Even a minor plumbing problem can be a nuisance and requires urgent attention. So, it can be really useful for homeowners to have some knowledge to tackle minor plumbing issues. You don’t even need to do a perfect job. But even a little bit of work will be useful until the plumber can arrive at your house.

Here are five plumbing tips every homeowner should know.

1. Shut down the main water valve before attempting any plumbing repairs

Most plumbing jobs require that you shut off the water supply before attempting the repairs. As a homeowner, you should definitely know where the main water valve is located. You can inquire about this from a professional plumber you have called to the house when you moved in the space. You can also check the home inspection report to find it. It will be located either outside, safely tucked inside a covered box, or in the basement. But its location can be anywhere else too such as under the sink or by the water heater.

You should also know how to turn it off and on as needed. Use the valve to shut off the water’s main supply. Simply turn it in a clockwise direction. You may need to use a meter key if the valve is outside.

For fixing single taps or toilets, you may not need to switch off the entire water supply. In that case, you can simply switch off the valve located below the problematic fixture. Knowing how to do it will come in handy when you have a leaky faucet or clogged drain. It is not easy to fix a leaky faucet. So you can stop water wastage by shutting off the valve until the plumber arrives.

2. Use the plunger to unclog drains

Try to drain the water from the clogged sink or toilet (water level may go down on its own eventually). Then press the plunger on the drain and ensure that it has locked in well by creating the vacuum. Then try to plunge the tool up and down several times. It should work within minutes. If not then you will need to call the plumber.

You can use simple online searches to find good local plumbers. Ensure that you use location in the keywords such as home plumbing Villa Park and plumber in Irvine or something similar.

Ensure that the size of the plunger as appropriate for the drain. It should fit on top of it snugly.

3. Unclog drains using hot water or chemicals

Clogged drains are a bane for homeowners. It is also a very common problem. You can use several DIY ways to unclog a drain. The plunger might not always work if the blockage is rather stubborn.

If not then pour hot water down the drain. If it doesn’t resolve the problem then pour the hot water along with some baking soda. You can also add vinegar for good measure. If this too doesn’t solve the problem then use drain-cleaning chemicals. If nothing else works, it is time to call the plumber.

Do not, however, use chemicals or vinegar excessively. Doing so can damage the pipes.

4. Refrain from flushing down just about anything down the toilet

By way of simple measures, you can ensure that the toilet is never clogged in the first place. The simple rule is that other than toilet paper, nothing else should be flushed down it. So, ensure that no sanitary napkins, tissues, and diapers find their way into your toilet.

5. Take care of the garbage disposal

Throwing anything in the garbage disposal without any regard can clog the sink pipes. So, it is important to know what you can put down the garbage disposal and what you mustn’t in any case.

So refrain from dumping eggshells, coffee grounds, grease, cooked pasta, potatoes and rice, rough bones, vegetables like artichokes, lettuce, and asparagus, and other large food debris into the garbage disposal.

Ensure that cutlery like spoons and forks don’t disappear down the sink. Tissues, cigarette butts, and sponges must also not enter the garbage disposal.

What’s the point in hiring a dryer duct cleaning service? Would it be fine to just let it go? Many people don’t realize the risks of improper dryer duct maintenance, and these can have severe consequences. Dryer duct cleaning helps prevent costly issues, such as fires, broken equipment, inefficient machine cycles, and more. Let’s dive into some of the things that make dryer duct cleaning so critical for homeowners.

Risk of Dryer Damage

If you don’t practice regular dryer duct cleaning, you’re putting a lot of pressure on your equipment. If your dryer duct gets dirty or clogged, all that heat accumulation from the electricity used to power it can end up frying the machine’s circuits. Dryer duct cleaning is a service designed to make sure your equipment is maintained properly so that you don’t end up paying for needless repairs or replacements. If you want to avoid damages to your dryer, it’s crucial to get the ducts cleaned at least once a year.

Fire Hazard

Dryer duct cleaning is also vital in preventing fires. Dryers are a leading appliance in starting house fires because so many people neglect to invest in the necessary dryer duct cleaning services. This puts not only your home, but also your family and yourself, at serious risk of harm. The accumulation of lint and dust, combined with the overheating of the machine, makes it super easy for fires to start, and proper dryer duct cleaning is the only way to prevent tragedies from occurring in your home. Cleaning your dryer duct is the necessary and responsible choice that you have to make for the protection of your house and family.

