There is no time like the present to gain a better understanding of plumbing. Perhaps, you had thought about it before, but were unsure about your abilities. Read on for some great information on the basics of plumbing, and you will feel more empowered to handle any plumbing emergencies that come up, even if you don’t have a plumber that can show up right away.

You always want to solder correctly, the biggest mistake most people make when soldering is failing to get the interior of the fitting and the exterior of the pipe clean and shiny. Polish these surfaces with a fine emery clot until bright. When soldering, never heat the pipe, but instead, heat the fitting. Doing so allows the solder to be drawn into the fitting by capillary action.

Check the filters in your furnace, regularly. If these filters have not been cleaned or replaced recently, they may become clogged. This will affect how well your furnace is able to work, meaning that you may not have enough heat during the winter. Take this simple step, as soon as the weather starts to become cold.

When starting a plumbing project that is due to loud noises in your pipes empty the pipes first. This can be an easy fix to an otherwise wasted huge job. Just close the main water line and open the facets throughout the house. After the water has stopped flowing turn the water on from the main source and check to see if the noise is eliminated.

To avoid having your outdoor faucets freeze up in the winter, detach all hoses before the first freeze. Also, close the shutoff valve that leads to the outdoor faucets, then turn on the outdoor faucets to let any remaining water in the lines drain. Once temperatures warm up in the spring, you can reverse the process.

Check how well your toilets are flushing. If the handle needs to be played with in order to keep the water from running constantly, or if it needs to be held down several times in order to flush, you may need to switch out some of the parts in your tank. This is not expensive, and it could help reduce your monthly water bill. It could also mean that you avoid the embarrassment of the flushing system breaking when you have visitors!

Do not pour grease or oil down any of your household drains. Put them in containers and place in the fridge until they are solid, then throw them away. If you pour them down the drain, they can solidify in cold pipes. These solid masses will clog your pipes and are very difficult to remove.

If your water is coming out black, then most likely you have an iron and magnesium issue with your water. You need to contact a water softener company and get them to come out and assess your water. They will be able to fix the problem by adding a water softener.

The key to maintaining low plumbing repair bills is prevention. A common serious repair is removing clogs in the drain. You can clog your drains with hair. Stop the clog by covering your drains with screens to keep hair from going into the pipes. Cleaning a screen is a lot easier than cleaning out your pipe.

During the warm seasons, you will see that there will be many bird nests forming in and around your plumbing vent pipes. It is essential to clear these out, as they can have a devastating effect on the quality of your plumbing and the flow of water in your home.

Sometimes kitchen sinks can be clogged up due to a slow accumulation of solidified grease. One quick fix for this is to try pouring very hot grease down the sink, which will liquefy the grease clogging the drain and carry it down. Water won’t work, because grease will not dissolve in water.

Knowing about basic plumbing is a valuable skill. Your relatives and close acquaintances are sure to find you a handy resource in their lives, and you personally can save some of your hard-earned dollars. With any luck, the information and tips provided here will soon prove to be useful.