Most people don't think about their plumbing until something breaks. And by then, it's already a mess — literally. Here's a number worth sitting with: the average American household leaks nearly 10,000 gallons of water every year from fixable issues, according to the U.S. EPA. That's water you're paying for and getting nothing from. If you've been putting off maintenance or you're not sure what good plumbing upkeep even looks like, talking to an expert plumber in Glendale is a smart starting point. But there's also a lot you can do yourself — right now, today — to keep your pipes in better shape for longer.
This isn't a list of obvious stuff like "don't flush paper towels." These are real, practical habits that actually make a difference over time.
Why Does Home Plumbing Wear Out So Fast?
Plumbing isn't supposed to be a disposable system, but most of it acts like one.
The pipes in your walls, the valves under your sinks, the water heater in the garage — they're all working every single day. Hot water expands pipes in the morning. Cold water contracts them at night. Pressure fluctuates every time someone flushes a toilet or runs the dishwasher. Over the years, that adds up.
Add in hard water minerals, corrosive soil around buried pipes, and the occasional chemical drain cleaner, and you've got a system that ages faster than it should.
The good news? Most of that wear is preventable. Here's how.
1. Know Where Your Main Shutoff Valve Is
This one's free and takes two minutes. Go find your main water shutoff valve right now if you don't know where it is.
When a pipe bursts or a fixture fails, every second you spend looking for the shutoff is more water dumping into your home. Knowing exactly where it is — and making sure it actually turns — can mean the difference between a minor repair and a major flood.
Test it once a year. Valves that sit unused for years can seize up when you actually need them.
2. Check Your Water Pressure — It's Probably Too High
This is the most overlooked maintenance step in most homes. Water pressure above 80 PSI quietly beats up your pipes, appliances, and fixtures from the inside. Most homeowners have no idea what their pressure is.
A pressure gauge costs about $10 at any hardware store. Attach it to an outdoor spigot and check. The safe range is 40–80 PSI. Anything above that and you're shortening the life of everything your water touches.
If your pressure is too high, a pressure-reducing valve (PRV) can fix it. A plumber installs one in a couple of hours, and it protects your entire system going forward.
3. Deal With Low Water Pressure Before It Gets Worse
On the flip side, low water pressure isn't just annoying — it's a symptom. It usually means something is wrong somewhere in the system: a partial blockage, a failing valve, mineral buildup inside the pipes, or even a slow leak you can't see yet.
A lot of people just live with weak water pressure for years. They adjust their shower expectations and move on. But that pressure drop is telling you something. Ignoring it means the underlying cause keeps getting worse until it becomes a real problem.
4. Stop Using Chemical Drain Cleaners
This one's going to get some pushback, but it's worth saying: liquid drain cleaners like Drano are bad for your pipes. Full stop.
They work by creating a chemical reaction strong enough to dissolve clogs. That same reaction doesn't magically stop at the clog — it keeps going, eating away at pipe walls and joints. In older pipes especially, repeated use of these products causes real damage over time.
A drain snake or a simple plunger handles most clogs without touching the pipe at all. For stubborn ones, call a plumber. It's a cheaper fix than replacing corroded pipes later.
5. Fix Small Leaks Before They Become Big Ones
A dripping faucet isn't just a noise problem. A faucet dripping once per second wastes over 3,000 gallons a year, according to the EPA. That's a real number. And that's just one faucet.
More importantly, small leaks signal wear. A dripping faucet usually means a worn washer or seal — a $5 fix. Left alone, it can damage the faucet body, the cabinet below, and eventually the floor underneath. The repair cost grows at every stage.
Make a habit of checking under sinks every few months. Look for moisture, staining, or soft spots in the cabinet floor. Catching it early is always cheaper.
6. Insulate Pipes in Vulnerable Spots
Attics, garages, crawl spaces, exterior walls — any pipe that runs through an unheated area is at risk when temperatures drop. Even in places like Southern California, a cold snap can freeze an exposed pipe.
Foam pipe insulation is inexpensive and easy to install. You cut it to length and wrap it around the pipe. That's it. It takes maybe 30 minutes for most homes and can prevent a burst pipe that costs thousands to repair.
7. Watch What Goes Down the Drain
This one sounds simple, but most pipe blockages are caused by things that had no business being in the drain in the first place.
Kitchen drains: Grease, cooking oil, and coffee grounds are the three biggest culprits. Grease goes down as liquid and solidifies on cold pipe walls. Over time, it narrows the pipe until nothing flows freely. Pour grease into a jar and throw it in the trash.
Bathroom drains: Hair is the main issue. A $3 drain cover catches it before it gets into the pipe. Wipes — even the ones labeled "flushable" — don't actually break down and cause serious blockages in sewer lines.
8. Flush Your Water Heater Once a Year
Sediment builds up at the bottom of your water heater tank over time. It's just minerals from the water settling out during heating — normal, but problematic if you let it accumulate.
Too much sediment makes the heater work harder, raises your energy bill, and shortens the unit's life. It can also cause the popping or rumbling noise your water heater makes sometimes.
