Plumbing powers the essential utilities in our homes and enables us to accomplish daily and essential tasks, such as shower, drink water, cook, wash hands, brush teeth, flush the toilet, clean, heat water, treat air and more.

Most people don’t give plumbing a second thought when it’s working right, but it is all we can think about if something goes wrong. A basic understanding of your plumbing system and the components that affect it will help you troubleshoot, do small repairs yourself, know when to call a plumber, be better prepared in a crisis and make informed decisions.

1. Recognize the Source of Your Water

Generally, water comes into a home from one of two sources: a residential well and private pump or a city water line. Most of the time, rural residents have well water that is carried into the home via a pump, and they do not receive a water bill. Urban residents have city water they pay for by gallons of usage and usually receive a monthly or quarterly bill.

2. Test Water Quality

test well water once per yearIt is always good to know what’s in the city or well water. Many people conduct tests when they move into a new place, but experts say to test well water at least once per year because much can change due to different supply or treatment, soil shifts and some processes used by agricultural or industrial businesses in the region.

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You can purchase a water-testing kit from many types of suppliers, and many times the county entity in your area will offer them at a discount. Any drinking-water supplier is required to test the water annually and report on its quality, but people who have city water can conduct tests if they like.

You can shop around for the test you want from a trusted supplier, but you will find a variety available at costs that range from $45-$200. They reveal a number of different factors: nitrates, turbidity, heavy metals, bacteria, minerals, volatile organics and more. They come in consolidated kits that test for several common concerns at once. Most of the quality tests require you to capture some water and send it to a lab, which gives you results.

3. Locate and Turn Off Your Water Main

Should your home spring some kind of leak, you will appreciate knowing right where to go and what to do to cut off the water instead of trying to find it while you’re panicked and water is spewing everywhere. There is almost always a main valve near the street, and sometimes a secondary in or around the house, such as in the basement. The water main usually resembles a wheel or bar-type lever. If it’s a wheel, you should turn it slowly clockwise until it stops. If it’s a lever, you push right (or down) until it stops.

If you’re not sure the water is off, you can test it by trying to run water at a sink. If it does not run, you were successful. It never hurts to find the main and practice turning it off so that if a crisis occurs the process is familiar to you.

4. Find the Individual Cut-Off Valves

Check all your water-using appliances such as the washer, toilets and sinks to locate the small handle on them where you can stop their water supply. The washer handle is usually behind the item, near the wall. For the toilet, it’s usually down low, toward the back and close to the wall. For sinks, look underneath near the pipes or against the walls. Showers and bathtubs are harder but might have cut-off valves in an adjacent closet or in the basement at the supply line. These individual valves enable you to isolate one place that may need maintenance without having to shut off water to the entire house.

5. Scrutinize the Water Meter and Bill

If you have city water, there is a meter for your individual home somewhere around it or perhaps near the street under a metal cover. Either way, knowing where your water meter is and how to read it will help you monitor usage and keep expenses down.

The water company can be a great help in locating the water meter and main shutoff, as well as to answer any questions you have about the bill. Many people want to know specifically how the water is metered, when the meters are checked and how much they’re paying per gallon of water. Check the bill when it comes each month, because spikes in usage can indicate leaks or usage you don’t see.

Look for 80 pounds per square inch of pressure as the household standard. You can ask your water company to test the pressure for you, or you can buy a water-pressure tester at most hardware or home-improvement stores starting for about $10. The gauge attaches to your outside water faucet and gives a reading of the water pressure when you turn on the spigot.

7. Adjust the Water Pressure

Anyone with municipal water has a water-pressure regulator between their home and the main supply. Without it, the pressure would blast through all of your appliances and fixtures. To raise or lower the pressure coming into your home, you need to find the regulator and have a partner to test the pressure as you adjust it.

The regulator might be in or around your home, near the main water-cutoff valve, or it could be near the street with the water main. It will probably have some kind of screwed-on cover, but inside is usually a wing nut or bolt you can turn to adjust the pressure. Again, while someone watches the pressure, slowly turn the nut-bolt clockwise to increase pressure and counterclockwise to decrease it.

8. Check for Hidden Leaks

checking for hidden leaksHidden leaks damage important infrastructure in your home like wooden beams, drywall, carpet and sometimes pipes and other plumbing accessories. You can test your system to see if it’s using any excess water by checking your meter. Y don’t have to wait until you think there is a problem. Regular checks can help you spot problems early.

First, make sure all indoor and outdoor spigots are turned off tightly. Pick a time when you will not need the water for at least 15 minutes or longer if possible — this includes any automatic appliances such as ice makers or water softeners and purifiers. Look at the numbers on your water meter and write them down. Then wait the time you’ve allotted and look at the numbers again when you return. If they are the same, your system is tight. If the numbers are higher, you likely have a leak you can’t see. Sometimes the leak can be as simple as a toilet running that you haven’t noticed yet, or as complicated as a small burst in a buried pipe. Sprinkler systems can often be the culprit of unknown or hidden leaks.

9. Get Acquainted With the Water Heater

water heaters last 10-15 yearsFind the shutoff valves for water and for electric or gas supply on the water heater. For a gas water heater, turn the gas-supply line knob clockwise and for an electric water heater, find the breaker or fuse that supplies it and turn it off.

For the water supply, there’s usually a handle or lever near where the water heater connects to the main water line. The water heater has two water lines. You want to turn off the cold, incoming water as opposed to the line that carries hot water out of the heater. Your water heater should have a temperature gauge and/or dial near the top or bottom, where you can adjust the temperature. The dial may have high, medium and low settings and others have a screw or other setup to adjust the temperature up or down. If you’re unsure about adjusting the temperature, have a plumber do it for you.

Check all the pipes and accessories attached to the water heater regularly for leaks, and it never hurts to place some kind of drip pan underneath the hot-water heater. Water heaters typically last about 10-12 years, and they almost always start leaking toward the end of their life.

10. Change or Tighten a Toilet Seat

Behind the toilet seat between the tank and bowl are two bolts that hold the toilet seat in place. They usually have covers over them that match the color of the toilet. The rest of the fastening assembly is on the underneath side, but if your toilet seat is loose you can open the little doors over the bolts on the topside and turn them clockwise to see if that tightens it. If not, reach or look underneath and see if you feel or see anything loose.

You should be able to change the toilet seat by removing these two bolts, whether they fasten at the top, underneath or both. Though most holes are standard, be sure you pick a toilet seat that matches the bolt assembly in your current toilet.

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