Water is an essential resource in our homes. We use water to cook, drink, and for personal and general cleanup. Water is also used to drain all liquid waste from the house into the municipal sewer system or into a private septic tank. But although water is so useful, it can also be quite dangerous. Water can sometimes pose a very serious risk to our physical possessions and even to our health. This usually occurs when the mediums or channels used to move water from one place to another suffer defects. It can also happen when the plumbing fixtures and appliances in our homes break down and start leaking. Water damage is mainly caused by leaks in our pipes, and in various plumbing fixtures, appliances, and installations. Water damage can also occur when there is a serious clog in the toilet, shower drain, and/or sink drain. These serious clogs can cause severe sewer backups, which can be very destructive in the house. The good news is that water damage can be prevented effectively using the following tips.

Regular And Thorough Plumbing Inspections

You should inspect your entire plumbing system on a regular basis to avoid water damage. You can conduct DIY plumbing inspections whenever you are free. Make sure that you focus your inspections on the critical areas of your plumbing system including the plumbing control systems, such as the main water shutoff valve, the main gas shutoff valve, the water meter, and the breaker boxes. You should also inspect the water supply piping network and various critical appliances like the water heater, the sump pump, and the accessible drainage and sewer lines. You should also hire a professional plumber to inspect your plumbing system thoroughly every few months. Professional plumbing inspections are very important because they access areas that you cannot access, such as the underground sewer lines. All these DIY and professional inspections will help identify existing and potential water leaks and clogs in your plumbing system. This will help you fix these problems in time and hence prevent water damage.

Timely Plumbing Repairs

Plumbing repairs should be implemented as soon as possible. You should ensure that any leaking pipes or plumbing fixture or appliance is fixed as soon as possible. Make sure that you call your local plumber to fix that slow leaking faucet or pipe before it becomes a plumbing disaster. You should also ensure that you call a professional DC water heater plumber to inspect the tank of your hot water heater and implement the necessary repairs before water damage occurs.

Prevent Frozen Pipes

One common cause of water damage is frozen pipes. You should prepare your pipes before the cold season kicks in to prevent water from freezing in these pipes. You can insulate all the outdoor pipes with the necessary materials to avoid freezing. You should also keep your thermostat on throughout the cold season to avoid frozen pipes. Frozen pipes clog and burst causing serious water damage to your household possessions and the house. Also insulate the storage tank in your hot water heater to reduce your energy bill.

Know Your Plumbing System

You should acquaint yourself with your home plumbing system before settling in a new house. This means that you should know the exact location of the main water and gas shutoff valves and the electrical breaker boxes. You can prevent water damage by turning off all the water immediately you notice a leak.

The faucet is one of the most important fixtures in the plumbing system. As any kitchen plumber in DC will tell you, the faucet is one of the most functional fixtures in the plumbing system. It’s an important water control and delivery fixture in the plumbing system. The faucet or tap is used to deliver water and to control its flow rate when turned on. The faucet has a fascinating history. It has come a long way since the ancient days of the Greek and Roman plumbing system. Nowadays we have smart faucets that use motion sensors to turn on and off. We also have touch faucets that are turned on by the slightest touch anywhere; on the handles, spout, or the head. The historical evolution of the faucet is related to the historical evolution of water supply pipes. This is mainly because faucets usually form the functional end of the water supply pipes. Also many pipes and faucets were manufactured from the same material; copper. Today we are going to take a journey down history lane to discover how the modern faucet came to be.

Ancient Pipes And Faucets

The first faucets can be traced back to the Minoan Palace of Knossos in Crete. Terracotta pipes used faucets to supply water in this ancient kingdom as early as 1700 B.C. The faucets used in this ancient plumbing system were made from gold, marble, and silver. The Roman Empire started using lead pipes from around 1000 B.C. to around 476 A.D. During this period, public Roman baths had silver faucets, and other gold and marble fixtures.

The Quaturn Cartridge

In 1913, Albert Brown invented the Quaturn Cartridge. This cartridge required just a quarter turn instead of the several turns required by other faucets in use during this period. The Quaturn Cartridge became very popular because it preserved the washers in the faucet.

The Single Handle Faucet

Al Moen started worked on a single handle faucet from 1940 to 1945. He got the idea after scalding himself with overheated tap water in 1937.

