Homeowners experience all types of problems in their home, but surely water leaks in your home plumbing system tend to pose a greater threat and concern than most. The slightest leak can actually result in a great deal of damage to your home, especially when it leaks behind the walls or in other areas of the home that are completely out of sight. When these type of water leaks occur, they can cause a variety of other problems, costly problems, from rotting wood and mold and mildew spores, to a variety of structural damages.
Your plumbing system has a good many components and fixtures to it that can develop a leak at unsuspecting times. The best way to keep your plumbing system under control and avoid the development of damaging water leaks is by practicing preventative maintenance. The team here at Steve Mull Plumbing want to share a couple of effective ways to prevent water leaks in your home.
REPLACE YOUR TYPICAL STANDARD VALVES WITH EFFECTIVE BALL VALVES
For starters, the major plumbing appliances and fixtures in your home are all equipped with stop valves that are designed to control water flow. They allow you to isolate a specific fixture within your plumbing system without having to disrupt all other fixtures in the home when you need to repair a sink, a washing machine, a garbage disposal or another plumbing fixture. Fixtures that are quite a bit older tend to have standard stop valves with rubber washers that require you to turn the handle and create a tight seal in order to cease the flow of water. These rubber washers, however, can become brittle and worn out, making it difficult for you to turn the water off.
When rubber washers become severely damaged, it is nearly impossible to turn the water off when a specific plumbing fixture develops a leak. These standard stop valves also tend to develop leaks of their own over time which is why it is so important to replace them with reliable, durable ball valves. Ball valves allow you to control the flow of water regardless of how old they are because of its simple but effective design. They contain no rubber washers but rather a metal ball that has a hole in its middle which serves to control the water flow. When you turn the valve handle but a mere quarter of a turn the flow of water is cutoff immediately.
REPLACE RUBBER WASHING MACHINE HOSES WITH MORE INNOVATIVE OPTIONS
Another way to prevent water leaks in your home is to get rid of any rubber washing machine hoses you may still have connected to your washer. Washing machines are the number one cause of water leaks in homes and can cause homeowners thousands of dollars in damages. The leaks typically occur because of a failure in the washing machine hose. Back in the day you only saw rubber hoses in every household. They were easily available and quite affordable. However, the rubber degrades over time and the hose develops patches of thin layers that can easily rupture and cause significant leaks. For this reason, we highly recommend you steer clear of rubber hoses for your washing machine and replace them with innovative options available today.
Water leaks can certainly wreak havoc in any home. For more information about how to prevent water leaks or upgrades you can make to your plumbing system, be sure to reach out to the experts here at Steve Mull Plumbing. We look forward to serving you and to providing our top of the line plumbing products and services to meet all your household needs. Don’t delay. Call on our friendly plumbers today!
