3 Helpful Tips To Prepare Your Home’s Plumbing For The Holiday Season
As you are probably aware, the holiday season can easily be one of the most difficult times of the entire year for your home’s plumbing. Not only do the lower temperatures and weather conditions take their toll, but if you are like most homeowners, your system is likely going to be seeing increased usage in the coming months with visitors and the like. No one wants to have to interrupt their holiday festivities to call in a plumber for emergency service. That being said, a little bit of preparation now can go a long way towards protecting your plumbing over the coming months, and we want to help you do so. In an effort to make sure that your holiday season is one to remember, but not because of unexpected plumbing issues, our team of professionals have taken the time to put together this short list detailing a few helpful tips that can help you prevent some of the more common plumbing issues that tend to occur over the course of the holiday season.
Be Careful In The Kitchen
If you are like many other homeowners out there, the holidays are when you are going to be preparing what are likely going to be the largest meals of the entire year. As such, it pays to be smart in the kitchen. The day after thanksgiving is one of the busiest days of the year for plumbers all over the country, and this is due in large part to homeowners or kitchen helpers who wind up putting things down the disposal that have no business being there. Grease and leftover cooking oils are a major offender here, and there are many people out there that aren’t aware you shouldn’t be putting these down the drain. These oils and grease tend to congeal when they cool down, and this can lead to particularly stubborn clogs that can be a real pain to get rid of. A common culprit of clogged disposals also results from leftover and table scraps that are put down the disposal to be ground up. Take the time to familiarize yourself with what can and can’t be put down the drain this holiday season, and make sure that you are running the water both before and after you grind anything up as this will help to clear away any remaining bits of food and the like.
Protect Your Pipes
As the temperatures start to drop below freezing, you are going to have to worry more and more about your pipes freezing and bursting, and as anyone who has been through that scenario can tell you, it can be quite the catastrophe. To help protect your pipes from freezing, make sure to shut off all of your outside water valves and drain and detach anything hooked up to your pipes that might have water still in it. Once that is done, you will want to make sure that you or a professional goes through your home and ensures that any pipes you have running through uninsulated areas of your home are properly insulated. This includes areas like your crawlspace, garage, or the outside of your home. Finally, in cases where the temperature is set to drop extremely low, make sure to turn your faucet to a slow drip, as flowing water is much more difficult to freeze.
Make Sure Your Water Heater Is Running Properly
While most homeowners enjoy having a hot shower at the end of the day, these become even more of a necessity during the cold winter months. A working hot water heater is an absolutely vital part of your home at all times of the year, but it is even more important during the winter. As such, now is the time to schedule a time for a professional to come out and take a look at yours to ensure it is operating like it should be and that there are no underlying issues that could spell trouble for you in the months to come. Give our team a call at Wieronski Plumbing & Heating, Inc. today!
More Tips on Plumbing Repairs (pipes, plumbing, water heaters)
