Plumbing 101: Tending To Your Pipes Like A Pro

TIP! Keep your plumbing flowing by maintaining a temperature above 32 degrees and wrapping up any exposed pipe works. Obviously, frozen pipes occur due to freezing environmental conditions.

While plumbing is an expansive field that can seem intimidating at first, picking up a few basic skills doesn’t have to be hard. There are many resources to teach you what you need to know while you learn. Whether you are a beginner or more experienced plumber, these tips should help you become a little more prepared.

TIP! Toilet discs and odor removers should never be used in your toilet. It may help to get rid of your toilet’s odors, but it will damage any rubber parts, causing your toilet to malfunction, or even break down.

To avoid frozen pipes in your home, never allow the temperature in your house to drop below freezing and insulate any pipes that are exposed to the elements. Your pipes can freeze if temperatures around them fall below freezing. It takes time for thawing to occur so you can have water again. Frozen pipes can also burst, which can be very messy and expensive to repair.

Septic Tank

TIP! Use baking soda and one cup of vinegar per month to keep the bathtub drain clear and running well. This will cause the vigorous bubbling you may remember from the “volcano” in a grade school science project, so be sure to close the drain with a stopper.

Pump your septic tank every five years to keep it working well. This keeps the sediment from building in the tank, which can cause septic tank failure or backup into your house. 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.

TIP! It is very important to to use lots of cold water when running your garbage disposal. The cold water keeps your blades sharp, which helps your disposal run smooth.

Knowing which tools to use and how you should use them is an important skill when it comes to plumbing. Use as many resources as you need, such as online or the library, to find the right information to repair your plumbing issues. Make sure you plan before you try any kind of repair, as it can be costly to fix a mistake.

TIP! Don’t use your toilet as a trash can in order to avoid problems. Under no circumstances flush cotton balls or swabs, paper towels, diapers, sanitary pads or other materials that will not dissolve.

Use a strainer over your sink drain to catch food and other bits of material. Otherwise, you will likely get a clogged drain. Kitchen sink strainers should be cleaned every time they collect large food particles. You should clean out the strainer in your bathtub often.

TIP! Enzyme based pipe cleaners should be a first choice when you are trying to unclog a pipe that is blocked or draining slowly. These will utilize natural bacteria to transform sludge into a liquid that can be removed.

If you notice orange or pink stains in your bathroom fixtures, this is because of the iron in your water. You can combat this by using a water softener. You can either purchase it at a store, or hire a company to come to your house to set it up for you.

Overflow Holes

TIP! Do not attempt to remove grout from your plumbing. You can try to break it up to send it on down the line.

Regularly check your overflow holes to make sure they’re not clogged. These passages allow your sink to fill up without overflowing onto your floor, and if they’re blocked that can cause you a major headache. Clear the overflow holes periodically when you are doing your periodic checks for other problems and things that need to be repaired.

TIP! Do not use a drain cleaner if you can help it. Corrosive chemicals erode the metal pipes slowly.

Run cold water through your garbage disposal. Cold water keeps the blades sharpened, giving you optimal performance whenever it is used. Using hot water will cause grease to liquefy and accumulate in the drain, which will cause clogs in your pipes.

TIP! Be certain that your toilet does not have a leak. Check for leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring into the tank of each toilet.

This isn’t as horrible as you expected, is it? Just like other aspects of life, there is much to learn about plumbing. A nudge in the right direction may be enough to get you started. Hopefully, you have received that from the above tips.

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