5 Ways to Make Your Home Holiday-Ready This Year

Admin • December 8, 2021

Family Holiday Gathering — Chicagoland — J&S Plumbing Inc.

Holiday cheer is back and Americans are once again ready to spend money and have fun. But with excessive food purchases, drinks, family visits, and fun comes a big challenge: plumbing failure. With more people at home, the strain on your plumbing can reach a breaking point. Common holiday plumbing issues include malfunctioning hot water systems, clogged toilets and drains, and frozen pipes.

Holiday plumbing faults are not only frustrating but also costly to repair. In this post, find out how you can get your home's plumbing holiday-ready to enjoy a memorable time.

1. Inspect the Sewers

The sewer system is easy to overlook until it fails. As you make plans for the holidays, include a professional sewer inspection. Common sewer problems include sewage backup and blockage, mold problems, sewer gas odor, sinkholes, foundation cracks, and landscape flooding.

A certified contractor can help avert these sewer issues through preventive maintenance. The plumbing professional uses cutting-edge equipment, such as drain snake cameras, to check the entire system. Look out for sewer-failure warning signs such as slow drains, foul smell, lush grass on your compound, and sewage backup.

2. Carry Out Water Heater Maintenance

Hot water is essential for every household. With extra users in your home, your hot water system has to work harder to meet the increased demand. Without proper maintenance, your water heating system might fail when you need it most. A licensed plumber helps prevent the unfortunate situation by performing preventive maintenance on your water heater.

The technician carries out a visual checkup of the system to identify any damage. An inspection of the components, including the anode rod, cold water shut-off valve, pipes, and the temperature and pressure relief valve helps identify any hidden problem.

During the inspection, the contractor can also drain the tank to clean sediment, insulate the pipes, and replace faulty parts. If you expect visitors during the holiday, your plumber can assess the capacity of the hot water system to avoid breakdowns.

3. Provide Convenient Garbage Disposal

With more people using your bathrooms during the holidays, clogged toilets are a common plumbing problem. One way to prevent clogged toilets is to have a trash bin in every room. Toilets and drains clog because of hard-to-flush items such as sanitary napkins, baby wipes, and facial tissues. When you have extra garbage bins in the house, you encourage proper disposal of waste in the house.

4. Avoid Frozen Pipes

The cold weather during the holiday season can cause pipes to freeze, leading to serious plumbing issues. When it freezes, the water in the pipes expands and causes excessive pressure inside the plumbing system that may result in the pipes breaking. Broken water pipes can cause flooding, low water supply, property damage, and ruin all your holiday fun.

You can avoid the plumbing problem by protecting the pipes from freezing temperatures. You can insulate exposed pipes, cover the crawlspace, and disconnect the sprinkler and water hose from the supply. Consult with a certified plumber for help finding any other places where pipes might freeze.

5. Install Drain Strainers

If you have ever encountered a clogged sink or drain, you appreciate how frustrating the problem can be. With more people in your home, you can't monitor everyone to ensure proper use of the kitchen and bathroom sinks. Drain strainers can help prevent blocked sink drains over the holidays.

A drain strainer features a perforated metallic sieve or strainer that filters solid debris from entering the water system. The strainer saves you plumbing pain as it allows a smooth flow of wastewater in the drains.

The holidays provide a perfect time to reconnect with family and have fun. The last thing you want is a clogged toilet or a flooded house as you entertain guests. At J&S Plumbing Inc, we appreciate the importance of efficient plumbing and we're always one call away. Contact our plumbers today to prepare your home's plumbing for the holidays.

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