Unexpected Water Leaks Are Done For When You Try These 4 Plumbing Maintenance Tips

Leaks in your home or place of business might seem like relatively minor structural issues.

Compared to some of the “big ticket items” you worry about with a building, you may even be tempted to simply ignore water leaks since it’s just a "little-lost water."

But ignoring leaks can cost you money. Leaks mean the water you lose you pay for in your monthly bills.

More importantly, leaks are symptoms of a small problem that can threaten to grow much larger and more expensive, like water damage, mold or a broken pipe.

If you want to prevent these major problems from happening to you, our four tips can help to avert these issues before they become serious.

Don’t Clear Drains with Strong Chemicals

There’s an obvious need to clear out a blocked drain or want to deal with a slow drain before it completely blocks.

However, the first solution shouldn’t necessarily be buying a powerful chemical agent from the store and pouring that down your drain.

Modern drainage plumbing is often made of synthetic materials like PVC, which are plastic, and those chemicals can erode, weaken, and even break these pipes if they are used too frequently.

Lessen Water Pressure

A lot of homeowners will make the case that high water pressure is essential because you can’t have a decent shower without it.

However, modern showerheads can pressurize the water, meaning you don’t need to have the entire plumbing system of your home at a high water pressure!

And honestly, it’s bad for your house! High water pressure adds constant, damaging force to every pipe in your home. Moreover, it can also cause you to pay more on your water bills, and may even damage water-using appliances like laundry machines and dishwashers, causing them and/or pipes to leak.

Prevent Corrosion

Corrosion is a natural process for most metals, which means the trick is to reduce the chance of this occurring as much as possible.

This is especially important in pipes, which are constantly exposed to fluids and can spring leaks should they deteriorate enough due to rust or other factors.

Depending on the type of pipes you want to protect, corrosion prevention can be as simple as applying paint sealer, for copper pipes.

On the other hand, if your home builders decided to use your metal pipes to also ground electricity, the electrical power may be causing galvanic corrosion! Take steps to eliminate this.

Verify Leaks

What if you suspect you may already have a leak? You should first confirm its presence and determine its severity.

If a visual inspection of faucets, appliances, and pipes you can easily access yields nothing, look for moisture, water stains or even water damage in areas like walls and ceiling that pipes may be behind.

You can also take a reading of your water meter when water is not being used to see if it’s still measuring water consumption. If it is, you have a leak. Fortunately, living in Vernon, CT means you have easy access to professionals that can address leaks if you find any. Always make sure to either prevent leaks from occurring or fixing them quickly before they escalate to bigger problems.