Home and Plumbing February 16th, 2017 | No Comments »
The cost of hiring someone to do home repairs can really add up and whether it be for appliances or household necessities, most can be handled by yourself. One of the most common fixes that homeowners see involves plumbing. You cannot have a functioning home if your toilet is broken! Here is a list of tips to save money on plumbing repair.
Always Perform Routine Maintenance
The most important aspect of repair is to know how to avoid them in the first place. Most of your home fixes happen because you did not do the routine maintenance that is necessary. It is so easy to clean the pipes, tighten the hoses and take care of the little things. It is best to avoid the toilet bowl tablets, since they can cause damage to the parts. The best cleaner is a brush and liquid bleach. The same goes with a garbage disposal, which can clog and therefore she have routine cleaning and maintenance.
[Photo courtesy of stevepb/pixabay.com]
If you find that a part needs to be replaced in the toilet, it is best to take all the broken parts to a hardware store. Sometimes parts look identical and you do not want to have to go back and forth. The parts are also not all alike and can be from different manufacturers, so you’ll want their advice on what you need. The people that work at the hardware store can also give advice for the future to keep your fixtures healthy.
Purchased Your Own Plumbing Tools and Equipment
This tip is important for anything you need to fix in your home. If you have never learned what each tool is, you may be in trouble. If you know you want to cut the cost of home maintenance then you should learn what purpose of each tool and have good quality ones available. The tools most used for plumbing repair are a wrench, pliers, pipe cutters, and sometimes more.
Schedule a Plumber in Advance
If you do need to schedule a plumber to come out to your home, you can do many things to avoid a high cost. The first tip is to make sure they are licensed. Also the plumber can charge you less if you recommend he use your tools. That one is not a guarantee, but it’s worth a shot. There could be extra cost avoided if you do some pre-appointment cleaning, like removing all toiletries from the sink and removing cleaning supplies from under your sink.
[ Tagged In ] Plumber, Plumbing Problem, Plumbing Repair, Plumbing Tips, Plumbing Tools, Plumbing Tricks
Home and Plumbing November 9th, 2016 | No Comments »
Although plumbing problems are inevitable for a homeowner, there are steps you can take to reduce the number of service calls to a plumbing company. The following are three tips to help you accomplish this.
Be careful what you put down your kitchen drain
Sometimes when you cook, you will find that you have a lot of oil or grease in a pan. When this happens, try to dispose of it into a container, and then after it cools down, throw it is in the trash. You have to take care to use a container that can handle the temperature of hot oil, because it is easier to get out of a pan while it is still hot and in liquid form. What you don’t want to do is wash it down the sink. Over time, this will cause a drain stoppage.
Run your water after using the garbage disposal
A garbage disposal is a great kitchen appliance, but over time, they can create drain problems. It is true that they do a good job of cutting up leftover food, but sometime the pieces are still large enough to get hung up on the sides of a drain pipe that already has small, soft materials that are stuck to the sides of the pipe. Large materials passing from the garbage disposal can contribute to the drain stopping up. The solution to this problem is to keep your water running in your sink for at least 30 seconds to a minute after you are finished with the garbage disposal. You want to give the waste you sent through your disposal a chance to make it to your main drain line where the chances of it creating a stoppage problem are slim.
Prevent water pipes from bursting
Water expands when frozen, and when this happens to a water pipe, the expansion can lead to cracks in the connections. You won’t know this has happened until the ice in the pipes melts, but when it does, you may need to place an emergency call to naperville plumbers due to a bursting pipe. The solution is to run water when the temperature drops below freezing. Although it takes time for your water pipes to freeze, if the water is not running, and the temperature gets cold enough, it will happen. The time this usually happens is while you are sleeping, because the water is not running for at least 8 hours. The same can be true in the daytime, but as long as someone is at home and using the water occasionally, this is less likely to be an issue.
Plumbing repairs can be expensive, and although there is no way to prevent them completely, the tips above will help you.
[ Tagged In ] Choosing a Plumber, DIY Plumbing, Hire a Plumber, Plumber, Plumber Guide, Plumbing Problem, Plumbing Repairs, Plumbing Tips, Plumbing Tricks, Plumping Tips
Home and Plumbing February 2nd, 2014 | No Comments »
The state of your plumbing should be taken seriously and when picking a plumber to have your whole system in their hands, it’s naturally very important to pick the right person for the job.
It’s easy these days to just fire up the laptop and click on the first plumber you find nearest to you but that’s not always the best option.
A good place to start is a reputable plumbing company or a name that is synonymous with good plumbing practice. These are often household names and by just typing plumbers or plumbing services into Google you will inevitably find some that you recognize.
[Image source en.wikipedia.org]
Always use a website that offers customer reviews of a plumber’s work and pick the best one depending on what their previous customers have to say about them. The cheapest option is not always the best and if any plumber has a bad review or appears to have ripped someone off then always steer well clear – whatever the price.
Ask friends and family for recommendations as often that’s where you’ll find the best tradesmen. After all, if they did a good job at a reasonable price for someone you trust then you’re halfway there to finding the perfect plumber.
Finally, always ask for a quote after describing the problem to any plumber. They may not be able to give you an exact price but they should be able to give you a good idea so ensure they stick to it after the work is done. Once you’ve compared quotes, sought advice and read reviews you are in the best position to choose the right plumber for you.
Before you know it, your plumbing will be back to normal and you’ll be able to get on with your life safe in the knowledge that your home is in good hands.
[ Tagged In ] Choosing Plumber, Hire a Plumber, Plumber, Plumbing, Plumbing Problem, Plumbing Tips, Plumbing Tools
Home and Plumbing January 23rd, 2014 | No Comments »
Plumbing is a complex system of water or gas connection from the main source to its point of distribution. When any of the plumbing supplies get busted, it could affect the reading of your next water bill. A drop of water can cost you a few dollars if you do not have someone to fix it.
Do-it yourself plumbing repair is needed this time so when your toilet bowl clogs or the faucet has loosened its thread, you know how to troubleshoot. To enable you to start the repair, you have to equip yourself with plumbing tools that you can buy online.
[Image source newmaxcincinnatiplumbing.com]
Start investing with the commonly used tools such as adjustable or a crescent pipe wrench which is used to grip the pipe during repair. Faucet valve seat wrench and resetting tool are used when fixing the faucet.
When you live away from the hardware store and traveling would be burdensome to you, buy extra faucet washers, faucet stem packing, faucets, drains, shower heads and water filters for quick repair and replacement.
[ Tagged In ] DIY Plumbing, DIY Repair, Plumber, Plumbing, Plumbing Problem, Plumbing Supplies, Plumbing Tools