Admit it: you hate it when the sink gets clogged up, or when water starts seeping out from a leaking pipe in your home, spilling on the floor and making the whole place unkempt and generally messy. These kinds of problems are not exclusive for homes—as issues pertaining to plumbing crop up anywhere (be it office, schools, event venues and whatnot) and anytime.
These problems can be fixed when the services of professional plumbers who come around to offer solutions to the little problem for an inflated price. But what happens when these problems keep recurring over a short period of time?
As a homeowner, you’d agree that plumbing issues alone can chase off potential tenants from renting your space. As a tenant, hiring the service of plumbers every time is not the best. Which brings us to the subject matter.
More often than not, most plumbing issues that occur can be fixed by anyone. Regardless of technical know-how, there are some DIY tricks you can employ to fix those problems for good without needing to dial the services of plumbers. Let’s jump right into them. You can read more here.
Table of contents
Unclog the drain
You cannot prevent a drain from clogging. Even without debris passing through them, drains can clog up by itself because of calcium deposits by the water. So, how do you fix this when it happens? You need baking soda, hot water and vinegar and some hand gloves. There are two ways to solve this issue:
- You can choose to get down and unscrew the pop-up drain and remove whatever is blocking the free flow of water and screw it back tight.
- You can pour a mix of vinegar and baking soda into the sink. They react quickly and help clear out debris and food trapped inside the drain. You can now flush with hot water.
Fix leaking pipes
Constant dripping sounds as a result of leaking pipes can be very annoying. When this happens, do not be in a hurry to call plumbing service. Just follow the instructions below:
- Turn off the water supply for that pipe. If you find it difficult locating where that is, you can head over to the main water distribution valve and turn it off.
- Get an empty bucket under the pipe.
- Loosen the pipe at the threads with a monkey wrench and disconnect it. All the water left inside the pipe will flow into the bucket.
- With a plumber tape, wrap the threads in a clockwise direction.
- Connect the pipes.
How to fix a broken showerhead
If you notice that your showerhead is broken, you can easily fix it by trying the following steps:
- Go to a utility shop and purchase a new showerhead. It’s usually cheap, except the fancy ones.
- Unscrew the faulty showerhead carefully.
- Now properly clean out the threads on the shower arm. You can use a brush for efficacy.
- Install the new showerhead.
How to fix low water pressure
Are you experiencing low water pressure? This isn’t a problem to have to call on the plumbers. It is a simple problem of scale accumulation inside the spray plate. It can be resolved by following these instructions:
- Turn off the water.
- Get a bowl and pour vinegar inside.
- Unscrew the showerhead.
- Carefully remove the spray plate or aerator and soak it inside the bowl containing the vinegar. Leave it for a couple of hours there.
- Remove and screw the showerhead back in position.
How to fix rust-colored or smelly water
Did you notice that the hot water in the shower is smelly or discolored? This is usually as a result of accretion of mineral in the water heater or perhaps a node rod that has been degraded. Without making a call to a plumber, you can fix it by:
- Turn off the water heater.
- Connect a garden hose to the water heater valve and drain the water heater.
- Drain it completely and attach the water heater valve in place.
How to fix a jammed garbage disposal
Fixing a jammed garbage disposal doesn’t require the expert intervention of plumbers. Follow these steps:
- Carefully unplug your garbage disposal. Using a ¼ hex wrench or a jam buster tool, place it on the hex-shaped knob on the bottom of the garbage disposal.
- Move it back and forth till the impellers of the garbage disposal gets freed.
- For objects that are trapped between the impellers, simply unplug the disposal, get the item out and place it inside. The blades will start functioning properly.
- If the garbage disposal is still jammed, press the reset button.
How to unclog a toilet
If your toilet is clogged up, try out these DIY hacks:
- Turn off the flow of water. This can be done by turning off the toilet valve located at the back or beside the toilet depending on the design.
- Fill a bowl with hot water.
- Pour the water the into the toilet. The hot water will help conk out the clog.
How to retrieve an item in the toilet
Got an item stuck inside the toilet, follow these simple steps:
- Get your vacuum cleaner and remove the filter.
- Aim the hose to the bottom of the toilet, into the drain if you can.
- Turn it on. The item will get sucked into the vacuum which you can retrieve.
How to deodorize a garbage disposal
Have you caught a foul odor wafting around the kitchen sink? It could be as a result of rotten debris in the disposal. You can quickly fix this problem:
- Pour a couple of ice cubes, lemon peel and a handful of dish detergent into the disposal.
- Turn the disposal on and let it run for 30 seconds.
How to save energy bills
What most people don’t realize is that the hotter the temperature of your water heater, the higher more energy is expended and the higher the electricity bills. The default setting for most water heaters is 140ºc which is not recommended. To save energy bills, you can reduce the threshold to 100ºc.
With these helpful DIY plumbing hacks, you not only save cash that would’ve been spent on hiring a plumber but save up energy. However, if the problem is serious, reach out to a plumbing service. Another helpful tip: do not wear what you love when trying to fix plumbing issues.