Plumbing Tips | Plumbing Arlington

Summer brings an increase in outdoor activities with barbeques shared with friends and family, outdoor sports and activities such as camping trips, fishing, boating, and lots of other outdoor fun. It also brings an increase in laundry, baths, and outdoor cleaning projects. All of which involve water, and therefore your home’s plumbing in Arlington. Utilize the following plumbing tips to ensure your plumbing does not cause problems during your busy summer.

Summer Plumbing Tips

• The washing machine will be receiving a lot of use. Inspect the hoses for cracks, bulges, or leaks and replace if deterioration is visible. Replace hoses every three years, or replace with stainless braided hoses, which last longer. Never leave home when a washer is running. The hoses are a safer alternative for refrigerators, dishwashers and other appliances where applicable. A Benjamin Franklin plumber in Arlington can provide the installation for you.
• Ensure the washer has at least four inches between the appliance and wall to prevent hose kinking and rubbing.
• Be aware of what is safe to place in the kitchen disposal during cookouts. Cornhusks, onionskins, celery, banana peels, and other fibrous or “stringy” foods are a big clog waiting to happen. Some other items to stay away from are fats or cooking oils, because they form grease clogs in the disposal, drain, and sewer pipe.

  Always run cold water at full pressure for 15 seconds before and after using the disposal. Never put rice or pasta down the drain as these foods swell when you add water. In addition, eggshells, bone, fruit pits, paper, styrofoam, and metal belong in the trash, and not the disposal. Observation of these tips is essential to preventing clogs in your home’s plumbing in Arlington.

• Turn down the temperature of the water heater to save energy when you will be away. Have a friend or family member to check on your home, and leave the number of your plumber in the event a leak occurs.
• If you suspect an outdoor faucet is leaking, place a bucket beneath it when no rain will occur. If water collects, contact a plumber for repair of outdoor plumbing in Arlington.
• Summer is an opportune time to check your water pressure, and preventing damage to appliances and your home’s plumbing in Arlington. A water pressure gauge costs from $10 – $20, and screws into an outdoor faucet. Turning the water on will cause the pressure reading to display on the dial. The pressure reading should be less than 80psi. If your water pressure is higher, contact us for the installation or replacement of a failed pressure relief valve (PRV).
• In the event of a water leak, every homeowner should know how to shut off the water entering the home. Generally, you will be able to turn it off at the meter. A shut off valve may be located the water main’s entry into the home. When operating these valves, turn them slowly to avoid damaging them if the valve is old, and the water pressure high.
• Summer is an opportune time to have a plumber in Arlington provide professional drain and sewer pipe cleaning with high pressure water jetting. In fact, water jetting is the only effective means of thoroughly cleaning grease clogs from your drain, and sewer plumbing in Arlington.
• Homeowner’s should be aware of where and how to shut off the gas. Each appliance should have a shut off valve. If an issue occurs with a specific appliance, and the leak is minimal, the gas can be shut off at the appliance. Otherwise, evacuate the dwelling and move a safe distance away before calling 911 and the gas supplier. It only requires a tiny spark to ignite an explosion.

Knowing how to shut off the water supply to the water heater allows water to be available for washing, cooking, and bathroom needs when water heater problems occur.

A water leak can cause serious damage to the home and its foundation. When a leak occurs, turn off the water, and call Benjamin Franklin for repair of your home’s plumbing in Arlington.

Know the location for all shut off valves in your home’s plumbing in Arlington. Every sink, toilet, and water heater should have a functional shut off valve in the event of a leak. The valves should be “exercised” annually by slowly turning them off and on, otherwise, they may not work when you need them.

If the valves fail to shut the water off to the appliance, have them replaced by a professional plumber. They are extremely convenient for shutting water off to individual fixtures and appliances during a leak, and allow for repair of the affected plumbing in Arlington without shutting the water off to the entire home. If an appliance lacks the valve, you will need to turn off the water at the main valve or water meter.

Our 100% satisfaction guarantee assures you of receiving quality services. We hope you find our plumbing tips useful. When you need a plumber in Arlington, contact the plumbers with a name synonymous with quality and reliability, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing. We serve Arlington, Fort Worth and the surrounding areas, and are a member of the BBB with an A+ rating.