appliances, plumbing, drains
Appliances
Appliance manufacturers furnish operating instructions and information on trouble-shooting appliance problems. These instructions will provide you with valuable information on the safe operation and maintenance of your appliances.
Plumbing
Plumbing installations in your new home seldom cause trouble.
Faucet packing’s will fail after considerable time and use, however, and their replacement is one of the most common of household tasks.
The world's best preventive maintenance for plumbing failure is to avoid discarding any clogging materials into sinks and toilet bowls.
Do not pour grease down your drain and remove hair and lint from sinks to avoid clogging.
To prevent the buildup of residual grease and soap, it is as well to perform a simple monthly maintenance routine; run hot water through drain, add three tablespoons of washing soda, add a little hot water, let stand for 15 minutes; then flush by running water.
Do not use lye or its derivative with plastic piping.
It is possible that the outlet from your dishwasher empties into your garbage disposal.
Do not permit the accumulation of food in the garbage disposal to cause a blockage when operating your dishwasher. If your garbage disposal becomes blocked when grinding food waste, consult the manufacturer's maintenance manuals - normally there is a reset button located on the disposal.
To properly maintain the garbage disposal:
• Do not load the disposal before starting.
• Do not use commercial drain products.
• Use cold water at all times when the disposal is operating.
• Grind ice cubes to clean, lemon peels to sweeten.
• Check and tighten drain trap connections as may be necessary after frequent use.
• Read your maintenance manual.
Toilets
If your toilet runs continuously, remove the cover from the water tank. You will likely see that water above the overflow pipe is causing this problem.
On top of the valve inside the water tank there is a screw to adjust the water level.
Faucets
During freezing weather, frost proof faucets are not frost proof unless hoses and other appliances are disconnected prior to freezing weather.
The most common cause of burst water pipes is a frozen frost proof faucet which has not been allowed to drain properly.
It is normal for an exterior sillcock to drip some water after use.
The seal which turns off the water is located 12 inches inside the house.
Consequently, when the water is turned off, the water in the chamber will continue to drip to the outside until the chamber is empty.
Over-tightening the handle will cause you to destroy the seal.
Hot Water Tank
Your hot water tank has a 40 gallon capacity.
When the forty gallons of hot water is used, you must wait for forty more gallons of fresh water to be heated.
The red dial located on the lower part of your tank is a temperature setting only - it will not increase the capacity of your tank!
Always test the water before using, as water that is too hot may scold or injure.