When it comes to your residential plumbing needs, you need to make sure you stay on top of repairs and maintenance in order to keep your home functioning at the highest level possible. Residential plumbing services are available for you at any time and can help make the necessary repairs to get your water working as it should. If you are looking at hiring residential plumbing services, here are a few things you can expect and a few questions you should always ask before hiring them.
If your home is several years old or older, you most likely have a traditional tank water heater. Water heaters only last so long, so the time will come when they need to be replaced. If your current water heater is on its last legs and will need to be replaced soon, you will need to decide whether to replace it with another tank water heater or have a tankless water heater installed instead.
Since most of your home's plumbing system is hidden behind walls and under your foundation (or in your basement), you probably don't give it much thought when things are running smoothly. Unfortunately, plumbing problems can occur at any time — and if left unaddressed, they can wreak a lot of havoc and cost you a lot of money. By being on the lookout for some common plumbing "red flags," you'll know when it's time to call a plumber.
Every homeowner should have a basic set of DIY fixes in their tool belt for the occasional problem, and the same goes for your plumbing. One of the most common household issues that we hear regularly is a clogged sink. Some clogs are enormous, such as a batch of "flushable" baby wipes that have created a logjam inside the sewer line, while others are as simple as a chicken bone that went down the garbage disposal.
Regular maintenance and repairs are a necessity for any hot water tank. Hard water is a common reason for repair. You will need to plan for regular tank flushing as well as fixing of any hard water damage. Why Is Flushing Required? The environment inside your water heater is quite hot, which causes minerals like calcium and lime in your water supply to evaporate out of the water. Instead of staying dissolved, these hard minerals then solidify into a crust on the inside of your tank.
When I decided to replace the plumbing fixtures in my house with new ones, the whole process revealed some heavily damaged pipes. I had missed all of the more subtle signs of issues, and only realized it when I had to work on the pipes to get the new fixtures installed. I created this site to help others understand what to watch for and what types of things to look at before they start working. Spotting problems ahead of time will make it easier to get the project done in one sitting. I hope that the information here helps others avoid the emergency situation and unexpected expenses that I found myself facing.