Table of contents
- Understanding Your Tarrant County Home’s Plumbing System
- Preventative Maintenance Tips for Home Plumbing
- Protecting Pipes During Extreme Weather in North Texas
- Common Plumbing Issues and How to Avoid Them
- The Importance of Regular Professional Plumbing Inspections
- When to Call a Professional Plumber in Bedford and Northeast Tarrant County
- Frequently asked questions
Your home’s plumbing is a crucial part of your daily life. From washing your hands to taking a shower to running a dishwasher, it all relies on the pipes to get the water where it needs to be. Here, Bewley Plumbing will discuss ways you can help protect your pipes.
Understanding Your Tarrant County Home’s Plumbing System
In basic terms, your household plumbing has two main jobs: bringing fresh water in and removing wastewater.
Main Systems
Your home’s plumbing system consists of the drainage-waste-vent and water supply subsystems.
- Water supply – Your plumbing system’s water supply brings municipal water into your home via the main water supply line.
- Drainage-waste-vent system – The drainage system takes water and waste from your home to a septic system or sewer. The drainage system connects to a vent system that allows the waste to drain.
Preventative Maintenance Tips for Home Plumbing
You can take several measures to help protect your home’s plumbing. If you don’t know how to do these steps, please contact a plumbing professional.
Regularly Scheduled Preventative Maintenance
Regularly scheduled preventative maintenance is essential to keeping your plumbing system functioning correctly and preventing problems from escalating to more costly repairs.
Clean your Shower Head
Removing and cleaning sediment off your shower head can help prevent a loss of water pressure in your shower.
Drain Your Water Heater
If you have a water heater with a tank, drain it twice a year to remove sediment. This will help it to function efficiently. If you don’t know how to do this, contact a plumbing professional to have it done. As with other elements of your plumbing, your water heater must receive regular professional maintenance.
Check your Home’s Water Pressure
If your water pressure is too low or too high, it can cause problems. If the water pressure is too high, it can damage your pipes and faucets. Generally, 40 to 60 pounds per square inch (psi) is the target range, but if the psi is regularly over 80, it can cause leaks. Using a water pressure gauge, regularly check your home’s water pressure. Even if your home’s main water line has a pressure reducing valve (prv) or a pressure regulator on the main water supply line, it is still important to regularly test your home’s water pressure (at least two times a year) as these can fail.
Keep Drains Clean
Installing strainers in your sinks and shower drains helps prevent hair and other debris from going down the drain, potentially resulting in a clog. Just be sure to clean out the strainers regularly!
Each week, pour baking soda followed by vinegar down the drains to help clear out buildup.
Regularly Look for Leaks
At least once a week, inspect sinks, toilets, exposed pipes, and appliances such as your refrigerator, dishwasher, washing machine, and water heater. Contact a plumbing professional ASAP if you notice brittleness, cracks, or leaks. Avoid waiting for the situation to get worse, as this can require more costly repairs.
Protecting Pipes During Extreme Weather in North Texas
Northern Texans experience extremely hot weather and the occasional freezing temperatures. Both of these extremes can damage your home’s pipes.
In the following sections, we’ll detail steps to protect your pipes. Even with precautions, pipes can break in extreme weather conditions, so it is important to remain vigilant.
Protecting your Pipes in Extreme Heat
Pipes expand when exposed to heat. You can help regulate pipe temperature by wrapping exposed pipes (such as exposed exterior PVC pipes) in heat-resistant materials or foam pipe insulation.
Protecting your Pipes in Freezing Temperatures
As water freezes, it expands, which results in pipes breaking.
How Can I Prevent My Pipes from Freezing?
You can take several steps to help reduce the likelihood of your pipes freezing when the temperature drops. Please note that even with the proper precautions, pipes can still freeze.
- Use pipe insulation. Pipes in unheated spaces, such as basements, crawl spaces, attics, and garages, need to be insulated.
- Keep garage doors shut. This is particularly important if your garage has water supply lines.
- Open bathroom and kitchen cabinet doors. This allows warm air to circulate around the plumbing. This is especially helpful if your sinks are located on an exterior wall. Warning: If you have small children in your home, ensure that any household chemicals or harmful cleaners are removed or otherwise out of the reach of children.
- Allow cold water to drip out of faucets fed by exposed pipes. Running water through a pipe, even if it is only a trickle, can help prevent freezing pipes.
