Preparing for a Vacation? Don’t Neglect Your Plumbing | Tips from Your Richardson, TX Plumber
Everyone wants the post-vacation good mood to last as long as possible. However, this good mood will certainly vanish if you come back to a plumbing disaster. There are a lot of possible disasters that can occur while you are sunbathing on the beach of Costa Rica; a pipe could burst and completely flood your home and belongings. Even a small thing such as a leaky faucet can hike up your water bill unnecessarily.
With so many different ways in which the plumbing system can malfunction, there are some steps that you should take to ensure a care-free trip. Plumbers in the Richardson, TX area, suggest that it is better to prepare the home with a few extra steps before you embark on the journey. At the end of the day, securing your utility system will stop you from worrying about an impending disaster.
Expert plumbers have provided a simple plumbing checklist you can follow to prepare the home for a vacation. This will ensure no incident occurs while you are away.
1. Turn off the Main Water Supply
Turning the water off is the first step you should take. Leaving the main water supply switched on can increase the risk of a lot of incidents while you are away. The main water valve is usually placed in the basement of most homes. It looks like a simple lever or a wheel. After you turn it off, you should run the tap to make sure the water valve has been closed properly.
This step will ensure that even if a fitting comes loose or a pipe bursts, no water will flood the home. Flooding can make the cement slabs in the home shift or crack, resulting in a lot of repair costs for the homeowner. According to expert plumbers switching off the main water supply can save your home from structural and water damage.
However, some homeowners may need the main water supply left on while they are on vacation. For example, you may need to leave the sprinkler system on. In such cases, you will have to turn off any appliances that use water one by one. This will reduce the water usage of the house while you aren’t there and decrease the risk of water flooding.
Plumbers have developed a checklist for any items you may need to switch off:
- Ice maker
- Outside faucet
- Pool pump
- Toilets
- Showers
- Clothes washer
- Sinks
- Water heater
- Swamp Coolers
- Hot tub
- Dishwasher
2. Gauges
If you are leaving for two weeks or more, it can be important to run the water through the pipes. This will prevent sewer gases from escaping through the traps and entering your home. After some time, the gas will also cause the pipes to deteriorate, and fixtures can also become cracked from disuse.
In this case, you can ask a neighbor or a friend to check on the house once in a while until you come back. They can keep an eye on your home and make sure that everything is running smoothing. They can turn the main valve on and off to allow the water to run through the pipes.
You should also call a plumber to check on the trap system in your main sewer line. This will ensure that any malfunctions are fixed before you leave for the vacation.
3. Pool Pumps
Along with the sprinkler system, you may want the pool pump on while you are away. Stagnant water can increase the risk of algae developing in the water system. Returning to an algae-filled pool can be really foul due to the slimy texture it has as well as the unpleasant odor. Algae is hard to clean from the pool as well. You will have to completely drain the pool and follow it up with a couple of hours of scrubbing to remove the slimy layer on the surface.
You should check whether your pool pump comes with low settings. The low pressure can be enough to keep the algae away but doesn’t take up too much power. If you can’t find the settings, you can consult a plumber. If you don’t have these settings, you can also ask a friend to run the pool pump a couple of times while you are away.
4. Preventing Leaks
It is important to conserve water and prevent leaks. Around one trillion gallons of water are wasted every year because of household leaks. Leaky faucets can also cause a 10% hike in the water bill.
Before you leave for your vacation, you should take out some time to check on every faucet in the home. Any fixtures around the house need to be checked, including toilet tanks and sinks. To check whether the flush in the toilet is leaking, you can add a few drops of food coloring to the water. If the color leaks into the toiler even without use, it means that there is a leak. You should call a plumber to fix the leak at once.
5. Switch off the Water Heater
Leaving on the water heater will needlessly increase your water and energy bills. It is also a more eco-friendly step to switch off the water heater. There is a dial on the base of the appliance that switches it off. There are also vacation modes on some water heaters, which can save power and water.
You should call a plumber to check for the leaks around the water heater. They can properly check for leaks around the cold and hot water outlets and inlet connections.
6. Hire a Professional for Inspections
It is a good idea to call a plumber before you leave your home in the Richardson, TX area to give your house a once-over before you leave for the vacation. This will ensure that any extra things that you need to take care of are noted. It is a good idea to schedule an inspection with Bluefrog Plumbing + Drain of North Dallas, especially if you are leaving for a long vacation.
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