Plumbing Tips

Plumbing problems are one of the most common problems in any home, before you call a plumber consult these tips, stock up on essential plumbing supplies at your local Essential Hardware store and tackle the problem yourself.

1. When you move into a new house or property, try to locate the main stopcock which shuts off the water supply to the house. Do not wait until you have a major problem, when it will be too late

2. Fit service valves to all your pipes. This will for instance, allow you to work on the bathroom sink without it affecting the water supply in the bath, shower or toilet. This gives every item its own identity and allows you to change taps or solve water leakage problems without shutting off the water supply to the entire house.

3. If you find water leaking from pipes or joints, turn off the water supply and remove the compression joint. Apply joint compound or PT FE tape to the threads of the compression joint and then redo them tightly. This should stop the "weeping".

4. Leaks from the kitchen sink can be cured by either removing the sink drain or applying putty or clear sealant to the bottom of the sink drain.

5. A blocked sink can be unblocked using various methods, but the most effective is to remove the trap from the bottom of the sink and use an old wire coat hanger or a drain auger, to remove the blockage. After unblocking, redo the compression joints on the traps.

6. If space is tight and the use of compression joints may cause a leak due to the fact that they cannot be fully tightened, then the best option would be to use flexible connectors.

7. During winter your may consider “lagging” pipes to stop them from freezing. This is just a method of putting a foam covering over the pipes - a bit like an "overcoat" to protect them from freezing up.

8. There has been some sort of controversy about copper pipes leaving an after taste in drinking water. If you are worried about any health issue regarding copper pipes, you can replace them with plastic pipes.

9. When connecting appliances like washing machines, make sure that pipes are not "kinked", which may result in leaking and damage to your home, especially if you have wooden floors.

10. When working on any plumbing joint make sure that everything is fully tightened and that there are no leaks before you complete the job. There is nothing worse than a slow leaking pipe, which may destroy your ceilings and floors.