Plumbing Repair
Below are some basic general tips for the home plumbing repair want to be. If you have some basic mechanical skills and are handy with a wrench, you can fix most of you’re the plumbing problems in your home. A special thanks to Cole Hardware who provided these tips.
• To avoid having the teeth of the wrench scar a chrome plated plumbing fixture during installation, first wrap the fixture with a double coating of plastic electrical tape.
• To keep the water shut-off valve in good working order, turn it off and then on again once every six (6) months.
• Sediment buildup can slow your water heater's recovery rate. If you notice a marked drop in recovery time, drain the sediment from the tank.
• If you hear a squeaking noise when you turn the handle of a faucet, the metal threads of the stem are bending against the threads of the faucet. To fix this, remove the handle and stem, and then coat both sets of threads with petroleum jelly. The lubrication should stop the noise and make the handle easier to turn.
• If a pipe springs a leak, consider replacing an entire section rather than just patching the leak. A pipe that is sufficiently corroded to leak in one place often will start to leak in another.
• The screens that filter water going into a washing machine need occasional cleaning. On some washers, just unscrew the hoses from the faucets and take them out. On others, unscrew the hoses from the washers and use a screwdriver or a long nosed pliers to take them out of the washer's millet ports. Scrub them with a toothbrush under a faucet.
• When your garbage disposal jams, insert a broomstick (or bathroom plunger) handle in the opening. Move the handle in the direction opposite the way the unit normally turns. Remove the stick & push the start button.
• You can sharpen garbage disposal blades by running ice cubes through them.
• In order to do basic plumbing upstairs some specialized tools are needed. The following list is limited to those tools that are not likely to be in your all-purpose tool box:
• Basin Wrench - A wrench with a head that swivels 180 degrees. Useful for getting into tight spaces.
• Faucet Seat Wrench - Enables you to turn the seat of the faucet. Basically, these are two (2) kinds of seat wrenches:
• A right angle seat wrench that you can manipulate by hand.
• A straight seat wrench that you turn with an adjustable wrench.
• Flaring Tool - Designed to allow you to connect pieces of copper pipe without having to use solder.
• Stilson Wrench - Similar to a pipe wrench, the Stilson wrench has a separate housing and an adjustable neck that provides excellent bite and grip.
• Strap Wrench - Uses a heavy fabric strap instead of teeth to grip the pipe. They're especially useful when working with brass, aluminum or plastic pipe.
• Tube Bender - Prevents pipe from kinking when it's bent. The tube bender simply slips over the pipe you're going to bend.
• Tube Cutter - This is a tool that cuts plastic or copper pipe accurately. You could cut theses pipes with another cutting tool, such as a hacksaw, but you wouldn't get the clean, precise right-angle cut that you want and that a tube cutter provides.
• To retrieve cutlery that has fallen down the drain, go fishing. Use a magnet attached to a length of stiff twine.
• The most common cause of a clogged drain is grease buildup in the trap. If you suspect this is the case, heat the trap with a portable hair dryer or heat lamp. This should melt the grease, at which point you can run very hot water to clean it out completely.
• Make your plunger function more effectively by smearing a little petroleum jelly all around the rim of the suction cup. It will give the cup a much better seal and therefore much better suction. When you've finished using the plunger, rinse the cup in hot water and wipe off with a paper towel.
• To stop a small leak in your bathroom, or other room in the house until you or a plumber can fix it permanently, turn off the water supply and use either of these strategies before turning the water back on:
• Cut a small section of split rubber hose (about 4 inches for a small hole), and slip the hose section around the pipe with the leak in the center. Place a C clamp or a small wrench against the hose directly over the hole and tighten it until the leak stops.
• Cut a strip of inner tube or rubber sheeting about a foot long and an inch or two wide. Start wrapping the strip around the pipe about 6 inches from the leak, stretching it tightly as you go and overlapping half of each previous turn. After you are finished, tie a cord around that end and go backward, wrapping the cord around the rubber strip in half inch laps. When you reach the other end of the rubber strip, tie the cord securely.
• Frequently the copper washer sleeve (inside a compression unit that connects a water tap to its shut-off valve) develops a leak even though the nut is very tight. Eliminate this problem by wrapping the sleeve with pipe thread tape and then tightening the nut.
• Most electric water heaters are set at 140 F. This makes water much hotter than you ever need it to be. Set the temperature at 120 F instead and you'll notice the savings on your monthly electric bill.
• When an earthquake strikes, water will be scarce. Since most water heaters store 30-40 gallons of water, this can be a useful source of water. In order to be able to keep this water usable, drain the sediment in your tank regularly. This will remove minerals from this very important emergency water source.
• When you install a new bathtub, put glass or mineral fiber insulation underneath the tub. It will reduce the noise factor when you're filling the tub and keep the water warm for a longer period of time.
• Flush toilets waste an enormous amount of water. To cut down on the waste, fill two half gallon plastic containers with water and place them in the toilet tank. This will lessen the amount of water needed to refill the tank, but it won't affect the quality of the flush.
• Your toilet may not be flushing well because the stopper ball returns too soon to the valve seat where the water runs out of the tank. To keep the stopper ball afloat longer, try these steps:
1. Raise the guide arm about one-half inch higher on the overflow tube, if it is adjustable.
2. Bend the top of the upper lift wire so it is a bit shorter and the ball will be lifted a lot higher.
3. Insert the end of the wire in a hole in the left arm that is closer to the overflow pipe. This will lift the stopper ball even higher.
• When a pipe bursts in the kitchen or other room in the house, even the coolest head is likely to panic. To make sure that shutting the water cut off valve does not present a problem in such times, make a helpful "reminder collar" out of an empty plastic bleach bottle. Just cut the bottom out, make a hole in the center, and fit it over the stem of the valve, under the handle. Then mark a large arrow with a felt tip pen and label it to indicate "OFF" and "ON" directions.
• To keep your drains smelling fresh, pour baking soda and hot water down the drains once a month.
• Eliminate odor from your garbage disposal by grinding orange, grapefruit or lemon rinds while flushing the disposer with hot water.
• To clean the crack of your shower stall, use full strength hydrogen peroxide saturate cotton balls, and pull them along the crack with a pair of tweezers.
• To prevent rust on the screws on the toilet seat, paint the screws with clear finger nail polish.
• Unsightly or missing knobs over the bolts at the base of the toilet? Some rounded deodorant bottle caps will fit.