Don’t be intimidated by the flood of information about plumbing – you can learn it. It is a topic that is easy to do research on and to teach. Remember the tips in this article so you can stay informed about plumbing and never hire someone again.
Case Scenario
You need to insulate any pipes have exposure to outside elements to avoid them freezing. You should also keep the temperature in the home above freezing to avoid your pipes freezing. Obviously, if it is below freezing outdoors, the pipes will be subjected to the same temperatures. At best, it can take time for them to thaw and for you to be able to have running water. However, they could burst, which would cause a huge mess and an extremely big repair bill.
To avoid frozen pipes in your home, never allow the temperature in your house to drop below freezing and insulate any pipes that are exposed to the elements. Your plumbing can freeze if the air around it is below 32 degrees. The best case scenario is that you can heat the pipes and the water will start flowing again. The worst case scenario is a busted pipe and a costly repair.
If you discover a pipe has frozen, open a tap on the line to allow the thawing ice to drain. Doing so provides pressure relief, and might spare you the damage of a burst pipe.
You can resolve most toilet clogs yourself. Try a plunger first. If plunging the toilet doesn’t seem to clear up a clog, check the toilet’s water level. If it’s too low, try filling a bucket with warm water. Open the toilet’s tank, and pour the water in. Do this as often as necessary if the water level dips back down again.
Your septic tank should be pumped out at least once every five years if you want it to stay in optimum working order. This stop sedimentary particles from accumulating in the tank, and in the worst cases, flooding your home or making the entire system to fail. If the cost of pumping your septic tank seems a bit steep, remember that the cost of cleanup and repair of a failed septic system will be much higher.
Garbage Disposal
If your garbage disposal is having problems, don’t give in to the desire to attempt a fix by reaching down into the disposal. Garbage disposals are dangerous, even when turned off. Locate your garbage disposal manual, or do an Internet search for troubleshooting advice and a diagram that illustrates your model.
Frequently inspect the floors around toilets for softness; this can tell you whether or not the floors are damaged. You can check for softness or weakness in the floor by placing one foot on each side of the toilet and rocking back and forth. As with many problems, early detection can save you a lot of money.
Do not pay anything until the problem is fixed. You may have to pay a portion of the cost before the plumber works on the job, but you should never have to pay in full until after everything has been correctly finished. This ensures that the plumber fully completes the job before getting paid.
Garbage Disposal
Cleaning your in-sink garbage disposal can extend its lifetime significantly. Cleaning can be done with a variety of things you may already have in your home, such as dish-washing soap, the rinds of lemons, or the pits of cherries. When you create a regular cleaning schedule, you can make sure your garbage disposal runs in tip-top shape and smells fresh and like new.
Check overflow holes to make sure there’s no clog. These passages allow your sink to fill up without overflowing onto your floor, and if they’re blocked that can cause you a major headache. When checking for potential problems and repairs, you should also remove obstructions from the overflow holes.
Odor removers such as bleach toilets are not good for your plumbing system. While these tablets may be an easy way to clean your toilet and hide odors, they also contain chemicals that can break down the rubber fixtures in your toilet. Long-term use of these products can slow or even stop the functioning of your toilet.
You can save a lot of money in your energy bills by putting in efficient shower heads. Most hot water is consumed in our showers. If you invest in purchasing and installing shower heads that are energy-efficient, you can realize savings of approximately $100 each year for each shower head.
Cheap Shower
Get a good quality replacement shower head. Some people think it’s alright to get the cheapest head for your shower in the store. Cheap shower heads are not well-made and are very likely to break. Buying a cheap shower head will end up costing you more money over the long-term.
Keep a strainer over every drain in your house to prevent stray debris from clogging your pipes. Clean out the one in the kitchen whenever there’s something trapped there that shouldn’t be. You should also clean your bathtub strainer any time it is slow to drain.
If you don’t want to spend a lot on repairing plumbing problems, learn to prevent problems before they occur. Drain clogging is a very common plumbing problem. Drains are easily clogged by hair. To keep hair out of your plumbing, use a screen or cover for your drains that allows water through but keeps hair out. It is easier to take hair off a screen than to clear it from a pipe.
Frozen pipes can lead to a large plumbing bill. This problem is easily avoided. The most important step is to keep any pipes close to the outside, well insulated. When cold weather sets in, turn off your outside faucets, disconnect all hoses and drain them. If you take these preventative measures, you will save money in the long run.
If grout is stuck in your plumbing, getting rid of it is likely not going to be a do it yourself project. You can try to break it up to send it on down the line. This is more successful in plastic plumbing as compared to metal pipes. Yet keep in mind that it is probably going to take professional work to eradicate this problem for you.
Regularly check your overflow holes to make sure they’re not clogged. Overflow holes are one of those things which you forget about until you need them. As you routinely look for things needing attention, check to be sure that the overflow holes are clear and unblocked.
With the right tools and good instructions, you can fix simple plumbing problems yourself. Just like other aspects of life, there is much to learn about plumbing. All it takes is a tip about how to get started with plumbing. You would have hopefully gotten that from these tips.