How to Maintain Your Water and Sewer Lines | Tips from Your Trusted Marrero, LA Plumbing Repairs Service Provider
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The plumbing system in your house consists of the networks that bring in hot and cold water and also take out waste. If the system is not well maintained, several damages that require urgent plumbing repairs may occur.
Such damages are expensive to repair, causing you to squeeze your budget to find the extra money for plumbing repair. To avoid such incidences and ensure that the plumbing system runs smoothly, preventive maintenance services are mandatory.
Below are the essential tips for maintaining and prolonging the life of your water and sewer lines.
1. Avoid the Use of Chemicals to Unclog Your Drains
Clogged drains are one of the most common and serious plumbing problems homeowners face. In the case of a clogged drain, many people opt to use chemicals to remove the obstacle. However, these chemicals have side effects. For drain pipes made of cast-irons, the chemicals eat away their surfaces.
Also, the chemicals are not that effective as they rarely clear the entire obstacle causing clogging. This necessitates the repeated use of the chemicals, which leads to the drainpipes being continually eroded and eventually breaking down.
To avoid plumbing problems arising from chemical use, hire an expert in plumbing repair to remove the obstacle using a snake. You can unclog the pipes on your own using a plunger, which uses suction pressure to clear the drain by pulling out the obstructions.
2. Identify Any Leaks Present
Apart from the annoyance caused by the dripping sound from faulty showers and faucets, leaks can also cost you more on the water bills if ignored. A dripping faucet or shower causes the loss of several liters of water in a day. Imagine the amount of water lost in a month if the situation goes unchecked.
Leaks get from bad to worse as time goes by. This may lead to even more severe plumbing problems. To avoid disaster, regularly carry out plumbing leak tests. Ensure that the faucets and showers are completely shut off, and then wait to see if water drips out.
You ought to regularly inspect the areas around your plumbing pipe system to detect any signs of leakage. In case of any, seek plumbing repair service from reputable plumbers in Marrero, LA, like bluefrog Plumbing + Drain of New Orleans.
3. Consider What You Flush Down the Drain
Toilets allow you to flush waste from the house into the drains. To avoid clogging of the sewers, always put into consideration the form of waste you want to wash out. Materials such as diapers, cotton wool swabs, and hygiene products, when flushed down the toilet, cause drain clogging and make waste to back up your toilet bowl and even overflow – a very disgusting occurrence.
Food particles cause clogging if left to flow down the sink while cleaning utensils. It’s therefore essential that you put any form of food waste in the bin before you wash utensils. To prevent draining of these particles into the drainpipe, you should use either screen or filters.
Plus, to avoid eroding the drain pipes, ensure that no reactive substances are flushed down the drain.
4. Avoid Freezing in Pipes
Extremely low temperatures can cause water to freeze inside the pipes. If water freezes inside the pipes, high pressure builds up within, causing them to burst. This can result in massive flooding, which may call for significant plumbing repair. To prevent such situations, ensure that the pipe’s temperature remains above the freezing point.
Below are some of the measures to prevent freezing in pipes:
- Open Interior Doors
In most settings, pipes are located in the cabinets. Therefore, during cold temperatures, you’re advised to keep both the interior and cabinet doors open, allowing heat within the house to keep the pipes warm.
- Use Extra Means of Insulation
Pipes located in attics and basements require additional insulation to prevent freezing. Insulation can be done by fitting the pipes with fiberglass sleeves or foam rubber. The insulation should also be added to the ceilings and walls to keep the pipes beneath warm.
- Make Use of Heating Tapes
Heating tapes works by directly supplying heat to a pipe to keep it warm. They are good for the small sections along the pipe that are at risk of freezing. The tapes come in two types. One automatically turns on and off when necessary, while the other must be controlled by hand. To avoid problems that may later require significant plumbing repair, you ought to adhere to the tape’s use directions and safety procedures.
5. Replace Old Pipes
Old pipes need plumbing repair often than new ones, which can be quite a nuisance. Pipes are made of different materials like brass, galvanized steel, cast iron, and copper, all with different life spans. There are also PVC pipes which can last for over ten decades if not exposed to direct sunlight.
Before replacing your old pipes or re-plumbing the entire system, gather opinions from professional plumbers in Marrero, LA.
6. Regularly Clean the Filtration System
To avoid the continued accumulation of minerals and other contaminants found in water, clean your filter system regularly. Cleaning should be done using warm water and not any other cleaning agents, as this may lead to the addition of harmful toxins to the system.
7. Understand How Your Sewer Line Runs
For easy plumbing repair along the sewer line, you should know how your lines run. This can help you get rid of trees whose roots could cause damage to your sewer lines now or in the future. It would be best if you also had the lines regularly snaked to avoid possible clogging.
Performing the above preventative maintenance will help you avoid serious plumbing problems. Sometimes you may require plumbing repair on several items to keep the entire system in optimal condition. Some repairs are simple, and you can do them by yourself. However, some are complex and require experts. In case of the complex ones, don’t hesitate to contact the expert plumbers at bluefrog Plumbing + Drain in Marrero, LA, for immediate plumbing repair service!
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