When you own a home, there is inevitably going to come a point where you have to do a repair or some maintenance on the plumbing in your house. It’s a simple fact of life, and something that every homeowner should be prepared to deal with eventually. Issues like clogged drains and dripping faucets are annoying, but most people know how to handle these situations until help arrives. Leaking or burst pipes, however, are common enough that you’ll probably experience one at some point, but much more difficult to handle. Knowing what to do about a misbehaving pipe ahead of time can save you a good deal of stress and worry, so here’s what you need to know about pipe repair!
Prevention is Better than Repair
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure, especially when it comes to plumbing. It is much easier to take care of your pipes and avoid problems in the first place than it is to repair the problems after the fact, so step one is good pipe maintenance.
Avoid flushing things down the toilet and rinsing things down your drains that don’t belong there. Get your pipes insulated to prevent freezing. Don’t use harsh drain cleaners or chemicals that might corrode or damage your pipes, and if you can manage it, have a professional come out periodically for a maintenance visit to check your pipes and ensure that everything is in order.
Be Prepared
When you discover a leaking pipe in your house, you’ll want to be able to spring into action immediately instead of hemming and hawing, wondering what you should do next. This means that you should always have the contact information of a reliable plumber in your area on hand so that you can make the call right away instead of searching the area and reading reviews as you try to figure out which plumber to use.
Know Where Your Water Shut-Off Is
This ties into being prepared to deal with a leak when it happens. As soon as you spot a leaky or burst pipe, you’ll want to turn the water shut-off valve immediately, and you can’t do that if you don’t know where it is! An experienced plumber will be able to help you locate this valve in your house if you don’t already know, and heading for this spot should be your first order of business when you find a leak. Afterwards, open a faucet in the house to relieve the remaining water pressure in the pipes and call up your local plumber!
Don’t Put Off Repairs
When it comes to your plumbing, procrastination is never going to do you any favors. You might be tempted to wait a while before getting a repair done if you find a problem in the early stages, like noticing a leak when it’s just starting to drip.
However, plumbing problems have a tendency to snowball the longer you put off fixing them. You can end up costing yourself much more time, effort, and money by waiting to call in the professionals, so don’t procrastinate your plumbing repairs– get them addressed as soon as possible while they’re still small and easy to fix!
DIY Can Do More Harm than Good
Many a handy homeowner has created a huge and expensive mess for themselves by trying their hand at a plumbing project. While you might think that fixing a leaky or burst pipe by yourself is a good way to save money, you run the risk of costing yourself more down the road if your DIY repair fails or you cause further damage.
When it comes to something as important and complex as your plumbing, it’s best to leave things in the hands of the professionals like the ones at The Plumbing Works in Lancaster, PA. Let us handle your pipe problems quickly and with expert knowledge!
