During the holidays, there are plenty of stresses that come up. From family visiting, to having to travel, to organizing multiple plans, and making sure they all go off without a hitch. Not to mention, numerous gifts and multitudes of food. The last thing you want to have to stress about is something going wrong with your plumbing. We’ve put together a list of tips to help avoid plumbing disasters, especially during this time of the year.
Having an issue with your plumbing is a nightmare any time of the year, but adding it into a mix of holiday chaos is another level of headache. If you have guests staying in your home throughout the season, the last thing you want is for them to be unable to use the plumbing fixtures. Similarly, if you are going out of town for the holidays, you should be able to enjoy your time away, and not come back to any plumbing disasters.
PREVENTION
The best way to handle these disastrous situations is to prevent them before they even happen. It is a lot easier to take steps ahead of time than it is to clean up the mess after the fact. There are many small things that add up to proper prevention, but the most common methods include the following.
REGULAR MAINTENANCE
By having your pipes and plumbing fixtures regularly maintained, or at least checked by a professional, you can recognize if problems are forming or if it may be time for an upgrade. This helps prevent potential issues from occurring, or getting worse if they already exist. This can also prolong the life of your plumbing fixtures, saving you money in the long run.
BE PROACTIVE
Regular maintenance is one good way to be proactive with your plumbing. Another way is to prepare for potential inclement weather, increased usage, and more. If you know that temperatures are dropping, and the chance for frozen or slushy pipes is present, plan ahead of time ways to keep your pipes warm in order to prevent this problem.
FIX MINOR PROBLEMS
As stated above, one of the benefits of having regular maintenance done on your plumbing fixtures is the ability to spot potential problems or minor problems that already exist. If you happen to come across any of these, it is best to address them while they are minor. By waiting to fix these, you could be allowing them to progressively get worse, and become major problems. Handle them when they occur and it could save you much money in the long run.
UPDATE FIXTURES IF NEEDED
Yet one more benefit of regularly maintaining your plumbing fixtures is being able to see when they need updated. Over time, these fixtures lose their efficiency and the ability to work properly. When this happens, the potential for major problems increases. By updating them when it’s needed, you could be saving yourself time, trouble, and funds in the future.
The last thing anyone wants to deal with around the holidays is a plumbing disaster. The best way to avoid this is with prevention. Should something happen, however, the experts at Active Plumbing are here to help. Contact us today.