Plumbing work is perhaps one of the most important household chores along with an electrician. Defective taps and pipes can cause a flood not only for you, but for all the neighbors below you, which promises huge cash costs. We will help you avoid this by talking about the basic rules for the prevention of plumbing problems.
Explore the location of the shutoff valves
When entering an apartment after purchase or repair, carefully study the position of the valves in the closed and open position. If necessary, you can make the appropriate markings with a marker. First, a quick shut-off of the water in the event of an accident can save valuable time. And, secondly, when going on vacation, you will know exactly where you need to turn which tap in order to be calm about the water supply system in the event of an accident and turn off exactly what you need.
Find out the location of the pipes
Very often, water pipes are hidden in the wall and disguised with various boxes and partitions. When starting work on nailing or drilling a wall, make sure that you do not fall into the pipe in any way. If the house is new and you don’t know the location of the pipes. Invite a plumber - with the help of a special device, he will mark the diagram of the passage of pipes in the wall.
Don't litter the toilet
Always remember that a toilet is not a trash can. Many manufacturers position their products as readily soluble in water. Experimenting on your own toilet is not worth it, removing the blockage is not a pleasant occupation, especially if it happened in an apartment building. Do not flush wet wipes, diapers, or sanitary napkins down the toilet.
Do not throw your trash into the sewer.
The kitchen sink is often a place where food waste is disposed of. To avoid problems with sewer blockages, make sure that no large food debris gets into the drain. The pipes leading to the riser are not designed for the passage of dense substances, they only serve as a conductor of water. In addition, regularly flush the system with special products to remove accumulated fat and plaque.
Get a good plunger
Sometimes blockages occur completely unexpectedly for the owners, and there are no special fluids at hand for cleaning pipes. Make sure that the plunger is always kept in the bathroom. Yes, it looks old-fashioned, but no one else has dealt with congestion better than him.
Keep in mind dry vacuum pump
If the congestion in the bathroom is caused by a toy that has gotten into the drain, you should not push it inside, creating even more problems. Please note that there is a dry vacuum pump. It has great pulling power and will easily pull any object out of your pipes.
Don't ignore leaks
Never ignore even the smallest leaks. They indicate a malfunction of the plumbing, which can cause a large flood.
Change rubber gaskets in time and call the plumber even with the slightest malfunction.
Do not overtighten the bolts
A common mistake is overtightening the bolts when installing plumbing. It is necessary to tighten exactly until the pipe does not leak. Excessive efforts can simply break the threads and provoke a flood.
Make friends with plumber's tape
Plumbing tape is used to seal pipe threads to prevent leaks around joints. Generally, wrap the plumbing tape three times around the pipe thread before sealing. Also note that the white tape is for common household plumbing projects and the yellow tape is for connecting gas lines.
Always check your plumbing for leaks
After each plumbing intervention, carefully check the tightness of the connections by passing water through the system, then opening and closing all valves and drains.Even professional plumbers can miss a small leak that requires additional sealing.
