Barry Jolly is a graduate of Northern Kentucky University, with a bachelors degree in business management. As the owner of Jolly Plumbing in Wilder, Kentucky, Jolly has won numerous awards of his expertise in the plumbing industry. Here, he explains what homeowners should do to make sure their pipes are functioning properly.

If you own an older home, youll need to give your plumbing system a little TLC to keep it in proper working order. Obviously, it takes more work to maintain the pipes in an older home than it does in a home that was recently built. But you can still take some steps with the help of your plumbers to keep your systems in good shape.

Root Infiltration
In some older homes, the sewer lines tend to get a lot of root infiltration, where the roots of the trees are getting into the pipes underground and causing major problems. Spotting and fixing the problems like this can be difficult for a homeowner without much experience. Luckily, many plumbing companies, including my own, offer maintenance programs that can benefit clients in these types of situations.

An Annual Inspection
Whether you live in a new or old home, you should maintain your plumbing systems prefectly and head off problems. Its a good idea to sign up for an annual maintenance program with your plumbing company or make sure to get an annual inspection for your system. As far as interior piping and your water supply lines are concerned, you should also properly maintain them. The best way to make sure they are running smoothly is not to put things like fat, grease, or food down into your sink drain.

Galvanized Pipes
If you have copper pipes or PVC piping in your house already, youre lucky because little to no maintenance is required on those types of lines. A lot of the older homes have galvanized piping that easily gets clogged up and brings down your water pressure. But this issue could be easily caught and fixed if you schedule an annual maintenance checkup. If it gets to the point where the galvanized pipes in an older home cant be fixed anymore, the next step is to replace them with copper or plastic ones. And that can be a big job, which is why I would much rather someone take good care of the pipes he has to begin with. For most houses, replacing galvanized pipes completely can be a one- or two-day job that will cost from $2,000 to $4,000 in total.

By looking at the water pressure thats coming out of your faucets and showerheads, you will know if you need to replace your pipes. For most people, when they are taking a shower and the water feels weak; or if someone flushes the toilet while the shower is running, and it brings the water level way down, that is a big sign that a total pipe replacement is going to be needed.

Hiring Professionals
The best way to maintain pipes, whether its your sewer pipes or water lines, is just to pay attention to what is going on inside your house and how everything is working. Once piping issues come up, they dont quit on their own. But as long as you take care of things as they happen, stay on the lookout for new problems that are cropping up, and make sure to call for a maintenance visit from your plumber once a year to have a professional look around, you can rest assured that you are doing what you can do to protect and maintain your pipes properly.

At Jolly Plumbing, our maintenance plan members get an annual checkup on all the systems and lines that is performed by someone on our experienced team. During the annual maintenance inspection, a lot of problems like leaches and small breaks are first noticed. Not only do we look for problems that have already come up, but we also head off problems before they begin. So rather than just waiting for a break to happen and then repairing it, we will be proactive and clean out the homeowners sewer line with one of our cable-type machines.

Barry Jolly is a writer for Yodle, a business directory and online advertising company. Find a plumber or more plumbing articles at Yodle Local.