The plumbing in your home is something you might take for granted until it’s no longer working as it should be. Your plumbing is used for a wide variety of reasons, whether it’s making your toilet flush properly or having hot water for your showers. As a homeowner, there are several things you should know about your home’s plumbing system to adequately care for it and to know when something goes wrong.

We’ll list those things in this blog post, but for when things get out of your control or when you need the help of a professional plumber, you can always count on Vegas Valley Plumbing in the greater Las Vegas, Nevada area for any of your plumbing services. Our experienced plumbing contractors are trained in water heater installation and repair, they can help with water filtration issues, and they also specialize in emergency plumbing, sewer repair and replacement and more! Contact us today to schedule your next appointment.

Here are some common things you should know about your home’s plumbing system for a basic understanding of what exactly it does.

Know What Your Various Systems Are

As a homeowner, you expect cold water to come out of your kitchen sink when you turn the “Cold” switch and you expect your bathtub to drain with ease when you’re done using it. But did you know there are four different systems installed in your home that are related to plumbing, and what each of those four does for the plumbing in your home?

Here’s the basic breakdown of your home’s cold water, hot water, drainage and gas systems:

• Cold Water System: This is the system that sends cold water to all the fixtures in your home that require cold water, such as your toilets, any outside faucets, or even your indoor sinks and showers when relevant. A line of this system is directly connected to the hot water heater of your home’s plumbing system.
• Hot Water System: This is the system that sends hot water to all the fixtures in your home that require hot water, such as your shower, bathtub, washing machine, dishwasher or sinks. Like mentioned above, it often runs parallel to the line of your cold water system.
• Drainage System: This is the system that removes any debris, waste or unused water from your home, making it one of the most important parts of your plumbing system. Gravity forces any water that goes unused into your home’s pipes, and from there, the wastewater is connected to your city’s sewer line or into your home’s septic tank.
• Gas System: Though this system isn’t entirely apart of your plumbing system specifically, it brings gas to plumbing-related appliances, such as a tankless water heater.

Each of these systems plays a role in your home’s plumbing, which is why you should have a general understanding of what each one does. For when any of these goes wrong, you can trust the plumbing services at Vegas Valley Plumbing.

Important Things To Be Able To Locate

It happens more often than you think — a homeowner runs into a plumbing emergency and he or she has no idea where to even begin to look for the root of the problem. Here are the important things related to your home’s plumbing system that you should be able to locate in case of an emergency.

• The main water valve in your house, for when there are leaks or other plumbing emergencies directly related to the interior of your home.
• The main water valve outside your house, for when leaks occur to the water sources outside of your home.
• The main valves to the appliances directly tied to the water source in your house. If you know where the main valves are to the sinks, toilets and bathtubs in your home, you won’t have to entirely shut off your home’s water supply when there’s a leak or a plumbing emergency.

Ask your plumber where these items are located in your home if you’re unsure, or do some exploring as soon as you move into your home. If you know where to locate these items in your home, you’ll be able to temporarily fix your plumbing problem until our plumbers at Vegas Valley Plumbing can get to it.

Beware Of These Items

There are several items you should definitely keep out of your home’s plumbing system in order to preserve and maintain your pipes in their top-notch condition. Below, we’ve listed a few of many things that can cause your home’s plumbing trouble if you’re not careful:

• Hair. In excessive amounts, hair can clog your home’s pipes.
• Baby wipes and other non-flushable items.
• Coffee grounds.
• Grease and oil.
• Harsh/hazardous chemicals.
• Pretty much anything that isn’t organic. Use common sense. Cigarette butts and silverware shouldn’t go down your garbage disposal.

Choose Vegas Valley Plumbing For Your Plumbing Services

At Vegas Valley Plumbing, our high-quality plumbing services always exceed our customers’’ expectations — check out our online testimonials here. If you’re in the greater Las Vegas community and you’re in search of a plumber you can trust, reach out to our team. We provide a variety of plumbing services, ranging from water heater repair to emergency plumbing services.

For additional information or more specific questions, contact Vegas Valley Plumbing today by calling (702) 886-2485 or by filling out our online form. Also keep in mind that we provide our first-time customers with free plumbing estimates, so you don’t have to think twice about calling us with your plumbing needs.