10 Facts About Plumbing that Every Homeowner Needs to Know (Part 1)
There are so many things that homeowners like us must keep in mind when talking about our home’s plumbing system. First, understanding what plumbing is is the first step toward effective plumbing maintenance. Homeowners must not forget that plumbing has always been an inevitable part of homeownership. Thus, if we desire to keep our home in tip-top shape, we need to be aware of all necessary things related to the household, including plumbing.
Why is Plumbing Know-How Necessary?
According to Plumbing Dudes (2021), one of the most crucial responsibilities of a homeowner is always to keep the plumbing at home in check. Yet, many homeowners often overlook this essential task.
We have to bear in mind that now and then, any household or building will encounter plumbing issues or fixture malfunctions. The most common ones are leaks and clogs, which can happen if we lose sight of the dos and don’ts of plumbing. Whether the problem is minor or severe, a homeowner needs to know what must be done and take action immediately. Otherwise, those little leaks or minor backups will sooner or later turn into a significant disaster, causing irreparable damage to your property. Sometimes, we homeowners neglect certain situations regarding our plumbing system because we have no idea what we are dealing with in the first place.
We must not take plumbing for granted. Although we can always call a plumbing expert for help, let us make it a habit to learn more about plumbing to ensure that our daily activities and routine at home remain smooth sailing.
What Must Homeowners Know About Plumbing?
There are so many interesting facts about plumbing that every homeowner must know. However, the most important things that we should keep in mind are those that would help us protect the good condition of our home and save everyone from the hassle and stress caused by plumbing mishaps. Here are facts we must know about plumbing:
1. A leaky faucet can cost you big time in water wastage.
Not many people will take the time to calculate how much water is wasted when we don’t pay much attention to minor issues like a leaky faucet. Applying simple math, Connolly (2018) claimed that as much as 3,000 gallons of water are wasted yearly due to a leaky faucet dripping water once per second. That’s over 200 gallons of water a month, more or less 8 gallons daily. Thus, we should fix small leaks immediately before they affect other fixtures at home and lessen unnecessary increases in our water bills.
2. Use low-flush toilets and conserve water.
The plumbing industry has continually evolved over the years. More water-saving plumbing technologies have been introduced to the market to make people’s lives easier and more convenient. Among these cost-effective innovations are the low-flush toilets. According to Plumbing Dynamics, a low-flush bathroom helps people save up to 18,000 gallons of water annually. If you install this fixture at home, imagine how much difference it will make regarding your water bill.
The so-called dual-flush toilet is another water-saving technology now taking the market by storm. WQP Mag promotes dual-flush technology as the most efficient solution for easing water expenses and conserving water.
3. Use a different plunger for the sink or drain.
It’s Interesting, or even funny, to think about it, but not all homeowners know the difference. Plungers differ in terms of types and usage. To be precise, a toilet plunger, obviously for unclogging toilets, is not the same as a sink plunger, which is to be used for unclogging drains/sinks. In terms of appearance, a sunk plunger is plain flat–like the ones we commonly see–while a toilet plunger is narrow at the base part to fit into the toilet.
On the other hand, when we talk about hygiene, it is very best to separate the two plungers aside from their differences in their functions. The toilet plunger deals with human waste containing many bacteria or parasites, which can contaminate if you borrow it to use your sinks and drains. If you used to do it, think twice.
4. An average household can waste 9,000 gallons of water in a year just from waiting for the water to turn hot.
Depending on the distance, length, and size of our pipes, the flow rate of our water, and other factors affecting the delay in hot water, it will take several minutes or even longer for the water to warm up. While waiting (forever) for the water heater to work its magic, we run our faucet and wastewater. In our attempt to heat our shower experience, an average of 9,000 gallons of water per year is wasted. On the other hand, we are also throwing money down the drain, up to 15% from the heating cost (energy cost) to our expenses.
5. Insulating your pipes warms up your water faster.
About number 4, we homeowners need to give our pipes proper insulation to prevent them from being frozen and reduce the time we spend waiting for hot water to come out of our shower or faucet. What does pipe insulation have to do with the water heating system? According to Oliver Heating & Cooling, heat is retained or trapped in the pipes if pipes are appropriately insulated; thus, the water that travels from the water heater to the faucets will not lose heat. So, your water will warm up faster, and you can lessen the amount of water you waste while waiting for the water to heat.
Don’t Take Your Plumbing for Granted!
Running a household or being a homeowner is not an easy task. Utility costs like our plumbing expenses can give us a real headache, especially if we occasionally neglect to maintain or prevent their damages.
Were you able to get a good deal of information from this article? Watch out for the continuation of this blog as we go on and discuss with you the remaining five essential plumbing facts that homeowners should know from then on up to this year, 2022.
See you in our next blog post!
References:
www.options-skills.co.uk/2018/05/07/facts-about-plumbing/
www.plumbingdynamicsdallas.com/15-interesting-plumbing-facts-and-tips/
www.easeplumbing.com/10-plumbing-facts-every-homeowner-needs-to-know/
www.oliverheatcool.com/about/blog/news-for-homeowners/12-plumbing-facts-you-probably-never-knew/
