How You Can Prevent Leaks, Clogs and Flood Damage

You expect your home’s plumbing to support daily chores and plumbing fixtures, but potential problems can hide around every corner. Fortunately, you can avoid clogs, leaking and water damage with a little preventive maintenance. Here’s the way to keep your plumbing in check and your worries at bay.

1. Know What Not to Put in the Drain

Your kitchen sink may be fitted with a garbage disposal, but several things still need to be thrown away or put in a compost heap, {and never rinsed down the drain, like:

• Grease, oil and cooking fat
• Tough foods like corn husks and celery stalks
• Congealed food like steamed rice or coffee grounds
• Tough pieces of food like gristle and bones
• Things that aren’t food. Silverware and other small items can fall into the disposal and damage something when you turn it on.

2. Be Aware of What Not to Flush

Toilets are designed to handle human waste and toilet paper. Here’s what you should never flush:

• Baby wipes
• Paper towels
• Cotton swabs and cotton balls
• Sanitary products
• Baby diapers
• Dental floss
• Out-of-date medications

3. Use Mesh Strainers

Another effective way to avoid a clog is to place drain strainers over your kitchen and bath drains. They catch hair, pieces of soap, old toothpaste and other debris as water enters the drain. these strainers to keep your drains working properly.

4. Know Where the Main Shutoff Valve Is Located

Being familiar with your plumbing system means knowing how to find your main water shutoff valve. This valve regulates water flowing into your home, so knowing where it is means you can turn it off quickly in a plumbing emergency. It’s also wise to close this valve before going away for an extended period. Common locations for the main shutoff valve include the basement, near the water heater, in a utility closet or outside the home buried underground.

5. Get a Sump Pump

Installing a sump pump can really help prevent floods, particularly in climates prone to heavy rainfall. This device pumps out water that accumulates in a sump basin, generally installed in the floor of your basement, and drains it away from the house. For homes that already have a sump pump, test it regularly by dumping some water into the pit. If the pump activates and the pit drains, you’re all set. If it doesn’t work properly, you have time to call a professional to service it before the next big storm.

6. Set Up Flood Alarms

Just as smoke alarms are a big part of good fire safety, flood alarms can help avoid water damage. These wired or battery-operated devices sense pooling water at the earliest stages of flooding or leaks, setting off an alarm to inform you. For enhanced protection, integrate smart flood alarms into your home security system. This alerts you on your phone after water is detected, helping to resolve leaking pipes before it leads to significant damage.

7. Add a Backflow Valve

Another helpful plumbing tip is to set up a backflow valve in the basement floor drain to prevent sewage from flowing back into their homes after heavy rainfall. Professionals can install this effective defense against sewage flowing back into the house.

Spot and Stop Leaking

Now that we’ve covered best practices and useful plumbing accessories, let’s review some preventive steps you can take to avoid leaks, or worse, burst pipes.

Most of your home system of plumbing pipes and fixtures is hidden, so water issues often go on for weeks until they cause major problems. Regularly checking for leaks can help you identify problems quickly. Here’s how:

• Look under the sink for signs of pooling water, wood rot or mold.
• Find small leaks in any of your toilets by adding a few drops of coloring to the tank. If the color shows up in the bowl after 30 minutes without flushing, you’ve got a leak.
• Examine around and behind your appliances, including the dishwasher or washing machine, for signs of water damage or leaks.
• Schedule a water meter test.
  • First off, close off all water in your home via the water main.
  • Then, walk outside to check the water meter. Verify the reading again in two hours, and make sure not to use any water before the test is done.
  • If the reading is different, there is a leak somewhere.

Keep Your Pipes from Freezing

In cold climates, protecting the plumbing pipes is a good part of any plan to avoid freezing and bursting. Here are some professional recommendations:

• Cover pipes in the appropriate insulation in purely functional/utility spaces like the basement, garage or attic using pipe insulation or heating tape.
• Remove garden hoses from their spigots during the winter to stop ice from forming inside the pipes.
• Keep all cabinets with plumbing pipes open during cold spells to encourage airflow around the pipes.

Work with a Reliable Plumber

While you can take these and other preventive steps on your own to stop clogs, leaks and damage from floods, sometimes it takes an experienced plumber to keep things flowing smoothly. That’s where can help. We work with some of the best plumbers supporting U.S. homeowners from coast to coast with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you’re not completely satisfied with our services up to a year later, we will do whatever it takes to make it right. This promise shows how we ensure a complete sense of comfort in your life. For professional local plumbing service that exceeds expectations, please contact us today