We’re just a few short days away from the start of the holiday season, which makes now the perfect time to prep your home, start planning holiday parties, and maintain your plumbing system!
Wait, what’s that?
That’s right, your plumbing system needs attention, now. Think about the increased guests in your home that you likely have over the holiday season. This increases the use of your plumbing system exponentially. And we’re here to help. Of course, maintenance from a professional Bountiful, UT plumber is the first step toward prepping your plumbing system for the holiday season. However, there are a number of other precautions you should take to help prevent the following issues.
Low Output from Water Heater
If you’re using a tank water heater, it makes sense that you want it to function well over the holiday season. After all, you need it for cooking, cleaning, bathing, and more. All of this is increased when you have holiday guests—particularly overnight guests. To prevent running out of hot water, ensure that your tank water heater is turned up to maximize its capability and to help your hot water last longer!
Clogged Garbage Disposal and Drains
This is, unfortunately, one of the most common plumbing problems we receive calls for during the holiday season. It’s messy, and inconvenient, and unfortunately happens a lot during this time of year. Take Thanksgiving for instance: it involves a usually increased amount of cooking and cleaning for the average American family. If this process is interrupted, you can quickly find yourself at the doorstep of your favorite restaurant instead of your kitchen, come Thanksgiving evening.
To avoid this scenario, and to protect both your garbage disposal and your drains, you should avoid putting certain items down the kitchen sink drain. This includes potato skins, fibrous vegetables (such as celery), and FOG (fats, oils, and grease). FOG is particularly detrimental, as it hardens as it cools. This means the liquid you pour down the drain quickly builds up into a stubborn and hard-to-remove clog.
Toilet Troubles
It’s a good idea to ensure you have a trash can in your restroom for any holiday guests to throw their trash away. You could be surprised by the items that people put down the toilet, especially if those people are kids, who don’t know any better. Anything from food to paper products (plates, napkins), can easily stop up a toilet drain.
Faucet and Fixture Leaks
Seemingly minor leaks or small drips can be easy to neglect. However, they can actually grow pretty quickly and turn into a large expense, not to mention a mess, for you and your household. Even the smallest of leaks can easily waste gallons of water in a year, if you never have it properly addressed.
Additionally, leaks can be the sign of plumbing corrosion, which should be repaired in order to avoid a ruptured pipe later on. But what do you do if you aren’t sure you have a leak, but suspect so? You could ignore it until after the holidays, but chances are this will leave you facing property damage, especially if you’re dealing with a slab leak. If you suspect a leak, be sure to give us a call so our professional plumbers can make an accurate assessment.
Contact your HVAC and plumbing experts at Rentmeister Total Home Service today!