The holidays are here, and you may be hosting events for family and friends. When getting ready to entertain, be sure your plumbing system is ready to accommodate your guests. To help you, your friends at A & A Plumbing & Drain Services put together a list of helpful tips to reduce your chance of having a plumbing disaster.
- Clear & Clean Your Drains
While many drain-cleaning products seen on TV say they will resolve clogs and other drainage problems, you should be wary of their claims. That is why we recommend avoiding these products. Have your drains professionally cleaned should you begin to see slow drainage, odd/foul smells, and other issues.
To prevent drain clogs, consider using a “hair catcher” in your shower drain and wearing a beard apron when shaving over your bathroom sink. These are often inexpensive and can be purchased online or at home goods stores.
- Take Care of that Garbage Disposal
Garbage disposals are often powerful sounding and seem indestructible – and are thereby often put to the test by people who grind food scraps and more in them. They are not designed or built for such abuse in your kitchen and we recommend putting food waste into your trash can or compost bin. Chunks of food are difficult for the blades to grind them up and can eventually lead to expensive drain blockages.
Many individuals are unaware that you should only run COLD water when you use your disposal. Hot water makes the metal expand and care wear out the mechanical parts. To clean the disposal, simply use dish soap and follow with cool water.
- The Toilet Paper-only Rule
Toilet clogs are the most common (and embarrassing) plumbing emergencies when you have guests. These are oftentimes caused by someone attempting to flush something other than toilet paper. Toilets are not designed to flush paper towels, pads, cotton balls, and other things.
To educate your family and guests to this fact, make or purchase and display a sign in the bathroom that reads “toilet paper only” or similar message. Also have an adequately sized wastebasket within reach for people dispose non-flushable items properly!
- Have Leaky Faucets Repaired
In the typical American home, faucets are all over the place – kitchen, bathrooms, laundry room, outside, and sometimes even in the garage. A dripping, leaky faucet is not only annoying for guests to hear, but it wastes a LOT of water and can take its toll on your water bill — especially if multiple faucets are leaking.
Did you know a leaky faucet may be a sign of or even cause damage to your home’s plumbing? If the leak is due to corrosion or worn-out parts, or built-up mineral deposits, it’s very important to have a professional find and resolve the problem before it worsens.
- Check on Your Water Heater
As your water heater been checked this year? Like any home appliance, hot water heaters need to be checked regularly and maintained to keep it operating at maximum capacity while lengthening its usable life. If your water heater is more than 10 years old, you may want to look into getting a newer one that is more energy-efficient.
To ensure your guests have enough hot water while showing, it’s a good idea to maintain 15 minutes between showers so the hot water heater has time to refill and reheat.
Other plumbing related things to consider doing before your guests arrive include: removing exterior hoses from outdoor faucets (avoiding frozen pipes); having a sump pump installed; checking the hoses from your washing machine to the faucet; and getting a water softener or water purification system installed.
Call the team at A & A Plumbing & Drain Services at (402) 932-3899 for any emergency service or (better yet) to preemptively check out your plumbing system to be sure it’s running effectively and efficiency.
Happy Holidays!