The Faucet Ball Valve

In 1952, Landis Perry designed the first faucet ball valve. The faucet mixed hot and cold water using volume control. Perry patented his facet ball valve design in 1952.

The Delta Faucet

Using Perry’s faucet ball valve design, Alex Manoogian designed the first washerless ball valve faucet. He called this faucet the Delta Faucet and founded the Delta Faucet Company. This is one of the leading and most innovative faucet manufacturers in the world today. The Delta Faucet Company went on to design very many innovative features for faucets and showers.

Electronic Faucets

Electronic faucets were introduced in the early 1980s. These faucets use sensors to detect motion and turn the faucet on or off. Electronic faucets are designed to conserve water and also to offer a convenient and healthy way of using the faucet. The Delta Faucet Company introduced the first hands-free electronic faucet for residential use in 2001.

Touch Faucets

Delta Faucet Company introduced the touch faucet in 2008. This faucet turns on and off after being touched anywhere including the handles or the spout. You can use your hand, wrist, forearm, or elbow to turn on a touch faucet. Delta has continued to design and develop many innovative faucets and faucet features including the Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) and the Universal valve design.

Regardless of what type of faucet you have, if you suspect a drip or a leak, call your local plumber for leak detection services immediately, to minimize damages.

The supposedly clean water you get from your water supply company might sometimes not be as clean as you expect. Sometimes the water comes with various impurities that undermine its quality. Some of these impurities are not harmful to your health but they still affect the taste, color, and cleaning abilities of the water. One of the most common impurities in clean tap water is rust. Rust is oxidized iron and it makes the water taste and smell like metal and look reddish brown in color. The main problem with rusty water is that it smells, tastes, and looks funny. The rust deposits also leave spotty stains on your white linens and porcelain sinks. The first thing that you should do when you notice rust in your water is to determine the source; whether it’s from the water supply company or in your water supply system. Some common causes of rusty water include the following.

Corroded Water Main

The main water supply pipe that supplies water from the utility company might be corroded. This usually happens in areas where the main pipes are old and corroded. If the rust is coming from the water main, then it means that the problem is with the water supply company. That is why you should always determine the source of the rust before taking any other step. If you suspect that the rusty water is being caused by corrosion in the water main, then you should not hesitate to call your water supply company to explain the situation. They will have to replace the corroded water main to ensure that everyone gets rust-free water.

Corroded Water Supply Pipes

The rusty water could be confined to your house. The rust could be coming from your corroded water supply pipes. If you determine that the rust is coming from your house through the test explained above, then you need to call a professional residential and/or commercial plumber in DC to determine the exact source of the rust. The corroded water supply pipe(s) should be indentified and replaced immediately to solve the rusty water problem.

Corroded Fixtures

Another cause of rusty water in your home is corroded fixtures. If some or all of your taps, showers, and other fixtures are corroded, then you will have a rusty waster problem in your hands. You should check which fixtures are producing rusty water and replace them.

Corroded Water Heater

If you notice that only the hot water is rusty, then it means that your water heater is corroded. If the tank is corroded, then you will have to replace the entire unit to solve the rusty water problem. Your local plumber can help you choose the right type of water heater you should use as a replacement, and get you fixed up in no time. You can prevent this corrosion by replacing the anode rod in the water heater tank every few years.

Garbage disposal is one of the routine chores that you have to do every other day. Garbage is produced in many areas in the home. Most of the garbage is thrown out in trash bags for collection by the garbage trucks. But some of the garbage is shredded and disposed in a special device called a garbage disposal unit or simply a garbage disposal. A garbage disposal is a mechanical device that is usually installed below the sink. This device is used to shred and dispose of those solid food remains to avoid clogging. The disposal shreds these food pieces into very tiny bits that can easily pass through the drainage and sewer system without clogging. The ironic thing about the whole process is that sometimes the garbage disposal unit gets clogged while preventing clogging. It all depends on how you use it and the kinds of food remains that you dispose with it. A garbage disposal can function for a long time without clogging if you use it and maintain it properly. Today you are going to learn how to prevent clogging in your garbage disposal unit, avoiding that last minute call to your local plumber.

