Saving Money on Plumbing Repairs | Tips from Your Trusted Costa Mesa, CA Plumber

No matter how much money you make, nobody wants to spend a fortune on plumbing repairs. This problem is even worse when it comes to plumbing repairs you could have prevented or at the very least minimized. As a Costa Mesa, CA, homeowner, there are plenty of things you can do if you want to save money on plumbing repairs. From routine maintenance to using your plumbing system properly, you can have a huge effect. If you want to avoid spending a bunch of money calling plumbers out to your home for frequent repairs, here’s what you need to know.
Leaky Faucets
If you’ve got a leaky faucet in your home, make sure you get it fixed sooner rather than later. While it might seem odd to call a plumber out to your home just to fix a simple faucet leak, these leaks tend to get worse with time. If you leave a faucet leak alone for long enough, you’ll end up with a bigger leak which may require replacing the whole faucet. Plus, leaks cause your monthly water bill to shoot up, costing you even more money if you don’t have your faucet repaired.
Running Toilets
Running toilets are one of those problems that everybody has to deal with at some point or another. In most cases, a running toilet is simply a result of a slight kink in the chain in your toilet tank, and you can usually fix it by jiggling the flusher handle a little bit. If this isn’t working, however, it may be that you’ve got a bigger problem causing your toilet to run continuously. In this case, it’s best to call a plumber and have them take a look to rule out any serious toilet issues.
Insulate Pipes
A burst pipe is arguably the worst plumbing problem you can have in your home. When a pipe bursts, it spews hundreds of gallons of water into the crawlspace or wall where it’s located. These bursts are generally a result of a pipe that froze, causing the water inside it to expand and put pressure on the pipe. If the pipe gets cracked or a leak forms when the pipe is frozen, you’ll have to deal with the inevitable flood of water that comes when the pipe thaws out again. The best thing you can do to prevent this is insulate your pipes properly. Any pipes that are located in a poorly insulated area should be insulated at the very least and wrapped with heat tape or cable if insulation isn’t enough. Remember, it’s important to have a plumber do these things to make sure they’re done right.
Flush with Care
Some people may think you can simply flush anything down the toilet, but any good plumberwill tell you that’s far from the case. If you don’t want to clog the toilet in your Costa Mesa, CA, home, one of the most important things you can do is watch what you flush.
As a general rule of thumb, only toilet paper should be flushed down your toilet. Things like cotton swabs, makeup products and feminine hygiene products don’t break down in your pipes the way toilet paper does, which will eventually lead to a clog of solid waste in the drainpipe.
Treat Your Disposal Right
Having a garbage disposal doesn’t mean you don’t have to worry about what you put down your sink. As a matter of fact, you should always be trying your best to put as little food waste down the garbage disposal as possible.
Plumbers get a lot of calls for clogged drains that could have been prevented by simply not cramming too much food down the drain. If you have a tough time remembering to dump your food out in the garbage can instead of the sink, you can get a strainer to catch solid food waste.
The Right Drain Cleaner
One of the most important things to know about as a homeowner is how to keep your drains clean. If you ask most professional plumbers, they’ll tell you that you should never use chemical-based drain cleaners such as Drano to keep drains clean.
While chemical-based drain cleaners may be the most popular, they can also cause a lot of damage to your drainpipes. The harsh chemicals these drain cleaners use to break down clogs can also break down your pipes, causing corrosion and leaks with prolonged use.
If you want to keep your drains clean without having to worry about damaging pipes, you need an enzyme-based drain cleaner. There are lots of different options when it comes to enzyme-based drain cleaners, all of which are designed to eat away at the organic matter that’s causing the clog without actually damaging your pipes.
Keep Drains Wet
Of all the advice you can get from a plumber, keeping your drains wet is arguably some of the best. If you don’t use a drain a lot, you should pour water down it every once in a while, to make sure the drain stays wet. The reason for this is that water is stored in a P trap to keep each drain from releasing sewer gases into your home. When that water gets stagnant, it starts to smell. Flushing that water out with some fresh water occasionally helps you avoid having to call a plumber as often.
Much-Needed Help
No matter how hard you try to take care of your plumbing system and prevent problems, you never know when something is going to happen. This is why you need to have a good plumbing company on your side just in case.
If you’ve got a plumbing problem in the Costa Mesa, CA, area, bluefrog Plumbing + Drain of Orange County is here to help. Call bluefrog at (949) 775-4682 to schedule an appointment with a plumber or learn more today.
Photo By AzmanL at istock