Imagine this; you come home one night, tired, and happy that you can finally relax in the comfort of your home – but, your night has only begun. Upon walking into the toilet, you quickly discover the brackish water leaking through the bottom of the toilet bowl. You have always had plumbing problems around the house but can’t stand it anymore. You grab a few supplies from your toolbox and begin checking the plumbing. As you try fixing the leak, the pipe breaks and what was a minor leak quickly turns into a water flooding crisis. This is the kind of nightmare that can happen at any moment if you fail to maintain your plumbing regularly.
Here are 5 fast and easy maintenance tips to prevent plumbing nightmares
1. Check your water pressure
Irregular water pressure can wreak havoc on your pipes and plumbing. Stop fissures and leaks early so you can get to the root of the problem. Maintaining water pressure under 80 psi will help extend the life of your appliances and copper pipes. Replacing shut off valves and old supply lines will help you avoid springing a leak and save you from the aggravation and unwanted expenses.
If your house’s water pressure gauge is faulty, then you should hire professional plumbing or plumbers in your area.
2. Perform a toilet maintenance check
Do you think your toilet is leaking, but you are not entirely sure? A great place to begin your maintenance check is in the toilet tank. Mostly, the problem lies in the flapper – the rubber cover at the surface of the tank which releases water when you flash. If the flapper wraps out of shape, it allows water to leak. To check if the flapper is faulty, pour a few drops of dark colored food coloring into the toilet tank and let it settle overnight. If you find color in the toilet bowl the day, then the flapper needs replacing.
3. Re-caulk your toilet
While caulking is not responsible for toilet leaks, it will keep the water from leaking over to your shower; bath or rotting your floors, besides, it looks much more aesthetically pleasing. While re-caulking your commode, check the condition of the wax ring seal as it is responsible for preventing leaks.
4. Clean your toilet tank
If the toilet tank is left unclean for long, thick layers of scale, bacteria, metal stain, mildew, and mold builds up in the tank such that the water refilling your toilet bowl after flushing becomes difficult to clean and maintain. Regularly cleaning your toilet tanks ensures that the water remains bright and clean.
5. Clean the toilet bowl
An important reason to keep your toilet bowl cleaner is to prevent clogging and corrosion and also help you to detect signs of possible plumbing issues early. The best way to clean a toilet bowl is by cleaning the siphon jets. A cleaning hack to use is a mixture of baking soda, water, and vinegar.
You are never ready to deal with a plumbing nightmare, thanks to these tips; you can do well to avoid it.
I liked what you said about how it would be smart to re-caulk your toilet every now and then. That does seem like it would help prevent leaks or water damage. It might be best to also have a plumber come check your pipes for you.
Great article! It is very important to keep track of your plumbing. Better fix it as soon as possible. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for telling me to check my water pressure since irregularities can wreak havoc on my pipes and cause damage to my plumbing system. I’ve been hearing a weird banging sound in my pipes, and I have a hunch that my water pressure might be too high than normal. I will follow your advice and hire contractors that offer plumbing services to check if my house’s water pressure gauge is really faulty.
Mainly the maintenance should be carefully worked in order to prevent issues. Another point is the initial project, but when you already have a house, it can not be changed…
I never knew that irregular water pressure can affect our plumbing system and cause some problems. We’ve been experiencing this for a while now and thought that our water supply provider will have it fixed on their end. Maybe I should call professional plumbers and let them do something about it.
Thank you so much for this tips. It really helps me to what needs to be check in my plumbing and it can definitely helps to save money and time.
Thanks for reminding me that I need to regularly clean our toilet tank to prevent the growth of bacteria and mildew. Also, I have a hunch that our entire water system needs to be checked and not just our toilet. It might be a good idea to hire plumbing experts for their maintenance and repair services instead of dealing with it on my own.