32 plumbing social media post ideas, by job and by month

Phone photo: the split in the old supply line, held next to the new braided one, with the shutoff valve in the frame. Keep the customer's floor and any family photos out of the shot. Caption starter: "This line failed at the crimp, not at the fitting. We shut the water, cut the bad section, and put a braided line back in its place."

Phone photo: the root mass or grease plug pulled from the line, laid on a drop cloth beside the cleanout, the drain machine in the background. Keep house numbers and the customer out of frame. Caption starter: "The main was backing up because of this. Pulled it, cleared it, and ran a camera to confirm the line is open."

Phone photo: the failed heating element or the dead thermostat with your meter on it, next to the new part, before the cover goes back on. Keep the breaker label legible only as far as what it feeds, nothing identifying. Caption starter: "No hot water this morning turned out to be a failed lower element. Swapped it, and the tank was back to temperature in an hour."

Phone photo: the old valve in your hand with the handle snapped or the stem corroded, beside the new ball valve, the pipe ends capped in the background. Keep the customer out of frame and any address label out. Caption starter: "The shutoff under this sink had not been turned in years, and when it mattered it would not close. A ball valve went in, and now the water can actually be stopped."

Phone photo: the stoppage point once the line is open, or the rag and wipes that came out of the cleanout, shown on a tarp outside. Keep any interior mess out of the shot, and never show the customer. Caption starter: "A sewer backup is the call nobody wants to make. We found the blockage, cleared it, and flushed the line clean before it reached the living space."

Phone photo: the old flapper and fill valve laid out beside the new ones, the tank lid off in the background so the inside of the tank is visible. Keep the customer out of the shot. Caption starter: "A toilet that runs all night is usually a worn flapper or a failing fill valve. Rebuilt the whole tank in twenty minutes, and the water bill gets a break."

Phone photo: the old disposal on the floor beside the new one, the wrench still in the mounting ring, shot under the sink with a work light. Keep the cabinet contents out of frame. Caption starter: "The old disposal was ten years old and locked solid. New one is in, wired, and quieter than the dishwasher. If yours hums but will not turn, the reset button is under the unit."

Phone photo: the corroded old angle stop in your hand beside the new quarter-turn one, a towel on the floor catching the last drops. Keep the wall and floor clean enough to read. Caption starter: "A slow drip behind the toilet rots the subfloor before you ever see it. This angle stop had been weeping for months. A quarter-turn stop is in, and the floor stays dry."

Phone photo: the arrestor installed on the washing machine valve, or the old fitting beside the new one, with the supply line in frame. Keep the customer's laundry out of the shot. Caption starter: "That bang when the washing machine shuts off is water hammer, and it rattles every joint in the wall. An arrestor absorbs the shock, and the pipes run quiet."

Phone photo: the camera screen showing the break or the bellied section, with the depth reading visible, the monitor set on a drop cloth. Keep the customer and the house exterior out of frame. Caption starter: "The drain kept slowing every few weeks, and the snake kept coming back clean. The camera showed a belly in the line holding water. Now we know exactly where to dig, instead of guessing."

Phone photo: the old tank on the curb next to the new wall-mounted tankless, or the empty space where the tank stood with the new unit above it. Keep the customer out of frame. Caption starter: "The old tank was fifteen years old and on its second element. The new tankless hangs on the wall where the tank used to stand, and the water heats on demand instead of sitting all day."

Phone photo: the new softener in place with the bypass valve, beside the old one or the empty hookup, the salt bag in the foreground. Keep the customer out of frame. Caption starter: "Hard water was scaling the fixtures and eating the water heater. The old softener had been unplugged for a year. The new one is plumbed in, the bypass is set, and the scale finally stops."

Phone photo: the old corroded copper with the pinhole in it, laid beside a coil of new PEX, on the bench or the tailgate. Keep the customer out of frame. Caption starter: "The house had a third pinhole leak in two years, so the copper had to go. We repiped the supply lines in PEX in a day, and the water runs clean and quiet."

Phone photo: the new pump in the pit with the backup battery on the wall beside it, the old pump sitting on the floor. Keep the customer out of frame. Caption starter: "The old pump was single and the pit filled during the last storm. A new primary pump and a battery backup are in, so the basement stays dry even when the power goes out with the rain."

Phone photo: the new supply lines and drain stubbed out of the wall or floor, the fitting layout visible, before the drywall goes up. Keep any identifying paperwork out of frame. Caption starter: "This is the part nobody sees after the tile goes in: the supply lines and drain stubbed out, level, and pressure-tested before the walls close over them."

Phone photo: the anode rod pulled from the tank, the sacrificial metal eaten down, beside a new rod, on a drop cloth. Keep the customer out of frame. Caption starter: "This rod is the part that rusts so your tank does not. Pulled it on a maintenance visit, saw it was nearly spent, and put a new one in before the tank started eating itself."

