Were you aware that you could get something as cheap and easy to install as a rubber blanket for your pipes in order to take care of that banging noise you hear in your house? Use this article for this and more great plumbing tips to help you today!

Frozen and bursting pipes from harsh winter weather is a problem that no-one wants, so plan now to winterize your exterior faucets and pipes against freezing conditions. A simple way to accomplish this is to find the exterior water shut-off valve located inside your home (often located in the basement). Turn off the water valve to stop water flow, and then open up the outside faucets to drain out any water that has collected. Be sure to turn off the outside water faucets tightly after the water has drained out. Take in any hoses you may have outside so they don’t crack from the cold weather.

Routinely check your appliance connections and faucets around the house for any kind of obvious leaks or nearby signs of moisture. Not only do even the smallest leaks lead to a large waste of water and money, they also can lead to damage to your home or even the development of harmful molds.

If you have any plumbing work that needs to be done, schedule it all to be done concurrently. While you may be tempted to call the plumber whenever you have a slight problem, scheduling it all at once gives you the opportunity to save money to pay for the repairs. This will cut down on your plumbing bill because they can not charge you for extra trips.

You should always put plenty of cold water through your garbage disposal while it is running. The cold water will help keep the blades nice and sharp and will allow for a much smoother disposal. If you use hot water instead of cold, it will turn any fat into liquid and cause the fat to clog your pipes when it later cools and solidifies.

Always keep your garbage disposal clean. You can do this in many ways. Pour some dish soap in and let the disposal run for a few minutes with some cold water. Be sure to run it regularly, if not, it can cause rust. To eliminate foul odors, grind lemon or other citrus peels. You can clean the walls of the disposal by grinding small fruit pits or egg shells.

Find out the plumbing codes in your local area before starting any project. Plumbing codes can vary wildly from area to area and you don’t want to run afoul of the codes. Visit your local building department to find out information or hire a plumber for a day to help you go over your plans and provide advice.

Prevention will save you money in plumbing bills. The repairs that plumbers perform the most are for drains that are clogged. One major thing that causes clots is grease. It builds up over and time. You can help prevent grease build up by looking for a product on the market that will clean the grease out.

If you have problems with a slow drain, there are easier things you can do other than removing the pipes to clean it. There are certain tools made just for this purpose that you insert into the drain to loosen the clog so it washes away or grab it and remove it completely.

Treating your drains every month is a great way to avoid future clogs and other problems, and it’s a very simple procedure. Just run one to two gallons of hot tap water down each drain in your house.

Believe it or not, it is not a very good idea to use a plunger if your toilet is clogged. Plungers just push whatever is stuck deeper into the drain. Instead, it is a better idea to use a closet auger. It will do a better job and is affordable.

Teach kids how to shut off the toilet’s water supply. Kids are notorious for putting large wads of toilet paper and other things into the toilet, which inevitably leads to the toilet overflowing. Especially if your bathroom has carpet, show kids how to turn the water valve off if the toilet water keeps rising, to prevent the mess of an overflow.

There are other skills plumbers need aside from being able to work with water. A plumber must be familiar with all the water lines in a house so that repairs can be quick and effective when they are necessary.

In conclusion, there is a lot that you can easily do in your own home when it comes to dealing with plumbing issues. Hopefully you learned a few things and will be able to act on them. Use this advice today and be confident in all of the plumbing work that you do.

Tools You Might Need When Doing Plumbing Work was originally published on Spring