Do you find your plumbing is any good? Want to learn how to help improve upon it yourself? If you have decided to learn more about how to better maintain your home’s plumbing, read on for some ideas. The advice provided in the below article can help you improve your home plumbing.
To prevent pipes from freezing, don’t let temperatures drop under freezing in your home, and insulate external pipes. If the ambient temperature around the pipes is below freezing, the pipes can freeze. At best, it can take time for them to thaw and for you to be able to have running water. In the worst case, the pipes would burst, and you would be stuck with costly repairs and a very messy cleanup procedure.
If one of your water pipes freezes, turn on the tap to the faucet nearest the pipe so that the water has somewhere to exit as the pipe thaws. This will help relieve pressure in pipes to prevent them from bursting, which may prevent bigger damage for your home.
Knowing all your different tools and how they are used will be a great help when you work on a plumbing job. Be sure you read everything you can from the manuals, and use different things like the library and internet to learn all the projects that are do it yourself. Be sure to plan before starting a repair, because it can be expensive to fix mistakes.
Garbage Disposal
If you discover a problem with the garbage disposal, don’t ever reach into it with your hands to attempt to fix it. Even an un-powered garbage disposal presents significant danger. Hire a professional, or at least find your owner’s manual to look at a diagram of the disposal. Many owner’s manuals are available online, and may even contain interactive troubleshooters.
Place a strainer over the drains to collect anything that could clog and cause stoppage. Each time a filter is clogged, it should be cleaned. Bathtub strainers need regular cleaning as well.
Try to have all your plumbing repairs done at once. It might be tempting to call up a plumber every time you have a small problem, but if you will save all the plumbing issues for one time, it can be helpful. It will allow you save the money for the repairs. You’ll save a ton of money by not having to pay a professional to come out multiple times, instead only paying them to show up once to handle different problems all at once.
Keep your bathtub in good shape by using a cup of baking soda and a cup of vinegar down its drain monthly. Seal off the drain with a conventional plug or a piece of fabric while the natural chemical reaction takes place. Flush it with boiling water after a few minutes. This should help clear your pipes of accumulated hair and soap scum.
To limit toilet problems, don’t use it as a trash can. Do not flush sanitary pads, paper towels, cotton balls, tissues, diapers or other materials, as these items do not dissolve and could cause clogs. Try to minimize the amount of toilet tissue that gets flushed, too – but don’t neglect basic hygiene!
Good management and prevention can help you save money on plumbing. Clogged drains are one of the more common issues when it comes to plumbing problems. Hair can clog drains. Put drain covers over your bathtub and sink drains to keep loose hair from going down the drain or into your pipes. It is much easier to remove the hair from a screen than it is to get it out of a pipe.
If there is sewage backing up in your toilet, it is probably due to blockage in a branch between the sewage and main lines. Get help from a professional. A plumber will run a snake in the line to clear it.
You should be excited by now to get started taking care of your own plumbing issues. We certainly hope these tips will save you some money in plumbing contractor fees, and provide ideas for easy fixes. If you cannot fix something, look for more information or consider calling a professional.