Common Concerns With Your Bathroom Plumbing

The bathroom is one of the most valued rooms in your house because for a lot of people it can be a place to hide away from the crazy world outside. Whether it be that you have youngsters racing around the home, or you have a stressful task, or you just have to escape, it's wonderful to shut the door and enjoy a beautiful long bath for 1/2 an hour, or take a hot shower without the chance of being interrupted.

Nonetheless, because it involves water, it's one of the most important places in your house to make sure you keep an eye out for things going wrong with your plumbing. It means that you can continue to escape without having to be concerned about that leaking tap, or the drip on the floor, or several other things. As with all things to do with plumbing, the quicker you see problems and fix them yourself, the simpler and less expensive the task will be.

The very first thing to have on your check list of potential problems are the bathroom faucets. Remember how you have installed shower heads that reduce the water flow of water so that you are complying with the law and are reducing water use, well, that is because the water pressure flowing into your house is very fast. Accidentally raise off a tap handle and the water will explode, more than likely all the way to the ceiling. This shows you what immense pressure your tap is continually under. This is also why it's recommended not to leave on your faucets that are fixed to your appliances because of this pressure.

But back to the tap. If it's leaking, this is a major problem. One drip per second equals around 2,700 gallons per year. This is a huge amount of water. So you have to fix this straight away.

First of all, you have to know what sort of tap it is. Does it use washers or does it use cartridges? In most cases you will discover that you can sort this out be turning off the tap. If the handle becomes more difficult to turn, chances are your tap uses washers. If it does not then you more than likely have a cartridge style of tap. Nonetheless, you will not know what exact sort of washer or cartridge the tap uses.

With some luck when you put in the faucets you will have kept the instructions which means you will know what you have to purchase from the local local hardware store. On the other hand, the tap might have been put in before you arrived to live in the home, so this might not be possible. In this case, you will have to open up the tap and take a look.

Turn off the water supply to the home so that you don't get an example of the water pressure in the bathroom. Then remove the cap to reveal the handle screw. These caps have all kinds of different ways of being attached, so try a variety of possibilities including turning or gently prising with a flat screwdriver. You then have to take out the handle and then there might also be a sleeve over the stem itself. Some sleeves thread directly on the valve, others thread plastic tubes to connect the trim sleeve with the valve. Others have different configurations. If you are keen to do this task by yourself but it is not possible for you to figure out the right procedure, then check if you can find the brand of valve for your tap and have a look at online as there's very probably going to be an instruction guide.

When you have removed the handles and trim sleeve from the valve you will be able to find out what is causing your leak. The washer is pretty well always at the other end of the valve stem from the handle. So take off the valve stem. It generally tends to be easiest to do this using a deep socket tool. You'll then find the washer and see if it's worn or chipped. It may be that it's just the washer that requires replacing, but it might be that the whole stem has to be changed. If you are uncertain, the easiest solution is to take the whole stem with you to the local hardware store and get them to suggest the most appropriate replacement.

If you have a washerless catridge type valve the good news is that the process is similar but simpler. Remove the handles and trim and you will find the cartridge is either kept in place by a retaining clip on the valve body, or by a retaining clip. Remove the cartridge, take it to the local hardware store and purchase the appropriate replacement. Put the cartridge back in place and then remember to check that the cold and hot are round the right way. It might be that you have placed the cartridge in upside down, and in this case you will have to flip the cartridge round to the right direction.

If you have a tap that uses little cup seals that fit over springs recessed in the rear of the valve body, you have to replace the springs and seals which should stop the drip. If you have a ball design, and you haven't changed this type before, I'd recommend getting somebody experienced to help you for your first time as they can be to a degree complicated with a lot more o-Rings and parts. Nonetheless, the parts are readily available from your local hardware store and, generally, the process is comparatively easy once you understand how all of it works.

Delimited Author Bio Resource Box

Scott Rodgers is a recently retired Los Angeles master plumber and is committed to assisting you to look after your bathroom. For more useful plumbing tips and information, visit Scott's website: http://eLocalPlumbers.com
Scott Rodgers has recently retired as a Los Angeles plumber and he loves to share his many years experience of baths and plumbing. For more useful tips and information, visit Scott's website: http://eLocalPlumbers.com