The value of a home is determined by more than what you can see. The pipes and drains that run through and beneath your home also play a big role in determining its value—if you have old drains and pipes that are in danger of bursting in bad weather, your home’s worth decreases. Whether you want to eventually sell your house or would just like a better quality of life, a proper drain cleaning service can make a huge difference. Here are some ways you can upgrade your drains and your home.
DIY Drain Repair
If you notice your drain running slowly or worry that there might be a clog building, you can take preemptive action to handle drain repair before it reaches the point where you need to hire a drain cleaning service. Simple do-it-yourself drain repair solutions include using a combination of baking soda and vinegar in your drain to push light debris through the pipes or bending a wire coat hanger to serve as an improvised plumber’s snake. If these options don’t work, then the counter drain cleaning fluid might be able to help. If nothing seems to work, it is time to call a drain company to help solve the problem.
Cleaning and Polishing Drains
One way to keep your home looking great and judge whether you might need drain repairs in the future is to take some time every year or so to do a thorough cleaning of your plumbing system’s visual exterior. For sinks, toilets, and bathtubs, this often means polishing up the chrome and dusting off pipes that sit out of sight but not entirely out of easy access. When you do this, take special note of excessive moisture or spots of rust. If you see those, you might already have a small leak in a pipe or you might need drain repairs on the area in the near future. If you see something suspicious but can’t act on it right away, take a note in case you need to describe the problem to a drain cleaning service.
Drain Inspection
If you start having routine blockages or slow-running drains even when you have tried some at-home drain repair yourself, you might want to consider having a drain company perform some routine inspections of your plumbing system. You can request this drain inspection once per year or once every two years. In most cases, the professional inspecting your drains might suggest some simple maintenance you can perform to keep the problem from lingering. In other cases, the professional might spot a few minor drain repairs and make them with your permission. Since these visits rarely take long, you won’t have to pay much of a fee.
Keeping an eye on the drains in your home and the plumbing to which they connect can help alert you if a problem is brewing. Since drain problems can lead to major inconveniences if left unchecked, it’s always worth trying to stay on top of drain repair projects before they become drain repair problems.
