Plumbing Tips

Put a small trash can next to your toilet and make sure everyone in the house, including kids and guests, uses it. Toilets are an amazing invention, and in my mind are the unsung heroes in the reduction of disease and the increase in lifespan in the last 200 years. But, they don’t do well with anything other than feces, urine, and toilet paper (I’m looking at you, Charmin Flushable Wipes). Things that have gone down the toilet that have cost our clients thousands of dollars have included children’s toys, kitty litter, sanitary products, paper towels, hair, and fish guts. Also, do not put cleaning products, especially bleach products, in the tank (back part) of your toilet. They eat away at the rubber and plastic parts, and often void the warranty. Feel free to use appropriate cleaning products in the bowl (front part).

If you see a wet spot on a wall, floor or ceiling get it solved right away. Water in walls, ceilings, and floors can cause major structural damage to buildings, which can be the difference between cutting out some drywall and patching a pipe, versus tearing off an exterior wall and roof. Most building products can survive short term wetness fairly well. You spill a cup of water, clean it up, no harm done. But continuous wetting, whether it’s from a leaky pipe, failed siding, or a leaky roof, can end up making a house uninhabitable.

Do not put the following items down the garbage disposal: potato peels, sauerkraut, celery, eggshells, artichokes, flour, rice, lemon peels (use lemon juice if you like the smell). These items, and similar fibrous or cement-like ones, may clog the blades and cause the motor to overheat.

Make a plan to replace your water heater once it is about 10 years old. You may not need to replace it right then, but at least get a bid and have a plan for who to call and about how much it will be, so if it fails you don’t have to buy something in a panic. In addition, flush your water heater or tankless water heater annually, or whenever the manufacturer says.

Consider leak detection equipment if you have plumbing in a difficult to access area, or if you don’t look at it very often (hot water heater in the crawl space, or under the back of the clothes washer)

In the winter, disconnect your hoses and splitters from the hose bib, and cover it with an insulated cover.

Keep your pipes from freezing by heating your home in the winter, insulating pipes in the crawl and attic, opening cabinets that contain plumbing, and keeping your crawl spaces from freezing.