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As professional Leander and Cedar Park plumbers, we frequently deal with homeowners, but we also deal with renters and to be honest, we’ve noticed a difference between the two. While this isn’t absolute in all cases, homeowners tend to be more conscious of their plumbing and most of all maintaining it than renters.

While some renters are great, a lot of them have never owned a home before, and they don’t put much thought into their plumbing. Not only that, but they know that if a plumbing problem arises, all they have to do is put in a call to their landlord and a plumber will be sent to the residence. Often, it’s the landlord who has to pick up the tab.

Landlords are motivated to resolve plumbing issues quickly because they know that a leaky shower head can lead to mold, and a leaking toilet can lead to damaged flooring, and leaking pipes under a kitchen sink can lead to water damage – these are all costly so it’s better to fix an issue promptly, before it turns into a bigger, more expensive problem.

Why Renters Are Often Different

Since homeowners don’t have anyone to pay for their plumbing but themselves, they’re usually proactive about their plumbing. They’ll research “how to load the dishwasher right” as to maximize efficiency, and they’ll learn what not to put down the garbage disposal and the toilet.

Homeowners go out of their way to properly maintain their plumbing, whereas renters…not so much. This isn’t necessarily because renters don’t care about maintaining a home, but they just haven’t taken the time to learn how to take care of their plumbing. It’s just not something most renters think about.

While taking care of carpets and walls are a priority, renters may not understand how the plumbing works. So, in effect, they fail to properly maintain the plumbing. As any landlord can attest, most plumbing emergencies are preventable!

If you’re a landlord, obviously, passive income is great, but saving money on plumbing calls is too! What can you do to get your renters to start taking better care of the indoor plumbing?

Here are a few actionable tips:
  • Educate your renters about plumbing. You can type up an easy-to-read word document giving instructions on what not to grind in the garbage disposal, what not to flush down the toilet, and how to clear drain and toilet clogs with a plunger etc.
  • In the residential lease, you can include a provision that says the renter is responsible for the first $50 or $60 of the plumber’s service call. This should encourage renters to take better care of the plumbing.
  • You can assemble a handy plumbing kit, complete with a sink plunger, a toilet plunger, a $3 Zip-It tool, and hair screens for the bathroom sinks and bathtubs. Throw in the “plumbing tips” word document you created and your $25 investment can save you a small fortune in plumbing problems.

In our experience, most renters abuse their plumbing because they’re uneducated about how to take care of it. With a little effort on your part, you can have some peace of mind knowing that your renter should take better care of your property from here on out.

If you need plumbing services in Cedar Park or Leander, contact Excalibur Plumbing today!