Plumbing Tips to Help You Keep The Plumber Away

The plumber's a nice enough guy, but plumbing work costs money. The call is usually made when things have gotten out of control and you're standing in a pool of your own filth. If you don't want to call the plumber and pay for house repairs, here are some great plumbing tips to keep things flushing and flowing the way they should be.

- Keep all oil out of sinks and drains. Don't ever toss oil out into your kitchen sink and don't even think about anywhere else, like the toilet. It seems simple enough; oil is a liquid, the sink is for liquids, therefore it's okay. But even this morning's bacon grease can block your drain completely when it hardens. A better way is to wait until it solidifies, and then throw it out in the trash.

- The toilet bowl is just for toilet paper. This is a common mistake folks make, even though we all should know better. Never throw tissues or anything else at all down your toilet bowl. This will definitely cause clogs somewhere down the line. If you have kids, make sure they understand this too; children can be the biggest culprits. Make sure there's a small trash can in the bathroom that everybody can use.

- Clean out the traps regularly. "Traps" are places in the shower and other drains that are designed to catch solids before they enter the pipes. The one in your shower often gets clogged by hair. Clearing it often will keep the water from flowing down the drain smoothly, and it will also keep stray bits of solids from escaping the trap and heading down your drains.

- Fix leaky faucets quickly. A leaky faucet causes lots of problems; it makes an annoying noise, it runs up your water bill and it can lead to serious problems if it isn't fixed right away. You can easily do it yourself by either simply tightening it down, or replacing a worn or damaged washer inside the faucet. Get it done as soon as possible, and you'll save yourself lots of plumbing headaches.

- If you have an extra toilet or bath in the house that you don't use regularly, make sure to run water through them once a week. Flush the toilet and run a little water for the bath. The pipes will get dry and damaged if it's not used at all, so you should make sure it gets at least a little use once in a while. Otherwise, you might have a plumbing disaster on your hands the next time somebody uses them.

- In the winters, insulate your pipes. Pipes can freeze in the cold temperatures and this can cause serious problems that your whole house will suffer from. Pipe insulation is something easy that you can do yourself. All you need are foam insulation tubes. Cover them in the areas of your house that get especially cold during the winter.

These are just a few simple tips to help you keep your home's plumbing in good shape, and also save you money from emergency calls to the plumber.