When it comes to saving money around your home, your plumbing system might be the last thing that comes to mind. But you can end up saving a lot of money in the long run by serving your plumbing system regularly and reducing your risk of needing major repairs.
Here are a few simple tips you can use to help save money around your home by keeping your plumbing system in good working order.
Schedule your annual plumbing maintenance
Plumbing systems need maintenance just like any other part of your home. It’s important that you have your system inspected and serviced at least once a year to avoid major problems like clogs, leaks, and rust.
Undetected leaks that continue throughout the year can end up costing you $164.50 in those 12 months. What’s more, those leaks can lead to water damage.
Water damage is expensive to repair and it can have a major impact on your home. For instance, wood can last for hundreds of years without wear or rot with proper care. But water damage can cause wood to rot, weaken, and fall apart.
Every day, approximately 14,000 people experience a water damage emergency at home or at work. By having your plumbing system serviced annually, you can avoid becoming one of them.
Be careful about what you pour down the drain
Many homeowners who have a garbage disposal believe they can send anything from their plates down the drain to save room in their garbage cans. But that’s not true.
Even with a hard-working garbage disposal, there are some foods that you should never pour down your drain. Pasta, which can be cooked in over 100 shapes, is one of those foods because it expands and sticks together when kept in water. Other foods you want to avoid pouring down the drain include:
- Coffee grounds
- Gravy
- Butter or margarine
- Mayonnaise
- Sauces
- Salad dressings
- Cooking oil
- Egg shells
- Asparagus
- Celery
- Fruit pits
- Flour
- Chia seeds
- Rice
- Bones (including chicken and fish)
By avoiding pouring these foods and cooking oils down the drain, you can reduce your risk of clogs forming in your plumbing system, which can be expensive to remove depending on the size.
Do a DIY audit on your plumbing system
Although it’s recommended to have your plumbing system serviced once a year, you can reduce your risk of plumbing problems by inspecting your plumbing throughout the year yourself. Walk around inside and outside your home checking for leaks, blocked drainage, or debris.
Listen for sounds coming from your drains or your plumbing that you’ve never heard before. You might be able to pick out small issues that can be taken care of much easier than larger problems. Determine whether you can fix the problem yourself before you call in a professional.
You can also save money by having a professional come to inspect your plumbing system when you’re already working on a renovation project. Minor kitchen remodels have an average ROI of 82.7%. But you can get an even higher ROI by making plumbing repairs at the same time as the remodel and hitting two birds with one stone.
It’s important to take proper care of your home’s plumbing system to avoid having to make costly repairs later on. By inspecting your system regularly, maintaining it, and fixing leaks, you can save money on water and reduce your risk of expensive issues later down the road.
Jerry Woods says
It’s good to know that you should have your plumbing systems inspected at least once a year. My wife and I are wanting to buy our first house and we were wondering how to maintain it as best as possible. I’ll be sure to tell her that we should be having plumbers come to check our systems every year.