Kitchen Care and Your Sink

A home's plumbing consists of a complex system of parts that need to be cared for in order to operate most efficiently. In this way, it can be likened to a car's engine. Like the engine, it often takes a persistent problem to get you to take note.

Save yourself time, money, and headaches down the road by avoiding leaky faucets, toilets, and other plumbing concerns with preventive maintenance.

The most frequent plumbing issue is the kitchen sink. As the busiest place in most homes, clogged drains can be particularly irksome here.
If your sink doesn't have a garbage disposal then you need to stay vigilant in keeping out grease and food scraps. Build-up can lead to blockage in pipes.

If you do have a garbage disposal, it's a good practice to run cold water before operating it and leaving it running for about 30 seconds after turning it off. This will keep food scraps from staying behind to clog the drain.

Here's another tip: Put 1/2 cup of baking soda into the drain followed by 1/4 cup of vinegar. After covering the drain, let it stand for 15 minutes while it forms. Finally, run cold water to flush the drain. Doing this occasionally will keep your pipe obstruction free. It's a good idea to stay away from chemical cleaners, especially in older plumbing systems.

Once a month, sharpen garbage disposal blades by putting a cupful of ice mixed with white vinegar into the disposal. Turn the disposal on. As the ice is chopped up the blade will get sharpened. Afterward, a capful of cooking oil will provide lube where needed.

Inevitably a leaky faucet will turn up, the key is to minimize the occurrence or stop it as soon as it does.

The most common culprit for leaky faucets: washers. This thin, rubber ring is found in the faucet handle. It should be replaced every couple of years. If you're up to the task of removing the handle of the faucet yourself, you can replace the washer without the need to call a plumber.

You're going to want to shut off the water supply to your home (just in case). Shut off water to the faucet by turning the valve off found under the sink.

Turn the faucet on to release water left in the pipe. Don't remove the faucet itself, just the handle. For faucets with two handle, remove just the problem handle.

A cup or button may have to be removed to get to a screw or pin. Under the handle, unscrew the cartridge or stem but take care not to strip the threads if you use a wrench. Pull it out to get to the washer.

After removing the washer, swap it out. If necessary take the old one to a hardware store to find a match, an exact duplicate is required. Also, find one that's made for the same brand of faucet. Put everything back together and turn water back on under the sink.

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