When things go wrong with the plumbing in your Indianapolis, IN home, the best thing you can do is call a plumber. Although tackling plumbing issues on your own might be tempting, you probably won’t be happy with the outcome. Even when do-it-yourself plumbing repairs appear successful, there can be hidden or latent problems that diminish property values or set the stage for plumbing disasters. Whether hiring general handymen or dumping store-bought drain cleaners down your sink, even small missteps can wind up costing a veritable fortune.
1. Avoid Making Plumbing Problems Worse Than They Already Are
Grabbing your plunger or drain snake to clear a blocked and slow-moving drain could result in hundreds or even thousands of dollars in unnecessary spending. When hard, non-degradable items are responsible for plumbing blockages, these tools can actually force them deeper into plumbing systems. It’s far cheaper and easier to have a seasoned professional accurately diagnose clogs, identify their exact locations, and extract them without damaging any surrounding plumbing materials.
This is also important to remember when traveling down the liquid drain cleaner aisle at your local home and hardware store. These low-cost products can wreak havoc on plumbing systems if they aren’t used correctly and if they aren’t the right solutions for individual problems. Corrosive, caustic, and harmful to human health, chemical drain cleaners can eat right through your pipes even as they fail to clear blockages. Comparatively, a plumber can leverage drain cleaning techniques like hydro-jetting and hydro-steaming that get water moving, eliminate drain odors, and remove pathogen-riddled debris.
2. Identify Slow and Hidden Leaks Before They Lead to Serious Property Damage
Whether scheduling a whole-house plumbing inspection or having a repair performed, having a plumber visit your house is an excellent opportunity to spot slow and hidden leaks before they’ve completely saturated your baseboards, flooring, and drywall. Often found behind appliances, in crawlspaces, or behind drywall, these leaks are difficult to detect by the untrained eye. However, plumbers know how to spot the subtle signs of slow and hidden leaks. They’re often also able to resolve them using quick, non-invasive or minimally invasive repair methods.
3. Ensure Plumbing Safety
Plumbing problems can compromise resident safety and health in a vast range of ways. Sewer line blockages and impending whole-house backups could send wastewater and solid waste into your drains, appliances, tubs, and sinks. Dirty and slow-moving drains are a health hazard as well. Rife with contaminants and odors, they put harmful pathogens right near toothbrushes, hand soaps, dish racks, dishes, and other frequently used items.
Given that pipes and other plumbing features are often in close proximity to electrical wiring and outlets, having a licensed plumber inspect, repair, and install them can be essential for avoiding electrocution, electrical system damage, and fires. For example, dishwasher leaks and clogged or leaking garbage disposals often result in saturated outlets, tripped GFCI circuits, and serious electrical hazards.
4. Sidestep the Extra Spending of Renting or Buying Special Tools
Although you might have a comprehensive toolbox of your own, there are likely a few important items missing from your cache. Hiring a plumber will ensure that all of the necessary equipment is already on hand and that repairs aren’t being performed with tools that are either unfit or all-around unsafe for the job. Given that they’re far better equipped than both general handymen and homeowners themselves, having licensed plumbers handle your projects often shortens repair times as well.
5. Keep Your Plumbing System Up to Code
It’s all too easy to grab plumbing supplies at local home and hardware stores. With the help of online videos and other web-based tutorials, some handy homeowners are even capable of installing them. However, you can never be too sure that the work you do is up to the latest plumbing code. Even small mistakes in this area can lead to major losses and frustration in the future. Homes with plumbing features that aren’t code-compliant are notoriously difficult to sell. This is especially true when potential buyers intend to finance their purchases and need plumbing systems to pass rigorous lender inspections.
6. Keep Your Plumbing Costs Under Control
If you attempt to tackle a DIY plumbing project, it might take multiple trips to the store to get all the necessary parts just right. When homeowners attempt to clear their own clogs, they often wind up spending hundreds of dollars on drain augers, heavy-duty plungers, drain cleaning solutions, and more. Worse still, in most cases, most of these products are bought and used to absolutely no avail.
Hiring a general handyman to perform your plumbing work can prove costly too. Working with parties that aren’t properly licensed or insured for these jobs can result in hefty liability claims, the loss of your home insurance plan, and a greatly diminished home value. Moreover, unlike experienced plumbers who have carefully built strong relationships with top-rated plumbing suppliers, homeowners and handymen rarely have access to deep, loyalty discounts on project materials, and they can’t pass generous savings down to you.
7. Take Advantage of the Latest Innovations in the Plumbing Industry
Are you tired of having a simple, storage-based water heater that never seems to produce enough hot water for everyone’s bath or shower? Is your tap water foul-tasting, foul-smelling, and downright unfit for consumption? Are you constantly scrubbing hard water build-ups off your bathroom and kitchen fixtures? If so, a licensed plumber can help. Working with a plumber is the best way to learn about the benefits of the latest water-softening equipment, water filtration systems, tankless water heaters, and more. Best of all, by having these upgrades installed by licensed plumbers, you can extend their lifespans and keep their warranties intact.
8. Make Informed Decisions About Your Plumbing System
The best strategies for protecting your home and its value are always proactive rather than reactive. Instead of waiting until pipes burst, water heaters fail, or clogged sewer lines cause whole-house back-ups, savvy homeowners take advantage of timely and effective interventions.
Hiring a professional plumber to repair and maintain your plumbing system is the best way to know which risk factors apply to your home. For instance, if you have excessively high water pressure, your plumber can tell you about the benefits and drawbacks of installing a pressure-reducing valve. If the water that flows into your home is excessively hard, a plumber can explain all of the fixtures, pipes, and other plumbing features being constantly impacted by hard water minerals.
Establishing a relationship with a trusted local plumber will help you make informed decisions about this all-important home system. With over 12 years of industry experience, we go out of our way to help our clients learn their options and find solutions that fit their budgets. We offer superior plumbing, drain cleaning, and leak detection services. We also provide gas lines, water heaters, water softeners, and sump pumps. To schedule an appoint for professional plumbing service in Indianapolis, IN, get in touch with Hope Plumbing now.
