Wheaton Plumbing Tips For Homeowners

Maintenance in Wheaton is about a century old house that has been added to repeatedly and a basement deep enough to hide a problem for a while. Dense clay keeps water against the foundation, mature trees work on the lateral, and the Illinois freeze reaches whatever is exposed.

Know Where Your Main Shutoff Is

Every homeowner in Wheaton should know exactly where their main water shutoff valve is and confirm it actually turns. In an emergency every second counts. If you cannot locate it or it is corroded and stuck have a plumber address it before you need it. It is one of the simplest and most important things you can do to protect your home.

Watch Your Water Bill Every Month

Watch your Wheaton water bill against the same month a year earlier, because irrigating mature landscaping moves summer usage too much for a monthly comparison to mean anything. Off season a rise with no explanation usually means century old pipe has opened up somewhere in a house with plenty of it.

A sudden increase with no change in usage almost always means a hidden leak. Our leak detection service in Wheaton finds the source fast before water damage compounds.

Do Not Ignore Slow Drains

Drain habits matter in Wheaton, particularly with century old cast iron that catches anything fibrous. A camera inspection of the lateral in autumn is the more valuable step, since mature parkway trees are working on the line continuously and autumn is the last window before the frost.

A slow drain is the earliest warning sign of a blockage building. Clearing it early costs far less than clearing a full backup. Our drain cleaning team serves Wheaton and DuPage County.

Flush Your Water Heater Once a Year

Flush your water heater every year in Wheaton, and have the venting looked at while somebody is down there, because in these basements that arrangement frequently predates the equipment considerably. In a large house it is also worth asking whether the tank is genuinely sized for the demand on it.

An annual flush extends tank life and keeps energy costs down. Learn more about water heater maintenance in Wheaton.

Never Put Grease Down the Drain

Grease cools and hardens inside your pipes regardless of whether you run hot water with it. Over time it builds up and catches everything else that goes down. Use a container and throw it in the trash instead. This single habit prevents a significant percentage of kitchen drain calls we get in Wheaton.

Check Under Sinks Regularly

Under sink leaks in Wheaton start at the connection points, and in a century old house those shutoffs are frequently as old as the plumbing behind them. A large house has a great many of them, so working through them gradually is more sensible than discovering them all during an emergency.

A quick check every few months catches small drips before they become cabinet damage or mold. If you find a leak our pipe repair team in Wheaton can fix it fast.

Know When to Call a Pro

The DIY line in Wheaton is generous on winter preparation and modern fixture parts. Where it stops is century old pipe and anything buried, because material that age fails when disturbed and a large old house gives a leak a great deal of finished space to damage on the way down.

Some things are worth attempting yourself — a running toilet flapper, a slow drain you can snake. Anything involving your main line, water heater, or pipe repair behind walls is a job for a licensed plumber. Call PRO Plumbers of Wheaton in Wheaton any time you are not sure.

Call PRO Plumbers of Wheaton Now
(630) 360-8521