Plumbing repair help for you!
Please help to keep this site free. If you like the info provided here for you, please click the link below and donate any amount you like. Thank you for helping! Shut offs: Your house has several separate plumbing systems. Water-supply pipes bring pressurized water from the water utility or a well to your house, where the pipes bring it to sinks, toilets, washers, bathtubs, and related fixtures. Larger pipes drain waste and vent sewer gases in a separate system. And many homes have piped-in natural gas plumbing for gas-burning appliances such as dryers and furnaces. In an emergency, you should know how to turn off these systems quickly before damage ruins your home. The main shutoff valves are located either outside where the main supply enters, or just inside—particularly in cold climates. Turn the valve clockwise to shut it off. Call your utility company if the problem involves a valve between the street and the house. Clogged drains: Before trying any drain-clearing methods on a plugged drain, check that the tub's pop-up stopper is opening fully and is free of hair and debris. If the stopper isn't the problem, then the drain pipe plumbing is probably clogged. First, try a plunger or chemical drain cleaner. If these fail to do the job, you'll have to clear the trap with a snake. 1. Most tubs have a P trap in the drain. In some homes, the tub may have a drum trap in the floor near the tub instead (it will have a removable metal cover and a rubber gasket). 2. Using a snake in a tub P trap is much like snaking out a sink trap. If you have a drum trap, first try snaking it clear through the tub overflow. 3. If that doesn't work, bailout all the standing water from the tub. 4. Then, using an adjustable-end wrench, unscrew the trap cover slowly. 5. Have rags ready for any water that wells up. 6. Remove the cover, bail out and clean the trap. 7. If, after this, water does not well up, snake toward he tub; if water does well up, snake toward the main drain. 8. If you can't reach the clog from the trap, it's probably deeper in the main drain and if you have a septic tank it may be at capacity and will need to be pumped out by a plumbing professional. Frozen pipes: 1. Open the faucet nearest to the frozen pipe so it can drain as it thaws. 2. Waterproof the area with containers and plastic drop clothes in case leaks occur. 3. Use one of the following methods to gradually warm the frozen pipe. Be sure to work from the faucet toward the iced-up area. 4. Propane Torch With a flame-spreading-nozzle, the torch will quickly thaw a frozen pipe. Use extreme caution as an open flame will ignite flammable surfaces quickly! 5. Safety Tip Shield flammable areas with a fireproof sheet, don't let the pipe get too hot to touch. 6. Hair dryer used like the torch. A dryer will gently defrost the pipe. 7. Heating pad wrap a length of pipe with a heating pad. 8. Heat lamp for pipes behind walls, floors, or ceilings, beam a heat lamp 8 or more inches from the surface. 9. Hot Water. If no other method is available, wrap the pipe (except plastic) in rags and pour boiling water on it. 10. 0ne of the most effective methods is the use of a torpedo heater which can be rented at your local rent a center. Placed under a house in a crawl space for example it will generate enough heat to solve the plumbing problem quickly!
Below you will find a diagram of a typical home plumbing system that you can view to help trouble shoot your problem!
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