Bathrooms, Kitchens, & Laundry Room
The single largest investment most families will ever make is their home. Taking the time to protect that investment can save you money and valuable time. Setting some time aside to do a few seasonal checks on your homes plumbing could also mean the difference in stopping a potentially small problem from developing into costly larger problem. We recommend these simple seasonal tips to make certain you protect your investment and assure your plumbing remains sound throughout year and the time that you own your home.
We recommend that you follow this helpful checklist every few months to assure you spot any looming problems with your homes plumbing.
Tips for the Kitchen, Laundry Room, and Bathrooms
- Take a moment and check all of the faucets in the bathrooms, laundry room and kitchen for leaks. Make certain to make any repairs to help you save on your water bill.
- Check your bathrooms toilets for hidden leaks. This can easily be done by adding six drops of food coloring to the toilet tank. If your toilet is leaking the color will appear in your bowl within a half an hour.
- You should test to make certain that all of your toilets are flushing properly. If you need to "jiggle" the handle or hold it down for the toilet to flush thoroughly, the components within the tank could be worn and need replacing.
- Open and close the water valves located under sinks and your toilets to prevent the valves from sticking.
- Check to make certain that all of your toilets are flushing at decent pace. If not, the water line may be kinked or worn and could need replacing.
- Check around the base of your toilet tanks for any signs of water damage or for soft floors. A simple way beyond visibly is simply "straddle the toilet and rock gently back and fourth on each foot. If the floor feels soft or sponge like, their may be rotting or weak wood resulting from a slow leak.
- Your pipes can clog because of the gradual build up of grease, hair and soap debris. We recommend that all of your drains in sinks and tubs have strainers. This will help prevent bulky foods, hair and soap debris from clogging your drains.
- Take the time once every few weeks (especially in those areas where the plumbing is not used on a regular basis) to run hot water in all of your sinks to help to make certain that your pipes will remain free flowing.
- Don't use your toilets as a trash basket. Never flush sanitary products, cigarette butts or diapers down the toilets. Make certain that all of your bathrooms have a wastebasket in them.
- A lot of kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms are built with tile. You should check for loose tiles where they come into contact with the tub, or sinks. If the walls appear to be soft, their may be a leak behind the tiles causing damage to the structure.