It’s that time of year again – the holiday season! A time to welcome long days and nights spent with friends and family. What you don’t want to welcome are plumbing emergencies.
However, more times than not, plumbing emergencies tend to occur at the most inopportune times. If your home is the hub of holiday activity, your plumbing system is left vulnerable. The added guests using your sinks, toilets, and tubs can seriously strain your plumbing system.
Below are some of the most common winter plumbing issues and how to avoid them. The last thing anyone wants is for their holiday season to be tarnished by a plumbing emergency.
Clogged Kitchen Sinks
The holidays are often accompanied by plate after plate of delicious foods. It is important to be careful when preparing and disposing of those foods. Don’t ever pour grease, oil, or coffee grounds into your sink. Also, avoid disposing of fibrous foods with the garbage disposal. Instead, just toss them into the trash.
Water isn’t able to rinse these types of liquids and foods down the drain, leading to buildup in your pipes and an inevitable clog.
To learn more about keeping your pipes clear this holiday season, read this blog we previously wrote on the subject. And, if a clog does occur, please call us instead of using an over-the-counter drain cleaner – you’ll thank us in the long run.
Water Line Leaks/Breaks
Winterizing your plumbing is a lengthy but necessary process. If you fail to winterize correctly, it can lead to a lot of time and money down the road.
One of the most important things you can do to prepare is to completely drain all garden hoses and shut off the valves leading to them. If an undrained hose is left connected after a freeze, the ice in the hose gradually builds pressure in your home’s water lines. This could lead to either a break or a leak.
Broken Hot Water Heater
Like we mentioned above, emergencies always occur at the worst times. That’s exactly why your hot water heater is liable to quit as soon as there’s a chill in the air. The cold air takes a toll on the heater, but with proper maintenance, your water heater should continue functioning correctly.
It is important to never let your water heater’s temperature gauge surpass 140 degrees Fahrenheit. If your gauge is set at that or below and your water isn’t very hot, it’s time to give us a call.
As you can see, there are a lot of plumbing issues that can arise in the winter months. We firmly believe that knowing what the issues are and the symptoms of each is half the battle – the other half is a simple phone call to your friendly plumbing guys!
