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Summer Plumbing Maintenance Tips

The onset of summer feels like a good break from the extreme cold of Canadian winters. Being the hottest of the four moderate seasons in Canada, summer means family vacation, time for fun, long days-short nights and a lot of outdoor activities.

While we try our best to make the best of these months, we shouldn’t forget all about the drastic seasonal change and the different kind of pressure on our plumbing system. Hence, it’s essential to look after our home’s plumbing system during the hot months of the year.

Take a close look at some of the most important tips that you should bear in mind during the hotter days, and your home plumbing arrangement will be equipped to face whatever the season brings.

Have Your Sprinklers Checked

Tough Canadian winters are usually capable of spoiling our home sprinkler systems by causing cracks and leakages, which consequently results in water waste. It’s most important to check all of your home’s outdoor sprinklers for leaks, rust, and misdirection right at the start of the summer. Have them repaired as early as possible to avoid wasting too much water and money later on.

Child-Friendly Home Plumbing Fittings

Summer is synonymous with summer holidays and no school. Having your kids around at home all day stresses on the fact that your home will need an updated and better functioning plumbing system. To avoid plumbing-related trouble, ensure your children are aware of all the home plumbing don’ts:

  • You are not allowed to put oil/grease down the garbage disposal
  • Know the things that you shouldn’t flush down the toilet
  • Always remember to switch the fan while showering to prevent mold growth

The above-mentioned rules could save you from a huge plumbing hassle.

Summer plumbing Tips

Avoid Heating Water Unnecessarily

Are you going away for the summer? If yes, give your home water heater a break and help yourself by saving money on your bills. Just lower the temperature of your water heater before you set out on your vacation. You are anyway not going to need your home’s hot water while you are away from home.

Garden and Plant Cautiously

Summer is the ideal time to get more involved in outside activities and do some gardening. However, it is important to be careful while you are digging in your yard or garden. Your home lawns and gardens usually have gas and sewer lines under the ground. Before you begin gardening, it’s essential you know where your gas and sewer lines are.  Be cautious if you are planting trees because tree roots can even grow into and penetrate sewer lines.

Double Check Your Dishwasher and Washing Machine Connections

There is a high possibility that you might end up using your home appliances a whole lot more than usual. Summers are usually busy, and we do a lot of dishes and wash a lot of clothing. So, as soon as it starts getting warm, ensure your home appliances like the dishwasher and the washing machine are suitably hooked up. Before the trouble of leakages even show up, you can fix it in advance and ahead of time.

Keep a Check on Gas Lines

Summer brings along the opportunity to stay outdoors. There is a noticeable hike on gas leaks, particularly near outdoor grills. Therefore, it is crucial to do regular checks and perform a sniff test close to gas lines. This will assist in finding bigger leaks. Leaks that are smaller can be detected easily by placing a small dish detergent on a gas line gasket. You will know gas is escaping if you observe bubbles forming.

Examine Your Home’s Sewer System

Servicing your sewer systems before any new season can help you in getting rid of impending plumbing problems and emergencies. Along with summer, come showers and thunderstorms. During this time sewer pipes can get excessive rain through cracks, which can then cause a sewer backup. It’s better if you install a drain pump in each drain as a precaution from backing up.

Avoid Having a Clogged Toilet

During the vacation time, we usually have more people at home. With friends and family coming over all the time, the number of times we use the toilet increases, hence, increasing the chances of a clog.

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Just follow these simple steps for your summer plumbing maintenance and make your summer easier and a lot more enjoyable. If you are not able to resolve some of the plumbing issues without the help of a plumber, contact DrainCom for its professional plumbing services to make sure the problems are managed at the earliest. We will assist you to make the most of this beautiful warm weather.

Importance of Preventing Mold Growth in Your Bathroom

Mold growth is highly prevalent in home bathrooms. Mold loves our bathrooms, and this is because bathrooms present an ideal circumstance for mold growth of different types. Bathrooms are compact, small and due to its functionality, always damp.

Just like any other type of fungus, mold requires a particular environment to foster in – a dark and warm place with sufficient oxygen (also means humidity and moisture), mold food (drywall of your bathroom to the cotton in your towels) and mold spores. It may seem impossible to get rid of mold from your bathroom, but if you can control the moisture and humidity levels in your lavatories, you would be able to successfully eradicate mold.

We already know about the causes of bathroom mold growth and the different ways to remove and avert it. The most integral thing that we generally skip talking about is why we shouldn’t allow mold to grow in our homes.

We shouldn’t even wonder why it is important to clean the fungus out of the home. Not only does it make your home look hideous and untidy, but it also comes along with severe health effects. Mold growth in homes just doesn’t affect the aesthetics of the house, it can have serious implications on your health and your family’s.

The most prevalent ill-effect of mold growth in your house is allergies because mold produces allergens that cause sneezing, coughing, rubbing your eyes and generally being miserable. Besides these, mold can have some more serious side effects such as aggravated Asthma symptoms, respiratory infections, skin irritation, health problems for children and so on.

Take a close look at some of the main reasons why mold removal from your home bathroom is absolutely necessary:

Molds can be Poisonous

There are three common types of house molds such as aspergillus, cladosporium and stachybotrys atra (black mold). Most prevalent of the three, Aspergillus very often worsens allergic reactions, Cladosporium is the least hazardous but causes sore throats, watery eyes, and other irritations. Black mould (Stachybotrys Atra) is the most dangerous as black mold spores cause serious health problems – allergic reactions & disease and sometimes, internal bleeding.

mold in bathroom

Adversely Affects Mental Health

The American Journal of Public Health conducted a study that stated living in a moldy home has a negative effect on mental health. It poses 34-44% higher risk for depression among people living in moldy homes than others who live in mold free homes. Individuals in moldy homes suffer from anguish and a lack of energy.

Negative Impact of Children’s Health

Congestion, respiratory problems, coughing, throat irritation and sneezing are some of the common symptoms of mold exposure. Studies show that children exposed to mold growth can possibly develop respiratory diseases (like Asthma) for a lifetime. In some extreme cases, it may result in infections in the sinuses, lungs, and skin.

Molds Are Not Pet-Friendly

Molds can be seriously dangerous to household pets. Even a minor exposure to mold spore mycotoxins can cause them to suffer from mold poisoning. Some of the symptoms of mold poisoning are respiratory suffering, coughing, wheezing, vomiting, and bleeding from mucous membranes. If your pet doesn’t get timely treatment, the situation can get far worse and result in a serious problem or may prove fatal. If you find out your pet has mold poisoning, ensure to take them to a vet immediately and get rid of the mold as quickly as possible.

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It is absolutely alright if all this information scares you. But, fortunately, there is a solution to such problems. The most prevalent reasons for mold growth in bathrooms are hidden leakages and unsuitable ventilation. The plumbing and bathroom repair experts at DrainCom are professionals in fixing both the above problems. Call us today and turn your home mold-free. Say a firm no to molds! The DrainCom team is more than happy to help keep you and your family healthy and safe.

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