Plumbing Maintenance 101: The DIY Checklist Every Homeowner Must Have

In a perfect world, your plumbing would be a onetime, lifetime investment. Unfortunately, this never happens, and unless you perform regular maintenance checks and replace the parts that leak, sag, and nag at your comfortable life, you will be spending more in the long run. 

You can easily keep plumbing disasters at bay by performing regular visual inspections and some DIY maintenance work, as detailed in the following plumbing checklist. 

Visual Inspection 

Your house’s plumbing can develop various abnormalities. The good news is that most of them can be identified visually. The bad news is that this simple visual maintenance routine is commonly overlooked. The first thing to any maintenance work is to properly gauge the current condition of the plumbing and its systems. Only by being aware and alert of the outward signs of an inward plumbing problem can help keep larger issues at bay. 

The following tasks are crucial to maintaining a healthy plumbing in your home.

Look for signs of corrosion 

Plumbing can easily become rusted and in the long run develop leaks and even contaminate your water supply. Corrosion is easily identifiable by greenish stains around brass and copper pipes/vales, while steel pipes develop yellowish and orange stains due to corrosion. 

Inspect the water heater for signs of rust. Also, don’t forget to check the toilet tank — it is one of the biggest guzzlers of water. If any part looks like it’s broken or turning rust colored, replace it right away.

Look for signs of leakage

Start with the pipes that are exposed. These often experience cracks due to the expansion of pipes either in winters or due to certain strikes. In case of pipes present inside the walls or the foundation, a leak can be identified by watermarks on the ceiling, floor, or wall in addition to any puddles. 

Common places that develop leakages include washing machine hoses, caulking areas that have lost the sealing, and sewer pipes as they leave the home.

                              WARNING SIGNS 

  •   Cracked and broken flooring tiles are a danger sign, as it is highly likely that water may have been pooling underneath it and building pressure.

  •   Presence of mildew near your plumbing — this is a clear sign that water is seeping where it shouldn’t.

Test the Plumbing Systems

Once the visual inspection is complete, it is time to take a more hands on approach to your plumbing systems. This will require performing simple testing procedures to see if the systems are working correctly. The following tasks will greatly help:

Check Water Pressure

Important places to perform this check include your shower, kitchen, toilet etc. If you notice a decrease in water pressure then it is an indication that your plumbing has built up sediment. 

Check Drainage 

Blockage is evident if your draining speed has decreased overtime: your tub might not be draining quickly; the kitchen sink starts to back up at the garbage disposal, etc. If the water flowing through the drain makes noises or causes bubbles, then that again signals plumbing issues.

Check Leakage

Check if your toilets are wobbly or coming loose from the floor as this indicates a leakage, and will require immediate sealing to prevent future problems. Make sure you drain the water heater periodically and avoid build up of sediments.

Make sure you check the walls near or around the sinks. Push them in to assure no water is leaking and causing structural damage. 

Please contact Bonfe for all your plumbing needs.  All the best!

One thought on “Plumbing Maintenance 101: The DIY Checklist Every Homeowner Must Have

  1. Regularly checking your house for leaks is a good idea. Letting one slide by can end up causing a lot of damage. Great advice.

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