5 Home Plumbing Crises You Can Totally Fix Yourself
When the sink is clogged or the toilet runs, don't rush to phone the plumber. With the right tools and basic instructions, you can solve most minor plumbing problems in your home.
How to Prevent Clogged Drains
Help avoid clogged drains in the kitchen by wiping all greasy pans with a paper towel before washing. Make sure your drain has a screen that keeps out solids, and always keep it clean.
Related: 47 Ways to Maximize Space in Your Kitchen
How to Plunge a Drain
Liquid drain openers are made with caustic chemical compounds, so pouring them down the drain is cause for environmental concern. Try these natural alternatives: First, clean the stopper. If that doesn't help, use an ordinary funnel-cup plunger to flush away the clog. Make sure you've created a strong seal (plug the overflow hole with a small rag or sponge). It may take 10 to 15 minutes to loosen the blockage.
How to Dissolve a Clog
Pour 1/2 cup baking soda, followed by 1/2 cup white vinegar, down the drain, and cover with a plug or rag. The mixture will work to break down any fats into salt and harmless gas. Flush with boiling water poured from a teakettle. A product called Super Digest-It can also help; the microorganisms it contains eat the clogged-up material, turning it into carbon dioxide and water.
How to Use an Auger
If these methods fail, try a drain auger, also known as a snake (at hardware and home-supply stores). Feed the tool -- the length of a thin, steel coil -- down the drain in a twisting motion. Once you feel the coil reach the blockage, steadily push through it, then pull the auger back and forth to loosen the clog and expand the hole. Then plunge again and run water for a few minutes to clear up the rest.
Related: 12 Tools to Use in Your House in Unexpected Ways
How to Fix a Dripping Faucet
For any sink repair, turn off the water locally by closing the shut-off valve. If the faucet is dripping, the washer should be replaced.
Lay Out Disassembled Pieces for Correct Reassembly
To replace the washer, line the sink with a towel to protect its surface, cover the drain, and set up a safe place for laying out the disassembled faucet parts.
Loosen the Stem from the Seat
With a screwdriver, remove the handle, then use pliers or a crescent wrench to loosen the faucet's large bonnet nut (which tightens the thread of the faucet stem into the seat) in a counterclockwise motion. Wrap the teeth of the pliers with masking tape if the bonnet nut is chrome or brass-plated, to prevent scarring it.
Replace the Rubber Washer with a New One
Hold the faucet seat securely to avoid wrenching it loose from its hole in the sink. With the nut loosened, unscrew the faucet stem from the seat. At the end of the stem is the washer, secured by a screw. Remove the screw and the washer, and refit it with a new washer from a kit of assorted-size washers.
Reassemble
Screw the stem back into the seat, and retighten the bonnet nut.
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