Every household will face plumbing problems at some point in time. However, you can avoid most major plumbing problems by regularly maintaining your home. You can probably resolve some of the issues on your own, but you will most likely need to hire professional home plumbing services for the more serious ones. Today, we will break down the essential home plumbing solutions and what you can do to keep up with the maintenance.
Remodel your home with your health in mind
Most people don’t pay enough attention to their health and how their home’s plumbing can affect them. Thankfully, the water in the Chicago area is generally decent; however, there is still lead in the tap water. This can cause problems, especially after prolonged exposure, and no level of lead is safe for children. Additionally, as your pipes corrode over time, the water quality may drop. You can consider renovating your home and updating your plumbing to improve your health, safety, and quality of life.
Be aware that a major house remodel, which includes your home’s plumbing system, can make it hard to live on the property while the work is ongoing. So, you might want to schedule the remodel when you have some vacation days to spare. Furthermore, you will also need to make room so that the plumbers can reach the pipes. Since the pipes are sometimes hidden in hard-to-reach places behind your furniture, Strong-Ass Movers recommend temporarily packing and moving your furniture out of the home and into a storage unit. And, if you vacate your home, the work will be done faster, and you won’t have to live among the debris during the remodel.
Home plumbing solutions for each part of your house
Focus most of your attention on the bathroom
You use the most considerable amount of water in the bathroom, and that’s precisely where most of the plumbing problems in your home can occur. You should check the faucets and the showerhead to see if there are any leaks. Another common bathroom plumbing problem can be caused by toilets that aren’t flushing correctly. From our experience, backed-up toilets usually occur when people try to flush things that should actually go in the trash. So, sit down with your family members or housemates, and explain what goes down the toilet and what goes in the trash.
Water-saving shower heads can reduce your utility bills
In case you run into any issues with bathroom plumbing, we suggest that you contact plumbing repair experts from Chicago since bathroom plumbing can be challenging to deal with on your own. If you want to be environmentally friendly, you can consider installing a water-saving shower and a toilet that uses less water. Not only are those solutions good for the environment, but they will also reduce your water bill.
Inspect your water heater
A large number of homes in Chicago rely on tank water heaters that pre-heat the water in your home. Most water heaters will last somewhere between 6 to 8 years; however, you can extend their duration with regular water heater repair and maintenance. When it comes to your water heater, there are a few home plumbing solutions you can try yourself:
- Uneven low water pressure. The pressure for hot water is directly tied to your water heater, and if there are fluctuations in the pressure, you might need to replace the pump.
- The temperature of the water fluctuates. All of the faucets in your home should have equally hot water.
- Hot water has a strange color or smell. This could point to a buildup in your tank, which could probably be solved by cleaning it.
Problems with hot water are probably coming from your water heater
Check your kitchen
Kitchen drains can often get backed up due to food buildups. This is especially common for households that have garbage disposal units. Even if you are very careful about what you put down the garbage disposal, there could still be small buildups of leftover food that can accumulate over time, thus causing the drain to get blocked. The garbage disposal isn’t something that you should try to repair by yourself, and we recommend hiring local plumbers to deal with that for you. If you are looking for DIY home plumbing solutions, you can try to use a chemical-free solution to unclog your drains. Choose a product that won’t corrode your pipes and drains. Alternatively, you can use a mix of baking soda and vinegar to break down the buildup.
Be careful which chemicals you use to unclog backed-up pipes
Get the pipes ready for winter
Most people stick to the motto “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.” Unfortunately, if you wait until your pipes start leaking, you are in for a lot of trouble. It would be best to inspect your pipes for leaks regularly, and the best time to fix any damage to your pipes is during the summer. Chicago winters can be freezing, and leaky pipes can freeze and burst from the low temperatures. Your best course of action would be to take care of those issues before any significant damage occurs.
Even in a warmer climate, leaky pipes will lead to unnecessarily large water bills. Most importantly, unchecked leaks can cause water damage to your home, which can be expensive and challenging to deal with. When checking your home for leaks, you should work from the bottom up since water flows downwards. If your home has a basement, look for any sources of water that shouldn’t be there. Leaks in the basement could cause damage to the foundation of your home and should be treated very seriously.
To summarize
We have covered the four most crucial home plumbing solutions and explained which signs you should look for. When you run into any issues, carefully consider whether you can deal with them yourself. If you feel uncomfortable dealing with plumbing problems, you can contact us, and we will be happy to assist you.