How to Prevent Leaks, Clogs and Flood Damage

You expect your home’s plumbing system to operate efficiently, but potential problems can hide around every corner. Fortunately, you can prevent clogs, leaks and water damage with a little routine care. Here’s how you can keep your water flowing and your worries at bay.

1. Keep Foreign Debris Out of Sink Drains

Your kitchen sink may be fitted with a garbage disposal, but certain food items still need to be thrown away or put in a compost heap, {and never dumped into the drain, like:

• Grease from cooking
• Fibrous foods like corn husks and stalks of celery
• Old food like steamed rice or coffee grounds
• Solid objects such as fruit pits and animal bones
• Things that aren’t food. Silverware and other small items may end up in the disposal and damage something when you turn it on.

2. Understand What Shouldn’t Be Flushed

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

• Baby and/or wet wipes
• Paper towels
• Cotton swabs and cotton balls
• Feminine hygiene products
• Baby diapers
• Floss
• Out-of-date medications

3. Employ Drain Strainers

Another effective way to prevent a clog is to place mesh strainers over your kitchen and bath drains. They catch hair, pieces of soap, crusty toothpaste and other debris as water enters the drain. these strainers to keep your drains running smoothly.

4. Locate the Main Water Shutoff Valve

Being knowledgeable about your plumbing system means knowing the location of 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 shut off 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 under the ground.

5. Add a Sump Pump to Your Basement

Installing a sump pump can really help prevent flooding, especially in areas prone to lots of rain. This device removes water that gathers in its sump basin, generally installed in the floor of your basement, and drains it away from the house. If you already have a sump pump, make sure it’s in good shape by adding some water into the pit. As long as the pump activates and the pit drains, you’re good to go. If it doesn’t seem to be working properly, you have time to call a professional to fix the pump before another big thunderstorm rolls through.

6. Put in Flood Alarms

Similar to how smoke alarms are a big part of good fire safety, flood alarms help prevent water damage. These electric or battery-operated devices sense pooling water at the earliest stages of flooding or leaks, setting off an alarm to notify you. For enhanced protection, add smart flood alarms into your home security system. This notifies you on your phone after water has been detected, allowing you to address leaks before it leads to significant damage.

7. Add a Backflow Valve

Many plumbers recommend you install a backflow valve in the basement floor drain to keep sewage from flowing back into their homes during heavy rainfall. Professionals can set up this effective defense against sewage flowing back into the house.

Learn to Recognize and Prevent Leaks of All Sizes

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 dripping pipes often go unseen until they create the potential for water damage. Regularly checking for leaks can help you identify problems quickly. Here’s how:

• Look under the sink for signs of damp spots, rotting wood or mildew.
• Find slow leaks in the toilets by squeezing some drops of food coloring to the tank. If the color shows up in the bowl after 30 minutes without flushing, you have a leak.
• Examine around and behind your appliances, including the dishwasher or washing machine, for signs of water damage or leaking.
• Schedule a water meter test.
  • First off, turn off all water in your home via the home’s water main.
  • Then, go outside to read the water meter. Verify the reading again in two hours, being careful not to use any water before the second reading.
  • If the reading goes up, you know there’s a leak somewhere.

Protect Your Pipes from Freezing

In climates with cold winters, protecting your pipes is crucial to avoid freezing and bursting. Here are some professional recommendations:

• Insulate pipes in purely functional/utility spaces like the basement, garage or attic using foam tubing or heating tape.
• Unhook garden hoses from their spigots all through the winter to keep ice from forming inside the pipes.
• Keep all cabinets with plumbing pipes open during cold spells to allow warm air to circulate around the pipes.

Partner with a Trusted Plumber

While you can take these and other preventive steps on your own to minimize the risk of clogs, leaks and damage from floods, sometimes it takes a professional touch to keep things flowing smoothly. That’s where excels. We work with some of the best plumbers offering residential plumbing support from coast to coast with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you’re not completely thrilled with your level of service up to a year later, we will do whatever it takes to make it right. This industry-leading dedication shows how we ensure a complete sense of comfort in your life. For some of the best plumbing service that exceeds expectations, please contact us today