When the holiday season rolls around, many of us visit with family and friends. If your home is going to be the gathering place for your loved ones, it’s important to understand the stress that it can put on your plumbing system. We’re going to go over some of the best tips you can employ to help ensure that your plumbing system doesn’t experience an unfortunate issue during the holiday season.
Get Your Drain and Sewer Lines Cleared
One of the best things you can do to help prepare your plumbing system for the holiday season is to get your drain and sewer lines cleared out by a professional. Hydro jetting is a great service that scours the inside of your piping to remove any stuck-on debris. By removing this debris from your piping, you can avoid clogs from happening in the near future. Opting to get this service right before the winter season will help ensure that all your drain and sewer lines are completely clear of debris so you don’t experience a clog during the holidays.
Install Sink Strainers
One of the biggest contributors to unwanted clogs is items going down your drain that shouldn’t be. For example, hair or food particles going down your drain can accumulate and stick to debris that’s already built up inside your piping. One of the best ways to prevent these items from even making it down your drain in the first place is to use a drain strainer. Made up of metal or plastic mesh, drain strainers sit over the drain and catch any large particles before they enter it. Just be sure to keep up with regular weekly cleaning to prevent any blockage of water flow throughout your sinks and showers.
Have a Grease Catch
Another great tip is to avoid putting grease, fats, and oils down your drain. If you rinse them down the drain with warm water, they go down as liquid, but when they cool down in your piping, they coagulate. This build-up can easily attract other materials like hair or food particles and lead to an unwanted clog. One of the best ways to avoid this is to have a grease catch container somewhere in your kitchen. This will allow you a quick alternative to dispose of these substances without intentionally flushing them down the drain.
Have Garbage Cans Near Toilets
Another big contributor to holiday plumbing issues is flushing items other than toilet paper. Some of the most common items include feminine hygiene products and “flushable” wipes. It’s generally recommended by plumbing professionals to dispose of these items in the trash instead of flushing them down your toilets. Feminine hygiene products’ purpose is to absorb liquid, and flushable wipes don’t degrade quickly enough, meaning both types of item can easily clog your toilet or block pipes further down the line. When you have guests over, consider putting signs up politely asking them to dispose of non-toilet-paper items in the garbage can instead of flushing them down the toilet.
Have Your Water Heater Serviced
With more people staying in your home, the demand for your water heater is likely going to be higher. One of the best things you can do to prepare is to have a professional perform maintenance service on it. This service will include things like checking the pressure release valve and flushing any excess sediment out of the water heater tank. The service will go a long way in detecting potential problems so that you can have them repaired before the holiday season arrives. You may even want to consider investing in an insulating jacket for your water heater so it can operate more efficiently during the colder season.
Consider a Plumbing Inspection
Another great way to drastically reduce your risk of experiencing a plumbing problem during your holiday gatherings is to invest in a professional inspection. It can be very helpful to have one of our plumbing professionals come out and look over your entire plumbing system to determine any issues that may be present. For example, they can detect any small leaks and repair them before they turn into bigger and costlier problems to fix.
Set Garbage Disposal Rules
While having a garbage disposal can be a great way to help speed up the cleaning process, it’s imperative that you don’t put the wrong items down your disposal. If you do, you could end up with a plumbing clog or even a jam inside your garbage disposal. Consider informing all of your guests about what items they should and shouldn’t put down your garbage disposal. For example, it’s best to avoid putting eggshells, coffee grounds, fruit pits, nuts, fruit rinds, and any bones down your garbage disposal. Ensure that all of your guests know to turn on the water whenever they turn on your garbage disposal, as running it dry could lead to a massive amount of damage.
Invest in Plumbing Insulation
If you’re going to be spending any time away from your home during the holiday season, it’s likely that you’re going to turn down your heating system to help save yourself money on your energy bills. While energy savings are great, it’s vital to ensure that you don’t allow any of your pipes to freeze up during the winter months.
One of the best ways to protect your home is to ensure that you install insulation on your water supply lines. Simply putting a sleeve insulation over them can go a long way in helping better maintain the water temperature. This is particularly important for hidden water supply lines, such as those underneath sinks or inside cabinets. If you have any areas that don’t receive direct heat, like water lines in your unheated garage, it’s best to invest in a heating cable that will ensure the water inside of your pipes stays above freezing.
Should your pipes burst, you’ll need emergency plumbing repair services. That’s where we come in: we offer emergency repairs 24/7 to help you have the best holiday season possible.
Shut Off Your Water Supply
If you’re going to be spending an extended period of time away from your home during the holiday season, it’s important to properly prepare your home. One of the most important things you can do is to shut off the main water supply valve. This will help to ensure that if your home develops a leak or one of your pipes bursts, less damage can occur. It’s fairly common for people to turn down the temperature on their water heater when they’re away. However, it’s absolutely imperative that the temperature stays at least 120 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. This will prevent any bacteria from growing inside the water heater tank and potentially damaging it.
Reliable Plumbing Maintenance Service
BlueFlow All-Service Plumbing offers reliable plumbing maintenance service for the Gainesville, GA area. We can also help with all your commercial, septic, plumbing repair, drain cleaning, water heater, and emergency plumbing service needs. Simply call us today to book your next service consultation.
