Welcome to Plumbing 101! If you’ve resolved to become handier around the house this year, then you’re in luck. We’ve compiled some tips that we think every homeowner should know.
Lesson number one, identify this object:
- Chair
- Desk
- Toilet
- Invention of the future
Just kidding, we know you know what a toilet is. You chose option C, right?
In all seriousness, here are the real Plumbing 101 tips:
When in doubt, shut off the water valve.
The last thing you want is to do while performing maintenance is to make things worse by creating a mess, or worse, causing water damage. If you’re working on your plumbing, shut off the valve to that area of the house as a precaution.
Locate the valve for your toilet before you need to use it.
One of the most common issues we see is the good, ol’ overflowing toilet. If you’re unable to stop the water from sloshing out all over your floor, you may be looking at some pretty costly water damage.
Luckily, every toilet has an emergency shut-off valve near it. Many times, it’s located on the wall near the lower half of your toilet. Find it? Good, now commit it to memory in case you ever need to use it.
Find your home’s main water valve.
This one kind of goes hand-in-hand with what we just said. Ideally, you want to know where these things are before you need to use them.
Know how to fix a dripping faucet.
Often, dripping faucets can be fixed by simply replacing the washer. To do so, remove the faucet handle cap and use a socket wrench to remove the valve from the faucet.
Do you see the faucet washer now? Great, take the old one out of there and replace with a new one. Screw everything on, and you’re good to go.
But wait, did you remember to shut of the water to that area of the house before working on the faucet? If not, you better get in the habit of doing so. Trust us, it will save you in the long run.
These are just a few tips to get you going. Expect to see more posts like this in the future, we have a couple more tips up our sleeves.
We sincerely believe that everyone should know how to do simple plumbing tasks. But don’t worry, we’re always here for the tasks you can’t handle on your own.
