Once you own a home, you can expect problems to arise with your plumbing sooner or later. These prob...

1. Choose A Plumber That You Can Rely On
Once you own a home, you can expect problems to arise with your plumbing sooner or later. These
problems are usually in the kitchen or bathroom. Actually, sooner or later all homeowners will
experience a plumbing issue of some sort. The following advice will help, when that homeowner is
you.
If you have a frozen pipe, turn on the nearest faucet so the water has an escape route when the pipe
starts to thaw. This assists you in relieving pressure within the pipe, and could stop any bursting
from occurring, which can prevent additional damage to your home.
Get to know the tools and how they are used for the most success in plumbing. Make sure to read all
of your manuals, and use things such as the library and the internet to read up on do it yourself
projects. Be sure to have a plan ahead of time before trying any type of repair, it could very
expensive to fix the mistake.
Put strainers in the bottoms of your drains to stop any clogging agents from escaping down the
drain. Clean your kitchen strainer often, particularly if you can see debris accumulating. Kitchen
filters should be changed often, while bathtub filters can be changed as needed.
Don't put things like fat, oil or grease water heater service down your drains. As they cool off, they
can solidify and effectively create clogs and blockages in your drains. This is especially damaging to
garbage disposals because the fat can make the blades turn more slowly and less efficiently. To keep
your drain running efficiently, dispose of fats and oils in other ways besides pouring them down the
drain.
If you have well water and discover orange or pink discoloration on your bathtub or sink, you
probably have iron in your water supply. 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.
Cleaning your in-sink garbage disposal can extend its lifetime significantly. By having a regular
cleaning routine, which includes a combination of lemon rinds, dish soap and even pits from a
cherry, your disposal can be kept smelling fresh and running smoothly for many years to come.
If you have any plumbing work that needs to be done, schedule it all to be done concurrently. You
might be tempted to have a plumber come out for every little thing that happens, but kicking the can
on some issues until you have a list means you can save a few bucks. Because most plumbers charge
labor by the hour on top of a flat call rate, you can significantly reduce your bill by reducing the trips
they make to your home.
Dishwashers that have too much water running into them could have a hose installed improperly.
You must have the hose going uphill and then down to get rid of the water in the dishwater.
You need to make sure that your lint trap is clean for your dryer. This will help your dryer to work
better and may also prevent fires. Inspect your lint trap often to see if there are any tears or holes. If
there are, you can have lint getting into your pipes, and this will clog them and give you more
problems that will have to be dealt with.
Be certain that your toilet does not have a leak. A good tip for this is to take food coloring and put a

2. few drops in your toilet tank. Look at the bowl carefully. If you notice colored water in several
seconds, then you know your toilet is leaking badly, and you need to fix this as soon as possible.
As we near the winter months, you should check that none of your outdoor faucets are drippy or
leaking water. If you find a problem, you need to move quickly to repair it, lest the faucet crack.
Pipes that are made of copper, steel, or plastic are vulnerable to cracking when water freezes and
increases the pressure. Even tiny cracks can cause a lot of flood or water damage to your home.
Government agencies can provide information about plumbing contractors. This will allow you to be
sure that they are properly licensed and that they have not received a ton of complaints from
previous clients. If a contractor's license has expired or isn't in good standing, you don't want to hire
that contractor.
Use care when choosing a drain cleaner. It is possible that your pipes may be damaged with the
wrong type of cleaner. Pick a brand that will be gentle on your pipes. Some of these chemicals kill
beneficial bacteria in your plumbing that is needed for the system to function correctly, and they
may also be quite harmful to humans.
Don't just throw any old hot water tank into your water heater. Match the tank size with the heater
for maximum efficiency. In order to determine what capacity hot water tank you need, take into
consideration how many people and appliances in your home have a demand for hot water.
A regular old pipe snake could be all it takes to clean out a clogged drain stack on your washing
machine. Every now and then, lint and other tiny washing machine items can build within the pipe,
which can cause it to back up or clog.
Tankless water heaters are good things for environmentally conscious individuals to think about
buying. Unlike traditional water heaters, these do not retain any water within them. Instead, they
heat up water as it is needed. This reduces the amount of energy they use, since water is only heated
when it is called for.
The worst thing to do is being unprepared when plumbing problems arise. If you own your own
home, you should know some basic plumbing skills, and have the tools ready to go. If a plumbing
problem arises in your future, the information you read in this article should help you deal with it.