Home Plumbing Tips to Effectively Maintain your Pipes

Home Plumbing Tips To Effectively Maintain Your Pipes The plumbing system of any building is of paramount importance. Proper care must be taken to ensure its smooth functioning. However, in most cases, the plumbing system remains mostly neglected until some problem occurs. Plumbing system repairs cost a lot and they can be easily avoided if you some simple steps are taken.

Check for the presence of leaks: The smallest leak in your pipes or faucets can result in unmanageable flooding if not noticed in time. The ensuing damage may call for substantial home and plumbing repair. Hence, it is imperative for you to undertake a thorough check of all unheated basements, garages, crawl spaces, and exterior walls, especially those areas that are devoid of insulation. With little or no insulation, pipes are left exposed to elements which can result in leaks and cracks.

Drain and insulate: Proper drainage and insulation of all outdoor faucets and pipes in your building plumbing system before the arrival of winter should be undertaken as any water that might get trapped in those pipes is liable to freeze, expand, and then crack, break, or burst the pipes. Thus, securing these pipes can save you from costly repair work later on.

Weatherproof the trouble areas: Watch for areas that have exposed plumbing. Window, doorways, and vent fans should be properly checked to ensure that their seals remain tight. In the case of a seal being loose, fix it up with caulking to prevent your home plumbing from freezing. Also, ensure that you repair your cracked windows because they can lead to freezing temperatures.

Insulate pipes that are exposed: Sealing off all airflow in your building can result in mold growth. Instead, insulate your pipes properly so that they can withstand the cold winter air.

This can be done by installing foam tubing or towels around your pipes, thereby allowing the water heater to retain heater. This will reduce the

energy bills. Vulnerable pipes placed closed to electrical sources should be insulated with electrical heating tape. The heat tape, wrapped around the pipes is a great way to provide just the required amount of heat to prevent pipes from freezing.

Avoid using chemicals for pipe cleaning: While clogged drains seem really frustrating, cleaning them with chemicals may create a new problem. The chemicals will clean the clogged pores, but they will also erode the pipes. Continued use and exposure to harsh chemicals may lead the pipes to start leaking over time. It is thus better to use a snake which can be bought at a hardware store and clean the clogged pores.

Use enzyme based pipe cleaners: These pipe cleaners have natural bacteria as their constituents which will help in turning the sludge that is causing the clog into liquid, thereby making it easy to clean the pipes and keeping it debris­free.

Following these steps will save you from costly plumbing service repairs.

These are simple and quite easy to do and also allows the option to save on your energy bills.

QA Plumbing Pty Ltd 8 Rafferty Rd, Mandurah WA 6210, Australia, P.O. Box 2030, Phone: 0895828822 FAX: 0895355216 E­mail: admin@qaplumbing.com.au Website: http://www.qaplumbing.com.au Join Us On: Facebook | Twitter | Google+