In some cases, you can save money by handling some simple plumbing repairs yourself. With basic skills, tools you already have around the house and access to plumbing supplies in Edmonton, these 5 plumbing fixes are completely DIY.

Fix a leaky faucet

Over time, a leaky faucet can waste a lot of water and increase your utility bill. Fixing this problem is pretty easy. First turn off your home’s water supply and open the faucet to relieve any pressure. Put a rag over the drain so you don’t loose any parts down the drain.

As you take apart your faucet, place all the parts down on a towel in the order they were removed for easier reassembly. When all the parts are removed, check the valve’s interior for deteriorated gaskets or mineral build-up on other parts. You can remove the mineral deposits by soaking the part in vinegar. Replace all the worn out seals, gaskets and the flat washer at the end of the stem with new. You should also clean out any clogged holes in the faucet body. Before you reassemble the faucet, hold a cloth over it and open up the water valve slightly to wash away any debris that may have loosened during the cleaning.

Put the faucet back together, turn it to the open position and gradually open the water shutoff valves to turn on the water. Leave the tap on until water is flowing freely and all the air is out of the pipes.

Stop a running toilet

According to the Family Handy Man’s article on how to stop a running toilet, 95 per cent of running toilet problems can be solved by using four simple steps:

Check the fill tube by pushing the tube firmly into the fill valve. The little rubber tube should be sending water into the overflow tube that runs ups and down in the tank.

Adjust the fill height by pinching the clip and sliding the float up or down on the rod in the toilet tank. You can keep adjusting the float until the water shuts off at the right level.

Fix the flapper chain and make sure the chain has a little bit of slack with the flapper closed. If the chain is too short or tangled it won’t allow the flapper to close and water will continue to run into the bowl.

Replace the flapper by unsnapping the old flapper and taking it into an Edmonton plumbing supply store to find the exact replacement for your specific toilet. Universal flappers are also available. Before replacing the flapper, turn off the water and drain the tank.

Unclog a bathtub drain

In most cases, a clogged bathtub drain can be fixed with a chemical drain cleaner. If you’d rather do this fix without the use of these harmful chemicals, you can fix a clogged drain quickly and easily by removing the stopper and fishing out the hair, debris and other gunk that is causing the problem.

First, unscrew the drain stopper by lifting it up and accessing the little setscrew that is located on the side of the plug shaft. Remove the setscrew and pull out the drain stopper. Create a little hook using a clothes hanger and pull out the hair and gunk with your bent wire. Run hot water down the drain to flush away remaining debris.

While these simple plumbing repairs can be done by any DIY-er, extensive plumbing work like roughing in new plumbing or dealing with major leaks or frozen pipes should be left to a licensed plumber.

Photo Credit: Kitchen & Bath Classics