The pipes in your home are at work all the time. You rely on these pipes to bring clean water to your shower, washing machine, sinks, and more! Hundreds of gallons of water moves through household pipes throughout the day. That’s a lot of water being transported through the pipes.

As you can imagine, over time, all this wear and tear causes pipes to wear out. Eventually, the pipe material thins and causes pipes to start leaking. Sometimes the damage to the pipes is so severe that it causes the pipes to burst.

No one can stop their pipes from wearing out eventually, but the process can be slowed down with some simple maintenance tips. Here are some things you can do to make sure your home’s plumbing in West Covina stays in great shape.

Check the Water Pressure

Water pressure that is too high wears pipes out faster. Ideally, you want your home’s water pressure to stay below 85 psi. If you’re concerned your water pressure is too high, contact a plumber in West Covina, CA to learn more about installing a water pressure gauge.

Avoid Using Chemical Drain Cleaners

Chemical drain cleaners work by eating away at the blockage inside the pipe. The problem with liquid drain cleaners is they don’t know when to stop working. Therefore, besides the clog, they also eat away at the pipe. Using chemical cleaners too often will lead to irreparable damage to pipes.

Fix Leaks

It’s not uncommon for people to ignore small leaks because they don’t seem like a big deal. However, even tiny leaks will eventually wear down connections and cause the fixture or pipe to leak more. Do yourself a favor and fix these problems early to avoid expensive pipe repairs in the future.

Schedule Regular Drain Cleaning

As more and more gunk builds up in a pipe, this puts pressure on the pipe. This will wear out the inside of the pipe. Once this happens, it’s only a matter of time before leaks develop. Regular drain cleaning from professionals can stop this from happening.

Flush Only Toilet Paper

In our experience, too many people use their toilets like trash cans. You shouldn’t flush anything down the toilet other than toilet paper. Even if the packaging says it’s okay to flush the item, such is the case with wet wipes and tampons, the truth is that these items don’t dissolve as quickly as toilet paper. The more debris in the pipe, the more chokepoints there are.

Chokepoints are pressure points that cause pipes to burst or leaky slowly. People who are careful about what they put in their toilets have fewer backups and other plumbing problems.

Residential Pipe Replacement Is Only a Phone Call Away

Sometimes, no matter how careful you are, a pipe can break or develop a slow leak. If you have these problems, contact West Covina Star Plumbing. Our team of licensed plumbers in West Covina will help you figure out the next step when your pipes have reached the end of their lifespan.

Call us today to learn more about upgrading or replacing your home’s pipes!