How can I make my pipes last longer?

Yesterday I had the unfortunate opportunity to tell one of our customers that they will need a complete overhaul of their plumbing in the Santa Rosa home. I crawled under their home and saw several locations with slow drips, a lot of rust, and some lousy patch jobs that were done by a previous plumber. Granted the home was built in the 1960’s so new pipes would be a necessity at some point in the near future, nonetheless, there are things we can do as homeowners to improve the life of our plumbing. By the way, a complete overhaul of plumbing on a two story, 4 bedroom 3 full baths, was estimated at $26,000. That’s a big bill!
Our plumbing is working all day long. Whenever you wash a dish, brush your teeth, poop, shower, water your lawn, etc., your plumbing is in use. The more you use something, the more it wears down. Nothing lasts forever. That goes for your plumbing too. As pipes age, they can thin out, leak in different areas, and even at times explode and burst. The hardness of your water, whether there are a lot of deposits like calcium in your water, can also have a deleterious effect on your pipes by wearing them down from the inside out. But there is something you can do to improve the life of your plumbing.
So, what are some things you can do to improve the longevity of your pipes?

• Make sure your water pressure stays at 85 psi or below
  • The higher the inner pressure on your pipes the more stress they feel opening opportunity for your pipes to burst. Plus, with higher water pressures and hard water, internal damage is increased quite a bit.
• Don’t use chemical drain cleaners because they eat away at the interior of your pipes
  • Chemical drain cleaners are great at ameliorating clogs, but once the cleaners removed the clog, they then begin eating away at the inner walls of your pipes. Over time, your pipes become quite porous and more apt to leak and burst. Plus, chemical drain cleaners are terrible for the environment. Call a Santa Rosa Plumber instead.
• Fix a leak when you find it
  • A leak is a leak is a leak. Small leaks are just as important to fix as the big ones because small leaks can transition to big leaks in no time at all. Over time with small leaks, it eats away at the fittings and connections, and as the leak grows, pipes become more and more worn down.
• Spend money on an annual or semi-annual maintenance program for drain cleaning
  • Hire a professional Santa Rosa Plumber to maintain your pipes. Your plumbing over time gets debris and gunk that adheres to the internal walls of your pipes. No way to avoid it. Cleaning out your pipes however frequent this is, this Santa Rosa Plumber recommends drain cleaning on an annual basis, will help you to avoid slow drains and clogged drains.
• Only flush things down the toilet that are supposed to go down the toilet
  • Don’t think there is much to say about this because this topic gets beaten to death. If you have young children, keep your toilet seats in the closed position. Debris buildup in your pipes creates bottlenecks and potential areas of increased pressure, which as described before is o good for your pipes. 
• The moment you notice a drain that is draining slow, do something about it.
  • Slow drains are a sign that there is something wrong with your plumbing. There is a clog or choke-point somewhere in your plumbing. Clogs increase the pressure in your pipes, which is something you want to avoid.

After reading this, if you noticed that pipe pressure is a common theme, then you are a smart cookie. Pressure is the biggest factor related to our plumbing’s longevity. The higher the pressure, the quicker our plumbing will need to be replaced. And if you need to replace your plumbing, be sure to give Santa Rosa Plumbing Service a call. We will provide you with a free consultation and work up a plan to remove and replace your plumbing while minimizing the impact to your daily life. We know how important a hot shower is in the morning for you or being able to wash your dishes and clothes. Santa Rosa Plumbing Service prides our self on providing the best plumbing solutions in the city of Santa Rosa. Give us a call today. You can also find us on the web at http://santarosaplumbingservice.com.