Some Simple Tips On Home Plumbing

By Scott Rodgers

There are many things that need to be done to a home in order to keep it running smoothly. Plumbing is just one of the many aspects of your home that you have to keep up throughout the year. Here are some tips on how to achieve that.

It is very important for each member of the family to know how to shut off the water supply. Everyone should be aware of the position of the main water supply valve as well as water valves of individual fixtures like kitchen sink, toilets, water heater etc. This is important because during any plumbing failure like bursting of pipe, overflow toilet tank etc, the first thing to do, is to shut off the water supply to prevent any further damage.

You must keep a regular check on the drains so as to prevent clogs which is one of the most common plumbing issue faced by home owners. So treat your drains monthly. You can run plenty of hot water down the drains to clean it or you can use chemical drain cleaners and plumbing tools. But make sure that the chemicals used should be safe for your plumbing system. You can also go for products like Bio-clean.

Toilets should not be used as trash cans. Do not flush anything into it except the toilet paper otherwise you will end up with a clog which can be very frustrating to remove. The latest low flush models can be easily clogged even with the flushable products. So, be very careful while using any cleaning products etc.

Keep a check on your garbage disposal system. Run a lot of of cold water while using your disposal to avoid clogging. If you don't have a garbage disposal, keep out food pieces and grease, which can get stuck in the pipes and can block them.

When considering any plumbing projects, you may want to consider other services as part of your installation. Here are some choices to think about - Freeze protection is a mechanical feature on exterior garden faucets. Instead of the shut-off valve being on the outside of the house, it's set several inches inside the house. This protects the pipes from freezing.

In cold areas, ice can cause the pipe to burst, so to prevent this, you can fit thermal foam pipe protectors around the pipe. These are easily available at any hardware store and you can even do this task yourself.

Another option is an insulating water heater, which looks like a jacket for your hot water heater and keeps heat loss to a minimum. - 30517

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