Home Plumbing Repair Tips - Do It Yourself

Home plumbing problems can be a headache, and many people think the do it yourself repairs are just as hard. Surprisingly, most plumbing issues are fairly easy to repair. This article will give you tips and tricks to help you make all sorts of DIY home plumbing repairs. From garbage disposal and toilet problems to faucet and shower head leaks, this is your go-to guide for home plumbing repair tips.

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In order to troubleshoot your garbage disposal, you'll need to attempt to turn it on. Locate the switch you would normally use to grind food in your garbage disposal and turn it on. Is it making any noise at all (possibly a humming noise)? Or is it completely silent?

My garbage disposal makes a humming noise when it's on but it doesn't work.

Congratulations, you probably have one of the easiest problems a garbage disposal can have! Not to worry, the fix is usually pretty easy. Follow these steps to attempt to fix your garbage disposal:

1. MAKE SURE THE SWITCH IS OFF!
2. Look down into your garbage disposal to see if there is debris stuck in there. Try using a flashlight and/or a tool that has some reach (like needle nose pliers) and probe around to see if there is anything stuck there. If there is, get it out.
3. Get under your sink and locate your disposal. Using the allen wrench (also called a hex key), manually turn your garbage disposal. To do this, you'll insert the allen wrench into the bottom of your disposal and turn it. This should free up debris or at least help you locate it from above again.
   

My garbage disposal doesn't make a noise when I turn it on.

Again this is probably not a hard fix to make. More than likely there is a power issue; either your garbage disposal's motor burned out (worst scenario) or a breaker was tripped (more likely scenario). Follow these steps to fix this problem:

1. MAKE SURE THE SWITCH IS OFF!
2. Check underneath your disposal and reset the breaker on the unit (see the training video to learn how to do this).
3. Check the main circuit breaker in your house and flip it back on (again, see the video on how to do this).

And that's how you fix a garbage disposal.

Toilets don't generally require any electrical tampering, unlike the garbage disposal. Therefore, the fix should be easier, right? Well, although toilet plumbing isn't rocket science, if you have problem then you are more than likely experiencing water leakage in your bathroom and this is a BAD thing. You'll want to fix it asap.

My toilet sounds like it is constantly running

It's easy to fix a running toilet. First, try jingling the handle. Often this loosens the chain and stops the water from leaving the tank.

If that doesn't work, take the lid off your tank and inspect everything inside. There should be a rubber seal (toilet flapper valve) on the inside at the bottom of the tank that blocks the water from entering the actual toilet. If that seal is old, cracking or damaged, you'll have to replace it (this is easy to do- take a look at the following video).

My toilet is leaking and I can see the water building up (or dripping) onto the floor behind the toilet.

To stop the leaking is easy, and I would suggest doing this immediately. Turn off the toilet shut off valve found below the tank (see picture).

If you still have water accumulation behind your toilet, you will probably want to call a professional plumber. More than likely you have a crack in your ceramic toilet or (even worse) your plumbing pipes are leaking. Both fixes are fairly involved and time-consuming, so you're best bet is to have a professional take a look.

If the toilet stops dripping after you shut the toilet shut off valve off, great! At that point you'll have to do some investigating. Since the tank won't get refilled with water at this point, flush your toilet and let all the water drain out of your tank. Once that's done, take a good look at everything. Use these questions to help you figure out where the plumbing problem lies:

1. Are the rubber seals intact or are they in poor shape?
2. Do I have any visible cracks in the ceramic tank?
3. Do I have any cracks in the plastic or metal pieces in the tank?
4. Where is the leak coming from? Is it coming from the bottom of the tank or the toilet valve itself?

If you see issues with #1-3 above, go to your local home supplies store, purchase the appropriate parts and replace them. Most of those installations should take a fairly handy person less than an hour and a less handy person a couple of hours. Simply follow the directions that came with the items you bought.

If you have an issue with #4 above and your leaks are coming from the bottom of the tank or the toilet valve itself, I would recommend contacting a professional for your plumbing needs. You could potentially need to replace your toilet flange which involves taking your entire toilet off the floor, or you could have serious issues with your pipes.

In the mean time, locate your main supply line and shut it off. This will shut off all water in your house, but it's better to have no water than to have water leaking through your walls and ceilings.

My toilet is clogged.

A toilet can get clogged with unusually large or solid feces or when things are flushed down the toilet that shouldn't be (paper towels, condoms, trash, etc).

If you have a clogged toilet, purchase a plunger and plunge your toilet. Or if it's a more difficult toilet jam, get a toilet auger and unclog your toilet. A toilet auger works like a snake and is carefully pushed down the pipes of your toilet. It's fairly easy to use and can extend 5+ feet through your pipes making it easy to unclog that toilet jam.

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Similar to leaky toilet problems, a leaky faucet will involve some inspection of seals and parts. Most leaky faucets are caused by a de-threaded screw/washer, a bad valve seal, a missing o-ring or things of that sort.

In many cases, it's less expensive to simply replace your faucet outright, rather than spend hours investigating or replacing parts to an outdated faucet. Why? Because if you replace one part on an old faucet system, it's only a matter of time before another part of the faucet breaks down. If you have an older faucet, save yourself the time and energy by replacing the whole thing.

Should you choose to attempt a repair rather than a new install, use the following resources to help you do that:

Similar to a leaking faucet, a leaking shower head can really run up a high water bill f-a-s-t. It is surprisingly simple to repair a variety of leaky shower head problems, whereas other issues might not be easy do it yourself projects.

My showerhead leaks by the base of the showerhead.

This is a simple fix that will require teflon tape and a cresent wrench.

Once you have your tape and your wrench, use your wrench to unscrew your shower head from the wall.

After that is done, wrap some tape around the threads of the shower stem and screw your shower head on again. This should fix your problem!

If it still leaks, repeat the process adding or taking away some tape (the tape acts as a buffer zone just like a washer or plumber's putty).

My shower head leaks at the head, not the base.

If this is the case then your problem is a little more complicated. The problem lies in the shower valve which is near your on/off knob. In that assembly, you could have a problem with a water cartridge or worn rubber o-rings. If you wanted to tackle this problem on your own, here are your steps:

1. Disassemble your shower valve, typically with the use of an allen wrench.
2. Locate and replace your problem parts. Again the problem could be a worn o-ring, a busted water cartridge or collar, etc. You might do well at this point to replace your entire water cartridge assembly, including all the o-rings and collar. This will probably only cost you around $20 and will save you some serious time in the future.
3. Reassemble your shower valve.

For complete coverage of this repair, watch the following videos in order. Not to worry, each video is under 2 1/2 minutes

If you still need more help with your home plumbing but didn't find help here, check out the resources below. You are bound to find help to all your plumbing needs there.

Don't be intimidated by your home plumbing system- it's not as complicated as it might initially seem. Most home plumbing repairs make easy DIY fixes. Here are some final pointers to help you with your plumbing repair jobs:

1. Do your best to shut off the power and water supply to whatever you're working on so you don't get wet and/or electrocuted during the job.
   
2. Most home plumbing DIY repairs are easy and can be done in around an hour.
   
3. When in doubt, call a professional plumber.

If you have any questions or issues, feel free to leave a comment below. Also, if you found this article useful, I'd appreciate it if you shared it with friends and bookmarked it for later.

Good luck!