When you have to do your own plumbing jobs, you might wonder where to start, equipment, what equipment to buy and what rules to follow. The tips laid out here can help you the information you need to be a skilled plumber.

To prevent pipes from freezing, don’t let temperatures drop under freezing in your home, and insulate external pipes. Pipes will begin to freeze as soon as they reach freezing temperatures. If they do freeze, you are looking at some time before they can thaw out, thus you will have to wait for running water. The worst case would be that they burst, creating water damage and a big repair bill.

If your water pipe freezes, make sure you turn the closest faucet to allow the thawing water to exit. This will relieve pressure and might prevent the pipe from bursting, which could prevent a big mess in your home.

You should clean your septic tank every five years! This will keep sediment from building and causing backup into the house, and possibly causing the 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.

Don’t use harsh chemicals such as toilet tablets that claim to be cleaners in your toilet. These may deodorize, but they have the side effect of damaging the rubber in your toilet, causing poor functionality or even complete breakdown of the fixture.

Pass on seemingly convenient cleaning products like bleach tablets and blue toilet tabs. While they may be effective deodorizers, they can damage rubber parts in your toilet. If they become too damaged, your toilet will not operate properly.

If your toilet is clogged, there is a low level of water in toilet, and your water level inside of the toilet appears low, 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.

Do not attempt to fix your garbage disposal by reaching in with your hands. Garbage disposals can be dangerous, even when they are turned off. Locate your garbage disposal manual, or do an Internet search for troubleshooting advice and a diagram that illustrates your model.

Garbage Disposal

Frequently inspect the floors around toilets for softness; this can tell you whether or not the floors are damaged. Put a foot on each side of the toilet and put weight on each side, if you have any give you may have damage. Identify any damage and repair it before it gets worse. In the long run, you are likely to save money by not putting off the repair.

Never put your bare hands in your garbage disposal. Even when the garbage disposal presents significant danger. You can search online to get schematics or troubleshooting advice for the disposal that you have.

You should make sure not to put oils down the drain, such as grease and fat. These substances will clog the drain as they cool and harden. This is primarily true if you are someone who has a garbage disposal; the fats will make the blades go slower and less freely. The best thing to do is to dispose of oil-based liquids away from your sinks.

Check the floors in your bathroom for soft areas around the floors. You can save money by noticing the problem early as possible.

If your house uses well water and there are orange or pink stains in tubs or sinks, it’s because of the iron level in the water. You can use water softener that you buy at the store to remedy this situation, or you can have a professional do it for you.

If your home runs on well water and you notice any orange or pink stains in your fixtures or tub, this occurs when the water has too much iron. You can deal with use by using a water softener, which is something you can get on your own at a local retailer, or hire someone to go to your home and fix it for you.

Keep your bathtub drain running well by pouring a cup of baking soda followed by a cup of vinegar down the drain each month. Cover the drain up with a plug or old rag, as there will be a chemical reaction in the pipes. Let it sit a few minutes, then wash it all away with boiling water. Doing this will probably void your pipes of hair accumulations and soap scum.

Some people think they can get away with the cheapest head for your shower in the store. The problem with this is that these models are not highly durable and easily break.

Do not flush unneeded things down your toilet if you want to lessen your chance of having issues. Don’t flush paper towels, diapers, cotton balls, tissues or any other materials besides toilet paper. These items don’t dissolve and can cause clogs. You will also want to use the least amount of toilet paper as required.

Use enzyme based if you want to clean clogged pipes. These cleaners use natural bacteria to turn the sludge into a liquid, and be removed from your pipes. The best these days are enzyme cleaners.

If you have clogged pipes, try cleaning them with an enzyme pipe cleaner. This type of cleaner uses natural bacteria to transform sludge into liquid, that makes it disappear from the pipes. The best these days are the enzyme cleaners.

Lint Trap

Applying prevention measures is key to preventing plumbing issues. One of the most common repairs involves fixing drain clogs. Built up hair can actually clog drains. You can stop this by using a screen or drain cover that is designed to keep hair out of your drain and pipes. Make sure you clean the hair from the screen regularly. This should be much easier than cleaning a drain.

Be sure to check your dryer and clear your lint trap is clean. This will ensure that your dryer operates efficiently and may also prevent fires. Be sure you inspect your lint trap for tears or holes that could mean lint is going into your pipes, because this can cause bigger problems as it may mean that lint is escaping into your pipes.

Fix issues with low water pressure by cleaning sediment buildup out of your faucet’s aerator. A small brush (an old toothbrush is ideal) dipped in vinegar will do a great job on the aerator after it’s been removed and disassembled. Then all you need to do is rinse and reassemble the aerator before putting it back on the faucet. Removing obstacles in aerators should improve the water pressure.

Do not expect to clean grout from your plumbing.You can try dislodging some of the blockage which will open up and make it go further down the line. This will work better if your home has pipes you have are plastic instead of metal.

If grout is stuck in your plumbing, getting rid of it is likely not going to be a do it yourself project. Do your best to break it up and flush it down. This is much easier if your pipes are plastic, rather than metal. On the other hand, this situation usually ends in a call to a professional plumber.

Drain Cleaners

If you are experiencing sewage backing up to your toilet, it is often due to blockages contained in the lateral connections connected to the main sewage line. If you are not able to remove the blockage, you need to contact a professional to snake the line clear.

Try to avoid the use drain cleaners if you can. Drain cleaners contain harsh chemicals which can cause your pipes to corrode if used too often. If you discover that you have a blocked drain, hire a pro to figure out the problem.

Check with the Department of Consumer Affairs when shopping for a good plumbing contractor. By doing this you can see if they have any problems with their license and heck on reviews about the quality of their work. Unless a contractor’s license is in favorable standing and up-to-date, you wouldn’t want to work with them.

There are two ways to get a stubborn clean-out plug. The first approach to use is taking a hammer and chisel to loosen the fitting. You can also use your chisel into the plug itself.

Verify the location of your main water valve, and cut-off, for your property The cut-off valve will generally be close to the water meter. Also, locate additional shut off valves for toilets, sinks, washers and any other device that runs off of your water supply. To prepare for an emergency, make sure that everyone in your family is familiar with the location of the valves. It also helps to mark the valves with arrows indicating the direction in which they should be turned to shut them off or turn them on.

As you’ve seen, plumbing can seem intimidating, but it isn’t so tough. Once you understand the basic principles, the rest is easy as screw, twist, and flush. Once you’ve done a little research, gotten a little practice, and used a little common sense, it will be easy to figure out how to tackle a plumbing job and get it done successfully.

Brass plumbing fixtures are highly recommended if you need any kind of plumbing fixture. Brass is a very durable material and will last a long time. Also, the brass fixtures in general look nicer than their counterparts. They can be purchased in any home improvement store.