Plumbing issues can occur no matter how old a home is or how long you’ve lived there, and they’re always stressful. If you find the issue quickly and fix it promptly, you can minimize the damage it could potentially cause down the line, but this isn’t always possible. Luckily, many of the common plumbing issues can be repaired, at least temporarily, yourself.
To help ease your burden, we’ll explain what can cause certain issues and how to correct them. Should these problems persist beyond your fix or continue to occur, you’ll need to call a local plumber, such as a plumber Fort Collins, Colorado.
Stopping Running Toilets
Some of the most common plumbing issues surround one of the most important and disgusting items in our homes: the bathroom. One scary issue that may arise is when, after you flush, the toilet continues to run, which means it continues to make the refilling sound; the water may look as though it’s swirling, and it seems to be draining and refilling constantly.
If you’ve never encountered this issue before, your heart may begin to race as you fear how difficult this problem will be to fix. Luckily, it can be pretty easy to fix—first, lift up the lid on the tank of the toilet and take a look. Sometimes, the chain that’s attached to the stopper that prevents water from leaving the toilet gets stuck and must be loosened.
Once done, the stopper should return to its intended position, and the toilet should work as intended again. There’s a few other things that could cause the issue, though, so you may need to break out the tools and head to the store to buy replacement parts if this isn’t the issue.
Clear Clogged Toilets
Clogged toilets are a more unpleasant problem to fix. The first step is to prevent an overflow, which may require temporarily shutting your water off; once the toilet water stops rising higher, you need to decide on the next steps to take.
You could start by either plunging the toilet or using a drain cleaner. If you don’t like the stuff that you can buy at the store, mix some vinegar and baking soda with hot water and pour it into the toilet. After waiting for a bit, flush and see how the toilet responds—if the toilet flushes cleanly, no other action is required. However, it may be time for you to break out the plunger if it still struggles.
If neither of these work, you may need to use a toilet auger, also called a plumbing snake. If this doesn’t work either, there may be a number of other issues going on, such as a tree root growing into the pipes. Contact a plumber if none of these methods succeed.
Fixing Leaky Faucets
How you repair a leaky faucet will depend on what type it is—commonly, though, the cause is an old seal that needs replacing. Before you begin to fix the issue, ensure that the water is shut off and that something is placed over the drain to prevent parts from disappearing into the pipes, potentially causing other problems in the future.
From there, you’ll need to carefully take the faucet apart piece by piece until you find the issue. Once discovered, you can replace the broken part and put it back together again. However, if your leaky faucet is a ball-type, it may be best to purchase a whole new set of parts. This is due to how many pieces this type of faucet has and how difficult it is to diagnose which one is responsible for the issue.
Once you’re done, if you notice that there could be a bigger issue or your fix wasn’t successful, make sure you contact a local plumber for further assistance. They’ll not only be able to repair your faucet or whatever other issue you’re dealing with, but they may also answer any questions you have and provide advice as to how to fix the issue should it occur again.
Repairing Leaky Pipes
Discovering your issue is a leaky pipe may be terrifying at first, and for good reason, especially if you can tell the pipe has been leaking for a while and has a lot of damage surrounding it. The thing you need to worry about first is stopping the leak for now until you can have a plumber come out and diagnose the issue.
There are a wide number of reasons why a pipe could leak, from old parts that need to be replaced to a clog deeper in the system. Before starting work on your temporary fix, try to call a plumber and make an appointment. Once this is done, it’s time to head to the hardware store and choose which patch you’d like to use.
The easiest ones to use would be epoxy putty or tape, but these may not hold long enough. Repair clamps are another option, though finding the correct size for your pipes may be a challenge, especially when you’re stressed. Just take a deep breath, measure your pipes before heading to the store, and get a few options that you think would work in case one fails.
Looking at Other Common Problems
While we’ve listed a few common problems and their solutions already, there are quite a few more that we can’t cover here; these issues range from a clogged drain to a lack of water pressure or, worse, hot water. Each has its fixes, some of which you can do on your own, while others are more serious and require a professional’s attention.
Overall, while your initial reaction may be to panic when you notice a plumbing issue, there’s no need to. Most of these issues have easy fixes and simple causes. If you suspect that there is a deeper issue, then it’s time to contact a plumber and tell them why you think there’s a problem. While they’re there, they may also double-check any repairs you’ve made to ensure they’ve been done correctly and will last. If this happens, don’t be angry or offended; they’re just doing their job and helping you ensure the problem you fixed won’t be an issue again.
