You would be surprised just how much damage can a single leaking or clogged pipe make to your household. We are not just talking about the prospects of flooding the place, but also the unpleasantness that a dirty water and horrible odors caused by this can create. Needless to say, this is on its own a reason enough to try and avoid such complications at any cost. Here are four tips that will help you avoid these disasters.

Dealing with leaky toilet

Even though a toilet on its own isn’t likely to break down anytime soon, its working parts are not nearly as durable. Aside from being unpleasant and potentially harmful for your bathroom, this can also turn your bathroom into both ecological and financial disaster. The reason behind this is simple, a leaky toilet wastes about 78,000 gallons of water each year. In order to diagnose the problem, you could try pouring some food coloring in the evening and see if it is going to be there in the morning. Even if your toilet fails this test there is no room for desperation, seeing how all you need to do is replace the flush valve, which is a simple and inexpensive repair.

Shutting off the main valve

Another great tip that you absolutely need to know is how to shut off the main valve. This is a go-to solution whenever you notice something suspicious regarding your home’s plumbing. Seeing how the process of shutting the valve is fairly simple, the key to doing it lies in knowing its location. In a case where there is more than one valve next to each other you also need to know which one is it. Finally, you could practice shutting off the main valve if you plan to go somewhere for a prolonged period of time (a week or more).

Regular plumbing inspections

Even though some people hate calling a handyman even when it’s clear they need one, it might be a good idea to consider having regular plumbing inspection every now and then. This way, you have great odds of spotting a problem long before there is one. Sure, paying for a commercial plumber might not be a pleasant thing for your household budget, but will more than pay off if you try to compare it to the damage that a burst pipe or even unattended leak could cause.

Still, in order to be covered even in the eventuality of a plumbing disaster, you need to look for plumbers in your vicinity and have them on speed-dial. Those living in a suburban Sydney would be wise to look for plumbers dealing with blocked drains in Epping area.

Keep an eye out for outdoor faucets

Finally, in order to be 100 percent sure (or as close to 100 percent as possible) you need to keep an eye out on outdoor faucets as well. This is an important step of persuasion all-year-round, but it becomes an ever greater paramount once the colder part of the year starts. Luckily, there are several ways in which you can minimize the chance of freezing, like removing garden hose beforehand and even using outdoor faucet sock. Either way, if it does freeze eventually, defrosting it can be an arduous job.

Conclusion

From all of the above-listed, it is more than clear that maintaining takes a lot less money and effort than repairing. Sure, the harshness of winter, the quality of your toilet components and even your own habits (what you throw down the drains) have some effect on the overall stability of your plumbing system. However, this is definitely not something you want to depend on.