Phone photo: a clear bucket of the flushed sediment, the hose running to a drain, the tank in the background. Keep the customer out of frame. Caption starter: "A water heater that never gets flushed builds up sediment that pops and bangs when it heats. This is what came out of a tank we flush on the plan. The noise stops, and the tank lasts longer."

Phone photo: the main shutoff valve being turned, a hand on the handle, the meter in frame with no numbers legible. Keep the customer out of frame. Caption starter: "The most important valve in the house is the one that stops everything, and most people have never touched it. We turn it once a year on a maintenance visit so it actually turns when it matters."

Phone photo: the backflow preventer with the test gauge attached, the tag or sticker visible, the device mounted on the wall or at the meter. Keep the customer out of frame. Caption starter: "A backflow preventer keeps irrigation water from flowing back into the drinking supply, and it has to be tested every year to stay certified. This one passed."

Phone photo: a hose bib being turned by hand, or the braided supply lines under a sink being inspected, one line held up to the light. Keep the customer out of frame. Caption starter: "A maintenance visit checks every hose bib and every supply line in the house, because those are the parts that fail quietly and flood a room while nobody is home."

Phone photo: a checklist written on the shop notepad, or the water heater and the shutoff valve side by side, the items ticked off. Keep anything personal out of frame. Caption starter: "New year, same pipes. Five things to check in January: the water heater age, the shutoff valves, the supply lines under the sinks, the sump pump, and the hose bibs."

Phone photo: a supply line or a p-trap with a drip under it, a paper towel beneath to show the leak, or your finger pointing at the dripped fitting. Keep the customer out of frame. Caption starter: "February is the month small leaks show themselves. Walk the house and check under every sink, behind the toilet, and around the water heater. A drip you find now is cheaper than the one that finds you."

Phone photo: the crew or the truck with the doors open and the tools laid out, on the 11th. Keep the customer out of frame. Caption starter: "March 11 is World Plumbing Day, which is as good a day as any to say it: clean water and working drains are the quiet plumbing that keeps a house healthy. That is what we do all year."

Phone photo: a slow drain being cleared, or the hair and buildup pulled from a p-trap, laid on a towel. Keep the customer out of frame. Caption starter: "April is a good month to deep-clean the drains before the heavy-use months arrive. Pull the p-traps, clear the slow ones, and run hot water through the kitchen line. Slow drains are the only kind that get worse on their own."

Phone photo: a hose bib being turned on slowly, a hand on the handle, the hose attached but not yet spraying. Keep the customer out of frame. Caption starter: "First time turning the hose bib on this year? Go slow, and check where the bib meets the wall. A freeze crack there only shows itself once the water is back on."

Phone photo: the main shutoff being turned, or the washing machine hoses being disconnected, a hand on the valve. Keep the customer out of frame. Caption starter: "Leaving town? Turn off the washing machine supply lines and the main if you can. The leak that happens while the house is empty is the one that costs the most."

Phone photo: an outdoor spigot running into a bucket, or the irrigation backflow preventer with the test tag on it. Keep the customer out of frame. Caption starter: "July is when the outdoor water runs all month. Check the spigots for drips and the irrigation backflow for its test date, because the water that goes to the lawn should never come back into the house."

Phone photo: the water heater with its age label visible, or a shower head and a washing machine in the same frame, the point being two things at once. Keep the customer out of frame. Caption starter: "When school starts, the morning rush hits the water heater all at once: showers, breakfast, laundry. If the tank is over ten years old, this is the month it shows."

Phone photo: a water meter reading with the numbers legible, or a notepad with the reading written down next to the meter. Keep the customer out of frame. Caption starter: "A water-use audit is one reading, twice, a week apart. If the number climbs while nobody is home, something is leaking. September is a good month to take the first reading."

Phone photo: a hose being unscrewed from the bib, the bib drained, the hose coiled on the ground. Keep the customer out of frame. Caption starter: "Before the first hard freeze, disconnect the hoses and drain the bibs. A hose left on holds water against the valve, and that water freezes and cracks the pipe inside the wall."

Phone photo: a plate of potato peels and celery strings beside the disposal, or your hand pointing at the disposal with the cover off. Keep the customer out of frame. Caption starter: "Thanksgiving is the day the disposal meets its match. No potato peels, no celery strings, no bones, no grease. Run cold water before and after, and let the water carry it down."

Phone photo: the water heater with the temperature dial visible, or a shower head with a bucket under it, or the tank with a note about its age. Keep the customer out of frame. Caption starter: "A house full of guests means the water heater works triple shifts. Turn the tank up a notch, stagger the showers, and if the tank is old, this is the week it quits."