This post is brought to you by Kenny Schwamb from Order a Plumber
It is never a good time to have an installation problem, be it at home or at your company. Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is the potential cost of repairing the piping and other damage.
To help, we reached out to Kenny Schwamb at Order a Plumber in Islip Terrace. Schwamb turned us back with five helpful tips to avoid problems and save money.
1. Know your plumbing, or at least how to shut it down
Every homeowner should know a few basics about their plumbing, the most important being where to shut off the water in an emergency.
One of the services we provide to our customers is valve labeling, a process by which we locate and label some of the most important valves in your home, including the main water valve, water heater valve, boiler feed valve, hose nozzles, irrigation valves, appliance valves, and shut-off valves for standard equipment .
For our customers who want to add an additional protective layer, we offer the installation of an intelligent valve on the water pipe, which monitors water consumption at all times and learns the water consumption habits of a house, if the valve detects a water flow that is uncharacteristic for the house, it switches Turns off the water and sends an alert to the homeowner’s phone.
Installing a smart valve in your home can also translate into a discount on home insurance.
2. Look under the sink and sniff around often
I can’t tell you how many homeowners are calling us about a leak under their kitchen sink that they finally noticed while trying to pull out a plastic bag or detergent that was all wet. The problem is, by the time you spot a leak, the damage is usually already done. Not so much the plumbing; we can fix that. But when this water builds up it can severely damage the cabinets or even seep through the ceiling below if it’s a second floor.
Sometimes you might get mold.
You can avoid these kind of pricing issues by simply taking a quick peek under all of your sinks, toilets, basement, and machine rooms with a flashlight. Challenge yourself to find a leak, or at least something that doesn’t look right. Doing this at least twice a year can save you money by identifying a bigger problem before it becomes one.
You know the old adage when you see something, say something or in that case call us. Send pictures. Many of our customers call us when something is wrong, often they even send us pictures of what they have found to help us assess the gravity of the situation and perhaps calm them down.
3: know your drains!
The first question the plumber will ask the homeowner is: cesspool or sewer? You need to know this answer. If the homeowner replies a cesspool, the plumber would be inclined to check the pool to see if it is full before putting any drain cleaning equipment on.
Aside from knowing where the water ends up after you’ve rinsed the bowl, it’s also good to know how it gets there. Many homeowners find it valuable to have a camera check of the drainage system inside and outside the home to give them the assurance that the system is working as it should – and free of defects that lead to long-term deadlines.
Most importantly, knowing your drains, including what not to put down.
The list of no-nos is very long, some of the most common ones to avoid are: paper towels, wipes of all kinds (even if they are advertised as flushable), women’s products and grease.
4: check the heat
Check the heat is working well before you need it. Waiting for the first cold snap only to find out the heat isn’t working will prove costly as unfortunately the first cold snap of the year causes a surge in non-heat calls. Turning up the thermostats in early October to make sure everything is working properly is the responsible thing.
Combine this procedure with tip # 2 (sniffing around) and avoid heat when you need it most. In addition to checking the system, it is always best for a homeowner to know the type of heat they have, for example, do you have a baseboard boiler or a convection oven, don’t you know, give us a call, we will help you identify The system for you. Is your system oil or gas too? If it is oil, make sure there is oil in the tank and check it regularly, even if you have an automatic delivery. Automatic delivery doesn’t guarantee you won’t run out of oil.
Tip 5: prepare for winter
In addition to breaking open the Christmas decorations and covering up the patio furniture, there are some precautions you need to take when it comes to your plumbing. Make sure to disconnect the hoses from your hose nozzles and close the valves for the winter. Winterize your irrigation systems and any other outdoor installation you want, including sinks or outdoor showers.
If you’ve seen frozen pipes in your indoor plumbing in the past, these areas should be dealt with before this year’s cold weather hits. Often problematic pipelines can be isolated or laid to prevent freezing.
If this is not possible, keep an eye on the weather and let some of the fixtures in the house drip during the next cold front to avoid a frozen pipe. If your heating system was frozen, give us a call and find out whether you would like to add antifreeze to your heating system to protect it from the cold.
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