-- Holiday Plumbing Tips to Avoid Common Household Problems --

With the holiday season upon us, it’s time to start thinking about family and other out of town guests staying at your house. What do you need to do to prepare?  Besides grocery shopping, cleaning and yard work, you need to make sure your plumbing is in tip-top shape because it’s going to get a lot of exercise this season.

In its continued commitment to help homeowners stay sane and plumbing problem free, the ARS® Rescue Rooter® Network is providing some simple tips to help homeowners across the United States prevent any plumbing disasters during this holiday season.

That Can’t Go In There

Believe it or not, not everything can go into your kitchen disposal.  Most are not equipped to handle celery, banana peels, cornhusks and other fibrous or “stringy” materials.  Some other items to stay away from are fats or cooking oils as they form clots within the pipes. Also, make sure you run cold water at full pressure for 15 seconds before and after you put anything down the disposal to make sure it all gets flushed through. Any instant stuffing, potato mixes or similar “just add water” foods should never be put down the drain as once water is added from the faucet, they expand, become hardened, and create messy clogs.

Debris Free

While you are tidying up your yard for incoming houseguests, remove any debris including leaves from your gutters and around your home because leaves hold moisture and can cause drainage problems.

The ABCs – Avoid Bathroom Chaos

Bathrooms can become a very dangerous place when the amount of people in a house has doubled due to the holidays. If there are children in the house, make sure they understand that nothing besides toilet paper should go down the toilet. Also, each bathroom should have a wastebasket to avoid guest confusion. Lastly, avoid placing items or a nick-knack shelf on top of or above the toilet. By doing this, items are less likely to fall in unseen, causing a clog.

Hosed Up

Washing machine hose failures are one of the top five sources of preventable water leaks according to the Institute of Business and Home Safety. To make sure you aren’t on the verge of costly damage and leaking, inspect your hoses regularly for signs of leaks or cracks. Also, move your machine at least four inches from the wall to prevent hose kinking and damage, and never leave your home with the washer running.

To prevent faucet freezing problems in cold weather remove hoses on the exterior of your home, drain the hose and put insulation covers over the faucets.

X Marks the Spot

Before an emergency happens, everyone in your home should know where the main water shut-off value is located. This is the valve that controls all water flow into your home. You can typically find it in the basement or outside your home, but every house is different.  If you cannot locate the main valve, in an emergency, you can also turn off the water flow to your entire property at the meter, but you may require a special tool called a “meter key.”  This tool can be purchased at your local home improvement store. There are a couple different types and sizes, so know what your valve looks like so the store attendant can help you locate the correct one. You could even take a picture to be on the safe side.

Shower Power

No one likes a cold shower, and that is what you may get if you’ve pulled the short straw to take the last shower of the morning. One way to ensure a proper supply of hot water is to upgrade your system to a tankless water heater. By doing this you could save money in operating and energy costs because tankless water heaters only provide hot water as needed, and do not produce standby energy loss like regular tank heaters that can waste energy when hot water is not being used.

Maintain the Drain Safely

There are many different household drain cleaners on the market and it can be confusing which is best to unclog your drain. Look for an off-the-shelf drain cleaner with the thickest consistency to remove stubborn clogs like hair and buildup, and always keep safety in mind as most drain cleaners contain lye and sulfuric acid. Wear protective gloves and goggles when using drain cleaners, don’t mix different products together, follow directions carefully and always keep them away from children. To avoid clogs long-term, maintain your drains with the use of a maintenance product like DrainRight® Drain Maintainer from ARS®/Rescue Rooter®, an environmentally friendly preventative maintenance formula that that can keep your pipes running smoothly.

These plumbing tips are provided to help prevent problems, but if one should occur, the ARS® Rescue Rooter’s Network’s friendly, knowledgeable technicians are ready to handle all of your plumbing needs. To find out more about your plumbing system repair and maintenance options, visit www.ARS.com, www.RescueRooter.com or call (888) 762-7711.

About the ARS® Rescue Rooter® Network

The ARS® Rescue Rooter® Network provides customers across the United States with an exceptional service experience through professional heating, air conditioning, plumbing and drain cleaning services. Serving both residential and light commercial customers, the ARS® Rescue Rooter® Network includes 57 company operated and locally managed service locations spanning 24 states and the District of Columbia.

For more information about the ARS® Rescue Rooter® Network visit www.ARS.com.

###

Media Contact:

Lindsey Levy, PUSH

407-841-2299

llevy@pushhere.com

Julia Stewart, PUSH

407-841-2299

jstewart@pushhere.com