This is a guest post from Ben Blakely from InLinePlumbingUtah.com. Thanks for the tips on plumbing in Utah Valley.
Owning a home is a wonderful experience but sooner or later you will run into a situation where the plumbing is not working like it should. There will be times when you will need to call a Utah County plumber, but simple plumbing problems and repairs can be fixed by you and save some money at the same time.
Let’s look at 3 simple and common repairs that homeowners can do on their own:
- Clogged or slow-running drains – probably the most common plumbing problem. Showers are common drains that clog as are kitchen sinks, but anywhere you have water going down a drain can become clogged. If the water is draining slow or not moving at all, you should first try one of the products that are available at your drugstore or grocery store.
Pull off the drain cover first and check for anything that you can see that could be causing the blockage. Hair in the drain in a shower is often the culprit and you should pull it out if you see it and see if that fixes the issue. The liquid store products normally work well to break up the clog. Pour the entire contents of the bottle and allow to sit for 30 minutes and then run the hot water for a few minutes.
- Leaky faucet is another common problem that normally only takes changing out the washer. Unscrew the tap where the water comes out and take that with you to any hardware store to buy the correct size washer. When you screw the tap back on, there should be no leaking.
- Running toilets – this is also common since the toilet may be flushed several times each day so it goes without saying it puts a lot of wear and tear on it. Take the back of the tank off and jiggle the handle, if this doesn’t work, close the plug manually to fill the tank, check that the chain is not caught on anything as can often be the case. It could also be continually running if the plug malfunctioned and did not release after the flush – try ‘un-sticking’ the plug, allow the tank to fill and flush to see if the plug releases and plugs automatically as it is supposed to.