Kitchen and bathroom plumbing is often located on exterior walls and freezes more easily than interi...

1. Plumbing - Top Information For 2012
Kitchen and bathroom plumbing is often located on exterior walls and freezes more easily than
interior wall plumbing. Keep your furnace at a safe temperature throughout the winter and open
cabinet doors in bathroom vanities and beneath kitchen sinks to expose the pipes to warmer room
air to prevent freezing.
Hopefully this article helped you learn a little bit more about your plumbing and how to stop issues
before they start. By learning and knowing, like was discussed in this article, you can be sure to save
a few dollars every year. Plumbing disasters can cost a lot of money, so use this advice well!
To compare the quality of your pipes or sewers over time, create a video for documentation
purposes. Several months later, make the same video so that you can see if there are any new cracks
or holes that require fixing. This can serve as a great way to analyze your infrastructure.
If the water pressure on your street exceeds 60 pounds, you many want to consider installing a
pressure reducing valve. Too much water pressure is actually harmful to your plumbing system and
could cause excess water pressure. A pressure reducing valve cuts down your water pressure by
almost 50 percent.
If you are using PEX tubing for the supply lines in your home, make sure you get the right tools for
the job. PEX tubing requires a completely different tool type than regular lines. PEX has a lot of
benefits though, so don't let the different requirements throw you off.
In cold climate areas, sometimes the pipes in the plumbing system freeze. You can thaw them out
without calling a plumber. Before beginning this process, open the faucet and begin thawing closest
to the faucet and then move down the line as sections thaw out. One method you can use is to wrap
the pipe with a heavy towel or burlap and then pour hot water over it, set a bucket underneath to
catch the water.
If you're a home owner unfamiliar with plumbing, you're probably familiar with the experience of
being charged an arm and a leg for what seems like a simple plumbing repair. If you'd like to avoid
this experience again, read on for some advice and tips on how to fix your own plumbing.
Try to limit the amount of hair that goes down your drains. Hair can become tangled up in the pipe
and end up blocking up the them, preventing water from flowing smoothly. Buy a cheap screened
drain cover to put over your drain to stop any hair from going down and clean it off regularly.

2. Teach kids how to shut off the toilet's water supply. Kids are notorious for putting large wads of
toilet paper and other things into the toilet, which inevitably leads to the toilet overflowing.
Especially if your bathroom has carpet, show kids how to turn the water valve off if the toilet water
keeps rising, to prevent the mess of an overflow.
When concerned with plumbing, you need to know what can cause noisy pipes. This is important
because it can mean the difference between an annoying noise and flooding in your house. Do your
research to distinguish between the different noises and hire a professional if any serious risk is
posed.
To help you find a good plumber, you should get recommendations from people whom you trust.
Asking a friend or a neighbor is usually more trustworthy than picking a random plumber out of the
phone book. You need a competent plumber, otherwise you could be in for a much bigger problem
down the road.
Run dishwashers and washing machines at night, or during times when people are not using that
much water. This will keep water pressure strong for showers and other things, while making sure
that dishwashing and laundry still takes place in a timely manner. It also preserves energy costs and
use.
If you discover a pipe has frozen, open a tap on the line to allow the thawing ice to drain. This will
help relieve pressure in pipes to prevent them from bursting, which may prevent bigger damage for
your home.
Always keep your garbage disposal clean. You can do this in many ways. Pour some dish soap in and
let the disposal run for a few minutes with some cold water. Be sure to run it regularly, if not, it can
cause rust. To eliminate foul odors, grind lemon or other citrus peels. You can clean the walls of the
disposal by grinding small fruit pits or egg shells.
Save yourself big time and money by putting together your plumbing visits to one plumber visit.
Before you schedule an appointment with a plumber, go through your system and write down
everything that needs work. This limits your up front expense to one call and also saves you the time
and stress of a second call.
Do not pour hot grease down your kitchen drains. It can build up in the pipes and cause your
plumbing to back up. Allow the grease to cool in your pan or in a can and then dispose of it in the
garbage. This consideration is going to reduce the amount of backups that occur in your kitchen
sink.
It is important to run your faucet with cold water whenever you run your garbage disposal. Cold
water keeps blades sharp and allows for smoother disposal. If you use hot water, any grease in the
disposal will turn into liquid, while causes pipe clogging.
Do not forget to check the temperature of the water heater in your house, especially if you are
planning to leave for an extended period of time. You should keep the temperature no higher than
120 degrees, which will help to reduce energy use and prevent your system from burning out.
Teach your children how to notice plumbing problems. Many parents handle plumbing issues
without sharing that information with their children, who grow up not knowing anything about
plumbing. Any time you make a small repair or notice a problem, call your kids in and explain what
the problem is and what you are going to do. Educate them so they can make good decisions in the

3. future.
If you have an ice maker or other plumbing going to your refrigerator, every six months or so pull
the refrigerator away from the wall and inspect this plumbing. There should be no condensation or
corrosion on these plumbing lines, if there is, contact a plumber and have them look at it.