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Harrah: Preventative plumbing maintenance a must for homeowners

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No homeowner wants to deal with plumbing issues. Broken plumbing wastes water, wastes money and worst-case scenario causes permanent damage to your home.

The sad part about plumbing issues is that a vast majority of them can be prevented. Preventative maintenance is key to ensuring that your home and your wallet will not fall victim to severe plumbing damage.

Here are a few preventative measures you should take to ensure you don’t deal with any long-term plumbing damage.

Water heater maintenance

Homeowners constantly neglect their water heater which is bad because it is one of the most important plumbing fixtures in your house. Your water heater needs to be flushed at least once per year, but many homeowners never flush them. An unchecked water heart will rust and corrode from the inside which makes It more likely to leak and cause water damage to your home. An unchecked water heater also does not efficiently heat which means you will be paying a higher utility bill.

Tankless water heaters are becoming increasingly popular and they also require preventative maintenance. You need to descale your tankless water heater once every other year. Descaling is the process of getting rid of calcium and lime buildup caused by water over time. Tankless water heaters scale much slower than tanked ones, but they will still require maintenance eventually. Not descaling will cause a buildup that clogs up the exchanger which helps heat the water, making your tankless water heater less effective.

Check toilets and emergency valves

There are emergency shut-off valves in every fixture of a home. These valves should be inspected often. One of the most neglected emergency valves is the one under your kitchen sink. This valve can leak and cause water damage you won’t even see until it gets really bad. You should hire a plumber to inspect your emergency valves once every year to exercise them and make sure there are no leaks. It is also important that you change these valves once every 10 years.


Test your toilet once a year to ensure the fill valve is not continuously running. A continuously flowing fill valve can be a big issue for homeowners on a septic system since that water can build up in the tank and cause a leak.

Check water pressure in your home

High water pressure in the home is becoming a more pressing issue as home builders build more around existing housing structures. As more houses get built around your house the pressure on the main water line goes up to adequately service those new homes. High water pressure can cause a pipe in your house to burst which can cause massive damage to your home.

Have a plumber check the water pressure in your house. Anything between 65 and 70 psi is a good level. Anything over 75 psi should be lowered. If you are dealing with high water pressure a plumber will install a pressure reducing valve on the main riser of your home. This will limit the water pressure to an ideal setting.

Homeowners neglect their plumbing too often. The cost of neglecting your plumbing fixtures is always higher than the cost of preventative maintenance. A plumber or a handy homeowner should do a deep check of all their plumbing fixtures. Doing so will save you a lot of money and prevent longterm damage to your home.

Editor’s note: Justin Harrah is the service plumbing manager of SAK Electric Plumbing Inc. an East Valley plumbing company serving the area for more than 30 years with plumbing repair and installation. Go to sakepcaz.com.

 

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