To the homeowner who is unsure how to fix plumbing issues, it can be quite the challenge. Professional plumbers are extremely expensive, and often have long wait times. Why not solve the plumbing problem yourself? Keep reading this article to figure out how to take care of issues with your plumbing.

Avoid bleach tablets, blue toilet deodorizers or the other odor removers inside your toilet. Either kind of toilet tablet might break down obnoxious smells in your toilet, but they might also break down the rubber parts, resulting in malfunction.

Do not attempt to fix your garbage disposal by reaching in with your hands. Even when the garbage disposal is turned off they can be dangerous. Hire a professional, or at least find your owner’s manual to look at a diagram of the disposal. Many owner’s manuals are available online, and may even contain interactive troubleshooters.

Do not put any oil, fat, or greasy foods or products in your sink. These substances will clog the drain as they cool and harden. Grease is of particular concern when there is a disposal unit installed in your drain. It can cause the unit to lose efficiency. The best thing to do is to dispose of oil-based liquids away from your sinks.

If your house uses well water and there are orange or pink stains in tubs or sinks, it’s because of the iron level in the water. You will need a water softener in order to take care of this problem, which you could purchase at a local store, or hire someone to go to your home and fix it for you.

A great maintenance routine for bathtub drains is to pour baking soda and vinegar into the drain opening once a month. Use a plug or rag to cover the drain, because there will be a chemical reaction in the pipes. Pause a few minutes, and then follow the mixture with boiling water. Although this is useful for clearing away simple clogs made of hair and soap debris, it will not work for serious blockages.

Check overflow holes regularly to prevent blockage. The overflow holes are there to make sure the sink doesn’t overfill, which can become a problem if they are blocked. Take the time to clean out the overflow holes as you go through your house doing your regular checks for various issues.

When replacing your shower head, pay attention to the quality of the replacement head. Some people think that one shower head is like any other, so decide on price alone. The problem about this is they aren’t sturdy and they tend to break a lot easier.

When your pipes have clogs and you are thinking of using a pipe cleaner, choose a cleaner that is enzyme based. A enzyme-based cleaner will remove the clog by turning it into a liquid, freeing it from the drain. The best these days are the enzyme cleaners.

As you can see, plumbing problems don’t have to be so difficult. If you can solve the problem yourself, you can save time waiting for a plumber, as well as saving a whole lot of money. Try applying what you’ve learned from this article next time you have a plumbing problem!