- If your home is unoccupied during cold weather, set the heat to at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit. You can help protect your pipes from freezing by leaving the heat on.
- Keep your temperature set the same during the day and night. Setting thermometers back during a cold snap can harm your pipes.
- Add insulation and seal drafts. Insulating basements, attics, and crawl spaces will help those areas maintain a higher temperature. Seal openings and cracks around doors, windows, and sill plates (where the house sits on the foundation).
- Take care of plumbing outside your home. Turn off the water supply to faucets, hoses, and sprinkler systems. Then, drain and insulate them.
Common Plumbing Issues and How to Avoid Them
Several common plumbing problems can occur in your home. While there are no guarantees, the following steps can reduce the likelihood of experiencing them.
Faucet Leaks
Leaking faucets occur naturally over time due to wear and tear. However, slowly turning faucets on and off and not applying excessive pressure to handles can help reduce that wear.
Low Water Pressure
Installing a filtration system can help prevent minerals from building up, which is one cause of low water pressure. Pipes should be inspected regularly for leaks, and if any are detected, they should be repaired quickly.
Clogged Toilets
Don’t flush things that don’t belong in your toilet. Only human waste and toilet paper should be flushed down the toilet. If other objects, such as food waste, grease, hair, and wipes, are flushed, they can cause a clog.
Clogged Garbage Disposal
Be careful of what you put in your garbage disposal. While your garbage disposal helps break down food, there are some foods and liquids you should NOT put in it. The following is a list of objects that don’t belong in your garbage disposal:
- uncooked starches, such as pasta and rice
- fibrous foods
- eggshells
- potato peels
- fruit pits, bones, and other hard objects, which can damage a garbage disposal’s blades
The Importance of Regular Professional Plumbing Inspections
Regular plumbing inspections offer many benefits. By having regular plumbing inspections, you can help stop problems before they begin or keep them from escalating.
The following includes a few examples of the benefits of regular plumbing inspections.
Detect Problems Early
Regular inspections can detect problems before they occur or escalate, which can mean a safer home and help you avoid potentially costly repairs.
Help Protect Health
Water damage can create conditions that allow mold to thrive. Mold can result in health hazards and even be fatal.
Save Money
Repairing leaks or inefficiencies in your plumbing system may help you save money on your water bill. By having problems repaired before they escalate, you can save money on what would be costly repairs.
Help Protect Your Home
Water damage from leaking or burst pipes can lead to costly water damage in your home and can even cause electrical fires.
When to Call a Professional Plumber in Bedford and Northeast Tarrant County
For certain situations, you’ll need to contact a plumber. When these happen, it is important to do so immediately, as the problem can escalate and cause more damage.
The following situations require the help of a plumbing professional.
A Leaking Pipe
A pipe leak, even a small one, is a cause for concern. Over time, leaks can worsen and make pipes more susceptible to breaking or bursting.
Leaking pipes can cause significant water damage, increase water bills, encourage the growth of dangerous mold and mildew, and start fires. Don’t wait for the leak to worsen; contact a plumber and have it repaired.
You Smell Sewage in Your Home
Contact a plumber immediately If your home smells of raw sewage. The bad smell could originate from broken vents, clogged drains, loose P-traps, or sewer pipes. While waiting for the plumber to arrive, open windows and doors to allow air to circulate and vent the gasses from your home.
Not only is the smell unpleasant and an indication of a plumbing problem, but it can also cause health issues. Sewer gasses may contain toxic chemicals, including methane, ammonia, nitrous oxides, and carbon monoxide, which can cause severe health issues and even be fatal.
You Hear Gurgling Sounds
If you hear a gurgling sound when a shower, toilet, dishwasher, or washing machine is used, it is a sign of a significant problem with your plumbing system—particularly if this sound continues when the appliances are not in use.
If the problem isn’t fixed, it may cause water to back up into your house.
A Faucet is Constantly Dripping
Not only is a stubborn faucet annoying, but it can also increase your water bill. If you know how, you may be able to repair a leaky faucet by changing the stem or faucet cartridge, but if those don’t work, you’ll need to contact a plumber.
Low, Inconsistent, or Nonexistent Water Pressure
If you have low, nonexistent, or inconsistent water pressure in a single fixture, it may be due to mineral buildup. However, if the problem is happening throughout your home, it might be a bigger issue. There are several causes for this, including, but not limited to, a leaking or broken pipe or an eroded waterline. Regardless, you’ll want to contact a plumbing professional to resolve the issues.
