Plumbing is a crucial aspect of any home’s functioning. There may be times, though, when your plumbing system needs work and you can’t afford to call a professional, or you don’t have time to sit at home and wait for one. The tips provided below will teach you some great ways in which you can easily handle issues with the plumbing in your home.
To prevent pipes in your house from freezing, do not let the temperature in the house dip below freezing. Also, any pipes exposed to the cold should be insulated. It is easy for pipes to freeze whenever the mean temperature near the pipes drop below freezing. If they do freeze, you are looking at some time before they can thaw out, thus you will have to wait for running water. However, frozen pipes commonly break or crack pipes, leading to flooding and costly repairs.
You need to know your plumbing tools as well as how they are used so your plumbing efforts are always positive. Read every manual, and use the Internet and library to research the projects that you plan on doing. When planning on repairs, plan on having a plan.
You don’t want to end up with frozen pipes, so take preventive action, such as wrapping outside pipes with insulation, and keeping indoor temperatures above freezing at all times. Pipes will begin to freeze as soon as they reach freezing temperatures. The best result you can hope for from frozen pipes is to be without water until the pipes thaw. They could also burst costing you a lot of money and repairs.
You should avoid using blue toilet tablets, bleach tablets or any other odor removers in your toilet. They can clean the bowl and remove odors, but they also damage the soft plastic and rubber parts in and around your toilet.
If your toilet’s water level is low, the toilet is clogged up, and using a plunger isn’t resolving the issue, hold a bucket filled with warm water at about your waistline, and pour it into your toilet. Do this every time the water level gets too low.
Keep a strainer over every drain in your house to prevent stray debris from clogging your pipes. Clean your kitchen strainer often, particularly if you can see debris accumulating. Bathtub drains should be cleaned regularly as well.
Do not pay your plumber until they finish the job. Sometimes plumbers will request a cash deposit before any work can commence; however, you avoid paying the total bill until the whole job has been finished to your satisfaction. This ensures that the plumber will not abandon the job midway, and will also care about the quality of their work more.
Keep your garbage disposal clean and it will last longer. By utilizing a routine on a regular basis, using the combination of lemon rinds, cherry pits, and dish soap, you can maintain a disposal that runs great and smells like new.
If you have multiple plumbing problems, schedule all of them to be fixed together. You may be tempted to call a professional plumber if you have any minor issues, but saving your plumbing issues for one time can let you put that money back into repairs. It also saves you money because a lot of plumbers charge by the hour–they cannot charge for multiple hours every trip if they only make one trip out.
Use baking soda and one cup of vinegar per month to keep the bathtub drain clear and running well. This will cause a chemical reaction to occur and you should plug the drain. After about 10 minutes you can flush the pipes out with boiling water. Although this is useful for clearing away simple clogs made of hair and soap debris, it will not work for serious blockages.
Check your floors for softness around toilets, so that you can ascertain if there is any floor damage. Straddle your toilet and gently rock foot to foot to see if your floor feels a little weak or soft. You can wind up saving your money simply by noticing the problem early on.
Garbage Disposal
Use cold water when using your garbage disposal. The cold water helps the blades that are inside stay sharp, and will keep your disposal running smoothly. Don’t use hot water while running the garbage disposal. Hot water converts the grease in your trash to liquid form. When the liquified grease goes down the drain, it clogs the pipes.
Don’t throw trash down your toilet. Doing so can clog the drain and cause plumbing problems. Under no circumstances flush cotton balls or swabs, paper towels, diapers, sanitary pads or other materials that will not dissolve. These items can cause major clogs. Use the least amount of toilet paper that you can; use just as much as necessary to properly clean yourself.
Don’t put things like fat, oil or grease down your drains. These substances will create clogs after cooling in your drain. If the sink has a garbage disposal, it will also make the blades less efficient. See to it that you dispose the oils away from your sink.
Frozen pipes can lead to a large plumbing bill. Fortunately, such damage is easy to prevent. First, ensure that all outside pipes have sufficient insulation. When colder weather is approach, disconnect your garden hoses and make sure the outside water fixtures are turned off. Enacting these procedures can aid in preventing expenses for repairing your plumbing.
Drain Cleaners
Try not to use drain cleaners too often, it at all. The chemicals in those kinds of drain cleaners can be corrosive and might damage pipes if you keep using them. If you discover that you have a blocked drain, the best course of action is to hire a professional to call by and examine it for you.
If your home operates on well water and you notice pink or orange stains in your bathtub and other fixtures, this is no doubt due to iron in the water. You can use water softener that you buy at the store to remedy this situation, or you can have a professional do it for you.
Research your plumber online even if you are in the position of not having the choice in which plumber is going to enter your home.. Your insurance provider may contract with a specific plumber; if you are knowledgeable about the company’s past jobs and client reviews, you will be more prepared.
Realize that branch lines can get blocked and cause sewage backups that affect main lines. If you cannot handle the problem on your own, then seek out a professional to come over and clear it.
Prepare for the cold winter months by checking that your outdoor faucets are not dripping or leaking. If they are dripping or leaking, you are going to have to have them repaired before winter actually arrives. No matter what material your pipes are constructed from, the additional pressure that results from freezing water will crack them. Cracked pipes can lead to extensive water damage to your home, resulting in very costly repairs.
Pour baking soda and vinegar down your bathtub drain every month. Plug up the drain and allow the chemical reaction to occur. Wait for a bit, then flush with boiling water. Doing this periodically should keep your pipes free of hair and soap scum.
Dealing with water is only one aspect of plumbing. A competent plumber needs to master a variety of additional skills. A more common job for a plumber is fixing broken water lines.
It is not necessary to call a plumber for every problem. The preceding tips have given you the ability to take care of the smaller plumbing tasks around the home. If you use these tips, you will be able to fix the vast majority of your plumbing problems without needing to call in a professional.