How to Keep Your Plumbing Functioning Effectively

The flow of water into your home and the removal of waste from it are necessary for clean and healthy living. However, people often take for granted the complex plumbing that allows this process. If you don’t take care of your plumbing system, it can fail you at the most inconvenient times, leaving you without working showers, sinks, and toilets.
Here are some tips to follow that will help you keep your plumbing in good shape so that it functions effectively for you. If you do need repairs, count on the West Deptford, NJ plumbing professionals at SPS Mechanical. Call us any time: we have 24-hour emergency services.

Don’t put garbage or pour grease/cooking oil/fat down your drains:

It’s a common error we see homeowners make all the time: thinking the drains in their sinks act like disposals, and anything thrown into them just vanishes. Kitchen sink disposals are designed to handle larger food items, but your standard sink drains aren’t, and their p-traps can quickly clog up and block your pipes. Take particular care not to pour grease, cooking oil, or fat into your drains—even into the disposal. These substances harden and congeal when they cool, creating a thick plug in your pipes.

Install drain covers and screen caps in showers and sinks:

Getting some hair and soap scum in drains that receive frequent use is unavoidable. But you can reduce the amount that slips into the drains and help prevent clogs with the simple precaution of putting inexpensive covers and screens over these drains.

Insulate your pipes:

This is important in any location that experiences below-freezing weather during winter. Pipes that freeze will not only stop flow, they will be in danger of cracking or bursting. Get foam pipe insulation to protect them. Better yet, call a professional to do the job to insure that it gets done right.

Hire professionals to handle most repairs:

A plunger and a bottle of drain cleaner can solve some small troubles with your pipes, but anything worse you should leave to a trained plumber. (And don’t go out and get the strongest type of drain cleaner you can find—this might damage your pipes.) Attempting to fix problems with plumbing on your own can cause further damage leading to dangerous leaks. If you want your plumbing to keep working effectively, make sure that the care it gets is the best—professional care.

For all the precautions you take, there will be times when trouble develops that is out of your control. If you have a West Deptford, NJ plumbing emergency, call SPS Mechanical and we’ll get one of our highly trained plumbers on the job.