Protect Your Home’s Plumbing

Throughout history, we humans have always taken a lot of pride in our homes. From castles to caves, suburb-shelters to farmhouses, humans have found creative ways to carve our habitats into the land. We take good care of our homes, too. We decorate them. We paint the walls. We wash the windows. We always have a hammer and nails handy in case something needs repair work. No matter how we feel about our houses, we do strive to protect them–and sometimes, that means taking care of the plumbing.

Plumbing requires a bit more care than other aspects of the home, but with a little regular maintenance, we can protect the plumbing in our houses just like we protect the windows, carpets, walls, and rooms.

​Plumbing

Why is plumbing among the top things that need to be taken care of in order to keep your house safe, efficient, and cost-efficient? To answer that question, we need to take a look at our everyday lives. Plumbing is involved in almost everything we do, from washing the dishes to taking a shower, and even the gas lines in your home technically count as plumbing. This means that even a small issue with the plumbing could affect countless aspects of your everyday life. We don’t often stop to realize it, but plumbing does a lot of work in our homes–and taking care of the plumbing is crucial if you want to avoid costly, dangerous time-consuming disasters.

​Plumbing Maintenance

How can you take care of your plumbing? What steps can you take to avoid big issues with the pipes in your home? Here’s a quick look!

• Know the pipes. The first step in protecting your plumbing is knowing your plumbing. Where are the pipes? What about the shut-off valve? Most hardware stores sell stud sensors that can locate your pipes for you–and this can save a lot of hassle in the future, for example, by helping avoid damage to the pipes during a home renovation.
• Leaks. Leaks are one kind of problem that starts out very small, and then gradually gets bigger, and then suddenly causes a disaster. That’s why regularly checking your plumbing for leaks is so important. To do this, keep an eye on the water meter located on your property. Check once right before going to bed (after you are done using the water for the night), and then check again in the morning before you’ve used the water. If the numbers are higher the second time, you might have a leak on your hands.
• DIY Danger. Plumbing issues aren’t like other household problems. Plumbing is proud. It requires an experienced hand and professional tools–which makes those “do it yourself” fixes both dangerous and potentially costly. Unless you’re prepared to handle the unique needs of a plumbing problem, it would probably be safe to call a reliable, full-service plumber.

Interested in more plumbing maintenance tips? Looking for Boise Plumbers? Contact us today!

By Tim Smith

Published: December 17, 2015