Occasionally, you’ll need to have your plumbing inspected by experts. The plumbing in your home can break down, or you might need regular maintenance for any number of reasons: preventing problems, finding current issues, or fixing them. Regardless, you must know how to prepare your home for this visit. Professional plumbers certainly don’t need help; however, you should still do your best to make the process as easy as possible for your sake and the plumbers. Additionally, it would be best if you did this to make sure nothing that would get in the plumber’s way gets damaged. To help you prepare, we’ve put together a list of 5 tips on how to prepare your home for a plumbing service visit.
1. Find the main shut-off valve
The first thing every plumber does as soon as they arrive is to ask where the shut-off valve is. As such, you first need to locate it so that you can tell them. This part is vital for the plumber’s work, as it shuts off the access to the water supply lines. Without accessing the valve, your home would get flooded as soon as the plumber started to work. So, make sure you know where this valve is before your plumber arrives, and make sure you can turn it. Valves tend to get stuck over time and become unusable, especially if they’re not turned a couple of times yearly. Once you know where your main shut-off valve is, you can feel easy calling residential plumbing services. And if the main shut-off valve is stuck, there are easy ways to make it usable again, so fix it beforehand, or at least inform the plumbers beforehand that the valve is sticky.
2. Clear the work area
When preparing your home for a plumbing service visit, you should do your best to clear the area where the plumbers will do work. For example, if you know your plumber will need to work under the sink, clear the space underneath it. The same applies to bathroom sinks and any other area of your home; if there’s something in the way, remove it before your plumber arrives. If the work is going to cover an entire room, for example, if there’s a lot of severe damage that needs to be fixed, you should clear out everything from that room. If you’re worried about where to store the belongings in the room, one of the best options would be to rent a short-term storage unit. As long as you find help during the process, everything will be fine. You can hire local movers to get your belongings safely into storage.
3. Clean the toilet before the plumber arrives
If you’re preparing your home for a plumbing service visit involving your bathroom, make sure to clean the toilet. You would be surprised how often plumbers go to fix toilets, and the homeowners haven’t cleaned them in advance. Working on an unclean toilet is quite unpleasant, so the least you could do is clean it. This might not be possible in some situations, such as if the toilet is clogged and overflowing. However, those are extraordinary circumstances, and we are sure your plumber will understand.
Additionally, regular cleaning of your toilet and everything else related to plumbing is an excellent way to prevent plumbing emergencies in the long run. After all, the best way to deal with plumbing problems is to avoid them entirely. As such, knowing how to take care of your plumbing correctly is essential. Take good care of your plumbing and avoid serious problems
4. Keep your pets at a safe distance
If you own any pets, ensure they don’t get in the way while your plumber is working. Of course, almost everyone loves animals, but curious pets can cause problems for your plumber. For example, a dog might mess around with the plumber’s tools, or the plumber might not notice them and trip over them while focused on their work. As such, you should ensure your pets are safely out of the way during the entire process. You can do this by taking them to a friend to look after them until the work is finished. Any other solution can work just as well, but make sure your pets stay out of the way. Also, to avoid needing plumbing services often, you should know how to find hidden water leaks in your home. Remember, prevention is always the best way to deal with plumbing issues.
5. Inspect other plumbing around your house
Before your plumber arrives, thoroughly check your home for any other plumbing issues. This is important for two reasons: first, it’s more economically practical to have the plumber visit your home only once. Second, the plumbers might correlate the other problems to the initial problem you called them in for. With all of this in mind, if you find any other issues, tell your plumber as soon as they arrive. You could save them, and yourself, a lot of time by doing this.
And all in all, the easier it is to solve the problem, the better for you and the plumber. Keep in mind, however, that if the problem is severe, chances are there are other problems. For example, a burst pipe will almost certainly be followed by other damaged pipes. So, remember to be thorough when checking for other issues
How to prepare your home for a plumbing service visit – 5 tips, wrap up
There is a lot to do before your plumber arrives that will make the visit much easier, faster, and cheaper. From something as simple as cleaning or clearing out the work area to trying to find additional problems that need to be fixed, you can do quite a lot. And having the repairs done as quickly as possible is in your best interest. We hope this list of 5 tips on how to prepare your home for a plumbing service visit helps you make the process go more smoothly, and we wish you a good day.
