With the holidays looming (and you KNOW you’ve seen that Christmas decor display at Wal-Mart already) it wouldn’t be a bad idea to prepare a bit for kids being home on holiday breaks, relatives visiting for long weekends, and the general chaotic nature of life during the full swing of fall/winter events. Number one of your priority list should be preventative maintenance on the plumbing of your home. After all, you wouldn’t want Aunt Fanny to post on her Facebook page about curious odors coming from your drains or how you must be keeping the water company in business with all those leaky faucets.
Where do you start? We’ve put together three quick maintenance activities you can do this weekend to keep the home plumbing in working order and prevent costly repairs:
Flush the Hot Water Heater
To help keep your hot water tank in tip top shape, give it a good flush. Draining the water from the reservoir helps remove any accumulated sediment so the tank stays clog-free. While you’re in the plumbing preventative maintenance groove, take an extra minute to check those hot water heater lines and fittings for leaks.
Tiny Bubbles
Remove and clean all filters/aerators from the faucets. This includes the shower head, bathroom sink and kitchen sink. Be sure to inspect the washers and replace if needed. Carefully check for leaks in faucets and water lines. An old-fashioned, but effective method to check for water leakages is by using a blend of dish soap and H2O. Water leaks at a high pressure from water lines would form bubbles and quickly reveal the existence of leaks.
EWWW… What’s That Smell?
If you have trouble with odors coming from your drains, try pouring some baking soda or lemon juice down them to help kill the bacteria. Remember to check infrequently used drains such as mop sinks in the basement or garage. It is also important to periodically pour water down these drains to keep them open.
We may have added a few items to your honey-do list, but a little preventative maintenance can go a long way in helping you save money. If you want to save even MORE money on your plumbing or home remodeling projects, enter our $33K Home Remodeling Giveaway!
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Bruce Pinsler is the President of Galaxie Home Remodeling in Lincolnwood. 4761 W. Touhy Avenue, Lincolnwood, IL 60712
877-604-7474 
The Galaxie crew came in and made my kitchen so nice and functional. I now have complete access to all of my pots, pans and ...
I did all of these things last year and it saved me quite a bit of money on my utility bills! Thanks for the reminder.
This advice may well have saved me a lot of frustration and expense. I never knew It could be helpful to flush the hot water tank. The kind of advice I would like is how to keep the shower tub from clogging due to long hair accumulating in the pipe? People who live with anyone who has long hair has the same need. I wonder if there is any type of maintenance that can be done to prevent having to dig into the drain with a coat hanger to pull out the tangled mess of hair that eventually and inevitably gets caught up in there.