Your Guide To Pipe Maintenance: Frequency & Detail
Your home will have an array of pipes that bring water into your home, carry it to the various appliances, and then remove the wastewater and associated products via the drains to the main sewer pipe.
All the pipes, from where they connect to the water meter until they connect to the main sewer drain, are the responsibility of the homeowner.
Naturally, as most of them are out of sight it can be easy to overlook them. But, the truth is that these pipes need to be maintained. If they are not you are likely to develop leaks and other issues, they can be costly to repair.
Having your pipes inspected regularly will help to ensure issues are discovered early when they are generally simpler to resolve.
Maintenance Schedule
The general consensus is that maintenance on your pipes should be done every year. In most cases, this is covered by the plumber visiting. They will visually inspect all the pipes in your home, listen for strange noises, run pressure checks, and may even check for hidden water leaks as well as more obvious ones.
Alongside this they can service your appliances for a charge, helping you to have peace of mind.
But, while a yearly inspection is good, it can pay to do some maintenance yourself.
The best approach is to inspect your pipes visually every couple of months. If you notice anything peculiar you can contact your plumber and get them to take a look at it.
As part of this, you should inspect the sewer pipes. Simply pick up a sewer camera for sale and slide it inside your drains. The camera will feed you images of the inside, allowing you to spot any obstacles, clogs starting, or damage to the pipe.
Spotting these will allow you to take steps to eliminate the issue or repair the damage. These are the sorts of problems that can start and cause issues in less than a year, which is why you need to be vigilant for them.
More Frequent Maintenance
In most cases, an annual inspection and your associated checks will keep your plumbing system working perfectly.
However, if you have an older house your pipes may be made of different materials, such as steel or even lead. These are more prone to corrosion and damage, meaning that more frequent checks are advisable.
The same is true if you have mature trees anywhere near your sewer line. Trees tend to have roots that cover the same area as their canopy. If you have a canopy that appears to be hovering over where your sewer line is then you will need to inspect your pipe regularly to ensure it is not damaged by the roots. That can be a costly repair job.
Naturally, if you are just moving into a new home it’s a good idea to have all the pipework checked before you move in. This will ensure you are starting without costly issues.
