November is one of those months when everybody starts looking ahead.
Thanksgiving is coming. Christmas isn’t far behind it. Family may be coming into town, somebody’s staying in the guest room, meals are being planned, and before long every bathroom, sink, shower and appliance in the house seems to be working overtime.
That’s why I tell folks November is a good month to slow down for just a minute and look around the house before December gets here.
Not because I want you looking for trouble. I want you to keep trouble from finding you.
In the plumbing business, there are a couple of things we hear all the time after a problem happens:
“Could this have been avoided?”
And, “I wish I had known that before.”
Sometimes the answer is no. Pipes can break. Water heaters can fail. Things wear out. But plenty of plumbing problems give you a little warning before they become a big problem.
Start With the Places You Don’t Use
That guest bathroom that hasn’t seen much action since last Christmas? Go turn the water on. Flush the toilet. Run the shower. Look underneath the sink.
Have a basement bathroom, utility sink, wet bar or laundry area that mostly gets ignored? Give it a look too.
Those unused spaces can be some of the biggest hazard zones in a home because nobody is in there every day noticing a slow drip, a little moisture, a toilet that keeps running or a drain that isn’t moving quite like it should.
Then check the hardworking areas.
Is the kitchen sink draining slower than it used to? Is a toilet rocking a little when you sit down? Have you noticed water around the base of the water heater? Any stains on a wall or ceiling? A faucet that never quite stops dripping?
None of those things automatically means you have a major problem. But they are your house’s way of tapping you on the shoulder and saying, “You may want to look at this.” And November is a much better time to listen than Christmas Eve.
Remember, Your House Is About to Get Busier
When guests arrive, your plumbing system suddenly gets a workout.
More showers. More laundry. More dishes. More toilet flushes. More cooking. More everything.
A small issue that hasn’t bothered two people living in a house can become a much bigger issue when eight or ten people show up for the weekend.
If you see something that concerns you, have a licensed plumber take a look before the holiday rush. At Turner Plumbing, we believe in doing the job right, not cutting corners, and helping people protect their homes before a repair becomes a crisis.
That matters to me because when somebody calls us with water running through a ceiling or a house full of family and no working hot water, that’s not just a plumbing problem anymore.
It’s somebody’s home. It’s their holiday. It’s their peace of mind.
You can’t prevent everything. But you can walk through your home this November, pay attention to what it’s telling you and take care of the little things before they become big ones.
Do that, and you just might come out of November with no problems at all.
And that’s the kind of December I’d wish for anybody.
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