Did you know that you can take steps to avoid leaks altogether? Plumbing leaks can lead to costly repairs if not handled early. While every leak may not be avoidable and general wear and tear on your plumbing system can make leaks occur more frequently, there are strategies you can employ to prevent leaks from occurring in the first place.
Here are a few ways that you can avoid leaks and future damage to your plumbing pipes:
Monitor Your Pipe’s Pressure
A water’s pressure should be higher than 40 but lower than 80 PSI within your pipes; anything higher than that can lead to water hammering, resulting in leaks. If you read your water pressure and find that it is above 80 PSI, it’s imperative that you call a professional plumber to inspect the pipes and create a solution to address the problem.
Watch What You Pour Down the Drain
It may be tempting to pour grease or other thick liquids down your sink’s drain, but it’s best to avoid this if you want to preserve your pipes. Certain substances like food waste, hair, and even large amounts of toilet tissue can cause your pipes to clog — resulting in plumbing leaks and pipe damage.
Make Sure Your Fittings are Tight on the Pipes of Appliances
A great way to watch out for leaks is to keep an eye on appliances that use water, including washing machines, refrigerators, HVAC systems, toilets, and even your sink. Periodically, check for any moisture on or around the pipes and hoses of these appliances. If you feel any moisture, it could be that the fittings have come loose, and they need to be tightened. This step can prevent leaks and any potential water damage.
Ensure Joints are Sealed
In addition to your fittings being loose, your pipe’s joints may also not be sealed correctly. Checking for this is more involved as you’ll have to remove the fitting, wrap interior threads with plumber’s tape, and lubricate the plumbing ferrules with plumber’s grease before completing the joint sealing process. Although it is possible to DIY this, if you find it too complex we recommend calling a plumber to help with this task.
Use Water Softener
Water can interact with many substances before it enters our pipes. For example, washing your hands, conditioning your hair, using dish soap on plates, and emptying soda into a sink can release minerals into the water resulting in the water hardening.
Over time hard water can lead to corrosion that can result in leaks. A way to avoid this is by adding a water softener in your pipes. This product can reduce the number of minerals in the water, decreasing the likelihood of corrosion and potential leaks.
The team at FitzGerald and Sons Plumbing makes it our mission to help customers fix plumbing problems. One of the ways we like to help is by assisting them in preventing these issues before they happen. For this reason, we are willing to do preventative inspections of your piping to ensure that your plumbing system is working correctly. Feel free to call us today at 770-766-8531 if you need a repair or inspection.