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Plumbing Home Remedies
In your lifetime, you will face at least
one plugged drain, clogged toilet, frozen
pipe or another common malfunction.
However, with home remedies for
plumbing problems, you might have a
better chance fixing the issue on your
own. Convenient approaches include:
a) Food Coloring:
If you suspect a leaky toilet, you can use food
coloring to test out your theory. Make sure you
have clear water in your in-tank bowl (this means
remove any sanitizing tabs you may have – like
the blue ones). Add food coloring to where there
is a rich color inside the tank. Wait 30 minutes
and if you see some of the coloring in the bowl,
then you know that your toilet is leaking.
b) Red Powdered Drink Mix:
Powdered drink mix can be used to test whether
or not you have a leaky toilet on your hands. First,
remove anything with color from your in-tank bowl
(such as Tidy Bowl blue tablets). Add powdered
drink mix with a red color to your tank – enough
to produce a rich color. Wait ½ hours and if you
detect any coloring in the bowl, then your toilet is
leaking.
c) Stinky Toilet Smell:
If you smell a funky odor coming from your toilet bowl
every time you flush, then you may have a bacterial
overload. Usually, this type of thing happens in hot,
humid conditions. To kill the bacteria, pour several cups
of household bleach into the toilet tank’s overflow tube.
This is the tube that is sticking up about ½ inch above
the water. The bleach will flow through the rim holes and
into the toilet bowl – killing any odor-causing bacteria
that are hiding. Flush the toilet to send away the bleach.
d) Straighten Sink Hose:
If your kitchen sprayer just dribbles and seems
sluggish, it could be a sign that the hose that
feeds water to the sprayer is kinked. Check under
the sink to see if the hose is straight. Untwist or
unpinch any visible issues. Sometimes, you may
have to disconnect the hose in order to straighten
it out. You will find the hose connected to the
faucet by a hex nut (has six sides). You can loosen
this with a pair of locking pliers.
e) Tighten Hot Water Valve:
If there is water coming from under your
dishwasher – take a deep breath. The remedy to
this problem could be as simple as tightened the
hot water valve. Remove the screw holding the
handle and take off the slip-on covering. Tighten
the packing nut with the wrench if you see any
signs of a leak. You may have to refer to your
manual to pinpoint the appropriate parts of the
dishwater.
f) Soda Bottle:
When you don’t have a plunger on hand
for a clogged toilet, cut an empty 1.5 liter
plastic soda bottle in half. Jam a broom
handle into the spout and secure it in
place with duct tape. This plunger will only
help for a couple of tries and is not meant
as a total replacement for a regular
plunger.
g) Towels:
To stop the potential damage that an overflowing tub
may cause – run for the linen closet and sop up the
water with your oldest towels. Wring out saturated towels
over the sink or in the toilet. Follow up by using a fan or
dehumidifier to dry the room faster.
h) Moist Rag:
To pinpoint where your pipes are freezing before they
burst, take a moist rag and swab along the pipes. When
you locate the frozen spot, frost will form.
i) Hair Dryer:
Once you have found a frozen spot in your pipes, you can use a hair
dryer to thaw out the liquid. Using a slow approach is better. Set the
hair dryer on high to elevate the temperature. Start by thawing the
ice in your frozen pipe on the side that is closer to a faucet. This
means that the melting ice will have somewhere to drain. Gradually
work the hair dryer from the faucet side back towards the frozen
area.
j) Allen Wrench:
This little L-shaped tool can save you tons on money when you think
you need to call a plumber to come take a look at your jammed
garbage disposal. Keep one under the skin and when you
experience problems – follow the directions in your manual to fix it
yourself.
k) Plunger:
Keep in mind that using a plunger is far safer for
your pipes than using the chemicals in liquid drain
cleaners, which actually eat away at your pipes.