There is little doubt that owning a home can cost you money. While you have thought ahead about the mortgage cost and the electric bill and the plumbing bill, it might shock you to know that there are many alterations and repairs necessary in a home that require a great deal of money; small at first, but then it adds up.
There are three main kinds of expenses when it comes to your home: the plumbing system, the HVAC system, and general repairs. Here is a breakdown of those three in order in which they were written.
The Plumbing System
The plumbing system is the snake that winds through your home, depositing and removing water into your bathtub, your sink, your shower, your toilet. The plumbing system serves that all important purpose of taking care of your waste when you are finished using the bathroom. It helps you become clean, through a bathtub or shower. It helps to wash your dishes.
There are some very important statistics about plumbing:
- The average household’s leaks can account for 10,000 gallons of water wasted each year
- Fixing easily correctable household plumbing problems can save a homeowner about 10% on their water bills every year
- A shower head that takes 10 drips per minute wastes about 500 gallons of more per year
- Roughly 30% of the water used in your home is used to flush the toilet
This all goes without saying–your plumbing is important. However, there are a few common problems that come up with plumbing that every homeowner should know about–most notably, the clogged drain.
The clogged drain is the nemesis of all good things in a plumbing system. A clogged drain can have ramifications far beyond the range of the pipe that is considered. For instance, a clogged kitchen drain can have ramifications in the master bathroom and the master bathroom drain can have ramifications in the hallway bathroom.
They can be caused by a lot of factors. Some are obvious and some are not. First, always take care of those disposable wipes. Even though some of the labels say they are disposable, always check to make sure that they are disposing and disintegrating in the pipe. Some don’t and they can cause water to clog.
Always clean your shower drains to make sure they are clear of hair. Hair has a tendency to clump and tangle together, causing a back up of water into the shower itself. This is a particularly big issue, as the flooding on the shower floor can spread into the bathroom and then into the outer area, ruining carpet.
During winter, always be concerned about pouring vegetable oil and other cooking oils (grease) down the drains. This can cause the liquid to harden during the winter cold and become more solid in the pipe, leading to back-ups in which the person responsible will have to call a plumber.
The next part of the sequence is the Heating-Ventilation-Air Conditioning System. This system has a lot of juice and will use a lot of electricity, so be prepared for the energy bill that this system accounts for every day, week, month, and year. There are also maintenance concerns: Different parts may give out, causing problems.
One issue with the air conditioning system is if the blades break on the system outside. Although it is possible that many houses still have air conditioning units mounted on their windows, it is more than likely in today’s society to have backdoor air conditioners, such as the kind seen in suburban homes.
They can break, causing problems.
Whenever you’re having a situation in a home, think about looking into residential generators. Residential generators or electric generators provide power during difficult times when your overall power goes out. This can occur during storms or when your city power has a brown spot.
There are many types of electric generators. Some of the types of electric generators require a great amount of power to be used; other types of electric generators are of a certain price range; some types of electric generators might be lower while other types of electric generators might be higher.
A company who works with electric generators can help with generator installation and general generator services. They can help you with your generator needs.