If you have to fix the plumbing in your home, you may be overwhelmed about what to do and where to begin. Use these tips to help expand your plumbing knowledge.
It is a advisable to have a septic tank pumped every five years to keep it in peak condition. This stop sedimentary particles from accumulating in the tank, and in the worst cases, flooding your home or making the entire 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.
Don’t use harsh chemicals such as toilet tablets in your toilet. These things may help improve smells, but they can damage the rubber components of a toiler, which can cause it to function improperly or even worse, completely break down.
You should regularly check for water damage to your bathroom floor caused by your toilet in order to save money and further complications. Feel the floor around the toilet and check to see if the floor is soft, molded, chipping, etc. Straddle the toilet and rock from one foot to the other to see if you feel any weakening or “softness” in the floor beneath you. When you have a problem like this to deal with, the earlier you detect it, the less expensive it will be to take care of.
Position a strainer over all drains to collect any particles that would otherwise go down the drain and possibly cause a stoppage. Clean your kitchen strainer often, particularly if you can see debris accumulating. Bathtubs should be equipped with strainers as well, and they too will need to be cleaned regularly.
If you get your water from a well and orange or pink stains appear in your sink or tub, then you can be sure that the culprit is iron in your water. You should purchase a water softener to use, or ask a local business to make a visit to your residence and resolve the issue for you.
If you have any plumbing work that needs to be done, schedule it all to be done concurrently. You may want to have each minor problem attended to as the occur, but having multiple repairs done at once allows you to save up for the cost. It also costs less because most plumbers will charge you per hour and include a minimum rate for coming out. If you call them out multiple times, those charges for them coming out will add up quickly.
It is important to always run cold water while using your garbage disposal. Using cold water not only preserves the sharpness of the blades, but also makes the disposal process itself smoother. Hot water is not recommended because of what it does to greasy products.
As you have hopefully learned, plumbing doesn’t have to be complicated even if it can appear intimidating at times. You simply have to understand the basics. All you need are some tools, patience, curiosity, and no fear of manual labor. Use these skills in tandem with the information you learned here, and you will have the job finished in no time.