Use Cold Water

You should always run cold water in your garbage disposal unit before, when, and after turning it on. The cold water will carry the food particles down the drain and leave the disposal clean and unclogged. The cold water will also solidify any oils, fats, and greases thereby ensuring that they do not coat the blades that are used for shredding.

Avoid Fibrous Foods

You should not dispose fibrous foods in your garbage disposal unit. Foods with tough fibers like asparagus and celery should not be fed into the garbage disposal unit because they can entangle the blades and prevent the unit from working.

Avoid Overloading

You should buy a right-sized garbage disposal that will save you money and energy at home. You should upgrade to an Energy Star certified model during your DC kitchen remodeling. After acquiring this high efficiency model, make sure that you use it properly. Never overload the garbage disposal to avoid “choking” it.

Avoid Coffee Grounds

Coffee grounds should not be disposed down the drain. The coffee grounds will not damage the garbage disposal but they will accumulate inside your drain pipes and cause a drain clog.

Avoid Large Bones

Large bones should not be fed into the garbage disposal unit because they can damage the shredding blades. The blades are not strong enough to crush large bones. But you can put small bones, like fish bones, in the garbage disposal for shredding and crushing.

Avoid Potato Peels

Potato peels should not be put in a garbage disposal unit. The disposal will smash and shred these peels into mush and paste. The starch in the peels will become paste and this can cling and accumulate on the blades, causing them to stop working.

Dispose Small Pieces

You should not feed large chunks of food in the garbage disposal unit. Try to chop up large pieces of food remains before throwing it into the garbage disposal.

Clean The Disposal Regularly And Properly

You should clean and use the garbage disposal units regularly and properly. You should only clean the disposal with cold water. You can throw a few ice cubes in first. To deodorize the disposal, use vinegar ice cubes or grind up orange or lemon rinds.

Tap water is not always clean. You can turn on your tap and get brown water full of dirt and debris. The water can also have other impurities that are not easy to see. Some of these impurities like minerals are detected by taste. You should always ensure that the water you drink is clean and safe. And although some of these imparities do not pose any health hazard, they can still ruin the taste of the water. You should test your water regularly to ensure that it does not contain any impurities. Let us now look at some common impurities that you can find in your tap water.

Dirt

Dirty tap water is not very common but you can still get it from time to time. Dirty water contains actual dirt, and maybe sand and silt. Dirty water is an indication that the main water supply line is damaged. If this is the case, then you need to hire a DC emergency plumber immediately to fix the problem. You should start by calling your local water supply company to find out whether the problem is on their side or yours. If the water supply company has no problem, then you need your local plumber to inspect your water supply pipes. Dirty water is more common in households with wells. If you get your water from a well, then the dirt could be coming from the well. If it’s a new well, try running the water for some time to drain out the system. You should also consider repairing or replacing the water screening and filtration system.

Minerals

Minerals are very common in water. This is what we refer to as hard water. Depending on your locality, you can discover that your water has high levels of iron, calcium, or manganese. And although these minerals do not pose a health hazard to people or animals, they can still ruin the taste of the water. These metals can also leave stains on your clothes and dishes when you use the hard water for cleaning. They also inhibit lathering making cleaning and bathing a huge hassle.

Rubber

With time, the rubber tubing in your plumbing appliances, such as the hot water heater, can start to wear out. The tiny pieces will be drowned in the water and you can find these pieces when you fetch the water for drinking or cleaning. Rubber is mostly worn out by chlorine. As such, if you use chlorine to treat your water, then you can expect rubber impurities in the long run. If you notice rubber bits in your water, call a professional plumber to replace the worn-out rubber tubing.

Carbon

You can also notice carbon specks in your tap water. This usually occurs when the carbon in your water filter disintegrates. Carbon is used to trap foreign bodies and impurities from the water. But with time the carbon filter and/or cartridge gets old and worn-out. This is when you start to notice tiny specks of carbon in the water. Check the user manual of your carbon filter to see how you can repair it or replace the cartridge.

Rust

Rust is one of the most common impurities in water. You will find rust particles in your water when some of your pipes, fixtures or appliances are corroded. You can also get the rust from your water supply company. If consumed in install amounts, rust is not a health hazard. But it still undermines the taste and equality of the water. You will need a professional plumber to determine the source of the rust and to fix it.