Plumbing

• Corrosive drain cleaners, such as those sold on supermarket shelves, frequently cause injury to plumbers or homeowners when they open up pipes or sink traps to do repairs. Non-corrosive drain cleaners are much better choices. One of the best, Bio-Clean, is sold exclusively through plumbing contractors and South West Plumbing will be glad to demonstrate and consult with you on this product.
• Soldering is not the most difficult task in the world, but it is not quite as easy as it looks. Professional plumbers routinely end up repairing leaks caused by do-it-yourself soldering jobs.

Here are some tips to extend the life of your faucets.

• Treat faucets gently. When turning water on and off, use normal hand pressure only.
• Clean chrome fittings with a soft cloth moistened with vinegar, rubbing alcohol, or glass cleaner.
• For lacquered brass faucets, use a mild detergent…for un-lacquered brass faucets, brass cream will do the job nicely.
• If the brass lacquer coating on your faucets gets scratched, you can prevent tarnishing by coating the scratch with clear nail polish.
• Lemon rind works wonders with tarnished brass or copper.
• Older steel faucets and fittings can be scrubbed clean with a mild scouring powder.
• Have you ever seen those hanging toilet bowl deodorants? Well, don’t buy them. They’re prone to slipping and lodging deep in your plumbing system, and can block the line outright or give grease and other debris something to cling to. Also, certain chlorine tablet cleaners may corrode toilet tank components, and before you know it, you’ve got a major hard-to-get-at leak.
• A lemon peel put down your garbage disposal periodically can help keep odors to a minimum.