If you need professional drain cleaning, have a water heater leak, want tankless water heater installation, or just like knowing things, there’s a lot to know about plumbing service. Read on for seven cool facts about plumbing you probably don’t know!
Plumbing has been around a really long time. Which only makes sense when you think about it. Plumbing is important! The ancient Chinese, Indians, Greeks, Romans, and Persians all had a version of for public baths, waste drainage, and potable water transport.
Most plumbers are male. That stat probably doesn’t shock you, but when people call for professional drain cleaning, nine times out of ten it’s a man who answers the phone. Only 1.1% of plumbers or related professionals are women. Of late there have been lots of targeted campaigns to try to draw more girls into the field, but their general response is pretty clear: we just don’t really want to. Hopefully they’ll change their minds, though, because:
There aren’t nearly enough plumbers for the demand. There’s a shortage of people available to do kitchen sink plumbing, so the Bureau of Labor Statistics thinks we’ll see a hiring spur soon. They’re anticipating hiring increases to go up by 21.3% by 2022, or 82,300 new jobs.
The average home has got a lot of leaks. The trouble is, a lot of them can’t be readily seen. Most people notice slow drainage and will call in professional drain cleaning when needed, but some of these little leaks are happening behind the scenes. Lots of toilets, 20% to 35% actually, have some degree of leakage. The leaks in an average home account for 10,000 gallons of wasted water every year, which is enough to clean 270 loads of laundry.
All those leaks are costing money. If a household calls in a plumbing service and gets those easily corrected leaks fixed, they will, on average, save 10% a year on their water bills. This isn’t surprising considering that one leaky faucet dripping one drip a second is dumping out 3,000 gallons of wasted water every year.
Older isn’t always better, especially in plumbing. If you’ve had to call in professional drain cleaning lately, you might be aware of the warning signs that there is a sewer line issue. If a sewer is even 40 years old, it’s probably time for it to be replaced. There are also new trenchless sewer lines and methods that came into use for residential plumbing a decade ago or so. A lot of people don’t know they’re an option, though.
Trees are the biggest sewer line assassins for older homes. All kinds of things can damage the sewer line, from accidents to age. Acts of nature love to get in there and wreak some havoc, too. But for homes built before the 1970s the most common reason their sewer lines get damaged is tree roots bashing into the pipe joints.
There are lots of reasons you might need to call a plumber, from installing a water heater to getting professional drain cleaning service. Thankfully, plumbers are there and have been there for us since ancient times. So don’t hesitate: call and get those leaks checked out before you waste another gallon!
