14 Ways ToImprove

Your HomePlumbing

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This Simple Report Will Save You Thousands

I purchased my home about 15 years ago, and my neighbor is aretired master plumber. So you can only guess who I called whenI had plumbing issues. Over the years he gave me so many valuable tips and tricks- and after learning all of this I finally havehad time made a simple checklist that I want to share - because let’s face it…homeownership is hard enough without all the plumbing issues that you will face. It has been said that knowledge is power, and the rightknowledge applied can save you a lot of money. This is especially true when it comes to plumbing, and Ilearned that a lot of basic plumbing repairs can be completed easily, quickly and mostimportantly, affordably performed by the homeowner. A professional plumber (like my neighbor) can charge youhundreds, even thousands of dollars for repairs that you can do yourself. Withsome simple basic plumbing knowledge, some basic tools, and a willingness to learn you toocan handle your home plumbing needs. So now that you know you can handle basic plumbing on yourown, I now feel like I can share my tips, tricks and insideinformation with you. Let’s get into our Top Fourteen plumbing tips and tricks!

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#1 Quick Thinking Saves The Day #2 A Local Issue #3 The Homeowners Secret Weapon #4 10 Minutes To Save $10,000 #5 Meter Meter On The Wall… #6 Keep Your Boiler in Shape #7 Why Didn’t I Think of This? #8 Plug The Hole Before Overflow! #9 Have The Basic Tools On Hand #10 Prepare For Common Repairs Easily #11. Go Green #12 Say Goodbye To Your Old Friend #13 Say Goodbye To Your Toilet #14 A Water filter For The Whole Home

Overview

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Now just by reading these first few basic points, you’ll be so farahead of most homeowners it will be hard for you NOT to savemoney! Seriously, call a buddy and ask him any of these pointsand see if he can answer it correctly and honestly. So let’s coverthese important points so you have the plumbing knowledge youneed.

#1. Quick thinking saves the day In most plumbing emergencies you’ll face the major damage is notcaused by the issue itself, but rather the hundreds of gallons ofrushing water causing damage that results from a leak or break inthe water lines. In order to save on costly repairs, damaged items (think about the family photos that you can’t replace), and on top ofall that the hassle to deal with insurance adjusters... Ugh! No thankyou! Here is the simple and easy solution: Have everyone in yourhome know where the main cutoff switch is located and how tooperate it. This simple technique will take no more than 5 minutesand could save you thousands.

#2. A Local Issue Sometimes you have a small leak that is caused by a faulty faucet,a break in a shower head or maybe a toilet that will not shut off. Inthis case, there is no need to shut off the main water line asdescribed in #1 Have all your family members learn where theshut-off valve is located for each faucet, toilet and shower in thehome ( usually right behind, below or sometimes above the itemitself). Remember, being prepared is about learning where anissue can occur and how to handle it, so when a problem happensat the moment you are prepared!

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#3 The Homeowners Secret Weapon Do you know what item plumbers absolutely hate? I promise it’snot a pipe wrench or anything sophisticated at all…. Ok, do yougive up? It’s a plunger! This simple tool is essential to have athome ( I have one in every one of my bathrooms) because assoon as you see slow water ( a toilet draining slowly, waterdraining down a sink or bathtub slowly, you can attack the clogwith a plunger. The plunger will clear out most issues, saving yourhard earned money because you do not have to call in aprofessional. And here is how a plunger works in case you’reinterested

#4 10 Minutes To Save $10,000 I recently learned that my buddy forgot to do this simplemaintenance and his basement flooded, ruining his washingmachine, dryer, and all his workout equipment - costing him over$10,000. What is this simple technique that only takes a few minutes? I’mglad you asked - simply open and close all your water and drainvalues twice a year. (I like to do them quarterly - or every 4months… but I’m crazy about my maintenance) By opening and closing the water and drain valves you arekeeping them operational. When you fail to do this ( like my buddy)the valves can freeze over time, and when a plumbing issueoccurs you cannot shut off or engage a valve - leading to seriousdamage

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Let’s Step Up Your Plumbing Knowledge Ok, you’ve made it this far, you and your family know the basicsand can handle simple plumbing emergencies and maintenance.Give your self a pat on the back because you are in the top 10% ofhomeowners when it comes to plumbing skills and knowledge. Butnow you're ready to step up your game a bit… so read on.

#5 Meter Meter On The Wall… Your water meter is kinda like a command center for water. It tellsyou some important information: if water is running somewhereand how much. Two important things you need to know. ( the largehand tells you gallons per cubic foot, one rotational usually equals10 gallons). Now when no plumbing is being used ( usually when no one ishome) and the meter is running - it tells you there is a leaksomewhere. So then you can read step #2 and try to locallydiagnose the issue. And here is a guide to learn more about yourwater meter.

