You won’t hear our plumbers speak wistfully about the lazy days of summer. This time of year we tend to get exceptionally busy.
Water usage and plumbing problems peak during summertime for most homeowners. Sometimes that’s due to lawn sprinkler systems. In other cases it’s because the household expands with kids home from school or vacationing house guests. This means additional use of bathrooms, kitchens and washing machines. Also, backyard summer barbeques often lead to garbage disposal or drainage system blockages.
Whatever your situation might be, here are some tips to help you prevent summertime plumbing problems or deal with them in a timely manner:
- If you have an automatic lawn sprinkler system, keep your eyes peeled for water oozing in spots. Also, look for pop-up sprinkler heads that get stuck in the “up” position or partially up. This happens a lot, especially in areas with hard water. This can present a safety hazard for kids running around in the yard. Occasionally a lawn mower will rip off the head. Then you will have not only a broken mower blade, but a miniature version of “Old Faithful” every time the system activates. Get in the habit of inspecting your sprinkler heads. Watch the spray patterns for signs of disarray. If you can’t fix the problem yourself, give us a call.
- Trees enjoy growth spurts in summer and their roots can wreak havoc with water mains and sewer lines. Mother Nature is stronger than even the sturdiest pipes, so give us a call immediately if you notice a sudden drop in household water pressure. Also keep an eye out for puddles accumulating in certain parts of your property.
- Summer cookouts are loads of fun, except we often get called to fix garbage disposal problems afterward. Avoid putting corn cobs, watermelon rinds and any other fibrous or stringy foods down your disposal. Oils, grease and fat may also lead to clogs. And don’t overload the disposal by putting a party’s worth of scraps down at once. When using your disposal, be sure to flush it with cold water for at least 15 seconds after shutoff to wash away any remaining food debris. Never put instant potatoes or any other instant packaged food down your disposal. Added water will cause it to expand and clog the drain.
- Toilet clogs also increase with added use from kids and house guests during summer. You can plunge most clogs away yourself but if the plunger doesn’t do the job, better call us as soon as possible. There could be something stuck in the drain line that will render your toilet unusable until it gets cleared.
- Expect to use more water than normal during summertime, but you can keep your water bills in check by getting in the habit of turning off water at the source when done using a water hose.
Call us to ask about our annual plumbing service plan that will save you money and extend the life of your plumbing systems.