Tips for repairing plumbing

In the swivel pipe of the mixer, the rubber O-ring wears out over time and begins to leak water. Place a few turns of thread in the ring groove and slide the ring over them. It will stretch and the leak will be eliminated. For the same purpose, you can use the FUM tape sold in stores.

The rubber gasket on the faucet also wears out quickly, especially when exposed to hot water. The tap begins to leak. Durable pads, which last several times longer than conventional ones, are obtained from an old tire from a car or motorcycle. The strip is cut from the sidewall (the tire is thinner there), the strength is given by the cord threads.

You can lengthen the service life of the tap gasket many times and get rid of humming by making a gasket in the shape of a cone. It is cut from hard rubber and grinded on an emery wheel..

Often, sinks or wear on the seat are the cause of a faucet leak.. A simple operation will help to extend the life of the valve: glue a waterproof skin on the head of the bolt, clamp the bolt into the chuck of a hand drill, and then grind the valve seat. After that, he will act no worse than the new.

You can also strengthen the valve like this: drill out the saddle and press (or put on paint) a brass bushing into it. Another way is to install a soft rubber gasket and a metal washer with holes on the valve seat..

You can do that. The saddle is cleaned to a shine, a wooden insert is hammered into the valve hole, after which the defective place is poured with molten tin.

You can eliminate the leak from under the flywheel of the water tap yourself by making a new rubber gland ring. It is cut out of the cork from the penicillin bottle. The inner hole is cut with a notch – a sharpened metal tube. Outer dimension and height are adjusted with a razor. It is most convenient to remove the old oil seal and install a new one with an awl.

It is possible to eliminate a leak in a tap that switches water to a shower or a bath by unscrewing the tap cone and covering it with a thin layer of wax, some kind of thick grease or soap.

Here’s a way to extend the life of a faucet with a worn stem thread. In order for the stem to work on a non-worn area, an insert must be installed between the stem and the shut-off valve – a piece of nail, thick wire, etc. The length of the insert is determined locally, depending on the design of the crane.

Ice frozen in a water well pipe can be removed with a metal tube with a diameter of 10 mm and a rubber hose with a funnel put on it. The tube is lowered all the way into the ice and boiling water is poured through the funnel. As the ice melts, the pipe will go down, and after a few minutes the well will clear.

In “compact” cisterns, the rubber valve, due to distortions, often does not fit into the socket, thread breaks on the valve or stem also occur. All this leads to the ejection of water from the tank. We recommend to put a rubber tube on the valve stem – the tank will work properly.

In the flush cistern, the water flow is practically ns regulated – its entire volume is drained. It is enough to hang a load of about 0.5 kg on the rubber bulb of the valve, and you can drain the amount of water that is required.

A steel cable is usually used to clean drain pipes in apartments.. However, you can also use a rigid rubber hose with a diameter of 22 mm. One end of the hose must be put on the tap, and the other to clean the pipes. Hot water running through the hose helps wash away dirt and grease.

Once stretched and constantly in pipes from sink to sink and from bath to sink, a nylon cord will make it possible to easily and quickly clean clogged pipes. The ends of the cord are wound and attached to the outside of the siphons. At the joints of pipes and siphons, the outgoing cord does not interfere. For cleaning, it is enough to remove the siphons, tie a metal washcloth to the cord and stretch it several times along the pipe. To pass the cord into the pipes, first, a plastic button tied to a thread is put into the stream of water.

An old flexible metal shower hose can be useful for cleaning plumbing pipes. It easily passes the bends of the exhaust pipes and punches through clogged areas.

But usually, as already noted, flexible steel cable is used to clean the pipes. Insert 10-12 staples bent from elastic wire between the veins at the beginning of the cable. The resulting brush cleans away dirt well, and the end of the cable, raised on the brackets, easily passes pipe bends.

In general, it is very difficult to clean clogged sewer pipes – you have to use a rubber plunger, a brush, and a wire. Not a pleasant lesson! If you want to avoid these hassles, from time to time clean the pipes with the solutions “Krot” and “Krot-2”, which contain caustic soda. Before opening, shake the package, then pour 100-200 g of the solution into the drain hole of the sink, bathtub or toilet bowl and leave it there for 1-2 hours. Then flush the pipe with plenty of water. Be careful – the drug must not get into eyes, skin or clothing.

Without waiting for the locksmith to arrive, you can repair the leaky toilet cistern float yourself. Water is shaken out of the float, and then placed in a plastic bag, the neck of which is tightly twisted with insulating tape.