Avoid Overworking Your Plumbing This Summer

When you’re looking forward to a summer full of fun in the sun, the last thing you want to think about is plumbing. But what would really ruin the fun is a preventable plumbing crisis. Most summer plumbing issues are caused by overworking systems that don’t see as much action during the cooler months, so preventing a crisis can be as simple as knowing how to make the extra wear and tear easier on your home’s plumbing system. To keep that from happening, we’ll walk you through some common summer plumbing problem areas and how to prevent them from acting up.

Problem area 1: Washing machine

Summer in Minnesota means lots of outdoor adventures and trips to the lake—and lots of dirty towels and grass-stained clothing to wash. Before you start running all those extra loads of laundry, you or a hired professional should check your washing machine hoses for leaks, cracks, or bulges. A surprise burst will cause damage, mess and stress that you want to avoid when you’re trying to relax and enjoy the warm weather with your family.

Problem area 2: Garbage disposal

Barbeques, cocktail parties and picnics—summer is full of opportunities to host fun social gatherings with good food and good company. Just remember to use caution when deciding what to throw down the garbage disposal. Summer cuisine comes with a lot of foods that can wreak havoc on your disposal mechanism. Stringy, fibrous foods like corn on the cob and greasy, bony foods like ribs are bad for your garbage disposal. Save it the stress and keep a trash can on hand when you’re doing dishes so that you can easily toss problem foods away instead of down the drain.

Problem area 3: Outdoor plumbing

Sprinkler systems get a lot of mileage in the summer from keeping your garden green and your flowerbeds blooming. Because it may have been months since you last turned your sprinkler system on, it’s wise to have it checked out at the beginning of summer. Leaks aren’t always apparent until you receive your first astronomical water bill, so a preventative inspection can save you a lot of stress and money.

Problem area 4: Toilets

You love having your kids home from school all summer long, but that also means your toilets are receiving more of a workout than they do during the school year. To avoid clogging or overworking them. Encourage children and family members to use as little toilet paper as possible and explain what should and should not be flushed down the toilet.

Using this information to take care of common plumbing problem areas during the summer can help prevent crises. If problems do arise, contact us and we’ll send a seasoned Bonfe plumber to make sure your plumbing runs again smoothly.

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