Constant Dampness
When you have a damp basement or wet walls and floors, you may need to contact a plumber to determine the source of the water.
Water Flows but Isn’t Hot
If your water is flowing but isn’t hot, the most likely cause involves a problem with the water heater. Contact a plumber and HVAC specialist. Since a water heater has electric and gas components, it is not something you should work on yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Tarrant County, Texas, brings its own unique challenges to your home’s plumbing. The following are a few of the types of plumbing problems that can occur. It is important to note that many of these warning signs may overlap with other plumbing problems, so it is essential to contact a plumber when you encounter issues with your plumbing. The signs may not correlate directly to the particular issue; however, they all indicate a problem with your plumbing that requires a plumber’s attention.
Slab leaks
Many homes in Tarrant County are built on slabs, so a slab leak is possible.
Signs of slab leaks include but are not limited to the following:
-Sudden water bill increase
-Reduced water pressure
-“Hot spots” on the floor
-Damaged and wet flooring
-The smell of mold and mildew
-The sound of rushing water
-Water pooling in or out of your home
Please note that not all of these signs are necessarily the direct result of a slab leak.
Frozen Pipes
While frozen pipes may not be something you think of when you think of Tarrant County, they can happen, leading to a loss of water and even bursting pipes.
Some signs of frozen pipes include the following:
-No water coming through
-Burst pipes
-Frost on pipes
-Signs of water damage
-Smells coming from the drain
Expanding Pipes Due to Heat
Given Tarrant County’s frequent hot weather, pipes here are especially susceptible to expansion.
The following are several signs that may indicate pipes expanding because of heat.
-Burst pipes
-Low water pressure
-Water discoloration
Shifting Soil
Several environmental factors can cause soil to shift, potentially damaging pipes. Hot weather can cause soil to shift, which may cause pipes to shift. Dry weather or heavy rain after a dry period may cause soil to contract and sink, putting your pipes at risk.
Look for the following signs of trouble from shifting soil.
-Water bill inconsistencies
-Excess water in your home, such as flooded crawl spaces or basements and yards
-Burst pipes
-Cracks in your foundation
-Blocked or backed-up drains
-Gurgling toilets
-The smell of sewage
-Indentations in the lawn or sagging pavement
Ideally, you should have your plumbing inspected once a year, particularly if your home’s plumbing is older or it’s previously needed many repairs or tune-ups. Even if you have a newer plumbing system, you shouldn’t go longer than two years without having it inspected.
Examples of plumbing emergencies include, but are not limited to, the following situations:
-A ruptured pipe
-A leaking water heater or a water heater failure
-Sagging ceilings
-An overflowing toilet
-A backed-up sewer system
-A sump pump failure
-A large leak
Please note, as it is a separate situation, we will NOT cover what to do in gas leak emergencies, as the steps you need to take are different from other plumbing emergencies.
If you have a plumbing emergency, it is important that you try not to panic so you can keep a clear head. By taking action quickly, you can help reduce damage.
-Shut off your water using your home’s main valve. If a toilet is overflowing, you can shut off the water valve at the base of the toilet.
-Turn your water heater off. If your water heater is gas, shut the gas off first.
-If there is a risk of water coming into contact with appliances, wiring, or electrical outlets, and you can safely do so, shut off the electricity at the circuit breaker.
-Open up your spigots and drains in and out of your home. Squirt your garden hose a few times to clear water from it.
-Call a plumber and listen carefully to their instructions; you may need to evacuate your house.
It is crucial to have the number of a 24/7 emergency plumbing company available.
Depending on your level of plumbing knowledge, you can do some tasks yourself. However, it’s always a good idea to err on the side of caution when deciding whether or not to reach out to a plumbing professional. If you are unsure or feel unsure about a plumbing maintenance task, be sure to call a plumber.
The following is a list of some plumbing maintenance tasks you may be able to do yourself.
-Unclogging drains
-Repairing faucets
-Handling basic toilet issues
-Installing shower heads or faucets
-Flushing a water heater
If you still have trouble, please contact a plumbing professional.
The following are plumbing problems you should NEVER try working on yourself:
-Pipes that have burst
-Sewer line problems
-Repairing water heaters
-Gas line problems