Moving into a new home is such an exciting time. There’s lots of plans to make, deciding where to put furniture and how to decorate, but there is lots of responsibility that comes with homeownership as well. You want your home to be a beautiful and safe place to live, and as a new homeowner, you’ll want to fix any issues you have. Those include minor plumbing problems. To help you as you start your homeowner journey, we’ve put together 7 tips for new homeowners below:
1. Understand the Signs of a Water Leak
Water leaking can cause a lot of damage if they aren’t identified early, so understanding what a water leak looks like is very important for you as a new homeowner. Signs to look for include dripping sounds, discolored ceilings or walls, bubbling paint, and damp sheetrock. Another way to identify a leak is by paying attention to your water bills—if you see an abnormally high amount, it’s likely you have a leak somewhere in your home.
2. Know Where to Shut Off the Main Water Valve
If you see a water leak inside your new home, it’s important to understand where your water shutoff valve is located. It’s very important that you shut off the water and stop the flow right away to save you precious time and money. Even if the leak is minor, turn off the water so the leak stops immediately to give you time to examine the problem or call in a plumber for more help.
3. Clean Drains to Prevent Clogging
Lots of items can block drains inside a home, things like soap, hair, grease, and oil. If you aren’t careful, these items can cause clogs in your plumbing and cause major problems down the road. If you’ve purchased an existing home with previous homeowners, you may have already inherited clogged drains, which is why it’s important to clean the drains first to prevent future clogs.
You can use a plunger to push current clogs down the drain or call a plumber to clean the drains to give you a fresh start in your home.
4. Weatherproof the Pipes
Here in Utah, we can experience some very cold winters, and some homeowners are left to deal with pipes freezing. Frozen pipes can be dangerous and bursting pipes can happen, which leaves you as a new homeowner with maximum damage to clean up and repair.
To avoid this, consider insulating your pipes, especially those on external walls, with heating tape, fiberglass, or foam insulation to avoid pipe freezing. Opening cabinets and turning on the faucet to a slow drip on extra cold nights can also help.
5. Learn Basic Plumbing Maintenance
Basic parts of toilets and faucets wear out over time—the toilet flapper gets worn out as do washers in faucets. As they wear down, toilets begin to run, and faucets start to leak. Some homeowners look at these small leaks as unimportant items, but the wasted water isn’t good for the environment, and they are also money wasters.
Each of these basic parts are easily replaceable and not something to be intimidated by. You can pick up basic plumbing parts at your local home maintenance store, and you only need basic skills to replace these items.
6. Respect Your Garbage Disposal
If you’re a homeowner who is lucky enough to have a garbage disposal in your home, it’s important you understand how to use it correctly. Materials like eggshells, fats, greases and oils, or starchy items such as pastas or potatoes should never be processed through your garbage disposal. Each of these items can cause clogs, so be sure you’re clearing clogs often if they happen.
When you flush items down your disposal, you should run cold water down the drain as you turn on and run the disposal. To keep the blades sharp, put some ice cubes in the disposal periodically and run it.
7. Have a Plumbing Kit Ready
Now that you’re a homeowner, you should always have a basic plumbing kit ready. This kit should include items such as a plunger to unclog drains, a small drain snake to clear hair clogs easily, heavy duty towels to clean up leaks, duct tape to put around leaks in a pinch before you call a plumber. Having this kit handy can help you quickly when you’re dealing with minor plumbing issues.
If you’ve followed these tips above and are still having issues with your plumbing, the expert technicians at 1st American Plumbing, Heating & Air are here to help. Homeownership is exciting, and your home is a big investment, and a plumbing issue is something you don’t want to ignore. Take care of it the right way. Call our offices at (801) 477-5818 for help, and we’ll send one of our trusted technicians to assist you.
