The pipes leading into your house make sure you have water to take showers, prepare food, wash dishes, flush the toilet, and so much more. The pipes leading out of your house get rid of all the waste water associated with these activities. If you're like most homeowners, you barely spend a second thinking about your pipes until something goes wrong — like a leak or a clog. But did you know that you're actually supposed to maintain your pipes and associated plumbing elements to prevent issues such as these? Here are the basic plumbing maintenance tasks you should be completing in your home.

1. Cleaning the drains

Don't wait for a drain to clog. By that point, grime has already been building up for a long time. If you clear your drains on a regular basis, you can get the grime out before it becomes thick enough to cause a blockage.

You can clear your drains by simply pouring a pot of boiling water down each one every month. Another option is to use baking soda and vinegar; this foaming solution works well in bathrooms, especially if you have hard water that makes soap scum an issue.

Another option is to have a plumber come hydrojet your drains once a year or so. They'll use high-powered water to blast everything out of the way, leaving you with majorly clean pipes.

2. Checking and lubricating valves

The worst time to find out your valve has seized is when you have a leak and desperately need to shut it. So get in the habit of trying to turn the plumbing valves each month. If they are tough to turn, apply some penetrating oil, let it sit, and try it again. Don't wait to apply oil until they have seized completely. If the valve is seized, call for your local plumbing services to replace it ASAP.

3. Draining the hot water heater

Every few months, turn off the power and gas to the water heater, and drain about a gallon of water out of it, using the bottom drain valve. This will remove any sediment from the tank, which will help prevent the water heater from failing prematurely. 

4. Using and changing lint traps.

Make sure you have a lint trap over the discharge hose for your washing machine! Otherwise, all of that lint will go down the drain and cause clogs. Change the lint trap every one to three months, depending on how much laundry you wash.