Thursday, July 5, 2012

Valuable Tips About Repairing Your Home's Plumbing

Plumbing difficulties can be a huge problem for homeowners. You often have to wait for a plumber to make a house call, and you may end up paying a lot for a repair you could have made on your own. Read on to find out how to make plumbing problems easy!

The secret to low or even no repair bills from plumbing issues is prevention. Drain clogs are a common plumbing expense. Hair can clog drains. You can prevent hair from getting into your drains by simply installing a device on top of your drain such as a screen, which will trap the hair from getting into the pipes. It is much easier to remove the hair from a screen than it is to get it out of a pipe.

Property owners have the option of installing flood alarms to alert them of flooding danger. Flood alarms work the same way that smoke alarms do. These battery-operated devices make a loud sound if they contact water. You can find and deal with leaks and potential floods in their earliest stages if you have well-placed flood alarms.

If the drain on your washer overflows, use a pipe snake to try to clear the clog. Occasionally, lint or other small items from the washing machine can build up in the pipe, causing it to clog or back up.

Swapping out old shower heads for energy-efficient ones can save you money on the energy bill. Showers and baths are responsible for the bulk of your hot water usage. If you use energy efficient heads for your showers, you can save hundreds each year on your bills.

The flapper is often the source of toilet problems. This part of the toilet deteriorates over time, leading to leaks and other problems. Make sure the pressure on the chain is right; if the chain is fine, chances are the flapper is worn and should be replaced.

As the winter months encroach on your home, check your outdoor faucets for dripping and leaking. If they are, it is necessary to repair them before the arrival of freezing temperatures. Freezing water can and will crack pipes, whether they are made of copper, steel, or plastic. Even a small crack is capable of releasing enough water to damage or flood your home.

Having to repair pipes that freeze could be very costly. Fortunately, you can generally prevent your pipes from freezing. Find out if all of your outdoor pipes are properly insulated. Secondly, when the temperature begins to drop, you want to drain and disconnect the hoses, then make sure you turn the outside faucet off. You can avoid future plumbing repairs by doing this, and therefore, saving you a lot of money.

If you have a well at your home and notice pink or orange stains around the drains of your tub or sink, this is most likely caused by an excess of iron in your water. Water softener can help this problem, and you can buy that at a store. Alternatively, you can hire someone to handle it.

If you discover a pipe has frozen, open a tap on the line to allow the thawing ice to drain. Letting the water drain out will relieve pressure in the frozen pipe, which will reduce the chances of it bursting and damaging your home.

Ask your plumber to handle all your plumbing problems at once rather than calling him several times to resolve different problems. Your plumber charges for each visit, so it's best to deal with as many problems in one visit as possible. Write a list of all the things that need to be fixed before you contact a plumber. It saves both time and money if the plumber addresses all your problems in one visit.

While you may not always have your choice of plumbers, you can use the Internet to research and review plumbers in your area. In some cases, your insurance company may select a plumber for you, but you can still research the company online.

Make sure that you're always cleaning your garbage disposal regularly. Doing this will save you from having to repair or replace an expensive piece of equipment in the future. 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.

As you can see, plumbing problems don't have to be so difficult. If you can solve the problem yourself, you can save time waiting for a plumber, as well as saving a whole lot of money. Try applying what you've learned from this article next time you have a plumbing problem!

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