Having good working plumbing is an important to having a safe and healthy home. This article lays out some effective tips for helping you maintain and fix your home plumbing.
To maintain a clean, well-functioning septic tank, it is recommended that you clean it out once every five years. This will stop any buildup in your septic tank and prevent any horrible issues. While you may find it costly to get your septic tank cleaned out, the cost is much higher to have sewage and backups cleaned up and your septic tank repaired or replaced.
Pump out your septic tank every five years to keep it in proper working well. Although it could cost a good deal of money to pump out your septic tank, cleaning up sewage backup in your home will ultimately cost much more.
Knowing which tools and how they are used will be a great help when you work on a plumbing job. Before attempting any repairs, you should have a plan; otherwise, a mistake could make repairs even more costly.
If you have any plumbing work that needs to be done, schedule it all to be done concurrently. If a problem is minor, it can be wise to put off repair until you have more than one item to fix. This also gives you time to save up for the needed 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.
If your toilet happens to be clogged, the water level in the toilet is low, and your water level inside of the toilet appears low, but be sure to pour it from a height that is waist level or above so you do not flood the bathroom. Do this every time the water level dips back down again.
Use strainers on all drains to keep foreign objects and debris that might clog the pipes from clogging drains. The bathtub’s strainers need to cleaned out as needed.
Pour equal parts baking soda followed by vinegar down your bathtub drain once a month. Cover it with a plug or rag, because a chemical reaction is sure to occur in your pipes. After letting it sit for a few moments, clear the pipes out with a gallon of boiling water. This should help clear your pipes of accumulated hair and soap scum.
By regularly incorporating a routine using a combination of dish soap, lemon rinds, and even cherry pits, your disposal can be kept smelling fresh and running smoothly for many years to come.
Pour baking soda and vinegar down your bathtub drain once a month. Plug the opening or cover it with a cloth while the chemical reaction to occur. After waiting a few minutes, flush it out by running boiling water through the drain. This process should be able to clear pipes by clearing out hair and soap scum.
Don’t use your toilet like a trash can, and you minimize potential problems. Do not flush things like paper towels, sanitary pads, tissues, diapers, cotton balls or anything else that might cause the toilet to get clogged. Also, you want to use the least amount of toilet paper to clean yourself.
It is important to to use lots of cold water when running your garbage disposal. Cold water will allow for the food particles to be properly disposed of while keeping the blades sharp and encourage a smoother disposal.
Enzyme Cleaners
Be sure to check your dryer and clear your lint trap of any debris. This could prevent you from a tons of trouble, and it can also prevent fires. See to it that you look at the lint trap and find out if it has tears or holes in it that could cause lint to go inside your pipes. This could lead to clogs or other problems in the future.
Use a cleaner that is enzyme based cleaners when cleaning clogged pipes.Enzyme cleaners contain bacteria that digest through solid sludge, which will remove it from pipes. Enzyme cleaners should be your metal pipes.
Be sure that the dryer’s lint trap of any debris. This will help your dryer operates efficiently and may also prevent fires.Be sure to check the trap for tears and rips, which can cause clogs and issues.
Prevention is the key to keeping your plumbing repair bills down. Drain clogs are probably the most frequent issue you will run into with your plumbing. Drains are easily clogged by hair. Put a drain cover or a screen that is made to protect drains over your drain so that hair cannot get in. Taking the hair off of the screen and disposing of it is cheaper and easier than removing it from the pipes.
Do not expect to clean grout from your plumbing.You could try dislodging some of the blockage which will open up all the line. This works best if the pipes are plastic rather than metal.
Ensure the toilet does not have any leaks. An easy way to check for this is to add a couple drops of food coloring in the toilet tank. Watch your toilet bowl closely, and if you start to see colored water, you will know you have something that has to be taken care of.
Frozen pipes are on of the most expensive plumbing problems. Fortunately, it’s usually an avoidable problem. First, make sure that your outside pipe are insulated well. When it gets colder, disconnect and drain the hoses and turn the outside faucet off. A bit of prevention prevents a costly plumbing bill.
Valves that are rarely used occasionally fuse together. You have to turn them often to avoid sticking, and make sure to turn them once in a while so that they do not start sticking.
You can check for valid licenses and know if people have complained about this specific contractor. If they don’t have a current license, you can simply move forward and find someone who does.
Clean the aerator to fix low pressure problems in case you have sediment buildups. After removing the aerator, use an old toothbrush with some vinegar on it to clean the sediment off. Thoroughly rinse off the aerator, put it back together and place it back on the faucet. This should raise the water pressure nicely because anything that was inside of the aerator will be removed.
You should always know where the main water cut-off valve is located on your home. You will see the water meter close by or directly on it. Fixtures, such as sinks or toilets, may also have individual shut-off valves.Show your family members where these valves are, and add markings showing how to turn them off in case of emergency.
Choose drain cleaners you use with care.Some contain strong chemicals which could cause damage pipes. Choose a drain cleaner that claims to be easy on pipes.
If you have grout stuck in the line, it’s futile to try and clean it out yourself. Grout can be broken up by yourself, however this generally is only a partial fix. This works better when you have plastic pipes as opposed to metal ones. You might have to get a professional to get rid of this issue.
As you now know, there are many tricks and tips that can be used to repair plumbing in your house. By using these tips, you will be able to repair your plumbing in case of an emergency, and you will also be able to keep costs down by not needing a professional plumber for every plumbing issue.