Your washing machine, refrigerator, water heater, and dishwasher are appliances that rely on your plumbing. Here are a few tips every homeowner should know about their appliances and how to maintain good plumbing practices which can help with repairs and extend your appliances useful life. With that in mind, here are some basic plumbing tips every appliance owner should know.
1. Know the location of your homes main shut-off valve and your major appliance shut-off valves
If you have not already, you should note the location of your home’s main shut-off valve (sometimes located outside of the house), and the shut off valves under sinks and behind your large appliances. If you require a minor repair to your washing machine knowing how to shut off your water and that these valves are in working order can save you time and money. Test them out and make sure they are functional. Realizing in the middle of a repair you cannot shut off your water is something we want you to avoid. Refrigerators shut off valves might be under the sink, or even near your water heater in your garage. Find these shut-off valves and label them for easier appliance repairs.
2. Avoid puncturing pipes
When drilling holes to hang a shelf or picture make sure you determine if there are any pipes in your path. You may be able to locate pipes behind walls with an inexpensive stud finder. If you are working near an area likely to contain hidden plumbing, like around a large appliance, you could invest in an endoscopic camera to be confident you are safe. If you do puncture a pipe knowing the location of your home’s main shut-off valve will be helpful.
3. Your sinks drain is not a garbage shoot and can cause your dishwasher problems
Never put food or debris down your drain. Make sure to scrape your plates clean and into the garbage before placing them in the dishwasher. Things like popcorn kernels, coffee grounds, grease, peelings, and more are guaranteed to cause problems with your plumbing, and your dishwasher and sink share a drain. If you have a garbage disposal read your manufacturer’s details on what they suggest to avoid. Even though it will go down drain, it doesn’t mean it should go down.
4. Is your refrigerator not supplying water?
If your refrigerator have and icemaker and a water supply that has stopped working you might need to replace a valve. Valves that control you refrigerators water supply are easy to replace and now that you know where your shut off valves are, you can replace that valve fairly easily.
5. Never over-tighten
Hand tight is the way to go. Over-tightening can be a disaster causing leaks where there need not be one. Hand tighten, and using plumbers tape (Also called Teflon tape) where applicable. If you are replacing water lines to your washing machine, when threading the line back on you never want to over tighten.
6. Check for Leaks after any appliance repair involving plumbing
After every appliance project that involves plumbing, check for leaks. Run water through the system, then open and close all valves and drains involved in the project. Anyone can miss a small leak but a double check can save you from a lot of pain down the road.
This is by no means everything you could know about plumbing and your appliances, but these simple tips might help save you time and money. At All Appliance Parts we want our customers to be fully satisfied and we hope this little bit of advice helps make your life a little easier.
