Do you know if your plumbing is any good? Are you ready to educate yourself and improve your own? If honing your plumbing skills is your goal, you’re reading the right article. The advice provided in this article will show you improve your home plumbing.
Have a professional flush your septic tank every five years or so to keep it working well. Doing this prevents any sediment from getting built up within the tank, which causes a backup in your home or causes your entire septic system to fail. Getting your septic tank drained occasionally may be expensive, but it’s dirt cheap compared to the cost of repairing a damaged septic system or the cleanup cost when raw sewage backs up into your home.
Do not pay anything until the job. You might have to give them a deposit, though you should not pay the full cost until you can be certain that the job was done correctly. You want to make sure that the plumber completed everything that they said they would before you pay in full.
Don’t use harsh chemicals such as toilet tablets that claim to be cleaners in your toilet. These may deodorize, but they have the side effect of damaging the rubber in your toilet, causing poor functionality or even complete breakdown of the fixture.
Make sure there is a strainer covering all drains in order to collect particles that would cause a clog if they went down the drain. Thoroughly clean the strainer on a regular basis. Strainers placed in a bathtub can be cleaned periodically.
Garbage Disposal
Never put your bare hands to try fixing your garbage disposal to fix a problem. Even an un-powered garbage disposal is turned off they can be dangerous.You can look online to find the diagram for your garbage disposal.
Check your fixtures to ensure the overflow holes are clear of debris and mineral build-up. Overflow holes are one of those things which you forget about until you need them. It’s easy to maintain your plumbing, in this regard. When you’re performing periodic checks, simply clear any overflow holes while checking for other potential problems.
Avoid dumping oil, fat, and other oils into your drain. This is primarily true if you are someone who has a garbage disposals because the fat can make the blades turn more slowly and less efficiently. Make certain you dispose of oils away from the sink.
Pour equal parts baking soda followed by vinegar down your bathtub drain every month. Plug up the drain and allow the chemical reaction takes place. Wait for a little while, then flush it with boiling water. This method should clear pipes of accumulated hair and soap scum.
Frozen pipes can cause a lot of damage and cost you money. This, however, is typically preventable. First, ensure that all outside pipes have sufficient insulation. When it gets colder, disconnect and drain the hoses and turn the outside faucet off. This will help to save you money on plumbing bills.
Always have cold water running when 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.
Energy Bill
When running your garbage disposal, plumbers recommend using only cold water to help ease food particles down the drain. It is a common misconception that water will aid in flushing the food down the drain. It can even cause what you put down the disposal to stick, causing damage to the unit.
Installing more efficient shower heads could save you a lot of money when it comes to your energy bill. Most hot water we use is used while we are showering. If you invest in purchasing and installing shower heads that are energy-efficient, you can potentially reduce your energy bill by $100 or more annually for every shower head used in your home.
If you are seeing water at the bottom of the dishwasher, check the connection on your kitchen sink. The hose connecting the kitchen sink to your dishwasher has to go up and then down so that there is no mixing between fixtures.
If sewage is backed up in your toilet, it’s most likely the result of a sever blockage of the branch line that connects the sewage line and main line. You can run a device through this called a snake to try to clean up the clog. Or you can also purchase some specific drain cleaner and hope that works. If not, you’ll have to call in the professionals.
Use a cleaner that is enzyme based cleaners when cleaning clogged pipes.Enzyme based cleaners use “good” bacteria to transform the clog into a liquid, making it weak enough to be flushed out. Enzyme based cleaners are efficient and will not damage your metal pipes.
Lint Trap
Many people don’t fully understand plumbing, so they pay whatever the plumber asks for. If you are a homeowner, then you should be sure to educate yourself enough to at least understand what a professional is doing. The more you know, the less likely you’ll be likely to get ripped off.
Be sure that the dryer’s lint trap of any debris. This will ensure that your dryer operates efficiently and may also prevent fires. Be sure you inspect your lint trap for tears or holes that could mean lint is going into your pipes, because this can cause bigger problems as it may mean that lint is escaping into your pipes.
Don’t bother running your garbage disposal. It could even cause food to stick to the blades of the disposal, causing damage to the unit.
If the drain stack for your washing machine overflows, try snaking it with a standard pipe snake. It’s common for debris and lint to accumulate in the pipe, creating a clog.
If you have sewage backing up into your toilet, it is probably due to blockage in a branch between the sewage and main lines.If you are not able to remove the blockage, then seek out a professional to come over and clear it.
After reading the above tips, you should feel excited in the fact that you will now be able to be your own plumber. Hopefully the tips you have just read will help you get positive results. If not, keep reading to find out more.
There are a lot of amateurs in plumbing, so if you’re a pro, you might want to get an apprentice. This is an easy way to have someone work a bit more affordably, and you may find it gratifying to pass on all the information you know to someone else.