Tips And Tricks On Doing Your Own Plumbing

TIP! Don’t let your house temperature drop to below freezing and make sure to insulate anything that is exposed to the outside elements to prevent frozen pipes. Pipes can freeze when the ambient temperature in the area of the pipes dips below freezing.

A properly functioning plumbing system is an integral aspect of your house. Your plumbing may need attention at an inconvenient time when money is low or no plumbers are available. The tips from this article can provide you with important information to fix your home plumbing, and maintain it.

TIP! Wait to give compensation to a plumber until they are finished with their work. There might be a down payment required, but you do not give him the total cost before he is finished.

A strainer positioned over a drain can prevent stoppage by collecting food particles as they try to enter the drain. Clean out the one in the kitchen whenever there’s something trapped there that shouldn’t be. Clean bathtub drain screens as often as needed.

TIP! Avoid bleach tablets, blue toilet deodorizers or the other odor removers inside your toilet. These tablets have chemicals that can damage rubber parts that are essential to the proper functioning of your toilet.

Do not pour grease or other oils in your sink or down your drain. As they cool off, they can solidify and effectively create clogs and blockages in your drains. Grease is of particular concern when there is a disposal unit installed in your drain. It can cause the unit to lose efficiency. Don’t put oils down the sink.

TIP! Put strainers in the bottoms of your drains to stop any clogging agents from escaping down the drain. Your kitchen sink strainer needs cleaning every time something big gets stuck in it.

Water from wells can cause orange or rust colored stains in places like bathtubs and sinks. This comes from large amounts of iron present in the water. This is something that needs to be taken care of by water softener, which you can buy at a store, or have a company come out to your house and take care of it for you.

TIP! If your home uses well water and orange or pink stains become noticeable in your bathtub or in other fixtures, this occurs when the water has too much iron. This is fixed by using water softener, which can be bought at a store, or you can have someone come to your home and fix it.

Have all your plumbing needs scheduled all at once. It can be tempting to call a plumber each time you have a minor problem, but saving plumbing work for one time allows you to put money aside for the repairs. You can save money by only paying a single service call fee instead of ending up with multiple hours being billed from multiple visits.

TIP! Keep the garbage disposal clean to make sure it will last as many years as your house does. If your garbage disposal begins to emit a bad smell, run some dish detergent and citrus rinds through the cycle to make it smell fresher.

Run lots of cold water whenever you use your garbage disposal. Cold water keeps blades sharp and encourage a smoother disposal. Using hot water will cause grease to liquefy and accumulate in the drain, which will cause clogs in your pipes.

Shower Heads

TIP! Use cold water when using your garbage disposal. The cold water keeps your blades sharp, which helps your disposal run smooth.

By installing shower heads that are more efficient, you will be able to save a lot of money. Most of your water bills comes from the water you use to shower. When you invest in energy-efficient shower heads, you will save around $100 a year for every shower head.

TIP! Prevention is the key to keeping your plumbing repair bills down. Drain clogs can be expensive and are actually a major repair, one of the most common ones, too.

If there is unwanted water draining into the dishwasher, it is most likely because of the hose to the kitchen sink being installed improperly. A hose that is properly installed should lead uphill, then downhill, to discourage water from each area from mixing.

TIP! Clean the buildup of sediment from your aerator to increase your water pressure if it’s low. Take the aerator off, disassemble it, and brush it clean with a little vinegar.

Don’t throw trash down your toilet. Doing so can clog the drain and cause plumbing problems. Don’t flush anything that is unlikely to dissolve and wind up clogging pipes, such as diapers, tissues, paper towels and cotton balls. Additionally, use the minimum amount of toilet paper required to clean up after you are done.

TIP! Do not attempt to remove grout from your plumbing. With a little effort, you can get some of the grout broken down and on its way down the line.

Clean the aerator to adjust water pressure issues which result from sediment build up. Get rid of the aerator, remove it, and clean it with a brush dipped in some vinegar. Finally, rinse off the aerator, put it back together and then reattach it to your faucet. This should help increase the water pressure, because any obstacles in the aerator will have been removed.

TIP! Don’t use drain cleaners constantly. Drain cleaners contain very corrosive chemicals that can damage pipes if used too frequently.

A good tip to use when using your garbage disposal is to leave the water turned off. It is a common misconception that running water simultaneously is a good idea, but that is not really the case. In some cases, water can actually cause garbage to become lodged in awkward places, and contribute to future problems.

TIP! While you may not be able to choose which plumber is assigned to your job, you can still look the person up online. Though your insurer may determine the plumbing company that will work on your house, you still have the ability to look them up, read customer reviews and prepare for their visit.

Try to avoid the use of dry cleaners as often as you can. They have chemicals in them that are corrosive and can harm your pipes if they are poured down them frequently. Instead, if you still see your drain clogged up, you might need a professional plumber to come take a look and fix the problem.

TIP! If you are experiencing sewage backing up to your toilet, it is often due to blockages contained in the lateral connections connected to the main sewage line. If you have difficulty removing this blockage, call a company that has special equipment to clear the line, usually a plumber’s snake.

Check your toilet regularly for leaks. To check, squeeze a few food coloring drops in the toilet tank. Keep your eye on the toilet bowl; if you notice colored water, you can safely assume that you are dealing with a leak.

TIP! Don’t just throw any old hot water tank into your water heater. Match the tank size with the heater for maximum efficiency.

Prepare for the cold winter months by checking that your outdoor faucets are not dripping or leaking. You will have to fix this potential problem before freezing temperatures come. Frozen water puts a lot of pressure on pipes and makes them crack, regardless of the material. One small crack is all it takes to cause serious water damage to your home.

TIP! Make sure that you check all of the connections after doing any work on a hot water heater, especially pipes that connect to the pipe used for drainage. This pipe is probably for recirculation of the water and it works to keep energy usage to a minimum by making water heating more efficient.

Check with the Department of Consumer Affairs when shopping for a good plumbing contractor. This way, you can see that their licenses are valid and the status of any complaints that have been made about their work. If they don’t have a current license, you don’t want them working for you.

TIP! You should seriously consider opting for brass plumbing fixtures if you are at a point where you need to install new fixtures. Brass fixtures are beautiful and much more durable than other fixtures currently available.

Everyone in your family should know exactly where your home’s main water shut off valve is and how to use it. There should be a nearby water meter. Additionally, certain fixtures in your home, including sinks and toilets, may have individual cut-off valves. You will want to make your family aware of the location of each valve, and add markings that give directions on how to shut each one off whenever an emergency arises.

Many important skills are involved in becoming a great plumber. For example, it’s very common for plumbers to repair water lines.

TIP! Copper pipes will expand when hot water runs through them. They can slip from their hangers and make noise or even cause damage.

Consider drain cleaning products and their active ingredients carefully. Avoid those that have chemicals that are damaging to pipes. Choose a brand known for protecting pipes. Certain compounds obliterate the microorganisms that plumbing pipes need to work right, and others are even dangerous to people.

TIP! Get the most from a plumbing call by having several issues handled at once. Fix everything that needs attention in one visit, rather than calling for service repeatedly.

If you need to repair your home plumbing, you have a lot of options as to what to do. If you use the tips you’ve read here, you’ll be able to solve any emergency and even install your own plumbing for new fixtures without the aid of a professional!