Help for diy plumbing problemsIf you're a diy plumbing guy or gal, you'll know the frustration of getting started on a job and getting stuck half way through.
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Safety firstNow that you've found me I don't want to lose you.So we'll start with some of the safety basics. When cutting metal pipes you need to connect a wire that links both sides of the area to be cut. Most plumbers use a pair of alligator clips joined at both ends to a piece of two foot earth wire. This will protect you if there is an electrical fault and the metal pipes have been used as an earthing point. Please,listen to this advice.I've experienced a couple of belts in this exact senario and its a lesson you may not get a second chance to learn. Remaking a jointThe DIY natural instinct is to undo a joint, work on what ever they're doing, then try to put the joint back together with altering a thing."Wrong, wrong, wrong." If you want to confidently turn that water back on, here's what you need to do A. Clean out every piece of old jointing compound you can see. Get a small screw driver and run it through the threads of both the male nipple and female socket.If its a crox joint, again dig the screw driver into the nut and feel around for old hemp (jointing material). Make sure you get the lot. This will make doing up the new joint a breeze. B. Re hemp the joint and add jointing graphite for lubrication. C. Re tighten joint ensuring nut goes on square. D. Celebrate the diy plumbing experience. Leaking valvesGet to know where you hot water cylinder valves (valve vented systems only)release to. They normally terminate above or in an outside gully trap.If you have trouble locating them, follow your pipes under your house to where they end. Also your toilet may also have an overflow pipe that will protrude through the wall it sits on.Inspecting these monthly, stops large water and power bill going unnoticed. Hot water temperature.This is a diy plumbing danger zone.Check it out: The ideal temperature for water stored in your cylinder is 70C or 158F. This temperature will kill bacteria growth. Now in saying this, the ideal temperature at your taps is 55C or 130F. This gives about 30-40 seconds before burn get servere. So how do you satify both sides of the regulations. Easy! You'll introduce a tempering or anti scauld valve. This valve registers the temperature of the water coming out of your cylinder. If it's too hot ie 70C or 130F it automatically adds cold water to bring it down to 55C or 130F.Protection both ways:) If you don't have a tempering valve!My personal point of veiw is to set hot water cyliner temperature to 55C or 130F. Most city water supplies are treated to a safe standard and in my opinion, the threat of scaulding is greater. Avoiding pipe blockagesPrevention is definitely better than cure so avoid pouring fats and oils down your sink. They line the waste pipes and encourage fat build up. This is by far the greatest cause of blockage, so spread the word through out your family.The diy plumbing trap. If you have young children, avoid using toilet smelling accesories that clip over the bowl. They are the perfect toy to play with and usually get flushed. They seem to make these things the perfect size to block your toilet outlet. Again, with young children make sure you have a grate over your outside gully. I could start a toy fund appeal with all the toys I've retrieved from here. If you have a molting member of the family, place a sieve filter over your shower waste outlet. And finally, remember the diy plumbing code 101. Safety, safety and safety:) Plumb your way back from diy plumbing to plumbing-troubleshooter
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