Less Efficient Cycles

If you don’t have regular dryer duct cleaning, issues like vent clogging will make your dryer work a lot less efficiently. This can mean your clothes don’t get dried all the way in one cycle, forcing you to go through multiple cycles just to dry your clothes completely. This is both a waste of your time and money. You need a dryer that works well enough to do the job the first time, and which doesn’t put your clothing at risk of developing mold if they end up damp. Dryer duct cleaning is the best way to ensure that your dryer is operating at peak condition.

Higher Electric Costs

If your dryer is overheating and not working as effectively, your electric bill is going to go through the roof. All of that extra heat and energy is costing you a lot of money when you don’t invest in dryer duct cleaning services often enough. Dryer duct cleaning will ensure that your machine is working as it should, and that will be great news for your bank account.

Environmental Concerns

Just as the extra energy wasted from unclean dryer ducts hurts your bank account, it also hurts the environment. Saving electricity is crucial to doing our part to help the environment and combat climate change, which means keeping the machines we use as efficient as possible, and running them less often. Not to mention that, if your machine breaks down often, or causes fires, that also has an immensely negative impact on the environment.  If you care about the environment, you’ll understand that it’s our duty to conserve as much energy as possible, and that starts with proper dryer duct cleaning.

Dryer Lifespan

All of these strains mean that you won’t have your dryer for nearly as long as you should. By hiring dryer duct cleaning services regularly, you can keep your dryer working smoothly, and it will last way longer than a dryer you don’t maintain properly. Whether the circuits get fried or the excessive cycles kill your dryer, those problems can almost always be avoided with annual or semiannual dryer duct cleaning. Your dryer can last you years, as long as you show it some love.

Overall, dryer duct cleaning is absolutely essential to mitigating risk and keeping your dryer working properly. Dryer duct cleaning prevents dryer damage, fire hazards, wasted time and money, and it conserves electricity for the environment and ensures you can get more years out of your dryer. If you have a dryer, you need a dryer duct cleaning service.

When it comes to residential demolition, Austin TX homeowners need to work with reputable demolition companies that have specialized experience in demolishing residential structures. Home demolition can be a risky endeavor, especially if there are other building structures nearby that could suffer corresponding damage. The demolition company needs to be able to control the demolition safely and also dispose of the debris and clear the site.

Before hiring a company, check their credentials and find out if their professional crew has proper certification and insurance. Additionally, ask about the range of services they provide and their work terms. After they have inspected the site, get their project estimate in writing.

Here are some of the advantages you will get on hiring professional residential demolition companies:

You get an exceptional level of service

There are different reasons for carrying out residential demolition Austin TX homeowners may have suffered property damage due to flooding, cyclones, tornadoes, fires, or other natural disasters. You may also have had your home destroyed by pest infestation. Or, you want a change from the small or outdated place you have resided in for many decades.

Whatever your reasons, the most realistic options before you are to demolish a section of the house or the entire structure. You can then renovate or rebuild from the ground up. By hiring a professional residential demolition company for the work, you can be assured of competent service and high safety standards from day one to site clearance. They will assess your property, offer you different demolition options, and create a demolition map to carry it out.

You get competitive pricing for the demolition services

For residential demolition, Austin TX-based companies will offer you competitive prices for their services. The costs can differ, depending on whether you only want to demolish part of the structure or the entire house, or if you want prior deconstruction to remove any salvageable items. As deconstruction usually requires manual work and is labor-intensive and time-consuming, the costs will be significantly higher than carrying out simple demolition.

However, both demolition and deconstruction are generally in the affordable range, considering the amount of work the crew will put in to raze your property, salvage reusable items, remove the debris, and clean up the site afterward. You will find that demolishing a house is far less expensive than building one.

You get safe debris removal and site clean up

By hiring a professional company for residential demolition, Austin TX homeowners can rest assured that the demolition work will proceed smoothly and without injuring anybody or damaging any adjoining buildings. Using the right skills, techniques, and equipment, the company crew will manually strip the house of salvageable items and use proper methods to dispose of hazardous materials like asbestos and lead paint. They will employ an excavator or other heavy machinery to tear the structure down. They will then use a dumpster or trailer to remove the resulting debris and do a thorough site clean up.

