You are out of town and your neighbor calls you to tell you he cut your water off for you because water was pouring from your front door. Things start racing through your mind.

It happens all of the time and you had better be smart and perform the necessary preventive maintenance so it does not happen to you. The number one plumbing emergency is probably broken ice maker lines and they cause millions of dollars of damage to homes every year.

Excessive water pressure is usually  the underlying cause of that and it can easily be prevented by just keeping a watchful eye on that water heater,or toilet that is not working like it used to.

Common signs of pressure problems include toilets not shutting off or showers leaking after the valves are closed. A pressure reducing valve is a necessary component in a plumbing system and if not properly maintained it will lead to the plumbing emergency I described above.

Call your plumber to check your pressure if you see or hear these signs, and you will save thousands of dollars and many headaches in the long run by being a smart homeowner and doing the maintenance that is necessary to protect your family and your biggest investment,your house.

Believe it or not another common cause of ice maker line floods is rats looking for water. They love plastic ice maker lines and will chew through one in no time flat.

Saddle valves are also a problem when the rubber gasket starts to break down they will leak like a sieve. We prefer to hard pipe ice maker lines and use soft copper to connect to the ice maker or refrigerator. Yes, it may cost a little more but I certainly wouldn’t want it any other way.  I feel that peace of mind is important.

There are several different ways to protect yourself from a mishap related to your plumbing and a good plumber will show you the different products on the market available to do just that.

Anti-flood ice maker lines can be purchased that will shut off the water if the volume is more than is required to make ice. There are several devices on the market that have sensors that can be placed in common areas of the home prone to plumbing leaks that will shut your water off at the source immediately,reducing the amount of damage that can be caused by such an event.

Water heater failure causes many leaks as well,and with a pan in place underneath the heater that drains to the exterior of the house you can add better protection to your home. Most plumbing codes require a pan under water heaters on the second floor of a home,but many homeowners opt out for a cheap plumbing job by a handyman service or an inexperienced relative and pay the price later on.

Keep your plumbing in good working order from a professional plumbing contractor and your wallet will thank you for it in the long run.  You can take that to the bank.