You notice a difference when you take the effort to educate yourself about plumbing. It shows you care about maintaining a proper home and you want everything to always be in working order. That is a commendable goal. Like with any other skill set, you can always add and improve. Below are tips that can help.

To avoid frozen pipes in your home, never allow the temperature in your house to drop below freezing and insulate any pipes that are exposed to the elements. Pipes will freeze if they are exposed to temperatures below freezing. In the best case scenario, you will have to wait until they thaw so that the water runs again. At worst, they will burst and you’ll be paying to repair the damage.

Working Order

To keep your septic tank in good working order, it is advisable to have it pumped out every five years. Doing this prevents any sediment from getting built up within the tank, which causes a backup in your home or causes your entire septic system to fail. It is a small price to pay now to keep your septic in good working order and prevent having to pay for a major repair caused by a backup.

If your garbage disposal stops working, never try to fix it by reaching down with your hands. Garbage disposals always pose a possible threat, even when powered off or non-working all together. Use the web to locate a diagram or users manual for your device.

Every so often, inspect the floor around your toilet and see if it has gone soft. Straddle your toilet by rocking it from foot to foot to see if there’s any weakening or softness on the floor below you. You can save a lot if you catch these issue sooner.

Keep grease, fat and oil out of your kitchen drain. When these oils cool, they become hard and create clogs. Your garbage disposal is particularly vulnerable to this issue, as the fat solids will slow the motion of the blades. This results in the disposal operating less efficiently. Dispose of oils and fatty liquids in the trash.

Garbage Disposal

To make sure your garbage disposal last a long time, clean it regularly. Using lemon rinds and cherry pits mixed with dish soap will help keep your garbage disposal operating efficiently and smelling fresh.

It is very important to to use lots of cold water when running your garbage disposal. Using cold water not only preserves the sharpness of the blades, but also makes the disposal process itself smoother. If you use hot water, any grease that is in the disposal will turn to liquid, and sit inside of the drain, which can clog your pipes.

Don’t skimp on quality when it’s time to replace that shower head. People try to save money by buying the least expensive shower head that is out there. Cheap shower heads are not well-made and are very likely to break. Buying a cheap shower head will end up costing you more money over the long-term.

You now know what you need to know, and have the equipment necessary to start doing some serious plumbing. Fantastic! From here, you need experience to get better. There is no limit to the amount of knowledge and experience you can have with plumbing, as it’s an area where learning is always part of the job. As you put these tips in to practice, you may find that some of the ideas presented here become your favorites.