You get the work done without wasting time

Depending on the property size and type, a professional residential demolition company can generally get the work done in a couple of weeks. You will appreciate this if time and convenience are of the essence, and you need to start rebuilding your new house sooner rather than later.

You get informed about local and state rules and regulations

A professional residential demolition company will be aware of and will comply with all the mandatory local and state rules and regulations regarding house demolition. It will be a good idea to discuss the legal aspects and the payments for these before beginning the demolition. They can also get any necessary permits and help you contact utility and services companies to disconnect the water, gas, and electricity services before the demolition.

With a professional residential demolition company to handle the house demolition for you, the work will proceed quickly and efficiently. You will be able to raze your house without compromising safety factors or inconveniencing your neighbors too much. And, with the company clearing up and disposing of the debris, you will have a cleaned-up site and will be able to begin your new construction work very soon.

Rodent proofing services can be extremely helpful to keep your home safe from damages. Mice and rats can damage property and spread diseases to residents of the house. Exterminating them is not a lasting solution. You need to make your home completely safe from rodents by closing every possible outlet from where they can enter inside the property. But only professionals can make homes safe from rodents. Rodent proofing is not a DIY job.

Here’s why rodent proofing services are important for your home.

Protection from Property Damage

Rats and mice can chew wood, plastic, and all kinds of hard materials. These pests can chew cables and destroy the electrical system in your house. Chewing of wires can even cause fires; destroying your property and causing harm to life.

Rodents can destroy furniture, books, clothes, files, etc. But the real risk is the structural damage to the property. Once rodents begin to chew on a surface; they can destroy it completely within days.  Rodents can chew through drywall and things made from plastic and vinyl. If the concrete isn’t cured adequately, mice can even chew through it. Apparently, incisors in rats continue to grow. So, they need to chew on things to wear their teeth down. Mice often chew on wires and other things to whittle down their incisors.

Rats and mice can chew through lead, aluminum, asbestos, brick, cinder blocks, cement, mortar, leather, wax, and sheetrock.  So, imagine the damage to your house, property, and belongings when rodents are in your house. If your roof is made from wood and already has a weak structure; rodents can damage it further and pose a serious risk to your house and family.

Rodent proofing services can seal even the tiniest of holes through which rodents can enter. Professional services can check your entire house and make it impossible for rodents to enter from anywhere at all. Merely exterminating rodents is not the solution. You will need to make it impossible for them to find a way into your house. Once rodents enter your house, their pheromones can attract more of them to your property. You can rodent-proof windows, doors, attic, and plumbing too.

Protection from Diseases

Rodents carry germs that can cause serious diseases in humans. Some of these diseases are rat-bite fever, leptospirosis, Lassa fever, Hantavirus pulmonary symptom (HPS), plague, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, salmonellosis, and tularemia. Some of these germs can also be transmitted to your pets such as dogs and cats.

All these diseases are serious and require extensive treatment. Even dead rodents can transmit some of the above-mentioned diseases. For instance, tularemia can occur in humans and pets if they come in contact with a dead rodent carrying the bacteria that causes it.

Rodents can bring mites and ticks into your house as carriers. Urine and droppings of rodents can spread germs around your house and risk the residents. It is also risky handling urine and droppings of rodents. You will need to take special precautions when you handle these things including dead rodents. Such chores can be tedious as well as dangerous.

Protection from Unhygienic Conditions

Needless to say, if rodents are in your house; expect to find their droppings just about everywhere. You can wake up and see their droppings first thing on the floor, kitchen platform, and near your coffee mug.

Rodents can contaminate food in your house. If you ingest such food, you are likely to get sick. Dried droppings can become airborne and cause allergies when inhaled. Even rodent saliva can be around your house; making the surfaces icky and dangerous to touch.

Rodent dander can also cause allergic reactions. If you and any of your family members have asthma or any respiratory disorder; then the presence of rodents in your house can cause severe problems. Red eyes and watery eyes are possible too. It is not possible to clear rodent dander, droppings, and urine from every corner of the house. Even if you clean diligently, rodents in your house can continue to contaminate the surfaces.

Hiring professional rodent proofing services can provide you relief from all the above problems.