You may not know this, but plumbing is actually a fairly simple concept, when approached correctly. Once you have a good understanding of how everything works, then even the largest projects will appear to be a lot more simple. Read on for more great advice about plumbing in your home.
On very cold winter nights, allow your faucets to trickle slightly, especially if your pipes are located in a crawlspace. The running water prevents the pipes from freezing as quickly as they would otherwise. You can catch the water and use it for other household needs to prevent wasting it.
If your toilet’s water level is low, the toilet is clogged up, and using a plunger isn’t resolving the issue, hold a bucket filled with warm water at about your waistline, and pour it into your toilet. The water needs to be at a low level again in order to repeat the process.
Make sure you clean out overflow holes in your kitchen and bathroom sinks on a regular basis. These holes are intended to act as an emergency fail-safe to prevent spillage from a full sink, but if they are clogged they can’t do their job. You can clean out an overflow hole using the same techniques you would for a clogged drain.
Many shower heads are available that can help you to save money on your water bill. A lot of the hot water that we use is used when we shower. Investing just a few bucks in these newer shower heads can yield triple digit annual savings.
Is your toilet leaking? Find out by putting some food color in the tank and then check the bowl later. If there is colored water in the bowl, the toilet has an internal leak. To fix an internal leak you can simply replace the tank’s ball or flapper.
One of the things that you can do to safeguard your home from any serious plumbing issues is to install a flood alarm. This is a device that will sound when it comes in contact with water, alerting you if there are any issues in a particular area in the house.
One way to avoid a common plumbing problem is to make sure never to flush anything but human waste and toilet paper down a toilet. Other things made of paper like tissues, paper towels, and the like do not dissolve the same way toilet paper does and can get stuck.
Make sure that any exposed pipes in your home are insulated, especially those found in crawl spaces on the outside walls of your home. This will help keep them from freezing and causing you tons of problems. Frozen pipes can often be devastating and leave you with problems that are expensive to fix and no water in the middle of winter.
When plunging a drain to attempt to remove a blockage, first make sure that the drain is completely covered in water. This helps to form a seal. Then, plunge at least fifteen to twenty times before stopping. Repeat the process two to three times. If this doesn’t work, try a chemical drain cleaner.
If your sewer and main lines keep clogging up, then it is very possible that you have a tree root blockage problem. There are over the counter products you can buy to attempt to get rid of this problem. This is very effective, yet the problem is usually very extensive. Therefore, it may require a professional to come out and solve the problem completely.
Look online for reviews of the plumbing contractor you are thinking of hiring. If people are not satisfied with the work that the plumber preforms, many times they will go on the internet and post negative reviews. If they are happy with the plumber they will also post positive reviews.
Make sure that the temperature of your home’s water heater is not above 120F. On older water heaters, be sure it is not above medium settings. When temperatures get higher than 120, scalding can occur. Also, having the settings above 120F, tends to use more energy than lower temperatures do.
In conclusion, there is a lot to know about plumbing, but it all ends up being well connected in the end. Build on any knowledge that you already have and you can take care of just about any home improvement project or plumbing issue that you might be faced with.