Plumbing Tips for the New Home Owner
LEARN WHERE YOUR SHUTOFF VALVE IS
I once came home to the sound of running water. Being a good husband, my first thought was to blame my wife for leaving the bathtub running. After all, it seems logical that a grown woman would walk out of the house with the bathtub running full blast, right? Right?
When I discovered the tub was blissfully dry, I had what I’ll call an “Oh poop!” moment. I realized the sound was directly underneath me. I ran downstairs to our basement and into the unfinished part. There I was greeted with an inch deep puddle of water and a nice fire hydrant strength flow of water spitting out across the basement. Like an episode of I Love Lucy, I ran around the basement splashing, throwing my arms in the air, and screaming, wondering where the heck the shutoff valve was for the water. Luckily, I found it and was able to shutoff the water for the house before it was able to soak our furnace, and our finished part of our basement.
If you have a basement, typically your house’s shutoff valve will be along the wall. If you do not, the shutoff valve most likely is in a crawl space or near your water heater. Your water company and/or a plumber can assist you in locating the valve. Mark the location with a large sign on the valve and educate your entire family where this valve is so that they can shut off the water in a hurry. Knowing where it is can mean the difference between a small inconvenience and major damage to your house.
SEWAGE PROBLEMS MAY NOT BE YOURS
A month after living in our first house, I went into our bathroom to use the facilities. When I was done, I was walking back toward the door and caught something out of the corner of my eye. The water was coming out of the drain in the tub and filling it with all sorts of wonderful looking sewage.
A $200 call to Roto Rooter was unable to clear the blockage. The plumber’s snake kept pulling back mud and dirt. The plumber said, “You may have a break near your sewer line.” He suggested we call the sewer company to have them check it out. The distance of the break seemed to indicate that the issue was within their right of way, where they were responsible for the fix.
The sewer company came out and used a camera and sensor to find the exact location of the break. It was within inches of their right of way, meaning a repair that would have cost us thousands of dollars was paid for by the sewer company.
So if you have a slow drain that you can’t unclog, you may want to have your sewer company check it out.
GARBAGE BELONGS IN A GARBAGE CAN, NOT YOUR SINK
Our second house was over 40 years old, and the majority of the plumbing was the same age. The former owners, in the state mandated disclosure, indicated they never had a single problem.
One day I went to use the bathroom and once again had the tub full of yuck. Visions of the same exact problem as our first house danced in my head. Luckily, we had purchased a home warranty. Our home warranty company cheerfully informed us that we’d had a backup problem in July, three months prior to the date we purchased the house, indicating the previous home owners were lying sacks of monkey droppings. They said they’d send a plumber right over.
The plumber found an access panel and removed the collar for the drain pipes. He snaked the pipe in both directions pulling out a large blob of hair and lots of a white slippery substance.
He explained what it was. “You see all this stuff? It’s grease. Grease from your body. Grease from your food. You got a disposal?”
I said that we did.
“Worst thing for your pipes. These old pipes get rusty and corroded and they catch and hold stuff as it comes down. You start running grease and food down the disposal, it just adds to the problem.”
He recommended not using it, and if I absolutely had to, I should run five or ten minutes of hot water behind it to ensure the grease went all the way down the length of the drain pipe.
Apparently this problem is not just an issue for home owners. Some cities are banning the purchase of new garbage disposals because the grease poured down the drains is causing their sewers major problems.
If you have to use your disposal, use it for foods that aren’t fatty or greasy and be sure to run plenty of hot water behind it to clear the gunk out.
BUY A HOME WARRANTY
If your home is older, has plumbing that isn’t easily accessible, or you’re worried about your ability to fix any issues that do arise, you may want to purchase a home warranty for your major systems (plumbing, electrical, etc.). While the price may far exceed what we would have paid for a single visit, ours more than paid for itself in our older house in dealing with issues not only with plumbing, but also the heating and cooling.
DON’T CALL LIQUID PLUMR, TRY THESE ITEMS INSTEAD
In our second house, we had a few minor clogs during our time there. We fixed some. Plumbers fixed others. One thing that didn’t work was Liquid Plumr. This highly toxic substance is supposed to eat away at the clog, and appears to be quite effective in doing so in clogs created by ad agencies. In my own experience, all it actually does is create a layer of poisonous material on top of whatever else is already in your drain. Then you and your plumber will have to deal with the toxic chemicals when you finally do fix the clog.
You’d also be wise not to use items that build up pressure behind the clog to break it free. While these can work, you may run the risk of breaking the drain pipes or exposing leaks that may not have been evident without these items.
Instead, spend some money on a plumber’s snake. This flexible metal tool winds its way through your pipes and uses a rotary motion to help catch, cut and pull away at a clog. It can be gross to use, but for less than the cost of a visit of a plumber, it can help you clear most minor clogs in the drain line.
Another item that proved very helpful at breaking up a clog is very hot water. When a bathroom sink in our basement became clogged, I decided to try this remedy. I put a huge pot of water on the stove, boiled it, let it cool slightly and then poured it in the drain.
Nothing happened. I muttered some profanity and went upstairs to look for the home warranty company’s number. As I was digging for the papers, I heard a GLUG GLUG GLUG GLUG GLUG.
It took several minutes, but simply pouring very hot water down the drain melted the clog away. I followed it with several minutes of hot water to help melt the clog further, and never had another problem again.
