Plumbing For Dummies: Some Top Tips

By Author: Jessy Woodard
Total Articles: 13
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Your plumbing system, like you and your family, is an important part of your home. Just like you, it needs to be be taken care of. You need to research all kinds of techniques and equipment and find what works for your plumbing job. These tips below can help you with that.

Rigid copper is used for main water lines in many homes. You cannot bend rigid copper, so joints and tees must be soldered on. When soldering, always apply flux (also called soldering paste) to both surfaces. Flux retards oxidation when the copper is heated. Always use lead-free or nearly lead-free solder when sweating a copper joint.

Before starting any plumbing project be sure to turn off the main water supply. Water damage can be one of the most expensive things to repair. To minimize damage turn the main water supply off as well as any shut off valves near where you are working. This will save a great deal of hardship later on.

As the weather begins to get cold, attend to all of your exposed pipes by adding insulation to them. Pay particular attention to pipes located in crawl spaces and the outside walls of your residence. Taking ...
... this step will help ensure that your pipes continue to function throughout the winter.

Do not let your faucet leak. Did you know a leaky faucet can waste about 150 gallons of water every day? If you have a leak, never ignore it. It could be coming from the faucet or the pipes. Continually check pipes and faucets for extra moisture or small leaks.

Do not pour grease or oil down any of your household drains. Put them in containers and place in the fridge until they are solid, then throw them away. If you pour them down the drain, they can solidify in cold pipes. These solid masses will clog your pipes and are very difficult to remove.

Do not put your hand in the garbage disposal to remove a clog. This can be potentially harmful. Always use tongs to get out whatever is stuck in the disposal. Using tongs is much safer, and you will make sure your hand does not get cut on the disposer's sharp blades.

Have all the plumbing repairs done in one visit. If a problem is minor, it can be wise to put off repair until you have more than one item to fix. This also gives you time to save up for the needed repairs. It also saves you money because a lot of plumbers charge by the hour--they cannot charge for multiple hours every trip if they only make one trip out.

Before the cold season hits, check out the condition of your gutters on the roof of your house. Remove all debris, leaves and branches so that you can have a smooth flow of water and easy drainage. Caretaking in advance will help to prevent serious issues with plumbing down the road.

Doing your own plumbing ensures that if anything happens to it, you can fix it. Similar to taking care of your family, it is really important that you take care of your plumbing system. So, do yourself a favor and do your research and apply the above tips to your plumbing jobs.

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