Tried and Tested DIY Tips to Take Care of Minor Plumbing Problems at Your Home
People generally ignore plumbing simply because they know it requires specialised knowledge and skills. Plumbing maintenance in any household requires solid investments of time and effort. Every habitable building must have a well-functioning piping, draining and heating systems.
Qualified plumbers in London assure that every plumbing problem does not require in-depth knowledge and specialised skills to get resolved. Being an amateur you can easily fix such tiny issues on your own just with a little effort and enthusiasm. A team of technically sound and reliable plumbers based in London suggests the following tips that help you take care of simple plumbing problems at home on your own without hiring professional help.
Know where the main cut-off water supply to your property is located
Even a minor plumbing defect can bring a flood inside your home. If you care about your moveable assets like furniture, home improvement gadgets and carpets, make sure to know exactly where the main cut-off water supply to your home is located. In fact, every responsible member in your household should know about it.
Check for water seepage smartly using colours
Consider adding one food colouring agent or the other into the toilet tank. This is a great way to identify leakage issues for untrained eyes. The earlier such issues are identified the better because they only cause water loss. If there’s a leakage anywhere, stains will appear at the appropriate location in the toilet bowl within some time. This makes fixing the problem easier.
Build up the habit of checking the water meter at frequent intervals
These days, it is easier to access reliable plumbing mechanics by entering online search strings like “plumber near me”. But plumbing bills are invariably high. If you want to save your hard-earned money from unnecessary draining do follow this tip being discussed here. When water usage at your home is zero and yet the water meter dials are found to be active, then you surely have a problem. Such circumstances usually occur when you’ve a leak in your plumbing system, which is yet to be identified. Check your sinks, toilets and faucets minutely till the problem is detected.
Stock the basic replacement parts of a plumbing system at home
Rubber gaskets and toilet kits are pretty reasonably priced. Moreover, replacing these items does not require high-end technical knowhow or skills. Round the year have those basic replacement parts stored at home and master the necessary skills to perform those tasks yourself.
Maintenance of water heater tank
If your budget permits get a tank-less water heater. This will save you money on your utility bills in the long run. On the other hand, if you have the conventional model with a tank, make sure draining some water from it after every 6 months. This avoids sediment deposit at the surface and at the same time improves the gadget’s energy efficiency.
Avoid commercially manufactured drain cleaning chemicals
These chemicals are excessively harsh and invariably take toll on the life of your drain pipes. A plunger is more efficient tool to remove clog buildups. To displace stubborn clogs, you can use an auger.
Plunger is your all season mate
A plunger is unbelievably efficient to fix clogs in sinks and toilets. Moreover, you can get it easily at the local hardware store at a throwaway price. Every household must have this handy tool to take care of clogged drains. However, you should better store some additional tools too including tongue-and-Groove Pliers, propane torch and a hacksaw. Instead of searching online with strings like “emergency plumbers near me” to fix a minor clogging issue or the other, storing these handy tools not only solves the problem but also saves you a lot of money.
Holding back a toilet overflow
This is not rocket science and you can achieve this just by plugging the hole at the bottom of the tank. Remove the lid of flush tank and firmly press down on the flush valve. This helps identifying the clog source, which results in overflow problem.
Avoiding valves from freezing
Frozen valves are a common plumbing problem, which turns out to be expensive. But it is possible to prevent occurrence of such issues with a little smartness. Do open and close all the water and drainage valves in your home twice a year. This ensures the valves are in perfect working condition.
Know the locations of individual stop valves
It is helpful knowing the exact locations of individual stop valves for all the faucets installed in your bathrooms and kitchen. This knowledge enables you isolate a minor issue locally.
Qualified plumbers at 4D Heating and Plumbing located at Barlby Road in London suggest the tips above to make your life easier and plumbing bills lower. You can easily rely on these suggestions to tackle an uncomfortable situation with ease.