Six jobs worth knowing
Most of them need a wrench, a plunger or a bucket, and twenty minutes.
Find your shut‑offs before you need them
Every adult and older child in the house should know where these are.
- Water: the main valve where the line enters the house. Tag it and check it closes fully
- Electricity: at the panel, switch off the individual circuits before the main
- Gas: ask your gas company how your meter shuts off, and practise without turning it
- Replace a water valve that's rusted open or won't close all the way
Stop a running toilet
Food colouring shows whether the tank is leaking into the bowl.
- Put a few drops in the tank and wait 10 minutes without flushing
- Colour in the bowl means a leak, usually from a worn flapper
- Replace the flapper at least every five years
- Flush after the test so the dye doesn't stain
Fix a dripping faucet or showerhead
A faucet dripping once a second wastes more than 3,000 gallons a year.
- Shut off the water supply before you open anything up
- Worn washers and gaskets are a common cause of faucet drips
- A showerhead leaking at the stem usually needs pipe tape on the threads, plus a new washer or O-ring
- To find hidden leaks, read the water meter before and after two hours with no water use
Clear a blocked drain without chemicals
Try the plunger first.
- Then pour in 1 cup each of baking soda, salt and white vinegar, wait 15 minutes and flush with boiling water
- For a stubborn clog, use a plumber's snake, gently at the bends in PVC pipe
- Fit drain screens in sinks and tubs to catch hair and food
- Once a month, flush with ½ cup washing soda dissolved in 2 cups boiling water
Deal with a frozen or split pipe
Utah State Extension suggests a plumber first. If you do it yourself, shut off the main supply before anything else.
- Open the faucet on that line and thaw from the faucet end
- Use gentle heat (a hair dryer, heat lamp, space heater or hot wet towels) and keep cords away from water
- No open flame and no boiling water
- If it may leak as it thaws, open other faucets to drain the system and keep buckets close
Clean up mould safely
Patches under about 10 square feet are usually a job you can do yourself. Fix the water problem first, or it comes back.
- Dry anything wet within 24 to 48 hours
- Scrub hard surfaces with detergent and water, then dry them completely
- Wear an N-95 respirator, long gloves and goggles without vent holes
- Throw out mouldy porous things like ceiling tiles and carpet
