Drain Maintenance for Homeowners
Small Actions that Make a Big Difference
We rely on our plumbing every single day. In many ways, we take it for granted. We expect our plumbing to bring us water and take away our waste without giving us any problems. Unfortunately, as plumbers, we know all too well that emergencies happen. Whether it’s a leak, a sewer backup, or a water heater failure, these emergencies require immediate attention, but many of them can be prevented by taking smart preventative measures. We want to go over those today and help you save money on your plumbing over the long haul.
Preventative Drain Cleaning
Let’s start by talking about preventative drain cleaning. Our drains take waste away from our homes but can have trouble with clogs and leaks. When these happen, your system can’t work properly and you can cause problems throughout your system if the issues aren’t rectified soon.
Why is preventative drain cleaning so important? One of the important risk factors that can cause issues for your plumbing system is the amount of build-up in your pipes. Let us explain.
Your pipes are designed to allow water to flow through them, along with other waste like soap suds, toilet paper, and some food waste. This is why your pipes don’t need to be too massive. However, the effective diameter of your pipes can be impacted by mineral build-up over time. When this inevitably happens, your risk of clogs greatly increases. Suddenly, the scraps of lettuce from your washed dishes have trouble getting through your pipes, when they could before.
Why Does Mineral Build-up Happen?
Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do to prevent mineral build-up in your pipes. This is because so-called hard water is a widespread problem throughout the United States. This is water from municipal systems that have high levels of minerals like calcium carbonate or dissolved magnesium compounds. These aren’t anything to worry about from a health standpoint, but can have other detrimental effects. Showering with hard water can cause dry skin, while using this water for laundry can deaden colors and dry out clothing. Of course, we’ve already touched on the impacts on the health of your pipes.
You can prevent this with a water softener system. Our team installs various kinds of water filtration systems including whole-house ones that can soften all the water you and your family uses.
Drain Cleaning
If hard water and mineral buildup is causing clogs to frequently form in your pipes, you need a drain cleaning sooner rather than later. You may wonder why you shouldn’t just clear the clog using commercial drain cleaners. We recommend this for so many reasons, but we’ll keep it short and sweet here.
These toxic commercial cleaners are not precise. They may eliminate the clog, but can damage your pipes as well. Older metal pipes can warp and bend, while even modern PVC can be damaged.
They are also toxic. Paired with brightly colored packaging, it is vital to keep these out of the reach of children. Many kids are poisoned by cleaning products like these every year, and they can cause debilitating injuries. We also know that these chemicals are not treated at municipal sewer plants. Instead, they are diluted to what is considered a “safe” level for the local water supply. We simply do not have the data to fully comprehend the impact these chemicals may be having on our shared environment.
Rooters and Snaking
We utilize safe technology to clear clogs and remove mineral deposits from hard water. This can ensure the long-term health of your pipes while doing so in a quick, effective, and eco-friendly way. We have the precision to knock out tough clogs. Soon enough, you’ll go back to taking your drains for granted, but knowing that the maintenance work you’ve done ahead of time will prevent clogs moving forward.
Pride Plumbing of Rochester is open and ready to serve our community as an essential business. Give us a call at (585) 271-7150 or fill out an online contact form to set up an appointment for any of your plumbing repairs or installations.