#6 Keep Your Boiler in Shape No, I don’t want you to take your boiler to the gym with you! Hereis a simple and easy way to make sure your boiler is runningefficiently All Year Long - simply drain a few gallons from your hotwater heater twice a year. (Again, I like to do this every 4 months,but it’s not completely necessary). When you drain a few gallons of water from your boiler what youare doing is clearing out the sediment ( and other strange gunkyou might find! ) from the heater. This allows your boiler to operatemore efficiently, removing a layer of gunk between the heat andthe water

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#7 Why Didn’t I Think of This? One day while I was browsing YouTube I found a great hack thathas saved me hundreds of dollars in repairs. And here is the crazything: you can get this simple “tool” at the supermarket! I bet you can guess what it is…. Ok, fine! I’ll let you in on myfavorite tool in my plumbing kit: food coloring! Yep, as simple as itsounds it works Wonders for me! Here’s how you use it: take yourfood coloring and drop a few drops of color (darker colors workbest) into the toilets water tank. Wait about 20 minutes - and if yousee any of the colored water in the toilet itself you have a leak.You may need to change the flapper valve on your toilet.

#8 Plug The Hole Before Overflow! In our family, we like to make things simple to remember, so whenyou have an emergency you can remember what to do easily! When your toilet looks like it might be ready to overflow and sendwater all over your bathroom quickly do these two things: 1. remove the lid of the tank 2. press down on the flush valve. You are basically plugging the hole in your tank and preventing thetoilet from overflowing. It also gives you time to diagnose theproblem and see what the issue is.

Advanced Plumbing Skills Tools and Systems Ok, now there are a few things that you can do if you want totake control of your plumbing skills, be prepared to tackle moreadvanced plumbing issues and upgrade your hardware for atruly efficient home.

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#9 Have The Basic Tools On Hand We talked about the tool that plumbers hate the most and why youshould have it on hand (see #3) but I want to take it one stepfurther and tell you about some other tools that will save you time,money and the huge headache of calling a plumber. GEt yourself asmall toolbox, and have these items on hand : ● Vice Grips ● a cordless drill ● a socket set ● a set of screwdrivers ● pipe dope ● teflon tape ● An adjustable wrench WIth these common tools, you’ll be able to handle a variety ofplumbing issues with ease.

#10 Prepare For Common Repairs Easily Part of being prepared is having the right tools in your home, andwe covered that in #9. But since we are talking about plumbinghere, it would be really good to have some gaskets and commonreplacement parts on hand. This saves you time a frustration fromhaving to go to the hardware store (or worse, calling a plumber!)when something breaks and needs repair.

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#11. Go Green If you want to avoid chemical cleaners to remove clogs, theninvest in the same tool the pro’s use. It’s called a “snake”, and Ipromise it doesn’t bite! A snake is also called an auger, and it willhelp clean clogs that are deep in pipes, so you can avoid backupsand time-wasting clogs.

#12 Say Goodbye To Your Old Friend If you really want to upgrade your plumbing, then considerremoving your boiler and adding a heat exchanger. This is alsoknown as a tankless heater can provide hot water on demand. Infact, it’s how the big hotels ensure guests always have hot water.You’ll save money because you are eliminating the boiler, whichkeeps up to 100 gallons hot, so you have water on demand, it’s anolder technology and might be worth an upgrade, especially if youhave a big family.

#13 Say Goodbye To Your Toilet If you are buying a brand new home, you can skip the point. But, ifyou’re like 96% of homeowners you’ll be purchasing a home that’sat least a few years old. With that said, you may have an outdatedtoilet. An outdated toilet will use up to one gallon more per flushthen newer models, so you will literally be flushing money downthe toilet every time you flush.

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#14 A Water filter For The Whole Home Now a whole home water filtration system doesn’t have to beexpensive, in fact, here is a great one that’s affordable and I use itin my very own home. So you’re probably asking “ Why would Ifilter ALL of my home water?” and that’s a great question!Remember in point #6 how we drained water from our boiler? Wedid that to remove sediment that accumulates over time. Well,guess what? This can happen THROUGHOUT your home inscreens and filters in showers and faucets. To prevent this, filterwater right from the source - it will definitely save you money in thelong run.

Conclusion Now that we discussed some of the top plumbing tips and tricksfor a homeowner let this be a start to your homeowningeducation. There is always something new to learn, like welding,roofing and other easy tasks that will give you the skills tomaintain your home and save money. The key is a strong desireto figure it out on your own, and the confidence to complete thetask at hand. The master plumber I mentioned above, he waspatient, caring and always took time out of his schedule to checkmy work. Now you may not have a mentor but if you keep reading goodarticles like the ones we linked to, and read some step by steptutorials, you’ll be able to be your own mentor.

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