As summer approaches, so do school breaks and summer activities. The increased traffic in your home means more water will be used over the course of the season. Without adequate preparation, your pipes could quickly become overwhelmed with the increased volume of flushes, hand washing, and showers. The start of the summer is a great time to make sure that your pipes are ready for the increased usage.
Preparing for Summer Plumbing
As the season changes and your plumbing is used more, there are many different things you can do as a homeowner to prepare for summer and make sure you do not have any issues that can potentially turn into bigger problems. Start by checking your main appliances, your tubs, showers, and sinks, for leaks or cracks. Cracks and leaks need to be patched as soon as possible to avoid losing water pressure, or even having these cracks and leaks become larger and causing major damage to your appliances.
The Most Common Plumbing Issues
Summer typically increases your home’s water usage more than any other season. The more your toilet, shower, sinks, etc. are used, the more likely you can run into plumbing issues. The following are some of the most common plumbing issues that homeowners encounter:
- Clogged toilet, garbage disposal, or drain
- Continuously running toilet
- Leaky faucets or spigots
- Low/declined water pressure
- Loose toilet, sink, or other fixture
- Incorrect grade of drain pipes
- Improper support of pipes, sometimes accompanied by a hammering noise
- Outside pipes not sealed sufficiently
- Water heater fails, leaks or doesn’t heat
- Pipes burst or crack
- Obstruction in pipes
Some of these issues are too complex for the typical homeowner to be able to fix on their own. If you encounter an issue that is more than you can handle, consider calling a professional plumber for help.