers 🙂

  7. Emily Bennette
    Dec 30, 2020 at 12:57 pm

    This is some really good information about how to care for your home’s plumbing. I liked that you pointed out that it would be smart to consider checking that the garbage disposal is powerful enough for my needs. I should probably get my plumbing inspected by a professional for clogs and damage at least once a year.

  8. Victoria Addington
    Jun 24, 2023 at 6:06 am

    I’m delighted you mentioned that leaks, cracks, and rust are looked for when plumbers inspect plumbing components. They also pay attention to drainage problems and blockages. I’ll be sure to tell my mum about this because she thinks her house has a leak because her water bill has gone up. Employing residential plumbing services can assist in identifying the issue’s cause and the most effective solution.

    http://www.benoplumbing.com/residential

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.