It’s hard to cover all your bases as a homeowner, which can create a lot of stress. You’ve got to stay on top of repairs, keep costs down and protect your home best you can from potential damage. You can help alleviate some of that stress and cut operating costs by doing preventative maintenance.
A good place to start is with your plumbing system. It doesn’t take a huge financial or time investment to make sure that your plumbing is healthy to prevent leaks.
Make Sure Water Pressure is Regulated
You get the concept of checking your own blood pressure as a measure of your health, right? The same can be said for your plumbing systems.
You need to have your water pressure in a healthy range to avoid undue stress on your pipes and fixtures, which can cause leaks.
Use a pressure gauge to check the pressure. If it’s too high (much over 60 psi), it is a good idea to have your Calgary, AB plumber install a water pressure regulator professionally.
How to Identify a Leak
You can save yourself a lot of trouble if you can develop a system to find small leaks before they become bigger problems.
You can visually inspect your pipes for moisture, mineral deposits or dripping water. Another way to check if you have a leak is to use your water meter for reference.
Make sure that there is no water running in the house. Take a meter reading and wait a couple of hours and take another one. If the meter has been running, then you’ve got a leak.
Deal With Corrosion
One thing that will cause water leaks for sure is corrosion. When certain minerals interact with your plumbing, they corrode.
The corrosion causes them to decay and then leaks start. You can take steps to slow the process. If you’ve got older copper pipes, switch them out for PVC because age and pipe material are a factor in how quickly corrosion sets in.
Install a water softener. Make sure to run water often, because standing water in pipes is the perfect place for rust to happen.
Don’t Use Commercial Cleaners for Clogs
Frustrated by a clog? Don’t reach for the commercial clog remover to clean it out. The acid that you are relying on to break down the clog is also going to attack your pipes.
It won’t be long before you’ve got leaks. Focus on clog prevention with regular drain cleaning instead.
Healthy plumbing means leak-free living, so commit to this plan for peace of mind.