Having good plumbing is an important to having a safe and healthy home. This article lays out some effective tips for maintaining and fixing your own plumbing.

It’s easy to fix noisy pipes which squeak or sound like hammering. Anchor any easily-accessible loose pipes. It may be necessary to hire a professional to address noisy pipes that are located in less accessible places in your home.

To keep your pipes from freezing in the winter, maintain a constant temperature in your home above freezing, and insulate external pipes. Your pipes can freeze if the air around it is below 32 degrees. It takes time for the pipes to thaw out so that you can have running water. However, frozen pipes often burst, leading to flooding and costly repairs.

To prevent pipes in your house from freezing, do not let the temperature in the house dip below freezing. Also, any pipes exposed to the cold should be insulated. It is easy for pipes to freeze whenever the mean temperature near the pipes drop below freezing. If they do freeze, you are looking at some time before they can thaw out, thus you will have to wait for running water. However, your pipes can explode, as well – making a huge plumbing bill.

Septic Tank

You should avoid using blue toilet tablets, bleach tablets or any other odor removers in your toilet. While these tablets may be an easy way to clean your toilet and hide odors, they also contain chemicals that can break down the rubber fixtures in your toilet. Long-term use of these products can slow or even stop the functioning of your toilet.

Pump out your septic tank at least every five years to keep it in proper working well. Although it could cost a good deal of money to pump out your septic tank, it is nothing compared to what you will have to spend on cleaning up a backup of sewage or repairing or replacing your septic system.

If your toilet will not flush, and there is very little water in the basin, try to fix the issue by dumping warm water in the bowl from around your waist line. You can repeat this procedure once the water returns to a low level.

Don’t use harsh chemicals such as toilet tablets that claim to be cleaners in your toilet. These may deodorize, but they can seriously damage the rubber pieces in the toilet, which can prevent your toilet from functioning correctly.

Never put your hands in your garbage disposal to fix a problem. Garbage disposals are dangerous, even when turned off. Look for a diagram of the garbage disposal you have on the Internet.

If your toilet happens to be clogged, the water level in the toilet is low, and a plunger is not doing the trick, you may be able to resolve the problem by pouring a bucket of warm water into the toilet from waist level or higher. Do this as often as necessary if the water level gets too low.

Don’t pour oils, grease or fat down the drain. When they cool, they’ll harden and clog your drain. This is especially true if you have a garbage disposal, as the fat will cause the blades to run slower and less efficiently. Keep a container in your kitchen that is used specifically for discarded grease.

Check the floor for any give in order to be sure that there is no damage in the toilet to determine floor damage. You can save money by noticing the problem as early on.

Check the overflow holes for clogs. Overflow holes drain water if a sink begins to overfill, so they need to be clear at all times. When you do periodic checks for any other problems or repairs that are needed, take the time to clear the holes that are there to protect you from overflow.

Schedule all the plumbing work simultaneously. You might be tempted to call the plumber every time you need something fixed, but if you wait and hire the plumber for a single visit, you will have time to save money for the fixes. Most plumbers have an hourly fee that can be minimized if there is only one trip is cheaper than calling them more than once.

It is very important to to use lots of cold water when running your garbage disposal. The cold water keeps your blades sharp, which helps your disposal run smooth. Running hot water down the drain while you are using the garbage disposal can cause the drain to clog from any grease that is in there liquefying.

By now, you have learned a number of great ways to maintain your plumbing. This knowledge is extremely valuable not only for fixing up your own home, but also for not having to rely on other people.

Using your toilet as a garbage disposal is sure to cause problems! Do not flush sanitary pads, paper towels, cotton balls, tissues, diapers or other materials, as these items do not dissolve and could cause clogs. Use the least amount of toilet paper you can when you use the toilet, too.