Plumbing & Maintenance Hints
One of the best plumbing tips we can give you is to ensure your home always has air circulating through it and is set at a minimum temperature of 60 degrees. It would help if you also insulated as many of the outside wall plumbing lines as possible to avoid potential catastrophes. Another suggestion is to open cabinet doors, providing heat circulation to pipes. If your room gets particularly frigid in the fall and downright miserable in the winter, don’t wait until then to look into options for better air circulation.
Take the Warm months to come up with solutions.
Before the first freeze, remove water hoses and cover outside faucets with covers. Insulate pipes in unheated areas. Know where your water shut-offs are located. Check the ones under sinks to make sure they turn. Over time, these will rust and cause problems. Locate and mark where outside shut-off valves are located. Locate and mark any outside sewer clean-out valves.
Does Your Garbage Disposal Smell Bad?
Thoroughly grind orange peels or other citrus fruit peelings in the disposal, then run cold water for a few minutes. Freeze some vinegar into small ice cubes, then run them through the disposal. This helps remove bacteria that cause odors. Don’t overload your garbage disposal with too much food at one time! Remember to use lots of water while running your garbage disposal.
Clogged Toilet?
Let it sit for a few hours or overnight. The water level should go down. If it has, then try flushing again. Often, this is all you’ll need to do to fix the issue.
Is Your Water Bill Higher Than Usual or Expected?
Repair leaky faucets promptly: a leaky faucet can waste gallons of water quickly. One good way to check for a leak is to ensure all water faucets are off, then go to the water meter and look at the dial on the top. You should suspect a water leak if the dial is still moving very slowly.
Do Not Pour Grease or Cooking Oil Down a Drain!
Some people think pouring grease or oil down the drain is okay. After all, it’s just liquid, right? Indeed, it will go down the pipes, right? That’s a common misconception. Grease is the cause of many blocked drains. When you put grease down a drain, it forms a coat inside the pipe. It might take a while to cause a problem, but it will eventually.
For any plumbing repairs, water heating services, or drainage and sewer needs, contact Mr. Bill's Plumbing at (817) 556-0704. We’re available for emergency services, and we offer free estimates for all jobs.
