We require many different plumbing appliances and fixtures in the house for various household chores and activities. We have faucets and showers for supplying clean water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and bathing. We also have sinks and toilets for waste disposal. Other plumbing appliances are more sophisticated, such as washing machines, garbage disposals, water heaters, and dishwashers. These sophisticated appliances require proper care and maintenance to enhance their functionality and ensure their longevity. But even with proper care and maintenance, these plumbing appliances can still breakdown due to a number of factors. One of the most important plumbing appliances at home is the dishwasher. As the name implies, the dishwasher is used for cleaning dirty dishes. You simply put the dirty dishes inside the dishwasher and then run it for some time and the dishes will be all clean and shiny. But as mentioned above, this amazing appliance can fail from time to time. Sometimes the problem could be serious and you have to request DC plumbing services to have your dishwasher repaired. But you can also try to fix some minor faults on your own. Here are a few simple DIY repairs that you can implement on your faulty dishwasher.

Check The Water Temperature

If your dishwasher is not performing its duty properly, then you need to diagnose the problem. Sometimes the problem is caused by hot water problems. If your dishwasher is not cleaning your dirty dishes properly, then it could be a problem of low water temperature. You need your dishwasher to clean and sanitize those dirty dishes thoroughly. For this to happen, the water used in the dishwasher should be sufficiently hot. If your dishwasher does not heat the water for cleaning dishes on its own, then you have to rely on the hot water produced by your water heater. This device is usually set at 120 degrees. But to clean your dirty dishes properly, you need to adjust this temperature to 140 degrees when using your dishwasher. As you can see, you can easily solve the unclean dishes problem by adjusting the thermostat in your hot water heater when using your dishwasher.

Inspect The Spray Arm

If the spray arm in your dishwasher is not spinning properly, then you will suffer the unclean dishes problem. Most of the time the spray arm malfunctions because of trapped food remnants and other debris. You can easily fix this problem by removing the cap from the spray arm and inspecting it. Use a wire to remove any trapped debris and then close the cap and insert the spray arm back in the dishwasher and the problem is gone.

Clear The Nozzles

Another common but minor dishwasher problem that you can fix on your own is clogged nozzles. The nozzles that produce water for cleaning the dishes can also get clogged by food particles, debris, or even mineral buildup. When inspecting the spray arm and other parts of your faulty dishwasher, make sure that the nozzles are cleared and cleaned to ensure that the water comes through as intended.

Inspect The Door

The door of your dishwasher plays a very important role. It prevents water from leaking from the appliance onto the floor. If your dishwasher is leaking, then it means that the door latches are not closed properly. Check for any blocking debris that might be preventing the door from closing properly. Remove this debris, close the door, and the leaking problem is gone.

The home plumbing system is prone to all kinds of faults and problems. There are many plumbing areas and components that can suffer damage due to improper care and maintenance and also because of other physical hazards. That is why you are advised to conduct regular and thorough inspections of your home plumbing system to ensure that everything is in good condition. And if there are any existing or potential faults, then you should not hesitate to call in a professional plumber for timely repairs. One of the most susceptible plumbing areas to damage and fault at home is the piping network. This is mainly because the piping network forms the largest section of the whole plumbing system. Remember that the piping network includes all the clean water supply pipes, all the connecting pipes, and all the drainage and sewer lines. Any of these pipes can get damaged by all kinds of physical hazards. Some of these pipes are installed outdoors and are hence exposed to all kinds of environmental and man-made hazards. Others like the drainage and sewer lines are installed below the ground and can hence be damaged by many physical hazards. Today we are going to look at some of the most common piping problems and how they can be fixed.

Leaking Pipes

Leaks are some of the most common piping problems in any plumbing system. Pipes can start leaking because of many different factors or reasons. A metallic pipe can start leaking due to severe corrosion, which can undermine its structural integrity. A pipe can also start leaking if it’s damaged by a physical hazard. You can be nailing something to your walls and you accidentally puncture a pipe installed inside the walls. Outdoor pipes can be damaged by all kinds of agents including animals, tree roots, bad weather, vandalism, and so on. Old pipes can start leaking simply because they are worn out by old age. All these hazards can cause any of your pipes to start leaking. The leaks can be minor or heavy. For minor leaks, you can try to stem the water loss using plumber’s tape or any other readily available material. For heavy leaks, you should call a professional plumber as soon as possible to avoid a flooding problem in your house.

Frozen Pipes

Frozen pipes usually occur during the cold season. This is when the water flowing in your pipes freezes due to extremely low temperatures experienced during the cold winter season. The frozen water or ice blocks the flow of water in the pipes. But because there is more water coming through, there is massive pressure buildup in the frozen pipes. This can cause the pipes to crack and burst causing a very serious problem in your house. You can prevent frozen pipes by insulating all outdoor pipes and also by leaving the thermostat on during the cold season. And if you suffer frozen pipes, you should call a professional plumber who handles pipe thawing in DC to fix the problem before the frozen pipes burst and flood your house.

Clogged Pipes

Pipes can clog because of many different reasons. The problem can be caused by the aforementioned frozen pipes. Drainage and sewer lines clog due to obstruction by solid waste inside the pipes. Underground sewer lines are sometimes clogged by tree root infiltration. You can try to unclog your pipes with a plunger or any other DIY solution. But do not hesitate to call a professional plumber if the clog persists.

