Water is important to all life forms, but it can be the bane of the frustrated homeowner who has to deal with plumbing problems. Nothing except for a natural disaster will cause more harm to a home than a serious plumbing problem. Luckily, homeowners have a lot of ways to avoid plumbing issues and ways to minimize the effects of those issues when they happen.
Water hammer problems, pipe noise due to water hitting the back of the pipe, can be easily repaired. If pipes are exposed, you must anchor them. For pipes that are situated inside walls, or the floor or ceiling, you should hire a professional.
You need to know your plumbing tools as well as how they are used so your plumbing efforts are always positive. Read each and every manual, and utilize the information that can be found in libraries and the Internet about do-it-yourself projects. Be sure to plan before starting a repair, because it can be expensive to fix mistakes.
You should avoid using blue toilet tablets, bleach tablets or any other odor removers in your toilet. They may get rid of toilet odors, but they can damage the rubber in the toilet, which can cause it to break down completely or to not function at all.
If your toilet is clogged, the water level in the toilet is low, and a plunger is not doing the trick, you may be able to resolve the problem by pouring a bucket of warm water into the toilet from waist level or higher. Once the water level is low again, you may repeated this procedure.
If your garbage disposal is having problems, don’t give in to the desire to attempt a fix by reaching down into the disposal. Even if the disposal is turned off, it can still be hazardous. Use the Internet to find a diagram of your device, or a troubleshooter.
If your home has a well for water and there are pink or orange stains in the sinks and tubs, this could be due to high iron content in your water. You can deal with use by using a water softener, which is something you can get on your own at a local retailer, or by hiring a professional to come out.
If you want your garbage disposal to have the same lifespan as your total home, clean it regularly. In order to keep it clean, you can use a mixture of dish soap, cherry pits and lemon rinds which will keep the disposal running smooth and smelling fresh.
If you have multiple plumbing problems, schedule all of them to be fixed together. It might be tempting to hire a plumber for every little problem, but if you can save it up for one big fix, then you have time to set money aside for these repairs. It also costs less because most plumbers will charge you per hour and include a minimum rate for coming out. If you call them out multiple times, those charges for them coming out will add up quickly.
Overflow Holes
Regularly check your overflow holes to make sure they’re not clogged. Overflow holes exist to act as a double check in case of an overfilling sink. That may seem unimportant – but it will become a problem if they are clogged. Make sure to clean out the overflow holes each time you do maintenance checks on your sinks.
If you are seeing water at the bottom of the dishwasher, most likely this is due to a faulty setup of the hose that leads from the kitchen sink. The hose connecting the kitchen sink and the dishwasher has to go up and then down in order for the water of both locations to not mix.
If you have to replace any of your shower heads, make sure that the replacement is the best one you can afford. There are some who think that low price is all that matters when buying fixtures for the bathroom. While it may be cheap, chances are you will have to replace it sooner, as it’s more likely to break sooner.
Fix issues related to low water pressure that are a result of a buildup of sediment by cleansing the aerator. Remove the aerator, and then take it apart so it can be cleaned with a brush that has been dipped in vinegar. Then simply rinse and reattach the aerator. Cleaning the aerator in this manner removes obstacles clogging it, which then allows it to regulate the water pressure properly.
Do not attempt to remove grout from your plumbing. You can try breaking it up to have it fall further which will help the flow get better. This works better with plastic piping than it does with metal. This usually requires professional people to come in to help you get rid of this problem.
Drain Cleaners
Stay away from drain cleaners! Drain cleaners contain very corrosive chemicals that can cause damage to your pipes if used too much. 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.
The valves that are hardly ever used have their way of somehow fusing together. Maintain them with penetrating oil, and turn them every so often to keep them from sticking.
In order to stay away from plumbing problems, you should make sure you are knowledgeable about the basics and prepared for the worst. A homeowner is likely to make good decisions and avoid plumbing disasters if he bothers to learn some things about the subject. Also, a homeowner who researches solutions before working on plumbing will avoid potential disasters.