Proving we care with every repair

Top Ten Tips for Plumbing Emergencies

For the rest of us, plumbing is just sort of there. We’re not wasting a lot of time stressing about it, or worried about it. But when it stops functioning properly, unexpectedly, or we run into a challenge, it can be a big headache.

Dealing with plumbing emergencies is entirely no fun. That’s why we’ve made this particular list of our best plumbing tricks that, when it comes to your pipes, will help eliminate any of your biggest pet peeves.

 

Don’t Run Oil or Grease Down Your Drains

Have you ever heard people talk about feeding or using up food to get a ‘grease coat’? When you pour fat or oil down the toilet, the same thing that happens when you eat greasy food happens.

Grease and gasoline are continuing to pile up. You’re not going to realise it at all; you’re going to think it’s completely cool, because as a liquid, it’s where it should go down – the drain. 

But the grease and oil will eventually clog your pipes and leave you with some serious plumbing issues. Before dumping the cooking liquid down the drain, think about your lines, and opt for a safer disposal choice. 

Please wait for the solidification of fat, for example, before dumping it into your compost bin.

Watch What You Flush Down the Drain

Some stuff should be flushed and some stuff that certainly should not be washed. We are pretty sure that you can capture our sense.

If you continue flushing things down the toilet other than toilet paper and body waste, you might cause some severe clogs that we bet you don’t want to deal with. 

This covers products for cleaning, cotton balls, prescription drugs, and unfortunately, fish.

Always Use a Strainer

Clogs are amongst the most common issues of plumbing, and thanks to hair and soap contamination, it can get sticky and dirty when it comes to a shower or sink drain.

It’s as easy to stop ickies as using a basket strainer. This would hopefully keep the future from being a time-consuming and stressful mission.

Check Your Toilet’s Flush Valve Seal

Toilet leaks can be a real hassle, but they would be more manageable if you find them early which might spare you a couple more severe plumbing issues down the line.

In your toilet’s flush valve seal, one of the areas you’ll discover a leak is. When it’s not in flushing mode, the flush valve seal is what prevents water from running from the water tank to the bowl of your toilet. 

It takes an easy test to detect a leak early in your flush valve seal: food colouring. What it takes is a few drops of dye in your toilet tank with food. Within a couple of hours, check online. 

That means you leak if any of the coloured water has made its way into your toilet bowl.

Locate Your Main Water Valve

Plumbing isn’t one of the things you’re always studying about, but understanding where the main water valve is located and what to do if there is a problem is essential.

If you have pipes leaking, knock on wood, shutting off the key water valve will help mitigate the damage before an expert plumber can get there and help. 

You’re going to spend loads of energy and time scrambling if you don’t know where it is, as your home experiences severe water loss.

Make Sure the Main Sewer Drain is Reachable

Because your plumbing is typically out of reach, it is essential that you still have a free and clear main sewer drain. This is how we need to be able to react swiftly and efficiently in the event of a sewer pipe blockage.

Your drain entry point should be open and easy to get to – that means no rugs or carpeting.

Prevent Your Pipes From Freezing

Although not an issue in the summer, a turn can take place after winter turns through temperatures. Your plumbing will have an elevated chance of freezing if they get low enough.

One of the best advices we can give you for plumbing is to ensure that there is still air flowing in your house, at a minimum temperature of 16 degrees celsius. 

To stop unforeseen catastrophes, you can also insulate as many of the exterior wall plumbing lines as possible.

If you have a space that gets especially cold in the fall and downright unpleasant during the winters, don’t wait until then to look for better air ventilation options. Taking the warm months for solutions to come up with.

Consider Separate Shut Off Valves

Eventually, plumbing is going to need repair; it’s necessary. There’s no way that you don’t look forward to the day when you have to cut off all your water so someone can come and do the job.

Installing individual shut-off switches on your fixtures will remove the dilemma of any or no water, and when you need to, you will be able to turn off the water to all areas of the building. 

That way, you can still use the kitchen sink if you have a problem with your toilet. 

Improve Your Tap’s Life

How many times have you, as a homeowner, been scared to hear the faucet drip, drip, drip, so we make sure the taps are switched off as firmly as they can?

In reality, this is bad for the seal of your tap; it wears it out faster because of the increased pressure it feels every time it turns close. 

Think of it as a pencil; the more you place weight on it, the more it gets worn down. Turn the tap until you sense the inevitable stopping point to escape this; don’t push it to close. You want to add the amount of pressure that is just right, just like a pencil.

Avoid Using Chemical Drain Cleaners

When it comes to talks about hygiene and well-being of the pipes, chemical drain cleaners are downright harmful. People prefer to go for them when they are promoted as successful quickly, but in the long term, they may do more harm.

BioOne is a non-caustic, heal of the drain cleaning solution if you need anything to help rid yourself of a nasty clog. It uses a typical bacterium that dissolves organic matter, without destroying the inside of the tubes.

Keep them away until you clean up those clogs by using BioOne on every drain in the house once a month.

You typically take the plumbing system of your home for granted, like most others, that is, as long as it usually functions. There is nothing like a backed-up toilet or burst pipe to draw the urgent interest of a homeowner, however. 

This form of emergency plumbing is not only uncomfortable but can also be very costly to repair. Using these ten ideas, it makes even more sense to take good care of your system and fend off a tragedy.

Contact Us