Clogging can occur in all types of bathroom and kitchen plumbing fixtures and appliances. The most common clogs occur in the toilet drains, sink drains, and shower drains. Most clogs are caused by negligence and bad waste disposal habits. This is whereby you use a certain plumbing fixture to dispose of the wrong kind of waste. For instance, while you have been told time and again that the toilet should only be used to dispose of human waste and tissue paper, many people still flush all kinds of trash in the toilet. Same case with the kitchen and bathroom sinks. You have probably been warned against dumping fats, oils, and greases down your kitchen sinks. But many people continue to do so and this causes frequent clogs in their drainage and sewer systems. You can easily prevent shower drain clogs by installing a strainer to trap hairs and soap remnants before they entre and clog your shower drains. When it comes to the kitchen sinks, clogs can be prevented by responsible waste disposal habits. But despite all your efforts, you can still suffer a clog in your kitchen sinks from time to time. If this happens, try to fix the problem on your own using the following DIY solutions.

Use A Plunger

Many people do not know this, but there are specially designed plungers for unclogging kitchen sink drains. In other words, we have toilet plungers, kitchen sink plungers, and shower drain plungers. You should always have all these three types of plungers in your home. All these plungers are readily available in your local hardware store and they cost just a few dollars. A kitchen sink plungers will come in handy when you have a clog. To unclog your kitchen sink with a plunger, apply the up-and-down motions on the clogged drain; just like you usually do when unclogging your toilet with a plunger. You should consider plugging the unclogged end of the sink drain with a wet rag or something to force all the pressure on the clog. With repeated plunging, the clog will eventually come loose and the sink will be okay. But if the plunger fails, consider the other DIY solutions suggested below.

Snake The Drain

You can also snake your drain using a plumber’s snake or using a modified metallic coat hanger. You can get a plumber’s snake from your local hardware store. Force the snake through the clogged drain until you dislodge the clog. You can also modify a metallic coat hanger and fashion one end to be a hook. You will drive this hook through the clog and try to pull it out or push it through.

Use Hot Water

Another recommended DIY solution for clogged kitchen sinks is hot water. You can try to dislodge the clog by pouring hot water into your clogged sink drain. If the clog is caused by coagulated fats, oils, and greases, they will melt and unblock your sink drains.

Use Baking Soda And Vinegar

A baking soda and vinegar solution is another recommended DIY solution for clogged kitchen sinks. Pour a cup of baking soda followed by a cup of vinegar into the clogged sink drain. This mixture should produce results after a short time. But if the clog persists, call a reliable DC emergency plumber for assistance. You could be suffering a serious clog in your main sewer line.

The garbage disposal unit is an amazing plumbing appliance that gets rid of all those solid food remains in the house. The main function of the garbage disposal is to shred and grind huge solid food particles into small particles that can pass through the drainage and sewer system without clogging it. The first rule when using a garbage disposal is to never shove excess food remains in the device for shredding. You should feed the device gradually until all the food remains are gone. If you misuse your garbage disposal unit, the appliance will start suffering all kinds of problems including clogging and even total malfunction. This will force you to call a professional DC plumber for repairs, which can be quite costly and inconveniencing. But you can avoid all these problems by using the following operating, care, and maintenance tips for your garbage disposal unit.

Always Use Cool Water

Contrary to popular belief or expectation, you should never use hot water to shred and grind food remains in your garbage disposal. Hot water will melt the oils, greases, and fats in the food remnants and these can end clogging your drains. Cold or cool water on the other hand will leave all the fats, oils, and greases in solid form but ground to tiny bits; and these can easily pass through the drainage and sewer system. As such, always use cool water to grind food remains in your garbage disposal.

Ensure Proper Operating Sequence

It’s very important that you follow the proper sequence when operating your garbage disposal. You should always start by running cool water in the garbage disposal. You should then turn on the appliance and then start putting the solid food remains inside for shredding and grinding. And as mentioned above, do it gradually. Do not shove all the food remains in the garbage disposal at once. Load the appliance with small loads and then give it time to finish shredding. Continue running the garbage disposal unit until all the food remains are gone and then turn it off. Leave the cool water running for 10-15 more seconds to help clear and clean the drains of all food particles and debris.

Ensure Proper And Thorough Cleaning

You should clean your garbage disposal regularly and properly. Use baking soda to give the appliance a thorough cleanup. You can also toss in lemon or lime slices in the garbage disposal to give it a fresh scent. Also grind up some ice cubes and run them in the appliance to remove any trapped food particles and debris from the appliance and the drains. Never use bleach or some of those harsh drain cleaners to clean your garbage disposal because they can damage its interior components.

No Grease Or Fat In The Disposal

Avoid dumping fats and greases in your garbage disposal unit. Do not dispose of liquid fats and greases in this appliance. The greases and fats can end up solidifying and clogging inside your drainage and sewer lines.

Grind Food Waste Only

The garbage disposal unit should only be used to shred and grind food waste. Do not use the appliance to dispose of any other solid waste like matches, cigarettes, or glass objects.