Did you know the official first day of summer is in just a few short weeks? June 20th officially marks the start of summer in 2021! While we’re sure you’ll be enjoying the weather in what should be a little more normal of a summer (in comparison to 2020), it’s important to also be mindful of your plumbing. Unsurprisingly, when the seasons change, so do some of the potential risks to your plumbing system. As you may remember back in February, Kansas City went through a bit of an arctic blast, where we saw extremely frigid temperatures and plenty of frozen pipes as a result. That is a perfect example of the individual weather changes wreaking havoc on plumbing.
As we move through the warmer summer months, we want to educate you on what you should be keeping an eye on. Some of these may seem like rather “preventative maintenance” items, but will nonetheless be worth it in the long run. With that being said, let’s examine some of the most common summer plumbing issues and how you can ultimately prevent them from occurring at your own home!
Flooded Basements
Kansas City and the rest of the Midwest certainly isn’t immune to heavy rainfall. While we don’t necessarily get as much as some of the southern states, flooded basements are a real problem and something homeowners need to be aware of. No doubt, a quick response is required in these types of situations, but it’s also important to understand the negative impact of water damage in general. From mold growth to damaged wiring, gas lines or appliances, water damage can cause a serious financial toll. For this reason, we always recommend having a professional involved on the clean-up part.
However, in terms of flooded basements specifically, one of your best friends in safeguarding your house against damage will be a sump pump. We install plenty of these throughout the year for Kansas City homeowners and they are essentially the perfect way to provide KC residents with a peace of mind that they’re protected. They’re installed in a pit and designed to take any water build-up in the basement and disperse it outside away from the foundation. Just having one in your basement though is only half the battle. Since you never know when a storm may hit, regular maintenance will help ensure it’s always operating correctly. A terrific maintenance task involves pouring roughly five gallons of water in the pit to see if it turns on and does its job. At the same time, it’s also worth it to provide routine inspections to make sure the pump is standing up correctly, whether or not there’s debris in the pit and if there is any rust anywhere.
If you lose power in the storm, you definitely don’t want to also lose your sump pump! Consider having a battery back-up installed to ensure you’re always covered!
Garbage Disposal Troubles
While we get calls for clogged garbage disposals all year-round, it’s safe to say there always seems to be a few more inquiries during the summer months! Just remember, whenever you’re dealing with the garbage disposal, make sure to keep it simple. Any small food scraps are perfectly fine, but anything bigger than that should probably be thrown away in the trash can. And when it comes to grease, never pour that down the drain in any form! It will solidify in your pipes and lead to plenty of headaches in the future.
Clogged Toilets
Here we have another problem that definitely occurs throughout the entire year, but still worth mentioning as you may have kids home from school all day long. Toilet etiquette is even more straightforward than garbage disposal. Human waste and toilet paper go down it. Nothing else can, even those wet wipes that are advertised as being “flushable.” Follow those simple steps and you’ll be in great shape!
Washing Machine Leaks
Who has a washing machine that tends to see a little more usage during the summer months? Particularly if you have kids or a large family, you’re not alone! Unfortunately, this extra workload is also putting added pressure (and wear & tear) on your washing machine. A good rule of thumb is to keep the individual laundry loads to a normal amount, don’t put in too much at one time. Additionally, do your own due diligence and periodically check the hoses behind the washing machine to make sure there are no leaks.
Sprinkler Problems
Do you have automatic sprinklers installed at your home? While they’re certainly useful and make watering the lawn much easier, you do want to avoid any sprinkler malfunctions. And these malfunctions can arise from a number of different causes. Maybe you hit one of the sprinkler heads while mowing or possibly even there’s a leak somewhere on one of the lines. In either case, just make sure to stay aware of your sprinkler system and get any malfunctions fixed ASAP. Keep in mind that most of the time with leaks, they aren’t actually noticed until you receive an unusually high water bill. While we’re almost into June already, for future years, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to perform a preventative inspection before the warmer weather hits.
Sewer Line Danger
If you have followed us before on Facebook or Instagram, chances are you’ve seen some behind-the-scenes footage from one of our sewer line projects. As you might guess, this typically involves using an excavator to replace the line and is certainly one of the bigger residential plumbing projects out there! While sewer lines can fail for a few different reasons, one of the more common causes involves tree roots. In order to continue growing, tree roots are always searching for water. Simple enough, right? Well, when they’re looking for this water, one prime location for it is in the sewer lines. Even if there’s the slightest of openings, the roots can find their way and gradually grow over time, before it ultimately becomes a serious problem for the homeowner!
Do you suspect there may be something wrong with your sewer line? Does using one fixture seem to have an unusual impact on a completely separate fixture? Possibly when you turn on the sink faucet, you start hearing gurgling sounds come from the toilet? There are certainly a number of different warning signs of sewer line danger and all of them are things you should be taking seriously. Once you notice something out of the ordinary, it wouldn’t hurt to get a plumber on the phone and have them check it out. With advanced inspection cameras, they’ll be able to see what exactly is going on inside your sewer line and determine the best plan of attack moving forward!
Need a Professional Plumber?
Even while following plumbing best practices, we understand that issues can still occur! No matter what the season or weather, your friends at Stine-Nichols Plumbing are always here to help. Whether that be with the water heater, sewer line, garbage disposal or anything else, just give us a call at (816) 348-3481. Our team currently services the entire Kansas City area, as well as all of the surrounding cities. Lee’s Summit, Liberty, Parkville, Grandview, Olathe, Lenexa, you name it! We hope you and your loved ones enjoy a great summer!