How To Avoid Plumbing Repairs

As plumbers in Los Angeles & Orange County, you may wonder why we would give away secrets to help you avoid plumbing repairs. After all, don't we want your business?

Of course! But there are much better plumbing services we can both benefit from. By avoiding plumbing repairs, your resources could be better used for a nicer shower head, a better kitchen disposal, a double sink for the kids, or a nice tankless water heater. So the way Western Heating Air Conditioning & Plumbing view it, it's a win-win when we offer you our expert advice.

There are some common mistakes homeowners make that lead to plumbing repairs. Here are some tips on what to do and what not to do with your plumbing.

Common Plumbing Repair Causes To Avoid

1. Never put fat, oil, grease, or any oily substance down the drain.

You may want to dispose of left-over cooking grease or pieces of meat fat down the drain. Things like lard, butter, cooking oil, and fats have a way of congealing in the drain, disposal, and pipes after they cool off. Always use a throw-away container to drain off cooking fat and throw the rest in the trash.

2. Never put stringy veggies like celery in the kitchen garbage disposal.

There are a number of stringy things that will wind up wrapping around the blade of the garbage disposal. It's much the same as how the round brush on your vacuum cleaner gets wound up with carpet string. The garbage disposal will strain to operate and eventually seize up. They also have a harder time grinding potato skins. Coffee grounds don't wash down the pipes, they sit and wait for other things to form a clog.

3. Get a bathtub and shower drain catcher.

We see time and again that backups in the shower and bathtub are caused by accumulated hair and bar soap leftovers. Avoid plumbing repairs by purchasing a drain catcher or hair stopper and be sure to keep it clean. Don't let pieces of bar soap fall down the drain.

4. Have your hot water tank cleaned and flushed out yearly.

Little do homeowners know that the hot water tank will heat elements like lime into scale which sticks to everything. Is your dishwasher leaving chalk all over your clean dishes? If so, you already have scale building up in your pipes and you may be looking at plumbing repairs. You can avoid narrowing of the pipes, low water pressure, backups, corrosion, and more by having the hot water tank cleaned, but there is more to do to avoid the problems scale causes.

5. Get your drains and pipes professionally cleaned.

Your local plumbers should offer professional drain and pipe cleaning service to remove scale, bacteria, and more from your plumbing system. This gives you a fresh, clean start with healthy pipes.

6. Install a water softener.

Lastly, install a water softener to remove the sediments and natural elements present in all water sources. This avoids any chance of scale buildup. Hard water is difficult to use for cleaning, so a water softener will help you with chores as well.