This home improvement articles is gladly sponsored by your friendly Oklahoma City home inspections compnay, owned and operated by Dr. Jack Werner.
Fall and winter are great times
with families getting together, bringing joy and happiness. Sometimes the fun is interrupted by
annoying plumbing problems. Here
are a few great tips to keep the plumber out of your holiday season.
Thanksgiving is a plumber’s busiest
time—thanks to garbage disposals and houses full of guests. Clogged pipes and
sewers are major headaches during the holidays. Most can be prevented.
Kitchen sinks with garbage
disposals are hot points around Thanksgiving. Everyone wants to help, with the result that many plates and
dishes are emptied into the garbage disposal. Garbage disposals are designed to handle small amounts of
leftovers, not plate after plate being shoveled into them, and never fibrous
materials such as corn husks and banana peelings. Avoid using the disposal during preparation and after large
meals. Should the disposal be used, run plenty of water while the disposal is
running and up to 20 seconds after it is turned off. The water pushes the debris down the small kitchen line into
larger pipes.
Sewer main stoppages are
horrible. If you have an older
home and have to snake roots from your system every year or so, you know what
this is like. Are you expecting a
crowd for the holidays? Putting 15
people in a house can overwhelm the plumbing. Some of your guests, especially
children, may love to use excessive amounts of toilet paper. Minor defects, such as partial
root blockage, are minor only until the system is put under unusual use or
abuse. Why wait until a major
problem arises during the holidays?
Early preventive maintenance is much more convenient than dealing with a
sewer stoppage when everybody is at your house.
A few simple actions outside the
house also go a long way to ensure your holidays are hassle-free. Don’t forget to remove the water hose
from the hydrant. Newer
frost-proof hydrants don’t always work as they should. The best way to keep the hydrant from
freezing is to take the water hose off.
Second, if the hydrant is dripping, get it fixed! The constant flow of water may cause
the hydrant to freeze and break.
You will not know it’s broken until you’re ready to use it, generally
next spring. Installing a shutoff
at the hydrant mouth does not provide much protection. Inexpensive hydrant covers are easy to
install and are worth the investment.
Closing vent openings in crawl spaces (including the access door) helps
maintain heat in the house and keeps cold air from reaching water pipes and
drains. The vent openings should
not be permanently sealed, but during the cold months a good seal yields good
results. Skirting on mobile homes
should be checked for cracks and holes.
With a little effort and planning,
you can get through the holidays without the inconvenience of a stoppage or
broken pipe. Schedule your pipe
and drain maintenance now so you won’t have to set an extra place for the
plumber at the Thanksgiving table.
Todd Feehan has sixteen years
experience in plumbing and owns Dad’s Plumbing. He can be reached at 405/602-2615.
A TO Z INSPECTIONS
3625 N McKinley Ave
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 73118
ph: 405-412-7861
fax: 405-946-3293
alt: LICENSE #255
atozinsp
3625 N McKinley Ave
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 73118
ph: 405-412-7861
fax: 405-946-3293
alt: LICENSE #255
atozinsp
