5 Summer Plumbing Tips

For homeowners and businesses in the Fort Worth and Dallas Texas area, NCT Plumbing has been a trusted company for 50 years. We will fix your plumbing in the heat of summer or the cold of winter. During the time we've been around we have seen the unexpected disasters that can happen during summertime. Many plumbing problems during these months are not expected but easily preventable, so we wanted to share some tips to help you take care of your plumbing system during this time of the year.

Watch what you put down your drain.
If you're having lots of cookouts this summer then this one is for you. We all love a good BBQ with friends. When it comes time to clean up, sometimes throwing smaller bits into the sink instead of the garbage can is easy. However, no matter how much water you flush down your drain, you can't make a leaf of lettuce dissolve. Lettuce, corn husks, pieces of watermelon rind, cherry pits, dirt from the garden, and other heavy and hard objects or produce can build up in your pipes. Avoid putting these in your sink whenever possible! Also, just a reminder that grease can cause problems in your drain.

Check all your pipes and connections.
The heating and cooling process of winter and summer makes things move around. In the heat, everything becomes softer and easier to move around. Because of that, connections can come loose or pipes can crack. It's a good idea to check these connections in the summer to make sure they aren't out of place. It is easy for nature to move connectors in summertime.

Check all the connections to your washing machine!
Speaking of pipes and connections, your washing machine's hoses are a good place to look for problems when the temperature goes up. Increased outdoor activities means that washing machines are used more often. More loads means more stress on your machine! You might end up pushing one of your hoses to the end of its useful life, or the extra movement of your machine could kink a hose and cause it to break. Replacing a washing machine hose is as easy to do as replacing a garden hose – and it's an inexpensive task. These should be changed every 3-5 years anyway, so check that your hoses are still looking good. Another recommendation with washing machines is to stay at home when it's on. This way if anything happens, you're in the house and able to take care of the problem quickly.

Take care of your hot water tank
Summertime is great for checking in with your hot water tank. Since it's not used as heavily as in winter, you can drain it or flush it without causing as much of an interruption to your daily water usage. Another tip for your water heater in summer is to turn it down a little bit. You don't need to turn it down much, but by shaving off some of the electricity needed to heat your water you can save some money!

Turn off your water on vacations
One of the reasons why our homes have plumbing problems when we're asleep or away on vacation is that all of the pressure of the water system is just being held. Flushing toilets and running showers, sprinklers, dishwashers, and sinks all keep water moving. This takes pressure out of the pipes. When you're on vacation no one is running any of that water, so your pipes are full of pressurized water – and a lot of it is hot pressurized water! Under those conditions cracks have a better chance of breaking completely. This is why we suggest that when you leave on vacation, it's a good idea to turn off your system completely at the master shutoff switch. This means there will be no chance of coming home to a flooded home.

These tips will help prevent annoying plumbing problems in your home during the months that you should be away and having fun. However, sometimes you need a professional plumber to come in and take care of you system. If that happens, NCT Plumbing will be a phone call away. Give us a call for help or for even more tips to take care of your home in summer!