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How to Maintain Your Toilet.
Toilets are the most important fixture in your home. I mean is this statement really off base because if our water heater goes out we may usually only be without hot water for a day or two. What if we couldn’t use the toilet for a few days and it was the only one we had in the house, yeah that would not be a happy 2 days in the middle of winter. Toilets are very simple to diagnose. You will either have a leak in the bowl or a leak in the back of the tank. Here are some very useful precautions and measures you can take to keep that toilet always working.
No cleaners in the back of the toilet tank. Most of the cleaners which are supposed to be used in the back of the tank are more than likely going to eat the rubber seals on any of the parts in the toilet tank. This is especially a no no if you have just bought a new toilet. Manufactures are putting strict use on the tank cleaners and are even voiding out warranties if tank cleaners have been used inside of the toilet tank.
Keep an eye on the flapper a do a check on it at least once every year. To check the flapper, put a few drops of food coloring in the back of the tank then leave it sit in there for about 15 minutes or so. Come back and check in the bowl of the toilet. After you have let the time pass go ached and check the bowl. Do you see any food coloring? If you don’t you are good if you do then you need to replace the flapper.
To replace the flapper take the old one out and take it to your home center to make sure you get the proper flapper. It will just unsnap from the two little pins and disconnect the chain. To put the new on in snap the flapper to the two pins and connect the chain. This easy repair just saved you 75 bucks and probably over a hundred on a holiday weekend.
Now a Very Important Water Heater Tip.
By keeping up with the maintained on your water heater you can almost double the life of it. How do you maintain a water heater you ask? Well lucky for you it is not very hard. The two main reasons water heaters fail is because of too much expansion and contraction, which usually occurs with a smaller than needed water heater. The next reason is because of the burner failing and this is caused by excess build up of sediment which prevents the burner from heater the water in an efficient manner.
TO get rid of the sediment you need to flush your water heater at least once a year. To do this first shut off the gas valve on the black pipe running into the bottom of the heater. Once you got the gas shit off hook a hose to the drain valve on the bottom of the tank. Turn the drain valve on for 2 minutes then shut off the main cold water valve going to the heater.
Once you shut off the cold water side to the heater open the relief valve on the side of the heater. This will act as a vent so the heater will be able to drain much faster.
The heater will take about 20 minutes or so to drain. Once the water heater is done draining leave the bottom drain valve open and turn on the cold water valve to the heater again. Let this run for another minute to push out any remaining sediment on the bottom. Once it has been a minute turn off the bottom valve and let the water heater fill back up.
When the heater is full of water turn on your faucets to bleed any air in the plumbing system. After all the air is clear turn on the gas and relight the pilot to the water heater.
Bathroom sinks are very important plumbing fixtures and as we all know when they fail it can be frustrating. One of the most common problems with bathroom sinks is with the pop up drain. The pop up is the little cover on the bottom of the sink that pops up and down to stop the water from draining.
What To Do When Your Pop Up Drain Becomes Dislodged Or Falls Out Of The Hole:
When your pop up drain becomes dislodged or completely falls out of the sink you will need to connect it to the shaft underneath the sink. Ok first step. Stick your head underneath the cabinet; you will see a shaft sticking out of the back of the drain connected by a steel or plastic brace with holes in it. Disconnect the shaft from the drain by removing the nut that holds the shaft on the drain.
Once the shaft is removed stick the pop up back in the hole, before you do this notice the long hole on the pop up. This is where the shaft will stick into the pop up. Now with the pop up back in the hole put the shaft back into the drain and make sure the shaft goes into the elongated hole. You may need to pull up on the pop up a little to make sure it connects correctly. With the shaft in place and pop up in place, screw the nut back onto the shaft. Pull up on the rod to test and make sure the pop up is secure.
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