Wisdom From My Plumber

15 years ago

Good Morning! Today is my baby's 22nd birthday. I baked her cookies and we're giving her some cash, so she can get what she wants. Here's some wisdom from my plumber, Bob:

1. Always get plumbing problems fixed as soon as they show up. Leaks never go away on their own. If you leave a plumbing problem alone, it will just get worse and be more expensive to fix.

2. Don't bother using the "rinse-hold" setting on your dishwasher. And don't pre-wash your dishes before loading them in the dishwasher. The best thing to do is scrape any food bits into the garbage.(I let my dog lick the plates,teehee!)

3. One more dishwasher hint-you can fill the rinse aid dispenser with white vinegar if you don't wish to buy that Jet Dry stuff.

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Comments (6)

Barb-45
15 years ago
I heard about using vinegar before but ran into the problem of you can't tell when it's full up.
ntt_hou
15 years ago
I find that the rinse aid dispenser on my DW does not work well. I just pour vinegar straight into the dishwasher when it reaches to the rinse cycle.

Pouring baking soda & white distilled vinegar into the drainage will keep the plumber away. Follow direction at the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to unclog drainage
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Thanks for all the responses thus far and you have given me the courage to approach the issues. This explains why my DD15 has asked for professional counseling because she has felt anxious and depressed. Initially, I attributed her problems due to the fact that her sister is about to leave home for college and D15 would be the lone ranger at home. The T alluded to the issues with my W to me, but did not go much into details. Now I understand the fear and concerns from my children. I asked my D18, who is about to go to college, who cried and shared with me the same feeling, that was W would jump in and defend her children when a conflict arose between them. My children felt that it was not the SM's place to get in their face so-to-speak, because the conflicts were peer's issues between them. Of course, how can my children respond or defend themselves when the SM confronted them for they were probably scared. They still were the kids and my W was the adult and head of household. For example, my SD14 one day took my D18's rental DVD to her room without saying anything, making D18 pay for the late fee. Then another occassion, D18's set of DVD disappeared, she asked everyone in the house, who all responded "No, I did not take it." Miraculously, the DVD set reappeared 1 month later. D18 had no reason to believe her own sisters took it because they shared 2 adjoining room, so D18 pointed the blame to the Step siblings. I was aware of it, but stayed out, but then my wife confronted my D about why she accused her children of lying. Unfortuntely, my W's action of defending her children, (not young, all in the teens), has made my motherless children feel they had no one to turn to for support because the W now is perceived as being on the other side of the fence to them. I understand life's reality of "step mother, husband's children". WHen push come to shove, the step mother will take care of her own children first. In the same vein, I left a beautiful date who flat out called my children, "b*tches", and demanded all my assets including that of my late wife, left to her when I die.
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cynic
15 years ago
Good advice. And when the drain starts running slowly, that's the time to do something, not waiting until it's plugged up.

I used to have a bad habit of pouring grease down the drain. (I was young and dumb and didn't know better!) Well it would occasionally slow down or plug up. Usually there were several ways to get it flowing:
- Vinegar and baking soda are almost magical. I always mix some salt in there for an abrasive and it cleans it out nicely.
- When I could get it to just trickle a little I'd start pouring in some salt. As said the salt works as an abrasive and it would take a little time, occasionally a full box or maybe a bit more, but it would chip away at it and get it flowing nicely.
- I've also heard where people have used a hair dryer or heat gun on the trap to soften the grease and get things flowing. When it's flowing, flush with the hottest water you can, even boil some and put down there.

Speaking of which, many plumbers suggest a pot of boiling water once a week to keep the drain clean.

One other thing many people forget about. If you have trees near your sewer pipes their roots can get in there and cause all kinds of expensive problems. Be careful what you plant and where!
jeaninwa
15 years ago
After the kitchen sink plugged up twice in one month, the plumber told me to act as if I don't have a garbage disposal. ???
chisue
15 years ago
Hah! Cynic's post about warming the trap with a hair dryer brought back an old memory.

My childhood home had a guest bedroom and bath over our *very* minimally heated garage. The bathroom waste pipe ran down through the garage. One cold Christmas we had a houseguest, and the drain pipe from the guest bath froze. My mother wrapped an electric heating pad around the pipe, then resorted to the hair dryer trick. That was when the fuse blew. lol
joyfulguy
15 years ago
Hi chisue,

Don't use microwave and electric kettle on the same circuit at the same time, either.

ole joyful

P.S. Sometimes the use of a simple plunger can save an plumber's expensive visit, as well.

o j

Wisdom From My Plumber

Comments (6)

Barb-45

ntt_hou

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