For your home maintenance, it may feel tempting to go ahead and hire a professional contractor rather than go the DIY route. Most homeowners feel that the home repairs are complex projects and these tasks should be left to professionals. They fear that they will end up causing further damage while doing a home repair project. But if you have a plan in place, you can do any project on your own. Here are some simple home repair tips that can help you with your repair projects.
1. Toilets
You toilet tank shouldn't have a leakage. To find out if it leaks, you should put a bit of food color in the tank and come back after a few minutes. If the bowl water is pink, you need to fix a leakage problem. Replacing the flapper may fix this issue.
2. Faucets
Your faucets may start leaking if the washers are worn out. Actually, the washers of the faucet handles are made of rubber and wear out pretty quickly. To fix the problem, all you have to do is turn off the water supply and then replace the faucet handles.
3. Washing Machine And Dryer
The water supply hoses should be inspected on a regular basis. Aside from this, you may want to check the water supply lines of the washing machine on an annual basis. If they are made of plastic, you should replace them after a few years. But if the metal ends are rusty, you must replace them right away.
As far as the dryer goes, you should clean the lint screen on a regular basis. This is important if you want to prevent fires. Aside from this, the cleaning will also make the heating element last longer.
4. Water Heater
Water heaters should be maintained for longevity. Besides, the upkeep of these appliances prevents further damage. The water heater should be drained. To do so, you should stop the water supply. Next, you should connect the hose to the fitting of the drain on the tank bottom and then place the other end where you will expect no water damage, such as the driveway. You should open all the other faucets of hot water in your house and then reopen the drain valve. Now, you should resume the water supply to get rid of the sediment in the tank. That's it.
5. Plumbing
You should follow the tips below if you want to keep your water supply pipes free of blockage.
- Don't pour oils and fats in the drains as this is one of the main causes of pipe blockage.
- You should use a hair strainer for your home bathtub drain. Hair is one of the main causes of problems in the bathroom. You should prevent the hair from getting into your plumbing.
- If your toilet or bathtub is blocked, you can use a drain snake to reopen the toilet or bathtub. On the other hand, if the kitchen sink is blocked, you can try plunging it prior to using the drain snake.
- So, with these tips in mind, you can do a variety of home repair tasks on your own.