Flushing it takes about 20 minutes. Attach a garden hose to the drain valve at the bottom, run it outside or to a floor drain, and let it empty. Once a year keeps the sediment from taking over.
9. Soften Hard Water If You Have It
Hard water is water with high mineral content — calcium and magnesium mostly. It's not a health issue, but it's a plumbing issue. Those minerals deposit on the inside of pipes and fixtures over time, slowly narrowing the passages and building up on valve seats and aerators.
Most of the Los Angeles area has moderately hard water. If you've noticed white crusty buildup around faucets or showerheads, that's mineral scale. A water softener or a whole-house filter reduces buildup and extends the life of pipes, appliances, and water-using fixtures significantly.
10. Get a Plumbing Inspection Every Few Years
Not every year, necessarily — but every two to three years for an older home is reasonable. A good plumber can catch things you can't see: slow leaks behind walls, corroding joints, early signs of pipe failure.
Think of it like a dental cleaning. You could skip it for years, and nothing obvious would happen. But the decay accumulates quietly until something needs to be pulled. Plumbing works the same way.
For homes in the Glendale and greater LA area with older pipe systems, a plumber in Glendale who knows the local water quality and common pipe ages in the area is worth more than a generalist who's never dealt with a 1960s galvanized system before.
11. Don't Ignore the Toilet
Toilets have a running problem — literally. A toilet that keeps running after a flush is wasting water constantly, sometimes 200 gallons a day, without you noticing. That's because the noise is subtle and easy to tune out.
Drop a few drops of food coloring into the tank. If color shows up in the bowl without flushing, the flapper valve is leaking. It's a $5 part and a 15-minute fix. Do it now instead of paying for it on your next three water bills.
12. Be Careful What You Plant Near Sewer Lines
Tree roots are one of the most common causes of sewer line damage, and most homeowners never connect the two. Roots grow toward moisture. Underground sewer pipes — especially older clay or cast iron ones — have small cracks and joints that leak just enough moisture to attract root growth.
Once roots get in, they expand. They crack the pipe from the inside. By the time you notice slow drains or sewage backup, the damage is already significant.
Before planting trees or large shrubs, check where your sewer line runs. Your local utility company can usually tell you, or a plumber can run a camera through the line to map it out.
13. Replace Old Pipes Before They Fail on Their Own Schedule
Here's the honest one that nobody wants to hear. If your home has galvanized steel pipes from the 1950s or 60s, they are on borrowed time. Same with polybutylene pipes from the 1970s and 80s — a material that was recalled and discontinued because it fails without warning.
Waiting for them to burst means dealing with water damage, mold, and emergency repair costs on top of the pipe replacement. Getting ahead of it — replacing them on your terms, on your timeline — is almost always cheaper and less disruptive.
This is exactly what a full repipe addresses. It's not a fun expense. But it's a one-time fix that solves a long-running problem instead of patching it over and over again.
With or Without Regular Maintenance: What the Numbers Look Like
| Maintenance Habit | With It | Without It |
|---|---|---|
| Water pressure check | PRV installed for ~$300 | Pipe joint failures, appliance damage — $1,000–$5,000+ |
| Annual water heater flush | Unit lasts 12–15 years | Unit fails at 7–8 years — $1,000–$1,500 to replace |
| Fixing dripping faucets | $5–$20 in parts | 3,000+ gallons wasted per year + floor/cabinet damage |
| Avoiding chemical cleaners | Pipes stay intact | Accelerated corrosion in older pipes |
| Sewer line awareness | No root intrusion | Root removal + pipe repair — $3,000–$10,000 |
The pattern here is clear. Maintenance is almost always cheaper than repair. By a lot.
The Bottom Line — And Where Rooter Man Plumbing of Los Angeles Comes In
Most homeowners do zero plumbing maintenance until something fails. That's understandable — it's invisible infrastructure and it usually just works. But "usually" is doing a lot of work in that sentence.
The 13 habits in this list aren't complicated. Most of them cost nothing or close to it. What they require is actually paying attention to a system that keeps your home running every single day.
For the things you can't do yourself — the inspection, the pressure valve, the water heater questions, the "is this pipe actually okay" uncertainty — Rooter Man Plumbing of Los Angeles is the kind of outfit worth keeping in your contacts. They know older LA-area homes. They're not going to tell you everything needs replacing when it doesn't, and they're not going to patch something that genuinely needs more than a patch.
Your plumbing system is one of the few things in your home that, if you take care of it, will take care of you for decades. Start with one thing on this list this week. That's enough to make a difference.
Key Takeaways
- Water pressure above 80 PSI silently damages your entire plumbing system — check it
- Chemical drain cleaners cause real long-term pipe damage; use a snake instead
- Low water pressure is a symptom, not just an annoyance — find the cause
- Flush your water heater once a year to prevent sediment buildup and early failure
- Trees near sewer lines are a hidden risk most homeowners don't think about
- Galvanized and polybutylene pipes don't get better with age — plan ahead
- Regular plumbing inspections catch problems before they become emergencies
Sign in to leave a comment.