Plumbing Tricks Every Homeowner Should Know

When it comes to home maintenance, it is very important to be knowledgeable at least about the basics of all its installations. This includes electricity, gas, and, of course, plumbing. This is essential because it enables you to react properly and right away in case something goes wrong. You can be that person who always calls professionals for help, but the fact is that you will be wasting a lot of money. There is a myriad of smaller issues that you can handle yourself.

In this article, we are going to focus on plumbing, and teach you some of the tricks that you should know as a homeowner.

Wrap your pipes properly

If you didn’t know, when you run hot water often, pipes that are made of copper tend to widen and then press against pipe hangers. This can eventually lead to damage. What you should do is visit a local hardware store and get adhesive-backed felt. Carve the felt into strips. Then, you need to remove each pipe hanger and wrap that part of the pipe with felt before you put it all back the way it was before.

Replace toilet or faucet parts

 

You should learn how to take care of your toilet and faucet because such repairs are usually fairly easy and you can’t really cause any serious damage by doing them. This is far from, for example, messing with the pipes underneath your sink, which can lead to a lot of trouble if you don’t do it properly.

On the other hand, dealing with flappers in your toiler or cartridges in your faucet is pretty simple. In fact, it is something that you should learn how to do because worn-out flappers and cartridges can lead to leaks and larger issues.

When you get a new flapper, it will usually come with its own simple instruction manual. As for the faucet, the majority of modern models can be fixed simply by replacing the cartridge. Remove a few screws, replace, put it back together, et voilà.

Take care of clogs

The first thing that most people think of doing when they have issues with their drains is getting a chemical drain cleaner which is most commonly quite expensive. What you should do instead is unclog the drain on your own. You can use a drain snake to do this. It is simply put into the drain and then pulled out. In most situations, you will pull out the thing that caused the clog along with it. You can also decide to use a wet or dry vacuum for the job.

According to experts, such as those at Canberra Plumbing and Drains, you should never throw garbage down the drain. This includes pieces of food, vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, and the like. While a lot of people believe that this is no big deal, doing so will eventually clog your pipes for sure.

Get handy with plumber’s tape

Teflon tape, commonly referred to as plumber’s tape, is a very useful tool for isolating pipe threads. This is an important task because it makes sure that leaks don’t happen around fittings and joints. The proper way to use it is to wrap it three times around the thread before you seal it.

When going to the hardware store, what you should pay attention to is the color of the tape. If the tape is white, then it is what you are looking for – Teflon tape made for standard plumbing works in households. On the other hand, you will notice that there is also yellow tape. This one is made for your gas line.

Loosen tight fittings with heat

Another common issue that you will come across is having trouble loosening pipe fittings. If they are hardened and have been like that for a while, your own strength won’t be enough alone. What you should do is use heat to make sure that the old and solidified fittings come off. For example, you can get a small propane torch. What you should be aware of is the fact that it takes a couple of minutes before you can see any results. Make sure that all the surrounding walls are protected with heat-resistant material.

Now, it should go without saying, but we should mention it anyway, just in case. Water pipes are the only ones that you should use heat on. Plastic pipes shouldn’t be treated with heat as they will melt and end up ruined in the process. And you probably know well that you mustn’t approach gas pipes with a heat source. So this is one home improvement you should not DIY.

Fix low pressure in the shower

When your showerhead begins to suffer from low pressure, you should place a plastic bag full of white distilled vinegar over it. Keep it like that for about a day. What the vinegar does is dissolve all the accumulated minerals inside. As a result, you should get your original pressure back.

In summation

Dealing with certain simpler plumbing issues isn’t really that much of a big deal, so you should really learn how to take care of them yourself.

Even if you don’t want to become a full DIY expert, the tricks that we’ve discussed in this article should help you a lot, and you will save money because you won’t need to call a professional every time something goes wrong.