The lifespan of a water heater can be affected by a few variables. Water quality and how often the heater is used, will affect the life of the water heater. We typically say that the water heater installed today will last around 6-12 years. A properly installed water softener will also help lengthen the life of your water heater.
We recommend you flush your water heater at least once a year. This will help flush out sediment that collects in the bottom of the water heater. This helps to ensure you get adequate hot water supply and also helps prevent the sediment from corroding the water heater’s components. A water softener that is operating correctly would eliminate the need to flush your water heater on a regular basis.
If your toilet’s water supply is running constantly or intermittently, it could be time to replace the fill valve and flapper that are inside of the tank on the toilet. The fill valve can stick and cause a toilet to constantly run. The flapper can collect buildup or even deteriorate over time. You can try and remove the build up from the flapper to get it to seat properly again.
We recommend you have your sewer cleaned every 1-2 years with 6″ sewer knives. When you have your sewer cleaned on a regular basis the technician should be able to tell you how much root build up was in the line and if you can have it cleaned less often or if it needs to be done on a more regular basis.
Tree roots mostly enter into a sewer lateral through pipe joints or defects. Homes in the area most commonly have a 6″ clay tile sewer lateral from the outside of the house to the city main. Clay tile sewers come in 2′-4′ sections when installed. Over time the tiles will shift with ground movement. This causes the joints to open and give tree roots a place to enter.
There are two ways to permanently stop tree root infiltration into your sewer lateral. The sewer line can be dug up and replaced from your house to the city main in the street. This can be costly and intrusive to the surrounding area. We also offer trenchless technologies that allow us to put a liner inside of your existing sewer lateral that will stop root infiltration. Call us today for more details.
IF you want to try and clean a plugged drain in your home before calling a plumber, we would recommend trying a plunger first. Drain solutions that you buy from the store can be harmful to your drains if it sits in them for a long period of time. Never mix different drain cleaning solutions together.
- Remove garden hoses from outside faucets before winter.
- Avoid putting non-flushable material down the toilet or other drains.
- Garbage disposals have limits. Make sure you know what should and shouldn’t go into yours.
- Make sure your water softener is operating properly.
- Watch for water leaks and get them repaired promptly. What may be a small leak now can turn into a large leak in a short time.